Community Service

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

Students are required to complete 10 hours of community service each year (see below). Membership in honor societies also carries an additional service requirement. It is our hope that by having nominal service requirements, our students will develop a commitment to community involvement and service. There’s good evidence to support this concept.

The National Association of Independent Schools compiles a remarkable number of statistics on independent schools and other types of schools. Following are a couple of excerpts from one of the NAIS reports regarding graduates of independent schools:

They volunteer more. Private high school students are four times more likely than public high school students to have a community service requirement for graduation, according to “Private Schools: A Brief Portrait.” “The Freshman Survey Trends Report,” a survey of first-year college students that’s conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute, found that 90 percent of independent school students had participated in volunteer work in the preceding year.

They’re more likely to become involved as citizens. Both the “National Educational Longitudinal Study” and the “Freshman Survey Trends Report” showed that graduates of independent schools were more active in civic life as young adults. Whereas 57% of all the students who participated in the “National Educational Longitudinal Study” voted in a presidential election as young adults, 75% of participating students from independent schools did so. Independent school graduates were also nearly twice as likely to volunteer to work for a political campaign than the group of students as a whole.

Source: 2008-09 National Association of Independent Schools StatsOnline Survey and 2008-09 Facts at a Glance

We recognize that issues like available time and transportation affect families’ abilities to assist students in fulfilling service requirements, so school personnel are committed to creating some opportunities for student service work. The sponsors of our honor societies take some of this responsibility and there is a student service organization called Interact Club which exists specifically to perform community service.

The Interact Club is a high school outreach program of the service organization Rotary International. Rotary’s motto of “service above self” communicates clearly a fundamental reason why adults join local Rotary clubs. Trinity Collegiate’s Interact Club is sponsored by the Florence Breakfast Rotary Club and they have provided a Rotarian to assist us in creating some opportunities for TCS students. If parents want to get involved or have suggestions for our Interact Club or our honor societies’ service work, please contact the Head of School.

COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIREMENT
In addition to academic credits, students are expected to participate in school or community service, either individually or through membership in school-sponsored clubs or organizations. Community service done outside of school sponsorship must be unpaid and through a bona fide charitable organization. Household chores, babysitting, helping neighbors, etc. are not considered acceptable service activities.

Promotion to the next grade requires the completion and documentation of a minimum of 10 hours of school and/or community service each year. Likewise, continued membership in some organizations, such as the National Honor Society, requires additional service hours.

The inclusion of these community service activities in a student’s college application portfolio is an important factor in admission decisions at many colleges and universities. Students who fail to complete this requirement during the school year must do school service work in the summer and report cards/transcripts will be held until this requirement is satisfied. Students whose documented service work exceeds 50 hours in a year receive special recognition at the Academic Awards program in the spring.

Click here to download Community Service Record sheet


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Homework Forms Facebook TCS Today Job Opportunities CONTACT US Athletics Admissions Headmaster Business Office		Community Service THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE Students are required to complete 10 hours of community service each year (see below). Membership in honor societies also carries an additional service requirement. It is our hope that by having nominal service requirements, our students will develop a commitment to community involvement and service. There’s good evidence to support this concept. The National Association of Independent Schools compiles a remarkable number of statistics on independent schools and other types of schools. Following are a couple of excerpts from one of the NAIS reports regarding graduates of independent schools: They volunteer more. Private high school students are four times more likely than public high school students to have a community service requirement for graduation, according to “Private Schools: A Brief Portrait.” “The Freshman Survey Trends Report,” a survey of first-year college students that’s conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute, found that 90 percent of independent school students had participated in volunteer work in the preceding year. They’re more likely to become involved as citizens. Both the “National Educational Longitudinal Study” and the “Freshman Survey Trends Report” showed that graduates of independent schools were more active in civic life as young adults. Whereas 57% of all the students who participated in the “National Educational Longitudinal Study” voted in a presidential election as young adults, 75% of participating students from independent schools did so. Independent school graduates were also nearly twice as likely to volunteer to work for a political campaign than the group of students as a whole. Source: 2008-09 National Association of Independent Schools StatsOnline Survey and 2008-09 Facts at a Glance We recognize that issues like available time and transportation affect families’ abilities to assist students in fulfilling service requirements, so school personnel are committed to creating some opportunities for student service work. The sponsors of our honor societies take some of this responsibility and there is a student service organization called Interact Club which exists specifically to perform community service. The Interact Club is a high school outreach program of the service organization Rotary International. Rotary’s motto of “service above self” communicates clearly a fundamental reason why adults join local Rotary clubs. Trinity Collegiate’s Interact Club is sponsored by the Florence Breakfast Rotary Club and they have provided a Rotarian to assist us in creating some opportunities for TCS students. If parents want to get involved or have suggestions for our Interact Club or our honor societies’ service work, please contact the Head of School. COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIREMENT In addition to academic credits, students are expected to participate in school or community service, either individually or through membership in school-sponsored clubs or organizations. Community service done outside of school sponsorship must be unpaid and through a bona fide charitable organization. Household chores, babysitting, helping neighbors, etc. are not considered acceptable service activities. Promotion to the next grade requires the completion and documentation of a minimum of 10 hours of school and/or community service each year. Likewise, continued membership in some organizations, such as the National Honor Society, requires additional service hours. The inclusion of these community service activities in a student’s college application portfolio is an important factor in admission decisions at many colleges and universities. Students who fail to complete this requirement during the school year must do school service work in the summer and report cards/transcripts will be held until this requirement is satisfied. Students whose documented service work exceeds 50 hours in a year receive special recognition at the Academic Awards program in the spring. Click here to download Community Service Record sheet