Service Learning Projects
All UCDS 5th grade students conceive and implement a "Service Learning" project which allows them to work both within the community and outside the walls of UCDS to support school programs, teach others and increase awareness of service organizations in the greater Seattle community. Developing communication skills, organization, responsibility, individual goal setting and teamwork skills are the goals of the Moving On program. Here are some of the projects our 2000-2001 Moving On students developed and implemented.
Brendan and Carly worked with Art Specialist Jessica Chickadel. Brendan focused on woodworking and developed a lesson around The Odyssey (last year's theme) in which 1-2 students built ships based on the intrepid vessel commanded by Odysseus. Carly put her energy into introducing the works of four women artists to the 1st and 2nd grades. Each class completed a project in the style of that artist, with a focus on portraits and self-portraits.
Greg and Sarah worked with their respective mentors, Kerrie Hecko and Sarah Johnson, to develop P.E. lesson plans for the 2-3 classes. Greg and Sarah observed the 2-3 students in P.E. and carefully considered what teaching strategies would enhance their learning and enjoyment of the class. They also created a bulletin board devoted to basketball which grew and changed with time and allowed Sarah and Greg to share their Moving On project with the school each day.
Gardening was the theme for Nassim and Julia who focused their efforts on cultivating the native songbird gardens on the North Campus. These gardens are visible from the library window seat and from the hall windows outside the library. They were established three years ago by Kina and extended and tenderly cared for the next year by Alexandra and Connor as part of their Moving On projects. Julia added more native plants that offer seeds, fruit, or berries to songbirds, as well as providing shelter and a place to perch when the birds approach the feeders. Nassim made stepping-stones for the gardens, with a thought to beauty and to practicality. Not only did the stones beautify the gardens, they also allowed for easier maintenance by providing a dry, secure foothold. Nassim recruited other UCDS students to participate in the design, construction, and installation of the stones.
Maria lent her green thumb to the small gardens on either side of the library entrance on 9th Avenue NE. She enhanced the existing gardens with routine maintenance and added new plants, some of which came from her garden at home. As part of her goal to share her knowledge about gardening with others, she worked with volunteers from the first floor.
Working with Nancy Kiefer in the library, Griffin and Allison shared several responsibilities. Each student worked on a weekly basis, shelving and organizing one section of the library. As the year progressed they also became more active in the school community, teaching classes and instituting new programs. Griffin created and facilitated a brand new UCDS Book Club, which met after school on a biweekly basis. An animal lover, Allison held a bake sale to raise library funds in order to buy more books for the animal section of the library.
Martin assisted with Chess Club. With his mentor he helped to organize the school's chess material and to facilitate after-school snack. He traveled to classes at the South Campus to teach chess basics to students who are new to the game, inspiring future members of the UCDS chess team.
With mentor Suzy Joor, Naomi looked outside of the UCDS community to help forge a new partnership with Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. She raised funds to help support this public school's math program as they worked to increase their use of the manipulative materials so familiar to UCDS students. Naomi wrote letters to the manufacturers who create these materials in the hopes of engaging their support for her cause.
Raising funds was also a goal of Leah, who worked to increase awareness in the UCDS community about Habitat for Humanity. She set up collection sites at the North Campus for aluminum cans and took the cans to a recycling site in West Seattle that contributes the profits directly to the organization. The second phase of her project saw Leah working in UCDS classrooms to teach about the Habitat for Humanity organization as well as to increase awareness of homelessness.
Collaboration, cooperation and teamwork motivated Jessica, Jordan and Sam. These three alumni worked together to support the Admission Office throughout the fall and winter of 2000-2001. They acted as hosts to parents and guests on North Campus tour days. They helped organize and coordinate paperwork in the office and worked as a group with Julie Kalmus and David Garrick to think about ways to help the admission process run more smoothly. They also sponsored a training session for students at the North Campus on how to host visiting students. The training was attended by over 25 children and focused on empathizing with the feelings of the guests and devising strategies to make each guest feel welcome and included in our community.
Loretta, John and John worked with various technology programs at the school. Loretta worked directly with Jeremy Loerch, Technology Specialist, and the technology classes of the 1-2 students. She helped to plan activities, guide students through many different types of software, and troubleshoot with individual students when they had difficulties during the class. She enjoyed her work immensely and reported, "It's fun to see how the students grow in their learning."
John worked in partnership with Jeremy and Bethany Mitchell, Technology Coordinator. John focused on the development of methods in which student information is stored and presented on our Intranet and student web pages. John was very diligent about setting up folders for every student at UCDS. "It's pretty fun because I like finding the information, typing up all of the names and figuring out the fastest way to do it."
John focused his energies on assisting the LEGO Technology Club and became an expert on the RCX Robotics Technology. His teaching assignments involved small groups of students who were learning how to build and program their own creations. "Even though it's a lot of fun, teaching robotics is hard work because something will always go wrong and you need to know how to fix it."
Jordan implemented a food drive for P.A.W.S., to benefit homeless animals who are always in need of food and bedding to make their temporary shelter stays more comfortable. He also taught a series of lessons to UCDS students about the importance of proper animal care. "I like my project a lot because I love animals. It is important for people to learn as much as they can before making the long-term commitment to get a pet."
Cailey and Colin began their project by brainstorming ways to improve upon the atmosphere in the lunchroom. After compiling a list of ideas, which included ways to make lunch quieter and having special "theme days," Colin and Cailey canvassed each classroom for suggestions. The survey revealed that students would enjoy puzzles to keep them occupied once they are finished eating. When asked about a special theme, student interest was overwhelming. The two decided as a final improvement that the lunchroom should become a cleaner place to eat, and reported that more brushes and dustpans were on the way.
Hoping to improve recess, Ross conducted a survey of his own. His questionnaire was distributed to every student on the North Campus and collected in a ballot box in the lunchroom. Ross wanted to find out if students were interested in organized tournaments involving popular playground games, if more balls or other equipment were needed, if a referee sign should be put up for large games, and if there were ideas for new activities. Ross noted that, "The survey was successful. I got almost one hundred responses back." Ross also took on the daily task of collecting all playground equipment at the end of recess.
Five 2000-2001 Moving On students worked diligently to facilitate Literature Circles both here at UCDS and in the public school community. Rachel, Heath, Kelly, Elias, and Dylan spent countless hours learning what is involved in being a Literature Circle facilitator. They observed Literature Circles in the 1-2 and 2-3 classrooms, took notes, made suggestions and helped plan the next series of books. They then took the plunge to lead groups themselves. All of this hard work taught them a lot about leadership, literature, and planning, among other things. These five students then worked weekly in the kindergarten classrooms at B.F. Day Elementary to facilitate Literature Circles there.
