School News

Dalton Holdt, right, a seventh-grader at Harbor Pointe Middle School, volunteered with his dad, Derek Holdt, left, at Northwest Harvest in Renton, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes food to hunger programs in Washinghton state.  The two sorted  through donated canned and dried goods and boxed them up for distribution.

To students at Harbour Pointe Middle School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on Monday, isn’t the only day of service.  Every day is a day for helping others.
Sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Harbour Pointe are required to volunteer at least one hour a month or 10 hours a school year as part of the school’s IB program. 

The IB Middle Years program is a rigorous academic program that emphasizes interdisciplinary studies, foreign languages and community service.  Harbour Pointe was the first middle school in Washington state to offer the program in 2005.

“We promote community and service to give [students] a sense of community and encourage responsible citizenship and deepen student knowledge of the world around them,” Harbour Pointe Principal Nikki Cannon said.

Students offer their services at homeless shelters, food banks, retirement and assisted-living centers, libraries, churches and schools, among other volunteer opportunities in the community. 
With the community and service requirement, Harbour Pointe aims to inspire students to be volunteers in their local and global communities.

“It’s important for kids to realize that they’re not the center of the universe, as most kids think they are,” Cannon said.  “And one of the ways to help them to gain a more global perspective about the world is to get out in their own community and offer a service to people right in their own neighborhoods.”

Seventh grader Dalton Holdt helped serve hot chocolate and apple cider to the homeless at a Christmas party hosted by The Farm Ministries.  The Farm is a non-profit organization that supports youth outreach programs.

Families living in homeless shelters were invited to the farm in Snohomish to “shop” for donated food and clothing, enjoy the farm’s petting zoo and share a Christmas dinner.
“Doing something for other people who are less fortunate than you just felt kind of good,” Holdt said.  “It made me smile to see the homeless kids smiling while they were drinking their hot cocoa and shopping.”

In November, Holdt helped box up food at Northwest Harvest in Renton, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes food to hunger programs in Washington.
Holdt had the most volunteer hours logged for a seventh grader in December.  Already he has completed 12 hours of service, but he plans to do more.

“I think it’s a good idea for kids to get out there and see firsthand that there are people out there that really need help, so that when they grow up they can do stuff like that and set up [programs] and shelters,” he said.  “It might inspire them to do something like that.”
The school helps students meet their community service requirements by posting volunteer opportunities on the school’s Web site, including activities that can be completed after school at Harbour Pointe.

Students are required to log their service hours and submit a self-evaluation form that encourages them to reflect on their volunteering experiences.

Sixth, seventh and eighth graders with at least 10 hours of community service logged by the end of the school year receive a certificate of achievement from the school.  Students with three certificates from their three years at Harbour Pointe receive an additional award.

Eighth grader Natalie Dekay volunteers at the Mukilteo YMCA in the Teen Center.  Every other Friday the center hosts Friday Night Live, a night where teens can hang out and play games together.  Those nights, Dekay helps sell concessions and work crowd control. 
Dekay had the most volunteer hours logged for an eighth grader in November.  She’s completed almost 30 hours of service so far this school year.

She said volunteering at the Teen Center is not only a fun afterschool activity; it has also helped her gain a sense of responsibility.
“It’s some sort of responsibility other than just chores at home and stuff,” Dekay said.  “It feels like it’s getting [me] ready for later on for jobs and high school.” 

Since 2005 the school has seen an increase in the number of volunteer hours students log.  Slowly but surely, community service is turning into the norm at Harbour Pointe, Cannon said.
“It takes a long time for [volunteering] to become a natural part of the school community, before it becomes part of the culture to help others,” she said.  “But it’s getting there.”