Daily Sitka Sentinel

Blatchley Students to Learn About Caring

By ABIGAIL BLISS
Sentinel Staff Writer
    For years, in observance of “Discover Your Potential Week,” Sitka businesses and organizations have welcomed Blatchley Middle School students into the places where they work, giving them a glimpse of their daily routine.

Blatchley Middle School eighth-graders Jason Young and Fiona Raasch sit with Americorp Volunteer Tayler Bowser and Pacific High School teacher Hillary Seeland as they talk about the “Day of Caring” event, during an interview at KCAW FM radio station recently. The “Day of Caring” takes place Friday. (Sentinel Photo)

    This spring students will have the chance to return the favor with Blatchley’s  “Day of Caring.”
    The middle school’s first Day of Caring is scheduled for this Friday, when all of the school’s 300 or so students will disperse through town to lend a helping hand to non-profit welfare, educational and social service organizations.
    “The idea behind this is that we have so many community partners that volunteer their time work with Blatchley students, and we thought this was a great opportunity to give back,” said Hillary Seeland, who heads up the project.
    Seeland is in charge of the Sitka School District’s social and emotional learning and culturally-responsive learning goals.
    The school’s elective team, comprised of Kari Sagel, Amanda Duvall, Mindy Samman, Sarah Frank and Karl Jordan, came up with the Day of Caring idea. Sagel said the team drew their inspiration from a comparable event in the Montana school where Samman taught prior to coming to Sitka.
    “(She) described something she did in her previous district,” Sagel said. “We’ve replicated it pretty much as they did.”
    Sagel said they received a $5,000 grant from the Alaska Council of School Administrators, “working in partnership with Carrs Safeway” for the Day of Caring. She said the money was used for “t-shirts, transportation, and supplies,”
    Also, she said, there will be 20 AmeriCorps volunteers – “all the AmeriCorps in town” – assisting as supervisors and models for community-oriented behavior. Their presence, she said, will be “key to the project.”
    More than 20 groups of 12-14 students will take on projects at partner organizations like the Sitka Animal Shelter, the Salvation Army, and the Pioneers Home, Seeland said. One group will head to Pacific High School to clean up the school’s garden, and another will work with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska to ready their buses for tourist season. The students assigned to the Sitka Sound Science Center have been instructed to prepare themselves for “hard work” and to “bring lots of rain gear.”
    Students will sport a T-shirt designed specifically for the occasion with a winning design by eighth-grader Fiona Raasch.
    Students will kick off the day of service with an Assembly featuring motivational speakers before breaking to tackle their various volunteer projects. Speakeers will include Elias Erickson, Sitka High School student and Sitka School Board member; Charlie Skultka Jr., traditional arts specialist with the Sitka Native Education Program; T.J. Agne, former student and current District data manager; Tayler Bowser, AmeriCorps volunteer with the District; and Adonna Adams, Mt. Edgecumbe High School student leader will highlight their own motivations for volunteering, as well as “what they’ve gained,” “unusual experiences,” and professional opportunities created through community service, Sagel said.
    “They’ll describe their experiences, and we’re hoping they’ll give a twist on a message that’s their own take on volunteering,” she said.
    Seeland added she hopes the speakers will tie the Day of Caring to the District’s ongoing social and emotional learning efforts.
    Seeland expressed optimism that the Day of Service will provide students with examples of how they might contribute to their community, and instill in them an interest in service.
    “I think it’s a really great idea,” she said. “I think it’s good for people to see the students giving back, and for them to get some experience working in the community.”