At St. Thomas’s Day School, we teach our students that true leadership begins with active service. Starting in Kindergarten, they discover their power and responsibility to strengthen our community through dedicated action. This commitment culminates in grade-level service projects that address critical local issues—work that feels especially meaningful during Thanksgiving and this season of giving.
Our approach follows a four-stage model designed to cultivate deep civic engagement: students first investigate a social issue to understand its root causes and effects; they then educate others to raise awareness and build support; next, they take meaningful action through their time, effort, and resources; finally, they reflect on and assess their project’s impact on the community.
The Grade Six experience is especially meaningful. In October, the class was divided into three groups, each of which selects a deserving charity. They then created short, persuasive skits to champion their chosen cause during Morning Gathering. During the next week, our community cast their votes, selecting the organization that received the Penny Harvest funds. From there, the Grade Six leaders managed the entire process, collecting and counting the mountain of pennies (and dollars) donated by the school and in mid-November, they delivered a check to the selected charity. This year’s choice was The Animal Haven, an animal shelter located in North Haven CT, which provides humane refuge to homeless, abandoned and surrendered cats and dogs.
Additional service projects that support needs in the Greater New Haven area include cleaning up local parks, welcome boxes for Christian Community Action, a Thanksgiving food drive for Loaves and Fishes, and a toy drive for the Farnam Community Center and the New Haven Reads book drive.
Through these shared acts of service, our students discover the profound impact a caring community can make. Their generosity and leadership remind us that we each have the power to brighten the lives of others and strengthen the world around us.
