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CAMPUS
SERVICE
SQUID is a campus clean-up program designed to help students take responsibility for their actions, promote pride in the campus, and gain a sense of ownership of Harvard‑Westlake. Students are required to perform SQUID service after school or during lunch, depending on their grade. Seventh- and eighth-grade students participate one day after school each year by helping to maintain the cleanliness of the campus. With a faculty volunteer, they pick up trash, clean tables, and generally maintain the campus. Ninth-grade students are given a special leadership opportunity. They serve three periods a year as lunch monitors, encouraging and helping students and faculty to maintain the cleanliness of the common eating areas. Students may sign up for a convenient time in a specific quarter to fulfill their obligation.
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COMMUNITY SERVICE
The community service program has two major objectives: 1) to provide students with firsthand knowledge of some major social problems and to create in them a sense of responsibility for helping to solve those problems; and 2) to develop a sense of genuine cooperation and community spirit within the school.
Harvard‑Westlake students are expected to participate in community service outreach every year. In the middle school, students who choose to do a school-organized activity complete their outreach requirement by working with a faculty leader and other students. A calendar of school-organized outreach activities is available on the middle school community service website at http://students.hw.com/msoutreach. This past year, seventh-grade students worked on projects involving environmental issues, animal concerns, and people with special needs; eighth-grade students organized campus drives and worked with Mar Vista Head Start; and ninth-grade students chose from among a variety of activities, including working with elementary school children, senior citizens, and the environment. Seventh-grade students attend a community service class once each cycle for one quarter of the school year in addition to doing outreach to fulfill their required twelve hours of community service. Students in grades 8 and 9 are required to undertake twelve hours of outreach service each year.
Students in grades 8 and 9 may fulfill their community service obligations during the summer and/or outside of school during the school year by having an independent contract with the appropriate community service coordinator. Students who are interested in working with people are required to work with or for organizations that help an underserved community (people who are physically, emotionally, and/or economically disadvantaged). Students must complete their grade-level community service requirement before registering for the next grade.
In addition to specific academic standards, students must have completed their assigned school service and their grade-level community service outreach before the end of the school year to be eligible for honor roll. Throughout the year, students are also invited to participate in community service-related projects such as Pathways, the middle school community service magazine, and drives for food, new toys, and other items.
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SCHOOL SERVICE
Scheduled school service is required for one semester each year for all students in grades 8 and 9. Students are assigned to help in a particular office or work in an area on campus. Some of the middle school work sites include the attendance office, library, physical education office, technology center, and art studio.
Volunteer school service is nonassigned service that helps on campus or at all-school events. This volunteer work can include working at school events, such as Back-to-School Day or Homecoming, ushering at performing arts productions, and/or volunteering to do additional school service.
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HUMANITAS
The Humanitas award recognizes eighth- and ninth-grade students who demonstrate a great commitment to community service. The recipients of this honor are determined by the Humanitas Selection Committee composed of the community service advisors, grade-level deans, the head of the middle school, and the vice-president. Students must apply to be considered. Because this award is based on demonstrating outstanding citizenship on campus and in the greater community, selection is based not only on fulfilling requirements, but also on the quality of service given. Middle school students may apply for Humanitas in December of their eighth- and ninth-grade years. Students eligible to apply are those who meet the following criteria:
- A minimum of twenty-seven hours of community outreach service between January and December of the calendar year. Fifteen of the twenty-seven hours must be done outside of the school program. All twenty-seven hours may be done outside the school program.
- Completion of scheduled school service. This on-campus work is assigned to eighth- and ninth-grade students each year for one semester.
- At least four hours of volunteer school service between January and December of the calendar year.
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(from the 2008-2009 Curriculum Guide) |
