2006-2007
BFS Community Service Activities
preschool | lower school | middle
school | upper school | PAT
PRESCHOOL
- Baked and delivered deserts to the Brooklyn
Heights Synagogue women’s overnight shelter
from January through March.
- Collected $1,749.50 in pennies with the Lower School for
the LS Common Cents penny drive to
support children’s programs throughout the city.
- Collected over two bags of hats, scarves, mittens and gloves
for children at the St. John’s family Center.
- Conducted a food drive for StampOutHunger (through
the Brooklyn Post Office) and collected three boxes of canned
and boxed food.
LOWER SCHOOL
Kindergartners:
-
Made and sent holiday cards to homebound seniors who receive
meals through City meals-on-Wheels.
-
Conducted
a book drive through Scholastic’s annual Classroom
Cares program which provides book donations for
children who are recipients of Scholastic’s literacy
partner program (Hello Friend, First Partner, Reach
Out and Read, and Save the Children). The kindergarteners
read 100 books resulting in a donation of 100 books from
Scholastic.
1st Graders:
- Planted bulbs with the 7th graders in Cadman Plaza
Park through Partnership for Parks.
- Coordinated
the LS UNICEF drive and raised
$1,180.
- Visited the Cobble Hill Health Center twice
with dance instructor, Helen Tocci, who led the children and
the seniors in an interactive movement activity and a get-to-know-one
another exchange. In the spring, the children also brought
painted pots (which were painted at Family Day of Service)
to their senior-friends in which they planted colorful marigolds.
1B was not able to go with Helen on their second visit but
showered the seniors with song instead.
2nd Graders:
- Baked deserts monthly for the Community Dinner at
Schermerhorn Street. Recruited families to work at the Dinner. The
2nd grade rotated with the 3rd and 4th grades.
- Led
the LS and PS Penny Harvest with Common
Cents and raised $1,750 to benefit children's programs
throughout the city. As part of the Common
Cents program, the second grade was given a $1,000 grant
to determine, in a roundtable discussion, which neighborhood
groups would be the recipient of the funds. After careful
consideration and discussion, the 2nd grade decided to give
$500 to CHIPS, the soup kitchen, and $500
to the FOOD BANK.
3rd Graders:
- Recruited families to work at the Community Dinner at
Schermerhorn Street. The 3d grade rotates
with the 2rd and 4th grades.
- Conducted several discussions about the needs in the community,
and completed related research. This process resulted in the
class deciding to raise funding for Greenpeace to
help save the forests. One thousand dollars was raised by the
grade.
In addition, students made posters and t-shirts to increase
awareness about global warming and the destruction of the forests
and they wrote postcards on Letter for Change day
that were sent to key politicians who have influence over our
country’s conservation and environmental policies.
- As a result of one child’s concern, started a letter
writing project to a soldier in an effort to let
them know they are cared for and appreciated.
4th Graders:
- Recruited families to work at Community Dinner at
Schermerhorn Street. The 4th grade rotates with the 3rd and
2nd grades.
- Conducted a gently-used book drive for Reach Out
and Read (ROR) for children who
wait in the reception rooms of the Lutheran Medical
Center health clinics. The grade
collected over 200 gently used books and raised $250 to purchase
books for another aspect of the ROR literacy program where
doctors give selected developmentally-appropriate books to
children who come into the clinic for their regular “well-visits.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL
5th Graders:
6th Graders:
- Co-led with the PTA community service committee the school
wide gift drive for the St. John’s Family Center in
Crown Heights.
- Visited and played with children at St. John's
Family Center, a day care program in Crown Heights
serving neighborhood families and homeless families temporarily
living at their residences. Students were oriented by the
Director of the Family Center and BFS faculty who temporarily
lived at homeless shelters growing up.
7th Graders:
- Planted bulbs with the 1st graders in the fall at Cadman
Plaza through Partnership for Parks.
- ach small group advisory visited and played dominoes with
seniors at the Helen Keller Services for the Blind.
- Each group sponsored an issue at the Letters for
Change table.
- One of the 7th grade advisories initiated their own bake
sale to raise money to buy toys for teenagers at the St.
Johns Family Center. Thanks to their efforts,
more than 10 sets of scarves and mittens were donated to the
toy drive for the teenagers who rarely receive enough gifts
for everyone.
- One advisory wrote holiday cards for the
maintenance staff.
- One advisory is making a mini-documentary
of the program BFS does with Helen Keller.
8th Graders:
- Continued their buddy-work with BFS kindergartners,
reading during 8th grade lunch period lunch period. They
also did math activities with them.
- Each group
sponsored an issue at the Letters
for Change table.
Whole Middle School:
- Recycling clubs recycled BFS paper
on Fridays.
UPPER SCHOOL
- US CS Assembly was conducted in December 2006. Two providers
were featured, including; the Lutheran Medical Center and
the Brooklyn
Blood Center.
- Ninth graders went
on an overnight trip in February at Youth Service Opportunities
Project (YSOP), to
work in soup kitchens and homeless shelters run through the Partnership
for Homeless.
- Juniors volunteered at Habitat for Humanity as
a grade again this spring.
- Upper school students did several thousand hours of service
at over 100 different organizations locally, nationally and internationally.
Many students were involved in relief and reconstruction work,
several participated in marches and walks for a range of causes,
and other students continued a long history of volunteering at
local hospitals, parks, and social service agencies.
- Seven student-led and run projects were conducted at
BFS involving the entire school and BFS community. Student leaders
ran a clothing drive for GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring
Services); a coat/sweater drive (with another Bard
High School student) for the children who attend the Island
School in Lower Manhattan; a book drive for the public
libraries through Project Cicero; a toy drive
for children at the Brooklyn Psychiatric Center; a sneaker
and sports equipment drive for children in Africa who receive
these items through Hoops for Hope; and a blood
drive that is sponsored by the Brooklyn Blood Center.
PAT COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE
- Created and distributed a family CS volunteer
flyer with opportunities during the holiday season.
- Conducted a schoolwide event to fight hunger called
Empty Bowls. Over 200 BFS
families participated by making pinch pots at BFS on October
21st. The ceramic bowls symbolized the many children and adults
in the world who go hungry every day. Mini workshops and other
educational activities were held simultaneously at BFS on the
21st at the school for children to learn more about hunger
and how they can make a difference. More than 200 bowls were
then fired and glazed by volunteers and the ceramic teacher,
Ellen Kahan. People were then asked while at the Winter Fest
on December 9th to donate a monetary gift to Chips in return
for a glazed bowl. The money raised went to one of our
local community providers, a soup kitchen in Brooklyn called
CHIPS.
- Initiated a new community service ongoing project called Letters
for Change that was conceived of by Piper Macleod,
the LS music instructor. Every 6 weeks there were tables
in the lobby full of envelopes, paper, and pens for children
and families to write letters about issues they care about
to people who are influential and can bring about change.
Tables can be hosted by individual classes. The first and
7th grades hosted the first Letters for Change Day on November
16th, focusing on ending hunger and reaching out to soldiers
who are away from home respectively. Over 200 letters and
cards were written. Other middle school advisories sponsored
topics including Darfur, Forest protection in the US, Lagos
overcrowding,
- Co -led the schoolwide gift drive with the 6th grade for
the St. John’s Family Center. Approximately
10 bags of toys were collected.
- Conducted the 5th annual Family Day of Service,
on Saturday, April 14. Approximately
75 members of our community, young and old, gathered in the
cafeteria to run and organize the activities.
—Brightly painted planters of pansies were made to adorn the
school's entrance;
—Used materials with different textures (dried
beans, rubber boot scraps, acrylic fluff and dish scrubbers) were used to create
more than 50 tactile panels for children who attend the Helen
Keller Services preschool program;
—Flower pots were painted and given to the first graders who
later planted flowers in them and brought them to Cobble
Hill Heath Center;
—A fragrant herb garden was created for the seniors at Helen
Keller;
—Knitted and crocheted squares were made to be
used to make blankets for babies who are hospitalized with AIDS
and other serious conditions;
—Mother's Day and Spring cards were
made for homebound seniors (through City Meals on Wheels);
—Clay
pots were painted and then geraniums planted in them for the maintenance,
cleaning, security, cafeteria, administrative staff, and support
staff, to say thank you for helping to make BFS such a wonderful
place.
—Cadman Plaza Park was spruced-up in conjunction
with Partnership for Parks.
—Garlands of paper
butterflies were made to decorate one of our neighboring senior
centers.
—Eco-Packets of environmental information
were assembled and then distributed to people who were encountered
on an Ecology Parade around the Farmer's Market in Cadman Plaza,
and to BFS Faculty and Staff.
See community service activities from other
years: 06/07 | 05/06 | 04/05 | 03/04
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