Harborside graduates and current students were chosen to speak at the 2016 EL National Conference. Watch the video below.
As part of our community outreach and field work experiences, Harborside puts a significant value on students participating in service learning projects. As a result, our students are required to obtain ten community service hours per year as a middle school student and 15 as a high school student. Although these are minimums, many of our students achieve the 100 hours of community service needed to qualify for a special Kenosha Unified diploma for service work.
In addition, service learning projects are incorporated into many of our expeditions. Our students host summits that explore issues related to water quality and water conservation; they publish cards and calendars that are sold to raise funds for various non-profit groups; they help to plan and organize the Alzheimer's Walk; and they work with local schools to build school gardens and teach nutrition to elementary school students. Harborside has made over 100 community connections that allow our students to connect to their community and become active citizens.
Students learn about Alzheimer's disease from the scientific side of the disease in physics, the depression and heartache the people affected go through in English, and the different parts of the brain that are affected in psychology.
The senior class participated in The Walk to End Alzheimer's. Student volunteers assisted with the walk from hanging posters to setting up registration for walk participants. Students were stationed along the route to help guide and cheer on the walkers.
Five-time Olympic gold medalist speed skater Bonnie Blair presented the "Blair Cares" Award to Harborside. This was the first time a group received the award as it is typically presented to a single, outstanding volunteer.
The sophomore class interviewed World War II veterans to discover the hardships they faced fighting for our country's freedom.
The visits create a caring community where veterans can continue to heal and students learn through authentic experience. Over the course of the expedition, students meet upwards of 40 veterans who fought in wars such as WWII and Vietnam. The veterans' stories are compelling and the impact they have on students is evident in the student-created documentaries that capture each veteran's experiences.
During the Blowing in the Wind expedition, students investigated "Wind Energy" and its impact on the world. In science students took apart a motor and discussed how electromagnetism works. They then applied the science of wind turbines and engineering principles to the blade design of a windmill.
In humanities, students investigated environmental issues that affect Africa as well as cultural beliefs. In addition to reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, students wrote letters to their congressmen arguing for continued support to the continent of Africa, and created and performed their own African folktale to students from a local elementary school.