Text by SANDHYA KRISHNAN
Photo by MADELYN CASTRO
A dedicated day of service The “service above self ” team returns for the first inperson Paly Service Day in three years
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t 8:30 a.m, 100 students gather around the Haymarket Theater in anticipation. Buses fill the parking lot while students queue in the courtyard, waiting for their free breakfast. This is all the start of Palo Alto High School’s annual Service Day. Paly Service Day allows students across all grades to participate in comFreshmen, part of Palo Alto High School’s TEAM program, are shoveling excess weeds at Gamble munity service projects both on and off Gardens as part of Paly Service Day. Paly Service Day is an annual event where students are able to campus, and gives the opportunities to participate in community service, but has been canceled for the past two years due to COVID-19. “This earn community service hours. year’s Service Day was a lot more different because it was finally in person,” YCS-Interact co-president “This year we had five off-campus Simona Yau-Chan said. sites, four of which were in Palo Alto and one in San Mateo,” junior and Paly projects at school and contribute to an or- taria said. “I got to know more people better YCS-Interact club co-president, Simona ganization. “This year we made blankets for dogs because I was on a bus with no one else Yau-Chan said. “We wanted to give students the option to choose their off-cam- and other pets to give to the Palo Alto that I previously was close friends with,” Humane Soci- freshman and TEAM student Nithila pus site based on the ety,” junior and Subramanian added. type of community Both Kataria and Subramanian said service they wanted “ I ’m actually really sat- Paly Service Club co-president Ajin they would definitely attend Paly Service to do.” isfied, especially because Jeong said. “I was Day again in the following years. The projects For the future, Paly’s YCS-Interact off campus ranged our whole entire leader- really impressed from local work like ship board were all really by the amount of Club hopes to incorporate more schoolblankets we were wide service events. gardening, to packable to make. It “I’m actually really satisfied, espeaging care items for new to this.” was way more cially because our whole entire leadership homeless shelters. — SIMONA YAU-CHAN, Paly YCS-Inthan I had ex- board were all really new to this,” YauBoth Paly Serteract co-president pected.” Chan said. “It was all really unknown to vice Club and Paly In addition, us because we had not had the experience Key club are community-service-based clubs, who publicize participation in Paly Service Day for both of an in-person day from the past years.” “I think for next year, I think we opportunities for students. They worked on or off campus became mandatory for alongside Paly YCS-Interact to help create freshmen who are part of Paly’s “Togeth- should get more involvement for on-camon campus service opportunities for stu- er Everyone Achieves More” program, or pus activities,” Yau-Chan said. “Asking a TEAM. few teachers if they wanted to do service dents who did not wish to leave campus. “I definitely have a lot of sympathy projects during their class time, and just While some students ventured to off-campus activities, on-campus students for people who have to do this everyday,” having way more students participate were able to still participate in service freshman and TEAM student Aavriti Ka- would be a really good start.”
18 May 2022
