Senior School students at Trinity College School are excited to be on the cusp of the Week Without Walls service learning experience! On Friday, December 1st, students will meet with their site groups to begin planning for a week of giving back, December 4th to 8th.
In fact, a group of students led by faculty member Rachel Stephens has already been busy at work, hosting a fair trade sale on behalf of the Ten Thousand Villages store on November 27th.
While our students here at TCS are preparing to serve with community partners located in Northumberland, Durham, Peterborough/Kawartha and Quinte regions, two groups are setting off for international service trips. Departing on November 30th are 18 students plus chaperones Luke O’Connell and Tim Clutton, heading to Panama to spend 10 days working with and learning from local community members. On December 1st, eight students and chaperones Brandon Black and Taylor Herrington will leave for a week at the Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas, where they will participate in volunteer activities and learning about the environment.
Back at home, on Monday the local service groups will meet up once again to put final preparations in place. Then, for three afternoons from December 5th to 7th, the groups will undertake their projects, heading into the community to serve or working on initiatives here on campus. There are nearly 70 community partners/service sites involved in this year’s Week Without Walls. New service sites and initiatives this year include a group knitting warm mittens for folks in need and hats to be donated to the neonatal intensive care unit for premature infants, and another group serving with the Minds-On tutoring program. This year also sees the return of some past community partners such as Beyond the Blue Box, Hope Street Terrace and Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre.
On Friday, December 8th, Week Without Walls will wrap up here on campus with each group taking part in a debrief session. This allows students the chance to discuss their experience and also to consider how they might continue to serve and support local organizations long after this week is over. Then, everyone will head to the Dick and Jane LeVan Theatre to hear from a special guest speaker and watch the always-anticipated Week Without Walls video created by a talented group of students!
Students and staff alike are honoured to be able to work alongside our community partners to help give back, and you can share in their journey. Photos and insights will be available throughout Week Without Walls on our TCS social media channels:
Join us as we reaffirm the power of positive change through service to others!
