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From the Superintendent...
As we head into the holiday season, our schools, staff and students are preparing to celebrate the season following many past traditions. This is often true of our own personal families and heritage as well. In our school arena, the anchoring of our past traditions and celebrations help to promote and foster a sense of students belonging within our school community. Many exciting activities occur in classrooms and schools throughout our district each day to build connections to the community. An integral part of our Spartan Way core values is to develop responsibility and build compassion towards others and help grow young adults who will be good citizens and supportive of people in need.
It is exciting to see this caring attitude develop in our students. Some recent examples of our students’ service work in action includes Middle School students and staff from within one of our School Within A School communities collectively raised more than $1600 in less than one week to help build a school in Africa. This fundraising activity was spearheaded by one of our 7th graders, and it was the largest donation the Build a School in Africa Foundation has ever received from a private organization. Similarly, our Walt Disney Service Club students collected $336 in loose change to donate those monies to our High School’s Service Club’s effort to help families in our community. Students in our High School Dynamics of Citizenship class made “foster care packs” of backpacks, supplies, and blankets and donated them to the Children Awaiting Parents Agency.
Over the next several weeks our students will continue to give back to the community through Service Learning projects at the High School; the winter coat drive at the Middle School; the “Helping Hands” food drive at Paul Road School; the “Mitten Tree” collections at Walt Disney and Florence Brasser Schools; and the gift collection at Neil Armstrong, where students and staff plan to fill the principal’s office with gifts to donate to the Hillside Children Center.
These examples and upcoming events highlight Gates Chili’s mission statement that “each day we create the right conditions for learning” exemplifying the Spartan values of Respect, Responsibility, Compassion and Hard Work.
I believe that this emphasis builds our students’ character as we pursue academic excellence for all.
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