To Serve Our Community

Over a century ago Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed,  “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” In this spirit, our faculty organized an All School Community Service Day for all students earlier this week.

Our students were involved on campus making toys for SPCA shelter animals, working on projects supporting the Northern Nevada Food Bank, folding paper cranes for "1000 Cranes for Hope", assembling packs of school supplies for local kids, and creating thank you cards for armed services personnel. Grade 8 students continued their good work with Bernice Mathews school. Others worked on our Go Baby Go project, CANstruction (part food drive, part engineering project), or helped with other on-campus activities.

Our Upper School students were active in a number of community projects around Reno including: 

• helping with technology at Reno Senior Living at Sky Peaks
• clearing invasive species out of wetlands near Hidden Valley with Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation
• prepping meal packs and organizing thrift store inventory with Catholic Charities
• working with the Urban Roots Garden project prepping and planting
• working on our Go Baby Go project for Renown Hospital
• creating the design and collection marketing for our CANstruction project
• painting and working on interior improvements at the new Village at Sage Street recently funded by the Community Foundation 

All of this is about building our Pillars and putting them into action. While this is only one day, it is meant to be a foundation for our students to see that they can serve others at any age and to broaden their concept about what it means to serve. It can be fun. It is about making connections and friends with people from all ages and all walks of life. It makes a difference.

We want our students to be able to take their education and their character to do well and to do good. I call on all our community to serve - lead by example, get involved, offer our students opportunities to make a difference. Maybe it is better to go back several thousand years and quote Aristotle, “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” 

Service Day Conversation Starters for Parents

Ask your child...

1. Why is it important to serve others and Reno community organizations? 
2. What did you learn on Wednesday about the Reno community?
3. What impact will your work have on the Reno Community? 
4. What is one thing you did or learned on Wednesday that you can apply or connect to your home or school life?