It’s important for a child to be actively involved with their community at an early age. It starts in Kindergarten with reading buddies and extends to student organized Me to We initiatives – every student has the opportunity to understand the importance of community engagement.

Parkview Public School in Lindsay demonstrates excellent examples of student and community engagement with activities such as: MS Readathon, Terry Fox Run, Family Drive, and Reading Buddies. These activities allow students to understand the importance of making a difference in their community and in the lives of others. Community engagement is a key focus in TLDSB schools – by implementing the importance of volunteering, educators have the opportunity to motivate students to take a stand and make a difference in their community and the world around them.

Parents are an important part of the community engagement component. For students to make a difference, parents need to encourage their children at home. It only takes one person to make a change – your child is the revolution the world needs today, so motivate them to make a difference!

Over 800 grade 6 to grade 12 students heard renowned speaker and founder of Free the Children, Craig Kielburger, March 2, 2012  at Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute. “When you see your best friend stand up to a bully, stand up with them,” Kielburger implored the audience. “One person can make a difference, two people makes a movement.” Kielburger began Free the Children when eleven of his friends stood up with him when he was in grade 7 to work against child exploitation around the world. Sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of Lindsay, Kielburger in the evening at a fundraising dinner for the Boys and Girls Club Foundation.

One person can make a difference! Grade 8 student, Sarah Sollitt, has been making a difference at Scott Young Public School for the past two years. Already an active member in her school’s Me to We program, Sarah plans to take her passion for change one step further by traveling to Africa this summer with the Me to Me team. This volunteer trip costs $5,000, and thanks to Sarah’s family, community, and fellow students, she has fulfilled her financial goal.

In search of support, Sarah connected with community groups and schools and presented a presentation showing her contribution and commitment to the Me to We movement. Sarah was overwhelmed with the outstanding support she received from her community and especially fellow students. Woodville Public School heard of Sarah’s initiative and started a campaign to help support her commitment to Me to We, which in turn inspired students to join the Me to We program. Sarah also received help from Scott Young Public School and Lady Eaton Elementary School with spirit weeks dedicated to supporting her goal.

Sarah’s trip to Africa has become a reality thanks to the support from her family and community. One person can make a difference…and with amazing support, Sarah has the opportunity to bring change to Africa.

The Jack Callaghan Public School Glee Club of 25 members, Grades 4 to 8, organized an assembly on February 28, 2012 to celebrate individuality, and kick-off Pink Shirt Day. The students performed a rap about anti-bullying, and were featured on CBC Radio! This isn’t the first time Jack Callaghan PS has been on the radio, in fact, they are known as CBC’s Resident Radio Rappers. On February 14, the Grade 1 class was featured in the Valentines Day song contest with their Valentines Day rap – Jack Callaghan sure is

Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and over the Internet. On February 29, 2012 – Pink Shirt Day – Students from across the country were encouraged to wear pink shirts to school to make a stand against bullying in their schools and community.

Victoria Secrets – the school band from the AETC Haliburton held a fundraising concert for the local food bank. $1,550 was raised, as well as a huge mound of toys that will be delivered to local kids on Christmas.

Concert organizer Carl Dixon was excited about the students success; “It is amazing what these kids have been able to do in the few months that they have been playing”. “They have really learned their chops, and the enthusiasm is contagious”.

The band is led by teacher Greg Shantz, who says that it this experience has been great for the students. “It was wonderful for these kids to have a chance to give back to the community that has supported them through so much”.

All students are welcome to participate in this Rock/Ragaee Hip/Hop Blues style band. Guitarist Donald Murdoch, describes the Victoria Secrets as being, “Haliburton’s best All Inclusive Band”.

Daya Sweet, vocalist and bass player describes the band as, “A big motivation to get to school” “Being in the Band has helped me find a place at school where I feel able to be myself”.

“Every individual brings something different to the band, and that what makes us so good” continues Jai Delacruz, vocalist and guitarist.

The music program at the school is relatively new says Shantz. “We started just three years ago with a few guitars and some of my own instruments”. “We have built the program with grants from the School Board’s Program Enhancement fund as well as grants from the local Health Unit and private donations”. Now, Shantz says that, “we almost everything we could want – guitars, bass, amps, drums and recording equipment”.

Most recently, says Shantz, “We received a $180 donation from Carl Dixon, volunteer with the program. The money is going towards the purchase of a $600 PA system. “We have a 40 year old system with just one Mic”, Shantz says, “It is in pretty rough shape”. “With a new sound system we will be able to work on Vocal harmonies and singing technique”.

GHS English teacher, Mandi Henderson took her all-boys grade 9 applied English class to the Gravenhurst Supper Club in November for some community outreach. This supper club is actually a soup kitchen for needy folks in the community. The boys are studying a book called ‘Shattered’ that involves the main characters interacting in and around a soup kitchen. The GHS students helped to prepare a meal for 90 guests – the help was very much appreciated by Val Ceschia – the organizer of the Gravenhurst Supper Club. The gents did well and worked their ‘buns off’ for 2 hours preparing a beef stew. The boys also had previously prepared questions about the Gravenhurst Supper Club to ask Val – based upon situations that occurred in the novel.

Here are comments about the experience from some of the boys who participated:

“I felt good about going on this trip because I didn’t even know that Gravenhurst had a soup kitchen. If someone asked me to work at the Supper Club again I would probably say yes because I had fun on this experience and would know I am needed.”

“I would go there on my own time because it is fun there and it’s making a difference. Last week we were making a huge difference for the poorer people in Gravenhurst. I really enjoyed my role there…after I got back I was pretty sad because I had to go back to catch my bus to go home. I enjoyed it a lot and want to go back and do hours there at the Supper Club”

“At first I wasn’t looking forward to going to the “The Supper Club” because I thought it would be boring, mostly watching and setting tables. But as soon as we got there we were put in the kitchen where we prepared food. I really enjoyed it. It was fun to help people and it was fun making food. I found it really relaxing actually.”

“I would like to volunteer there a lot because I’d like to get my community service hours for high school”

“I was very excited about going to a soup kitchen and it was better than I thought I would be! It was fun and a good experience. I think our class was a big help and made those who got a day off volunteering happy.”

“My feeling after I left the soup kitchen was really happy!…If there is a time when I ever can go back I will definitely!”

“I felt good about going to the soup kitchen because I knew I was doing something good for someone. I thought my experience would be like boring but I was wrong. It was fun because everyone was laughing lots….I think I would volunteer there again to get hours for school but to also help out by getting food prepared for people that can’t afford to eat.”

“I did think it would be a cool thing to do. I never did anything like that because I would never have thought to help at a soup kitchen.”

“Some of the things that I liked about the Supper Club are that it was lots of fun in the kitchen and everyone was doing their jobs. I thought that they would only get 12-15 people, but instead there was like 80-90 people that go there! If I rated this field trip out of 10 for our class I would say that we would have a 9 because we all worked very hard and had a lot of fun while doing it as well”

Kindergarten students at Cardiff Elementary School showed their kindness on Friday, November 18, 2011 by baking muffins for local stores and community members. With the help of their teachers and principal, Barb Davies, students baked muffins all morning long. In the afternoon, they went into the community and offered muffins to store owners, Municipality workers, senior citizens, and even to people enjoying a coffee in the local restaurant. The kindness muffins were a hit! Students at Cardiff can’t wait to show they care in their community again soon!

Leslie Frost Public School was full of kindness last week, as they prepared for Friday, November 18, 2011 – Trillium Lakelands DSB’s Day of Kindness. Students and staff listened to friendship-themed music as they arrived to school, and enjoyed friendship and kindness quotes shared by the morning announcements. When Friday finally arrived, students were eager to participate in the friendship pairing activity – younger students were paired with older students.

Together they generated a list of kindness actions and then transferred their list onto puzzle peace characters (which will be displayed in the hall by the office). Students also participated in a range of inclusive games with their partner to promote collaboration and teamwork. It was a wonderful day at Leslie Frost – students made new friends, worked through challenges together, shared laughs with each other, and learned the value of friendship and kindness.

During the month of October, Huntsville High School participated in Halloween for Hunger by collecting thousands of non-perishable items for the Table Soup Kitchen and Food Bank in Huntsville. Students showed their support and determination as classrooms battled one another to see who could bring in the most items for the food drive. It became quite the battle between Mr. Riley’s class and Ms. Creasor’s class which brought in a total of 689 items. In the end, it was Creasor’s class who came out on top with the most items collected.

HHS didn’t stop their fundraising efforts there – they continued to donate non-perishable food items for discounted dance tickets, and trick-or-treated for canned food instead of candy bringing the grand total to an amazing 2143 items!All the Halloween for Hunger events were coordinated entirely by the students at HHS, and the teachers couldn’t be prouder. Students helped deliver their efforts to the Food Bank, where they were greeted by grateful volunteers for their remarkable donation. This truly demonstrates the compassion and drive TLDSB students have for creating positive change – one can of food at a time.

In Ontario 91,000 tonnes of electronic equipment is thrown out each year and only one quarter of that total is being managed properly. If you have electronic equipment that is damaged or that you do not use any more, contact your public works department to find out where your hazardous waste collection depot is.