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Year 12 Community Day
Mrs Skelton, Mr Ryder and Miss Woodford sent this report:
On Friday, 8 December Year 12 students took part in our Community Day and Mr Ryder, Miss Woodford and Mrs Skelton had the chance to see their valuable contributions at work.
Mr Ryder had the pleasure of visiting students in several charity shops in Maidstone. With students sorting toys into categories, rebranding coat hangers and helping them make savings by using old fashion human power to get the job done. One branch manager was over the moon and said “Just by having your 6th form students in today I’ve managed to make a £200 saving on getting these jobs done. I can now invest that money into other charitable causes. It proves how a small group of volunteers can make a big difference”. After seeing the students working with the charities in Maidstone, Mr Ryder went to some of the local primary schools and saw some lovely singing and dancing from our Sixth Formers leading class Nativities and supporting with Christmas Fayres.
Miss Woodford also visited various locations around the local area and all the students received fantastic feedback. Some of the highlights were students assisting in class at local primary schools where they were supporting students with literacy, art and getting in the Christmas spirit with different activities. In Maidstone library students were also fully festive with their project while others embraced the outdoors with volunteering in the gardens of a local church and at Buttercups Goat Sanctuary. Finally one of the highlights was a visit to a care home where students helped run a Christmas party for the residents, it was a heart-warming scene to witness.
Mrs Skelton also had the chance to visit students on Friday, 8 December and all the hosts were so impressed by the commitment of the students in all the activities. Seeing students working so well in supporting primary school students with reading, craft activities and even in PE lessons as well as the heart warming nativities that they supported with. There were positive comments from many teachers on the particular students that were supporting in the classes with several students being highlighted as 'outstanding' and a 'natural with the children'. Students were very pleased with the activities that they were able to support at Leeds Castle with one student even overcoming her fear of birds and supporting the falconry department. Finally, we had a wrapping station for a local charity that provides gifts for lonely or more vulnerable members of the community and the feedback from the small company was glowing not only with the fantastic attitude of the students but also the difference they have made as they performed a task that would have taken the charity weeks to complete and the creativity of the cards and origami hearts that were made will really touch their recipients.
We are all so proud of the Year 12 students that took part in Community Day and we hope that they all got as much from the day as the organisations that they helped did.
We would like to end with a quote from one of the organisations that was helped on the day and think that this beautifully sums up what our students achieved:
'We were overwhelmed with just how wonderful your students are, we would have them back any time. Please pass on our heartfelt gratitude to them once again, they helped make a difference to some of society’s most vulnerable, we are really proud of them and hope you are too'.
