Section 'Sub' Navigation:
Community Service
Community Service: Special Olympics
Summer Tutoring TeamIn keeping with the school's mission to "assist students in becoming lifelong learners who will productively serve a world in need of our gifts," Priory promotes and models community involvement. Students will learn that being involved in one's community means service without expectation of reward and that privilege bestows responsibility. The Priory challenges students to live a life of integrity and to find purpose larger than the self. The Community Involvement Program's goal is to encourage students to address needs within the community by devoting their individual gifts and talents. Our hope is that students will build life-long relationships within the communities served, thus fostering a sense of extending themselves beyond the Priory.
Priory students in all grades are imbued with enthusiasm; "doing something" for causes they care about is a big part of campus life. Students volunteer time on the campus with jobs from tutoring to technical support. They renovate homes for people in need. They serve food at a community shelter, wash cars for the Red Cross, and help immigrants in their early days of adjusting to a new country. Students share these experiences and many others with their teachers through Service Learning projects organized on campus, on retreats, and in the classroom. The Campus Minister coordinates at least two after school service trips per month for students interested." Students also pursue volunteer experiences that they choose for themselves, with the support of the campus ministry program.
Students often meet with the Campus Minister in order to find individualized and purposeful volunteer placements. Each freshman, sophomore, and junior must complete at least ten community service hours per year. Forms are due to the Campus Ministry Office by May 1st. Senior projects fulfill the senior year community service requirement because the projects are service based. Service is defined in the following ways:
1.) Direct Service. Students' service directly affects and involves the recipients. The interactions are person-to-person and face-to-face, such as tutoring younger children or working with elders.
2.) Indirect Service. Indirect activities do no provide service to individuals but benefit the community or environment as a whole. Examples include restoring a wetland area, constructing park benches, or stocking a food pantry.
3.) Advocacy. The intent of advocacy is to create awareness of or promote action on an issue of public interest. Related activities include writing letters, sponsoring a town meeting, and public speaking.
View a complete list of community services!