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    Service-Learning Opportunities:

    I am moving this section to the top for more visibility. Of course, some opportunities can be found in x2VOL.com, but I will post GCS sponsored events and any other opportunities I hear about here. Below are some upcoming events/needs that you might be interested in:

                      

     

     

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    Service-Learning: What is it?

    A way of teaching and learning that connects positive and meaningful action in the community with academic learning, personal growth, social emotional engagement, and civic responsibility. Service-Learning helps develop citizenship and good character while providing direct connections to the academic curriculum.

     

    Service-Learning: Achievable in all Grades

     

    Please follow these steps to ensure you receive credit for your Service-Learning Project:

     Service-Learning Process

     

    Important Documents, Forms, and Dates:

    Service Learning Handbook

    Service-Learning Pre-Approval Form (School Year 2024/2025)

    ALL pre-approvals must occur PRIOR to service as indicated in the diagram above. If a pre-approval form is not complete, hours will be denied. This electronic form has been a county requirement since January 1, 2023.

      • All summer projects MUST have a pre-approval submitted PRIOR to the start of your service. If it is not submitted prior to service, your submission will be denied in x2VOL.

     (Please note - the SL coordinator does not work through the summer, but will check SL periodically.)

      • The last day to submit a pre-approval Semester 1 (Qtr 1 & 2) is December 31.
      • The last day for seniors to submit pre-approvals is March 2025.
      • The last day to submit a pre-approval for Semester 2 (Qtr 3 & 4 for underclassmen) is May 2025 
      • NOTE - students working on summer projects can start submitting pre-approvals on June 8, 2024. 

    Service Learning Hours Log  (Please use this log to keep a record of the hours you completed for long-term projects. It will aid you in yous x2VOL submission. You can even upload it directly in x2VOL instead of listing dates and hours for each day of service, which is required.)

    x2VOL

      • The last day to submit hours in x2VOL for seniors is April 2025.
      • The last day to submit hours in x2VOL for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors is May 2025. 

    Tutorials:

    How to set up your x2VOL account

    x2vol Student Registration Powerpoint

     

    FAQ:

    x2vol Frequently Asked Questions

     

    What are the benefits of Service-Learning for Students?

    • Prepare for a Changing World
    • Learn the Importance of Collaboration & Teamwork
    • Develop Critical Thinking Skills and Innovative Ideas
    • Become Creative Problem Solvers
    • Develop Global Awareness
    • Connect with people while developing skills
    • CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

    What is a thoughtful reflection?

    A thoughtful reflection requires you to analyze your experience. It requires you to make a connection between the service you provided and something you have learned in the classroom. To write a thoughtful reflection, you should be reflecting on your service, and asking yourself questions like the following:

    • What skills did I take from the classroom to perform this service-learning project?  *This is key to making that service-learning connection!
    • What did I accomplish? What did I learn from completing this service?
    • What did I learn about myself? What did I learn about my community?
    • How was I challenged? 
    • How did I grow as a result of performing this service?
    • How did this project address a need or issue in my community?
    • What is important about what I did for this organization?
    • Who will benefit from my time and how?
    • How well did I do? What could I do differently in the future? How can I apply this moving forward?
    • How can I use this knowledge in the future? In the classroom? In my future employment?
    • What impact did this service-learning have on me? How do I view things differently now?
    • What information can I now share with others?

    Below are some great, thoughtful reflection samples from your peers at Northern High:

    1. "The service I provided has many classroom connections. Taking AP Physics has improved my ability to help the kids with their robots by being able to better predict and understand how the robots will function and move. The students also have to produce solutions to a given real-world problem and show their solution through a written medium. AP Literature and AP Lang have both improved my writing skills immensely, which allows me to better mentor the kids and teach them proper writing techniques."
    2. "I learned how important it is to keep our roads (and school grounds) and environment clean - not just for ourselves, but for everyone in our community. The grounds around our school are a reflection of us as students, and we should take pride and protect these areas. This project can be directly related to things we have studied in Earth & Environmental Science. Not all garbage decomposes and even some garbage that does decompose will leave harmful chemicals in the soil as it breaks down. These harmful chemicals can kill the grass or keep future landscaping from growing. It's important to take pride in our school and to protect the areas around it. Not only for ourselves while we are students here at Northern, but also for the benefit of future students.
    3. "One thing I learned at school that helped me during this experience is calmness. When working with kids, you have to be calm with them because you don't want to make them upset. When being calm with them in helping them read, they feel at peace and not judged. Sometimes though, kids do get upset if they can't read or pronounce a certain word, but you need to have a calm presence so that they don't get upset if they can't do something. Telling them that it is ok and they can do it, [are] amazing words of encouragement that they love to hear. I take child development at school and I have learned the gross and fine motor skills that kids should be reaching at certain ages and that has helped during this process. Another thing that I learned in the classroom that I took with me was how to react when students get upset and how to use language that helps them calm down and breathe through their reading. During this reading buddies session, I learned that every person learns at their speed and has different ways of learning. Each student has their specific ways of learning that help them and you have to learn and understand them to help that student out. Even though the kids might all be in the same class and around the same age, they all learn and receive information and education at different degrees. 

    SERVICE LEARNING RECOGNITIONS:

    Hours

    Please remember - GCS policy: hours must be submitted within the semester that they are completed. Hours completed from June-December must be entered into x2vol by the end of 2nd Quarter. *Please do not complete service-learning hours without first submitting your pre-approval form. SL pre-approval forms must be submitted within the semester that service is completed with the organization and should be submitted PRIOR to beginning service.  If a student is working on a yearlong project, please submit a Pre-Approval Form for each semester since you will make at least two separate submissions in x2VOL. 
     
    Hours completed from January-May must be entered by the end of May.
     
    *Graduating Seniors:
      - FINAL submission for all Service-Learning Approval Forms is the 3rd Wednesday in March (3/20/24)
      - FINAL submission for all Service-Learning hours and Teacher Documentation Forms for seniors into x2VOL is the (4/17/24)
    No exceptions!  
     

    SOME EXAMPLES OF SERVICE-LEARNING

    Service-Learning is more than just simple volunteering. In the process of service to their school and/or community, students learn a lot about themselves and their responsibilities as a citizen while making connections with what they are learning in schools.

    Service-Learning: EXAMPLE 1

    • 1. Coordinating a community marathon is service.
    • 2. Measuring body mass index is learning
    • 3. Calculating the average BMI of a school, setting up a website to gather statistics, then organizing a “Walk across North Carolina” to help reduce obesity is service-learning.

    Service-Learning: EXAMPLE 2

    • 1. Picking up trash on a riverbank is service.
    • 2. Studying water samples under a microscope is learning.
    • 3. Science students collecting and analyzing water samples, documenting their results and presenting their findings to a local pollution control agency is service-learning.

    How Students Engage in Service-Learning

    1. Students can participate in service-learning experiences through GCS classes/clubs. GCS staff should complete a Teacher Documentation Form found on x2vol.

    2. Students can find some opportunities in x2vol.

    3. Students can participate in service-learning experiences independently through non-profit community-based service-learning projects.