For Love of the Game An Appreciation of Tom Parr ... - Hopkins School

Prioritizing Service in the Curriculum
When our seniors disappear from campus
after Memorial Day weekend, it is not
because they are skipping graduation. From
May 29 to June 1 they will be construction workers,
building houses at several sites around Bridgeport with
Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County (Habitat
CFC). Instead of the curriculum of a Hopkins classroom,
they will install paneling and siding, build scaffolding and
pre-fabricated walls, design and create landscaping.
This project inaugurates a new community service
requirement. Now each year a week-long class project will
be decided for the senior class and fulfilled while the rest
of the student body is taking exams. Student Council
President Katie D’Souza ’07 points out the benefits for the
senior class, which has chosen to work this year with
Habitat for Humanity: “It’s a great way for seniors to bond
one last time before we go off to college. Even though it’s
scary to think that these days will be some of the last we
will spend together as the Class of 2007, I am looking
forward to this project very much. It is a fantastic thing
that during these days we will be helping to build a house
for a family that truly needs it.” Katie has also suggested a
day spent on to the Adam Kreiger Adventure Course
before they head for the construction sites. “It would help
us get to know the Habitat advisers and our peer captains
since we will be spending the next four days with them.”
The seeds of this idea were sown in 2001 when a schoolwide
evaluation recommended that Hopkins incorporate a
11 S P R I N G 2 0 0 7
practical demonstration of its commitment, as implied in
its value system, to community service. The
administration was challenged to think creatively about
the most beneficial and realistic possibilities, with the
goal of 100% participation by graduation. The 2006–2007
school year marks the launch of this important new
service initiative. David Harpin, Head of Community
Service, sees it as an improvement in the entire
educational program: “philosophically, participation in
community service opens students’ eyes and broadens
their worlds. Often it is their first experience in a serving
capacity, and it opens a new perspective. After
participating, students begin to think of it as an option—
something to build into their lives without being asked.”
The big-picture plan involves grades 9 through 12. Last
November 17 was the first annual Ninth Grade
Community Service Day. The class, divided into groups,
participated in nine area projects, including Columbus
House, West River Narrows clean-up, Kiducation, and
Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. Says Mr. Harpin, “the
kids loved it. The response was resoundingly positive and
enthusiastic, with
the most popular
activities involving
work with younger
children.” At the
end of this year,
according to the
plan, the class
council will choose
a focus, be it
hunger, homelessness, environment, or other, on which to
base their required projects in the next two years. Explains
Mr. Harpin, “The chosen focus will theoretically be a
guiding principle, allowing tenth and eleventh graders to
embrace a theme and get more fully involved in it—a
natural progression from the sampling to which the ninth
graders are exposed.”
Senior year, as expected, engages students as leaders—in
service, as tutors and mentors—and culminates in this
week-long project. “It’s a unique way to unite the class,”
says Katie D’Souza. It will certainly be a memory-maker,
and seniors will attend their graduation with a heightened
perspective on their Hopkins experience. Until then, what
are seniors most excited about? No more final exams!