Community Service Hours

Total community outreach hours for Grades 9 - 12, from September 2006 to June 2007: 3335.75 hours

Community Service

Sept 2005

Students at TrafalgarCastle School have had a long-standing tradition of community service. Although community service is now a prerequisite for graduation in the province of Ontario, our students have been giving freely and willingly of their time and energy for many years.

One of the major events of Trafalgar’s community service is the Annual Charity Bazaar. All students and staff in our school community will participate in the Bazaar on Saturday, November 5. Our international students cook foods from their home countries, our day students hold one of Durham Region’s biggest bake sales, students and parents collaborate in craft workshops, parents donate items for a silent auction and our staff creates baskets for the basket table. The proceeds from the day go to support a variety of local and national charitable causes. During the year students are involved in a wide variety of groups and individual community service activities. Our choir performs at seniors’ facilities around the Christmas season and other students are involved in helping to host social functions at these facilities. This year, as in the past, student volunteers will help organize Run for the Cure and participate in The CN Tower climb for the United Way. In addition, our students host a chapter of Amnesty International, with fund-raising Coffee House. One of the aspects of Trafalgar Castle School’s mission is to develop in our students the skills required for leadership in a contemporary global society. We believe that a strong sense of commitment to one’s community, both local and global, is an important dimension of a young person’s education and we are delighted at the enthusiasm that our students demonstrate in fulfilling their service to their communities.

Any questions? Please contact, Mrs. Olwen Sigsworth, Director of Community Service Programmes.

Habitat for Humanity - Honduras

For a group of ten students and two teachers, March Break will take on a different meaning this year as they travel to Honduras to take part in a Habitat for Humanity building project. Marnie Mitchell, the faculty leader, has put many hours into locating and booking transportation, researching preventative vaccinations for this tropical country and sending out lots of information to the students and parents. “They will spend 12 days building houses in partnership with families in need of a simple, decent place to live... Habitat homes in tropical countries are often made of concrete brick or block. The team will work with the homeowners and trained construction supervisors. The work often includes digging, mixing concrete, carrying and laying bricks.” Anticipation is building as the departure date gets closer.

Safe and Sound in Honduras

Just a quick note to say that all is well in Honduras!!

We finally arrived at our destination to find unexpected balmy 31 degree weather! No complaints here though.

We are all settled into the hotel and had our first Honduran meal - scrambled eggs, refried beans, chicken breast, homemade tortillas, crème and cheese, oh and native copan soda. Delish!

The girls are happy and we’re all ready for our first day of work tomorrow.

We’ll check in again later in the week when we have more to report - although what we’ve seen so far is more then most people ever get to see... it s pretty amazing here!

Ms. Johnston & Ms. Mitchell

Honduras, Day 3

Things are going really well here in Honduras. The girls are working very hard and we are having a great time together.

Day 3 on site. It was 33 degrees today and the sun was extremely hot. We are starting to get the hang of the jobs we are doing, mixing cement using shovels, digging trenches, making bricks from sand, limestone and dirt. Not only are we learning these new skills, but the sense of admiration and appreciation for the local workers grows each passing moment. Things are so different here. At home we have bulldozers to move dirt, mixers and pourers for cement, machines to dig trenches, and all of the brick are just brought in by trucks. Here everything has to be done and made by hand before any building can take place. The local masons and tradesmen are the hardest working people I ever seen.

The project we are working on is a new type of project in Honduras. Rather than 1 house for 1 family, they are working on 8 houses, all in different stages of development. It is similar to a subdivision at home.

On the edge of the site is an escuela (school), and when the children get out they come and play with us in the afternoons. Despite the language barrier, it’s amazing how easy it is to communicate. We spend our breaks playing clapping games and doing funny handshakes. Stella ella ola was a hit with them today!

We are looking forward to sharing all of pictures and stories with you when we return. Wish you all could be here to share in this wonderful experience. It truly is the trip of a lifetime!

Adios from Honduras,
Trafalgar Girls.