School Life
Community Service
Community Service at SJS
When St. John’s students discover a need in their community, they give their most precious commodities—their time and effort. Community Service opportunities are developmentally appropriate and differ for students in each division. Based on the mission of St. John’s School, the program encourages all members of the St. John’s family to become aware of societal needs, both within and beyond our school. The goal is to engage them in personal and direct interaction with people and the environment so that they will discover, share, and grow in their gifts through interpersonal experience, education, and reflection. Each division of the school is led by a faculty coordinator, and in Upper School, the coordinator is joined by a student Board of Officers. As our students develop, each service opportunity becomes increasingly student-driven and directed.
Lower School
Lower School students are engaged in meaningful projects that develop a habit of service and foster an awareness of needs outside the confines of St. John’s. Projects are planned and coordinated through faculty sponsors, Student Council representatives, and Lower School parents. We strive to plan as many opportunities as possible for our young children to have direct contact with the people we serve. Parents are encouraged to engage their children in selecting items for our various collection drives, such as Christmas gifts, medical supplies, pet food for the Humane Society, art supplies, and weekly canned food. Through an association with Communities in Schools, we visit inner city schools and read to their students, plan parties and activities for them, and donate clothing and books to the families. Some grade levels visit assisted living centers and entertain residents with musical performances.
Students are educated about various community outreach projects through Chapel speakers, and new ideas are often suggested by Student Council representatives, faculty, and parents. The willingness to give is evident in the response throughout each year.
Students are educated about various community outreach projects through Chapel speakers, and new ideas are often suggested by Student Council representatives, faculty, and parents. The willingness to give is evident in the response throughout each year.
Middle School
In Middle School, students are encouraged to serve the larger community through school wide, class level, and advisory-based service projects. Believing that "sweat equity" is more valuable to both the individual student and the community, our projects focus on students giving of their time and energy rather than goods or monetary gifts.
School wide service allows all members of the Middle School to participate in a service opportunity. These opportunities include our annual Special Olympics track meet and our grade level Days of Giving. For each Day of Giving, classmates join a project of their choosing including service at a medical supply warehouse, senior citizen center, clearinghouse for the homeless, daycare center, or a food bank. Age appropriate service opportunities are offered to each class level. These include planting trees with Trees for Houston, packaging toiletries for the homeless served at Palmer Way Station, and hosting a Halloween carnival for children with cancer in cooperation with Candlelighter’s Family Alliance. Students in each advisory, along with their advisor, plan and implement a project of their choosing at least once a year. The Middle School student will give of their time, heart, and self through our service program.
School wide service allows all members of the Middle School to participate in a service opportunity. These opportunities include our annual Special Olympics track meet and our grade level Days of Giving. For each Day of Giving, classmates join a project of their choosing including service at a medical supply warehouse, senior citizen center, clearinghouse for the homeless, daycare center, or a food bank. Age appropriate service opportunities are offered to each class level. These include planting trees with Trees for Houston, packaging toiletries for the homeless served at Palmer Way Station, and hosting a Halloween carnival for children with cancer in cooperation with Candlelighter’s Family Alliance. Students in each advisory, along with their advisor, plan and implement a project of their choosing at least once a year. The Middle School student will give of their time, heart, and self through our service program.
Upper School
In Upper School where students have increasing opportunity to direct their own actions, more than 92% of our students participate in community service projects, accumulating over 36,000 hours of service each year. Projects can be individual, small or large group, whole class or whole school. They include local and international projects, some meeting once or twice annually while some projects meet monthly, weekly, or even daily. Typical large group projects include cleaning-up Galveston beach, volunteering at Houston’s annual Race for the Cure©, painting and landscaping an “Extreme Home Makeover,” joining Middle Schoolers with the Special Olympics track meet, serving dinners at the Ronald McDonald House, hosting birthday parties at the Star of Hope, Senior Citizen’s Prom, and an annual trip to teach English in rural Costa Rica.
One or two annual whole class projects, facilitated by parent co-chairs are always well subscribed and have included painting and landscaping projects for underprivileged homeowners and daycare centers, planting projects, bike building, working at a clearinghouse for the homeless, and many others.
Summer service is encouraged by bringing representatives from not-for-profit organizations to campus in the spring for a Volunteers Job Fair. About half of our Upper School students do additional service during the summer by volunteering at camps for disadvantaged individuals, the zoo, museums, hospitals, and other not-for-profit organizations. A summer school week is held for underprivileged elementary students with Upper School students as teachers and administrators.
While any Upper School community service is headed by the student Board of Officers, any Upper Schooler can lead a project, and significant leadership training and support is given each individual. If funds are needed to carryout the project, a student may apply for a Community Service Grant from the Grant Fund which is funded by the profits earned from student run, on-campus concessions.
One or two annual whole class projects, facilitated by parent co-chairs are always well subscribed and have included painting and landscaping projects for underprivileged homeowners and daycare centers, planting projects, bike building, working at a clearinghouse for the homeless, and many others.
Summer service is encouraged by bringing representatives from not-for-profit organizations to campus in the spring for a Volunteers Job Fair. About half of our Upper School students do additional service during the summer by volunteering at camps for disadvantaged individuals, the zoo, museums, hospitals, and other not-for-profit organizations. A summer school week is held for underprivileged elementary students with Upper School students as teachers and administrators.
While any Upper School community service is headed by the student Board of Officers, any Upper Schooler can lead a project, and significant leadership training and support is given each individual. If funds are needed to carryout the project, a student may apply for a Community Service Grant from the Grant Fund which is funded by the profits earned from student run, on-campus concessions.
Because St. John’s School encourages but does not require service, it is truly the hearts and hands of our students that reach out to others. The ultimate goal of the St. John’s Community Service program is to lay the foundation for a lifelong and consistent commitment to leadership in service.
St. John's School
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