Community Service
Community Service Day
Each year in October, the Buckley School hosts its annual day of service for the entire school community. All Buckley members (parents, students, faculty and staff) are invited to participate. Roughly 500 members of the community are dispatched each year to multiple sites in the surrounding area. The school comes together to benefit a wide array of groups and organizations. Service at past volunteer sites has included volunteering with: local veterans, environmental groups, senior citizens, economically disadvantaged youth and local schools. Community Service Day is a wonderful way of bringing together the Buckley family to both understand and serve the needs of others.
The Buckley Community Service Committee is always looking for new sites that can accommodate 50 or more people. To suggest a site, please email buckleycommunityservice@buckley.org.
Click here to register for Community Service Day October 10, 2009
6th Grade
Students in sixth grade are involved in a service-learning project concerning homeless youth. Students first focus on this issue in their English class, where they read a novel based on the experiences of a homeless youth. As the year progresses, a guest speaker from Women’s Care Cottage, a local agency dealing with homeless mothers and children, comes in to educate the students. Students then volunteer on a Saturday morning, working to enhance the shelter’s facility by planting flowers and organizing center supplies. In December, the sixth grade class adopts three homeless families for the holidays. Near the end of the year, students organize a drive for materials the shelter needs, such as personal hygiene items.
7th Grade
Students in seventh grade participate in service-learning projects surrounding the area of veterans. First, after reading a novel in English and studying World War II in history, students attend a Veteran’s Award Ceremony and interview individual veterans. They then write reports about the veterans that are later presented to them. Other veteran’s projects are also held throughout the year.
8th Grade
Students in eighth grade participate in a service-learning project concerning the environment. As part of the eighth grade science curriculum, students learn about native plants and the local environment. They then become stewards of the Buckley Nature Trail working to maintain and further develop the trail. Students also fundraise to help develop nature trail exhibits and buy plants and seeds to enhance the trail. They also create displays and mini-lessons for our elementary students which tie into the nature trail and science curriculum.
9th Grade
The theme of the ninth grade service project is “Giving Back to our School.” Students complete 20 hours of service on the school campus. Throughout the year they complete a wide variety of tasks that greatly add to campus life. Students may choose to spend their hours assisting faculty and staff, working on special events, or participating in grade level projects. One such project ties classroom learning with one of today’s major social issues, HIV/Aids. Biology students cover various aspects of the virus and volunteer to walk in the California AIDS Walk.
10th Grade
Students in the tenth grade are asked to explore a variety of community service options while completing their 20 hours. The areas of service may include working with isolated senior citizens, disabled youth and adults, and homeless or low-income people. Much of their volunteer work is done during community service week, when organized trips are taken to local agencies. In one special project, the tenth grade class organizes a campus blood drive in association with the American Red Cross.
11th Grade
The theme of the eleventh grade service project is “Giving Back to our Environment.” Students complete 20 hours of service doing a wide variety of activities. From working with abused or neglected animals, to planting trees in the local area, the tasks involve enhancing or building a better environment. Students who choose to do so can begin a long term project this year which will span the 11th and 12th grade in a variety of areas after consultation with the community service director.
12th Grade
The theme of the twelfth grade service project is “Giving Back to our Community.” Students complete 30 hours doing individual service projects that utilize seniors’ talents and abilities so that those who are less fortunate benefit from their actions and attentions. This work is done through a number of agencies in the Los Angeles area. Students are encouraged to develop individual relationships with the agency and clients they serve through their volunteer commitment.
See Inside Buckley, Publications and Forms for all Community Service forms.