Preserving KM's Courts

For our service project our group spent the afternoon raking up the tar and old tennis court surface surrounding KMHS's new courts. Rain and high winds worried us; we thought that the tar would be picked up and thrown back on to the new courts. If this would have happened the tar would have ruined our beautiful green courts! As dedicated teammates, we were determined to clean up the mess the workers had left behind. These courts benefit the whole community, and of course the tennis team, making this job very important!

Tar filled five trash barrels completely full.
We decided to do this for our project because as seniors we felt an obligation to maintain what we never had. We want future Laser's to experience home matches and have safe courts to play on. This service project was worth all the time and effort. After years of waiting, the community, and fellow Laser's will have six courts to be proud to call their own! Our small contribution to the courts will impact the community for years to come. Hopefully our efforts, as well as others, will keep our courts clean and safe for anyone to use. Overall our service project went perfectly! We got muddy and sweaty, but it was all worth it when we got to hold our first practice there the next morning. Every time we see the community use the courts it makes these rough jobs so much better! We plan to keep maintaining the courts throughout the rest of our season and for the rest of our year at KMHS.

Tri-M Induction

For my project we decided to help out a teacher in need. Ms. Lauren Roznowski is the head of Tri-M, a music honors society here at KMHS, and like every honors society, holds an induction ceremony for new and recurring members. At this ceremony new members, usually freshman, are welcomed into the Tri-M family, and recurring members are reminded of the oath they made towards music excellence. Being a member of Tri-M means beings a proficient musician by keeping an 4.5 or higher in their music class of choice and must show leadership by completing 8 hours of service, 2 of which must be made at a Tri-M sponsored event.

At the induction ceremony, new students are given a card of membership and a pin to proudly wear, and sensors are given a pink cord to peacock at graduation. Our job was to assist Ms. Roznowski’s very pregnant hands in organize all of the cords and pins to be ready for induction, ordered a cake to be served after the event, along with parents to cut and serve that cake and revised the script that is used at the ceremony. Also due to the large number of teens in attendance, assign seating is used. I wrote out the name of each student on to a note card and then taped it on to a seat in alphabetical order by grade. This is to insure that the correct card of membership goes the correct person in a quick and orderly fashion.

Finally it was important for us to do this project due to Ms. Roznowski’s condition. Although she has gained a bundle of joy to her life, she has lost the ability to move through the rows of the auditorium with speed and agility. Having us take on the responsibility of this event has lowered the amount of things she has had to do in this very busy time and put less strain on her body during set up.

-Jennifer M, Lili K, Megan H

Keeping it Clean

For our service project, we picked up litter at Cory Park and then picked up more along side county road CI and ZC. We have passed by these places on our way home and have realized just how much trash was piling up along side these roads. When picking up the trash we noticed how many families go to Cory Park to play. Cleaning up Cory Park will allow visitors to enjoy the area without having to worry about safety hazards such as trash laying in the grass or sand. Then we decided to travel to County Roads CI and ZC to pick up trash. There we picked up Car mirrors, people’s mail, and A LOT of newspaper, just to name a few. While picking up the litter, we also sorted them into three groups, paper, plastic, and other. We then disposed of the trash properly. Picking up the trash was a great way to help preserve the environment and we will definitely do it again! I can speak for all of us when saying that picking up the litter at these three places was a great experience. (The participants of this project were Tamma Miner, Maitlin Arts, and Haley Bohman)

Neighborhood Pickup

For my project, I decided to keep it close to home and pick up trash along the span of Bryn Drive, a 5 mile road that is a minute walk from my house. Unfortunately, this road has been known around my neighborhood for being quite littered, leaving the grass unhealthy and dying.

Once I started, I was surprised just how difficult it is to upkeep such a long span of road and was surprised to find a lot of unexpected things such as near full bottles of wine and hundreds of beer cans. In just one day of work, about 2 hours, I picked up over 70 beer cans.

This project was very rewarding because now every morning when I drive to school, and every afternoon when I come home, I drive along a litter-free road. Some of my neighbors even stopped and thanked me for doing something about the mess. I am glad I could make a difference so close to home.

Hope Heals

For my project, my confirmation group decided to go to the Hope center in Waukesha. At the Hope center, they help out all of the people in need in the area. Providing them with hot and fresh meals. My group went out to the center on Sunday, April 6th to go help make the breakfast, feed the people in need, and help unload the food truck. We decided to do this for my project because it was something that would be fun and different. Not a lot of us had gone out into the community and fed the homeless before so we thought it would be a great experience and we were right. The project itself went awesome. We all really learned a lot about the people, our area, and ourselves. It was a really neat experience helping out the people in need. It felt so great going out into the community and knowing you made a difference. There is no doubt I would go out and do this project again. We all helped get the food ready, organized and set up. After that we fed the line of people and got to know them more. After we cleaned up and helped unload a truck full of food for the next few meals. We all really got to know each other more throughout the process. Working together was a huge part of it. It was such a satisfying feeling knowing my group got to help out the people in need and community in such an amazing way. The people were so thankful and it really made me grateful. This project impacted me as an individual and made me realize how thankful for everything and meal I have. I would definitely do this project again and am looking forward to it!

A Different View of Life

My service project was to spend time with the residents of the Lake Country Rehabilitation Center in Oconomowoc.  Many of the residents there don't get a lot of visitors so I spent an afternoon there to get to know them better and see their view on life.  It was so nice to take a step back and really look at what is important in life.  We did really simple things such as putting together a puzzle, watch sports, play checkers, listen to and play music, and talked about everything and anything.  The residents enjoyed having me there so they could tell their stories.  At first they were shy but as the hours passed they opened up a lot and really enjoyed a change from their routine.  I decided to do this for my project because I know that while the Rehabilitation Centers provide excellent care, the residents get lonely.  I wanted to do a project that would have an immediate impact on people's lives.  My project went great! I learned that we should treasure the little things about life because in the end, that is what really matters. This project impacted the residents of the Rehab Center because it reminded them that there are people that care about them and that they are not alone.  It also impacted me a great deal because it reminded me of the importance of showing all people kindness.  Even the smallest things do so much. I look forward to hopefully seeing them again!

Neat Roofing

For my Project my family and I helped a family put a newroof on their house. A few mishaps occurred (I fell through)because their old roof was very rotted, but after two days the project was complete. We did everything from
taking off the old shingles, to replacing
the plywood, to putting down the new
layer of tar paper and shingles. All in all,
this was a great project, and with such a
a large task came an even greater sense of
accomplishment and reward from helping
for no reason other than to help.

Preparing Our Future Kettle Moraine Lasers

By: Genna Locke

For my project, I decided to dedicate my time and energy to a particular group of girls. Over the span of a couple of months, I volunteered to be the assistant volleyball coach for the eighth grade girls volleyball team. I helped the head coach, Michel DeLisle, in multiple ways. I helped to select and cut girls during tryouts, to organize and schedule practices, to run practices and drills, to create and rearrange lineups, to coach during games, and, most importantly, to help develop the skills of these young volleyball players.

When I was nine years old I developed a passion, one that continues to grow to this day, for the sport of volleyball. I have been fortunate enough to have access to multiple volleyball organizations such as leagues at the YMCA, club volleyball, middle school volleyball, and high school volleyball. I have always held a strong leadership role on every team that I have been apart of. The love that I have for the game and the thrill I get out of helping others has always driven me to become a coach. I have experienced that volleyball is not just a game, it forms friendships, encourages a healthy lifestyle, and provides an outlet for stress. I want young girls to have this opportunity to learn and to be a part of something great, like I did.

This project was one of the most satisfying and successful experiences of my life. I not only formed great relationships with the girls but I also had a lot of fun. We practiced, played games, had team dinners, and scrimmaged against each other. It was a lot of effort that I had to put forth, but noticing the substantial amount improvement in every girl and seeing the smiles on their faces every day made my time well spent.

Even though I volunteered to be the assistant coach, to help these girls improve, I often wonder who taught who. They would ask me questions about the game, the rules, or the techniques that I had never considered before. It made me wonder about certain aspects of the game and I learned something new everyday. More importantly, my ability to be authoritative and to be a leader, increased dramatically. I have learned how to be more patient, encouraging, helpful, inspiring, and more. I have applied this to many aspects of my life, such as, my education, my volleyball team, my friends and family. 

I like to believe that I positively influenced the lives of all sixteen girls on the eighth grade team. I was hoping to build the same passion, that I have for volleyball, in them. I wanted them to develop a skill that could be fun and beneficial. I tried to help them become the best that they could be, so that they could notice their improvement and have something to be proud of. Volleyball has always been the best outlet for me when I have been upset or stressed, and I wanted to give them the opportunity to use it as I do. I supplied them with all the knowledge that I have, hoping one day that they can utilize it to accomplish something great. I believe that, over the course of the last couple of months, that I have begun to have these effects on this group of girls.

Easing the Nerves of KM's Youth

.

For our NHS project, Elyse Bley and I (Carlee Dawson), chose to share out knowledge from past educational experiences with young fifth grade students who are moving on to middle school next year. On Thursday, April 24, 2014, we visited Cushing Elementary and spoke to two fifth grade teachers, Ms. Page and Mrs. Lex, and their classes. The students had taken a trip to the middle school earlier in the month and learned about the next three years of schooling experience. Elyse and I, however, wanted to not only broaden their knowledge, but to answer their questions and calm their nerves. The students from both classes asked a lot of questions so we knew just how anxious they were to take the next step in their lives and education. Along with what they were nervous about, we discussed their excitement and life skills such as time management and making proper choices; we really worked on emphasizing how middle school will affect their high school careers and thereby influence their lives beyond Kettle Moraine. Overall, the project impacted us because we were able to share our knowledge with kids and feel good about this future KM generation. It was especially rewarding after hearing just how much we impacted those Cushing Star fifth graders from one of the student who Elyse knows personally. The young girl said that she was "inspired" by us to do well and get/keep her grades up. According to her, all of the students were very interested and excited by what we had to say, and were very motivated. To know that we helped set these kids in the right direction in their education was rewarding in itself and reminded us of just how important it is to follow our own advice

 

Everyday Happiness

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded upon the powerful belief in kindness and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness.Our NHS group loved the idea of this organization and decided to join in! So we spent one weekend taking examples and challenges from the website and completed them to make some random stranger’s days a lot better!

Some of our random acts include buying coffee and desserts for random strangers at starbucks, leaving positive notes in dressing rooms on the mirrors, bringing in carts at convenient stores, taping quarters with positive notes on kid machines, as well as leave some popcorn and chocolate on the red box machine at the grocery store. With every act we left a note that states “RandomActsofKindness.org Pass It On.”

Many people gave us interesting looks as we completed each one, however, those who ended up receiving the notes or the coffees were overjoyed with the special little act that created a huge smile on their faces. Some who witnessed even applauded and praised the acts and opted to join in and pass on the generous gestures. For example the Starbucks manager gave us a free coffee claiming that he loved when he saw people demonstrating compassion and kindness.

The project was small and unique. But every drop of water helps create a wave. So even though we weren’t saving the world, we were making a small impact on an individual's day and creating a wave of multiple volunteers to partake and pass on Random Acts mission! It was a great experience, that we will continue to contribute to and hope you will too. Practice kindness, just by logging on!

Giving Back to Nature

For our service project we looked no further than our backyard. The forest that outlines our neighborhood is the unfortunate collector of garbage, and trash from the houses around the area. We decided that someone needed to take the initiative to clean up the mess that was in the forest, because it was not a healthy environment for the vast woods. We set out with garbage bags in hopes of cleaning up the mess. We were shocked how much trash there was in the forest, but thanks to our efforts the woods are now looking cleaner than ever. This removal of trash lends nature to grow properly and allows for everyone in our neighborhood to not have to see the distasteful trash that was littered in the forest. This way everyone can reap the full benefits that nature has to offer. This simple task of cleaning the forest truly helped us gain an appreciation for how important it is to keep our environment clean.
Andrew and Christopher Trafton