A Cleaner Course

Our project was to clean up Wales Community Park by picking up the abundance of trash located around the premises. We did a sweep of the entire park and filled almost 7 trash bags full of garbage. This impacts the general public that use the park for recreational activities. All the frolfers appreciated our work. Having grown up in Wales, the local areas are very important to us. As we drove past the park one day, we noticed the wind sweeping much litter about the grounds. This led us to decide to clean it up and do it for an NHS project. 

Our project went very well! It was very hot out and the work seemed very like hard labor at times, but we pulled through and finished it up. Also, as we were working, many passersby noticed the good deeds being done and wanted to help. We all learned that helping in the community affects more than just people but the environment as well. When people see good things being done, it creates a chain of good events, and everyone wants to help out. 

This impacted us because it caused a realization. The realization was helping out in the community is not very hard and can be achieved often! Once we were done with picking up the various trash, we headed back to a group member’s house to sort it. This task was just as disgusting as it may seem. However, we figured that in the long run, recycling the aluminum and plastic cans/bottles would have a better effect on the environment! The next hour and a half was spent sifting through the bags to capture these recyclables and dispose of them properly. Overall, it was a fun day in the sun!

Cookies for Christmas

During this holiday season I decided to make Christmas cookies for the Occonomowoc Food Pantry. Beginning in November my mom and I made various different kinds of cookies, and after about a month we had 27 different kinds ready to deliver to the pantry. On December 16th we made an assembly line of the cookies and boxed them up in Ziploc containers for families to bring home. We made about 30 containers, so this impacted the 30 families or individuals that got to bring home a little holiday cheer. This also was very much appreciated by the pantry during this busy time of year when they need food the most. I made the decision to do this project because my mom and I make dozens of cookies every year and wanted to donate the many cookies that we make to people who would really appreciated them.

My project went great. Although it took a lot of work to make all of the cookies and put them all in individual containers, the delivery to the pantry was seamless. The pantry was very happy to see the cookies come in, and were very quick about taking them and recording our donation. When we delivered our boxes there was a line out the door for people to receive food. In a place like Occonomowoc this was very surprising for me to see, and made me realize that not everyone in this area is as fortunate as most of the kids at Kettle Moraine. I hope to continue this project next year, and allow to bring holiday cheer to people that have very difficult lives.  This project allowed me to see the vast amount of less fortunate people in our area, and I would love to support helpful organizations like the Occonomowoc Food Pantry when I can. 

Lending A Helping Hand

Our project was to help a local neighbor in mulching his yard. Our group decided to help out after one of our group members talked to him at church. The impact was made immediately on him and his family.We decided to do this project after our group member was approached at church and asked if he was able to help mulch his yard. 

Everything went very smoothly and it was a pleasure to help someone local out. When we arrived at the house, we grabbed our rakes and shovels and spread out all nine yards of mulch. The man was very pleased and grateful for our help. As a group we learned that we don’t need to go all over the state to help somebody out. There is always someone local who will need your help just as much.

Pride in Cleanup

Walking the war memorial path down by the river in Delafield is a lovely way to both see nature and remember those who have served our country.  However, this feeling of beauty and national pride can be quickly replaced with indignation when, while walking along, visitors to the path are confronted with the sight of cans, bottles, wrappers, and other trash on the walkway around them.  Every day, many people discard garbage on the memorial walk and in the woods and riverbed around it instead of taking the time to find a garbage can to properly dispose of their trash. 

This littering, however insignificant it may seem, has a far greater impact when many individuals underestimate it.  One piece of garbage may not seem like much, but when a large number of people believe this and leave trash along public places such as the war memorial walk, it quickly adds up to be tens, hundreds, and even thousands of pieces.  This litter damages the habitat of the animals that live in the woods along the walkway, belittles the significance of the events that the memorial walk is commemorating, and generally takes away from the natural beauty of the walk itself.

Our group went down to the war memorial, cleaning up the path and the surrounding areas along the river.  We found everything from gum wrappers to soda bottles to pieces of sheet metal during our cleanup in the woods, with especially large amounts of trash in the areas closer to Cushing Park and the nearby fishing pond.  Some of the most interesting items that we found were golf balls, a piece of sheet metal, a love letter in a jewelry box, and three baseballs.

After the project was finished, it felt good to know that visitors to the park would be a cleaner place for both animals and visitors to the walk.  It was especially rewarding to realize that those who walk the path in the coming days will be able to focus less on the trash and more on the purpose of the walkway: celebrating both nature and our veterans.

Cleaning Up Wales One Step at a Time

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the great community of Wales-a perfect day to spend enjoying the outdoors, and more importantly, a perfect day to do some community service. On May 12^th, a small group of us met up at the high school and took on the bike trail-in search for trash.

Even though the project doesn't seem like something elaborate, it impacts our community in a surprisingly large way. Cleaning up trash, and keeping our bike trail clean helps make our lives cleaner and less polluted, as well as saving animals and just doing something good for the whole of our community. We went to the bike trail not expecting there to be a whole lot of garbage, however, came to find out how appalling it is that people in our community have no regard for the environment and cannot throw their trash away. It was amazing to see how much garbage and trash is lying right in our own backyards and clogging such a main attraction of our community.

We walked the bike trail for 2 hours picking garbage high and low, enjoying the outdoors as well as the compliments and thanks we received from locals using the bike trail for recreational use. It was amazing how many people stopped to thank us for what we were doing and how proud they were that the youth were involved in cleaning up our community. It made us feel important, and was definitely the largest reward one can get from giving their time and effort to the bettering of the community. A simple “thank you” for a good deed can really go a long way.  

As we finished the section we set out to clean up, we rounded up our trash and returned to the high school tired and blissful. It was really great to see just how much people appreciate a little bit of help in the community, as well as learning that even the simplest of things, like cleaning up trash on the bike trail, is a great way to help out the community. It isn’t all about raising money for a cause or donating items, but offering simply your time and effort to helping out the smaller issues in the community. 

A Day at St. Marcus

St. Marcus is a school in Milwaukee where classes are available on Saturdays for their students. Many think that attending school on a Saturday is outrageous, but the kids at St. Marcus embrace this opportunity. These kids attend school if they feel they need to better their education, or if their home life is not ideal. We provided 125 children lunch on April 20th along with tutoring and playing basketball. We were paired up one on one with another student and were able to assist them in their math and reading skills. However, these kids were not necessarily struggling in school. Many of them were excelling and working on material that might be a grade or two ahead.After studying, we provided a sloppy-joe lunch to the school. We had a chance then to interact with many of the kids. Finally, we had the chance to play a few games of basketball.Overall, the day at St. Marcus was extremely fun and entertaining.

The idea for this service came up through the basketball team which visited the school the previous year. It was humbling to see these students, grades 2-8, embrace their education in a way we have never seen before. We learned that there are kids that are less fortunate than we are, however, that is not an excuse for failure. Mr. Tyson, the school superintendent, was an inspirational man who loves each one of his students. He is the reason why kids at St. Marcus are so much more successful than at other schools in the city.  It was very inspiring to see such a great center for learning in an area of Milwaukee where kids are at risk of drugs, gangs, and violence. We would all do this project again in the future. We had an absolute blast with the kids and helped out the community as well. 

Blog Post

A Big Meal for a Big Cause

The Hebron House mission is to help stop homelessness in the country.  By housing residents, they provide a safe home, shelter, and meals. For our NHS project, we wanted to provide a meal for the Hebron House. We knew that we could relieve some stress by providing this service.  After a long grocery run and a few cooking lessons, we made enough lasagna, bread, salad, and dessert to feed a crowd.  Delivering the food made the whole experience worthwhile. The residents of the Hebron House were so grateful for what we did and we all would be willing to do it again in a heartbeat. After giving them a meal and seeing all of the joyous kids excited to eat, we concluded that we wanted to continue to help them.  A resident told us, “God bless you girls” and that will stick in our minds forever.  This project taught us that there are people who need help closer to us than we think and nothing is better than a nice home cooked meal.

It's Finally Summer

We have had a strange year, weather wise, but summer has finally come around. This means people want to have beautiful yards, want to go out and plant in their gardens. So, I decided I’d go around my neighborhood and see if anyone needed help with starting up their garden this summer. As luck had it, I had a friendly elderly woman who was thrilled at the idea of some free labor. So, for an afternoon I was helping out weeding her garden and placing pine chips. I actually learned a bit more about gardening while doing this, and got to my neighbor more which was pleasantly nice.

Senior Picture Day!

On Saturday, May 11th, a group of students went to River Hills West, a nursing home in Pewaukee, to help with Senior Picture Day! There were fifteen residents and their families who came to the building to have their pictures taken on a beautiful, but slightly overcast afternoon. 

The building's beauty staff spent the morning getting residents ready for their close-up and we arrived to help make sure everyone was getting the help they needed! The photographs were taken on the patio in front of the building, which is surrounded by a beautiful garden. The six students had an amazing time talking to the residents and their families, hearing their stories, and acting as test models for the photographer, Michael Tucker of M&J studios in Milwaukee.

Spread the Word to End the Word

For our project we created a video informing people about the harmful affects the word retard can have on others.  Our video featured both student and staff from Kettle Moraine talking about the word and the effect it has on them.  We created this video to go along with the best buddies campaign Spread the Word to End the Word that happens every March. Overall our project was extremely successful and we had a lot of support from people in the school.  Our video was shown to then entire school as well as to others in the community (we showed it to girl scouts in the area of badge day).  Overall we believe that our video was able to positively impact the majority of the people it was shown to, not only did it inform people of the harm they can cause by using the word retard but it helped people to understand what best buddies is.  

Turning Girls into Princesses

Every year there are many girls that are unable to afford a dress for a dance, whether it be homecoming, TWIRP, or prom. The Cinderella project is a nonprofit organization that hosts annual dress drives and also encourages any dress donations so that girls who are unable to afford dresses can go and pick out a dress for free. To help out, our NHS group decided to run a dress drive at KMHS to be able to collect and donate dresses to the Cinderella Project.

It means a lot to girls that are able to go out and buy a new dress for every dance occasion. Unfortunately, many girls do not have the same opportunities, so we wanted to help give back. From May 20th, 2013 through May 28th, we spread the word and were able to collect 14 dresses in good condition to be able to donate. 14 may not seem like a huge number, but it is nice knowing that 14 more girls will be able to have a nice dress to wear on a special occasion. This project showed us how fortunate we are and gave us an appreciation for community service and the importance of giving back.

Books between Neighbors

This project involved coordination with the Next Door Foundation’s program called “Books For Kids.” The Next Door Foundation is an education and social service center in Milwaukee. They serve nearly 500 children daily! They provide each child enrolled in their Head Start and Charter School Programs with two books per month from October to May. This program is in need of approximately 55,000 new and/or gently used books to distribute annually to students and the community. This National Honors Society project is a book drive dedicated to collecting materials for this cause.

It’s a shame that we take our ability to own and check out several books at a time for granted. This project teaches us that there is no need for excess: Even the old story books in the back of our closets never lose a purpose. This project has given young students the chance to learn something new and explore their imaginations. It has given us, as well, an appreciation for the neighbors we didn’t know we had. It has taught us about the importance of integrity and the art of giving. When an individual possesses a core of generosity, there is no room for waste.

The book drive is currently in progress (as of May, 31) and will extend until June 7^th. The books will be brought to the NDF center on the 12^th- so it isn’t too late to donate! This project was chosen due to a love of books- stories make passionate gifts. What better way to strengthen the community than to educate and entertain each other? 

The Caring Place

Most people know there are daycares for babies and toddlers to care for the kids while mom and dad are away. However, many people do not know that there are daycares for senior citizens as well. In Waukesha there is a daycare called The Caring Place where elderly citizens go and many have dementia and other diseases. Our group decided to spend several days in the summer volunteering at the Caring Place. The individuals here just received some brand new musical instruments but they do not know how to play them so we are going to devote our time as music teachers. We will play our own musical instruments for them so they get a sense of how they sound and what can be done with them and then we will teach them how to use them as well. It will give the senior citizens something fun and creative to do while at their daycare.

A Kettle Moraine Middle School raised over $500 to buy the people at the Caring Place musical instruments. She did this especially for her grandma who she is very close to and is at the Caring Place for dementia. The people there love music and rarely get a chance to learn music or experience music. Our group decided to use our musical talents and share them with the senior citizens at this daycare so they can enjoy music in their lives.

Our project occurs over the summer but I think it will be a great learning experience for us being able to work with individuals with dementia and other illnesses.

This project directly influences the senior citizens at the Caring Place. Music can make anyone's day better so it will be nice for them to brighten their day by playing a musical instrument. It will give the senior citizens something new to try and something fun to learn while they spend the day at the daycare where they tend to do the same thing over and over. This will be an experience for them and hopefully they enjoy learning the instruments and will get much use out of them even when we’re done teaching them. Knowing how to play a musical instrument will give them something to pass the time at the Caring Place and learn a new skill.

I think our group will learn how to communicate better with people in an older generation. Most people our age know how to interact with other students and teachers but many of us do not know how to interact with senior citizens. These particular senior citizens also have dementia and other illnesses so I think it will be an eye opener and will teach us patience .

A Cleaner Wales

The service project completed consisted of cleaning up garbage off of the side of a road in Wales, Wisconsin.  The project, now completed, impacts the people that drive through that area.  The road was littered with trash while the two of us were driving down it.  We decided that the road needed some help because of the quantity of trash there.  The project was a complete success, as each of us picked up two bags full of trash.  What the two of us got out of the project was that the area can be improved by simply picking up trash in the area.  It can make someplace look much better, and it is healthier too.  The project should allow people to not see trash as they drive down the side of the road.  

Young Authors and Artists and... Musicians?

Students Represent KM in Milwaukee

Many KM students attend the Young Authors and Artists conference at the Milwaukee Art Museum. This year the conference also offered an opportunity for community service. Kettle Moraine students were asked to find musicians to play during breaks  and set up a playlist for the day long conference. The playing went well, and at the end of the day, after talking with many students and teachers from all over Wisconsin, they felt like they represented their school in a positive way while also helping people enjoy their time at the museum more.

Kindergarten Helpers

Education is a vital part of life, but sometimes teachers need someone besides themselves to help give their students the best education they can. Our group realized that teachers do sometimes need help, and we figured that help would be most needed in a kindergarten classroom. We helped in Mrs. Barndt’s kindergarten class at Wales Elementary throughout much of the school year.

During our project, we helped Mrs. Barndt prepare projects for the kindergarteners, we helped the students make projects, we helped them learn counting and their alphabet by playing games, and we also helped Mrs. Barndt test their progress on these concepts. We had a lot of fun getting to interact with the kids and helping them grow along the way. We realized that they really look up to older students as their role models, and wanted to learn as much about us as they could. 

We hoped to help them gain the knowledge necessary to continue in school, but we also wanted to help them by being good role models. When we realized how much they look up to us, we wanted to be the best role models we could be and this affected how we act around younger students now because we know how much we can affect their actions. Our project also made some of the year easier on Mrs. Barndt which she is grateful for. The experience of helping younger students is like no other, and has positively affected our outlook on education and the mindset of younger students.