Northside Middle School students spent a recent early release day fulfilling acts of service and volunteering for various organizations within their community.
Three years ago, when Dr. Tiffany Hall became principal after holding other vice principal and administrative positions, she implemented service learning and the annual Day of Caring with the hope this guidance would help students continue that practice throughout their school years and their lives.
“When given the opportunity to see how easy service can be, kids will see more ways to serve out of the kindness of their hearts,” Dr. Hall said on the most recent Day of Caring, held earlier this fall.
Hall is no stranger to supporting her community. While in high school she volunteered through clubs and other extracurricular activities and continues this line of work as a part of the Junior League and Palmetto Place Board.
By dedicating a day to service projects, Northside Middle students are given time to support their community without interfering with other obligations outside of the school day.
On the Day of Caring, students are divided into “houses” that include different grade levels working together to support a specific organization or cause. This year, those causes included Prisma Health Children’s Hospital, first responders and healthcare workers, food banks, and the homeless.
Seventh grade teacher Lindsey Greaves’ students made posters for the school hallways that showed Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits related to “Leader in Me.” Northside is a “Leader in Me” school.
“This allowed the students to see examples of how they can live out the Seven Habits. These real-life examples help the students easily apply them to their lives,” Greaves said.
Lindsey Bailey, an eighth grade teacher, also views service learning as having a large impact on Northside Middle.
“Service learning is important because it helps students make a real difference in our community,” Bailey said. “It gives them a voice and a chance to share their ideas. Students learn that helping others and working towards something bigger than themselves builds connection and purpose. By using the Habits, they learn to be proactive, work well with others, and plan ahead — showing that leadership means caring, helping, and taking action.”
To help further these skills, leadership clubs are held during the school day to make them more available to the students who would not otherwise be able to participate.
Looking forward, to help students work towards larger goals, Dr. Hall hopes to connect the “houses” of students to specific community organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House, to give a starting point that allows them to continue their engagement even after they leave school.
“We want to promote service learning over just service by focusing on the real-world needs and academic connection and skills that can be used to help those in need,” Dr. Hall said.
Submitted by Alex Compton. She is a student at the University of South Carolina Honors College majoring in public health and is on the pre-law track. Email her at ajc37@email.sc.edu.