MS Service Day Changes Lives

More than 200-Overlake Middle Schoolers took part in Tuesday’s Service Day in hopes of making their community a better place. 

With grade level themes Exploring Ecosystems and Habitats, Facing Poverty and Hunger, and Engaging with the Community, Overlake students fanned out across King County in a variety of projects.

Service Learning Director Jacqui Jackson says that just because kids weren’t in the classroom doesn’t mean that they weren’t learning. “Our work Tuesday didn’t solve the problem,” says Jackson. “They learned that the work they did in that one day is work that these organizations do every day. Yes, they had fun, but it’s also educational.”

She adds that Overlake students have a history of building connections with MS Service Day organizations, and it’s that pairing that many students use to build service hours in Upper School. “They find their passions and causes in these experiences, and that’s what we’re trying to do as an Overlake experiential education department,” explains Jackson. “Hopefully it lasts a lifetime.”

Overlake 5th graders stayed on campus for their Service Day experience. As part of their Caring for Public Spaces theme, they worked in gardens and planted trees. On Thursday, the students put names at their trees as a lasting reminder of their project. “When 5th graders are seniors, they’ll be Overlake lifers who know that they’ve made a difference on this campus the moment they stepped onto it. They’ll be able to come back to Overlake 50-years from now and share it with their grandkids who too may be going to Overlake,” says Jackson.

Click here for a photo gallery from Tuesday’s MS Service Day.