The Steward School
From the Headmaster·s Desk CONNECTION Steward Students: Making An Impact On The Community Anyone who attended Family Fun Night might have noticed a new addition to the evening's activities--class booths operated by the Upper School featuring car washing, cupcake decorating, face painting and some gruesome Halloween bandaging. These activities not only added to the class treasury; they also provided students the opportunity to work and have fun together as a class. Through these and similar projects, students learn teamwork, cooperation , responsibility, and the class begins to identify itself as a distinctive group within the school family. With these benefits in mind , we have placed a special emphasis on class and student projects this year. Many of these activities go beyond the confines of the Steward campus and involve a variety of service and charitable efforts that involve our students in the greater Richmond community . Here are some noteworthy examples . The seniors are volunteering their time to CARITAS, a program that provides shelter and meals for the homeless on weekends and is hosted by a number of area churches. On November 15th, Steward seniors will buy, prepare , serve meals and clean up afterwards when River Road Methodist hosts the program . The juniors are donating their time to a boys ' home and a downtown soup kitchen. Sophomores are hosting the traditional student-teacher basketball game which is a fund-raiser for their favorite charity. The 9th graders are coordinating the "Warm for Winter" project collecting blankets, jackets, sweaters and gloves for the needy. These activities are not limited to the Upper School. In anticipation of the holidays, the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders are planning a musical program and goodwill visit to Lakewood Manor and Ginter Hall, area homes for the elderly. The entire Lower School will be supporting refugee families who have come to the U.S. from Haiti, Vietnam, Bosnia and Mexico. The Middle School will also be sponsoring needy families through the Henrico County Christmas Mother. These holiday projects can be especially meaningful because students can see their efforts have a direct and personal benefit on others. This helps our students empathize and understand the needs of those less fortunate . These activities that I mention only scratch the surface. They do not include the individual commitments of our students (and teachers) and the other service opportunities made available during Altemate Program . In recent years, many schools have started to require service for graduation. I suspect that if we imposed such a requirement at Steward that most of our students would exceed the standard in short time. As a group and as individuals, Steward students are making an impact on their community in innumerable of ways . This commitment is an inseparable part of the Steward experience. At Steward, service is part of our culture and expectation for all students because in doing for others we learn about ourselves and our world .
In this issue November 1994 •
The Alternate Program
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Athletic Wrap-Up
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The Lower School Report
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In the Middle
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Upper School Highlights
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Senior Spotlight
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Trips and Treats
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Math & Science
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Model United Nations
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Community Service
...and much more!
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The Blue and Gold Conneclion is published monlhly in an effort to improve communications within the school family.