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Serving our
Serving our
Community
Community
BY CARRIE CRAIG,
BY CARRIE CRAIG,
HUMANITIES TEACHER & SERVICE COORDINATOR
HUMANITIES TEACHER & SERVICE COORDINATOR
The 2019-2020 school year pandemic also led to questions younger siblings, and
started like most and we quickly such as: How do we define knitted hats to be
set the tone of the importance service in a time of pandemic? donated this winter.
of service at QMS. We have What can we do from home? Our students truly
a long standing tradition of After brainstorming, we demonstrated their
service to others and encourage jumped into action. Kim commitment to
students to demonstrate Phillips, Humanities Teacher, supporting others
our school motto, “Serviter and I challenged all QMS staff and were excited to
Fortiter” (Serve Ye Bravely) in to donate to Nourish Cowichan share their acts of
their daily lives. The Senior who was working hard to service.
School Service Day in October support Cowichan families in Our 2020–2021
featured 160 students working need by ensuring they were school year brings
throughout the Cowichan fed. With a generous match of another question:
Valley on projects such as funds by our Head of School, What does our new
apple picking, participating QMS raised over $4000! We reality mean for the
in the harvest at Providence expanded to include activities future of our service
Farm, clearing paddocks for that students from K–12 could program? We have
Cowichan Therapeutic Riding, complete from home. We overcome large
and helping in the urban farm asked for them to create challenges in recent
with the Cowichan Green Mother’s Day and Father’s Day months, and it has
Community. Some Grade 11 cards that could be delivered provided us with the
students mentored children to care homes in Ladysmith to chance to refresh
at Khowhemun Elementary ensure that elderly members of our program. This
through Big Brothers Big Sisters our wider community received is a time of great
Cowichan Valley, and on- cards and kind messages while uncertainty and we know that
campus, students volunteered separated from their loved the need for service in our
at the School’s annual Christmas ones. Our students and families homes, school, community,
Bazaar. They freely gave their answered the call! and around the world will be
time to the Equestrian Centre, We were heart-broken to great. Our compassionate,
helped in the library, and score- cancel our Annual Service Day dedicated, and locally and
kept at basketball games. The yet, in its place, we hosted our globally minded students are
positive feelings of service first Service in Spirit Day. Student up for the challenge.
permeated our school hallways. leaders created a fun video
Then our world changed. The outlining the different ways
emergence of COVID-19 led to families could participate from
an interesting paradox: How home, which was supported by
could we continue to instill the engaging QMS Kindness Cards
value of service in our students (similar to bingo cards) that
and meet the growing needs students used to practice acts of
of our community while still service. Students donated food
keeping our students physically to the SPCA, helped neighbours
and emotionally healthy? The with their gardens, looked after
CONNECTIONS 13
