October 24, 2016
Lower School
Gin Jackson, Director of Community Engagement at Urban Ministries of Durham, spoke to Lower Schoolers during morning meeting this past week. She discussed the importance of supporting our neighbors, citing UMD’s mission “to end homelessness and fight poverty by offering food, shelter and a future to neighbors in need.” She also taught us to “Do good. Feel good. Help our neighbors.”
Mrs. Jackson challenged Lower School students and faculty to find an article of clothing at home that is in good condition (no rips or stains) to donate to members of our community living in poverty. The drive at TDS ran for a week and supplied a great deal of clothing for our neighbors in need.
Middle School
Community service is an important component of most independent schools. Service learning, as we refer to it at TDS, is not only about the act of performing service for one’s community, but also about learning from a meaningful service experience. In the past, collaborative Middle School service activities have included volunteering with the Special Olympics, bagging sandwiches for Urban Ministries, plowing and planting at Duke University’s Campus Garden, and laying bricks at SEEDS Community Garden. This year, Mr. Butera, MS service coordinator, has worked diligently to plan both on and off-campus service learning opportunities for our students. Our first on-site service project will take place next Friday, October 28th, and will include smaller projects around the school ranging from cleaning our school vehicles to reading to our youngest students. As Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” We look forward to a great afternoon of service.
