Service Learning

Hewitt’s lower school service learning program brings the school and community together in partnership to share resources, meet real community needs, and educate our young girls to become the change agents of tomorrow. For example, fourth graders partner with All Souls Soup Kitchen, which is located just a few blocks from Hewitt and serves our local community. In addition to gathering at Hewitt to make sandwiches for guests at the All Souls Soup Kitchen, Hewitt students also volunteer on site each month. 

The service learning experience promotes reciprocal benefits for all participants and a renewed sense of community connection while upholding the principles embodied in Hewitt’s mission statement. As another example, after third graders learned about the Lenape and explored the importance of respecting the environment, they brought Hewitt’s commitment to a sustainable future to life by volunteering to help clean up Central Park.
 

In middle school, we incorporate service learning into both the advisory program and the academic program. Students experience a personal sense of purpose and think about what it means to be of service to a community through activities such as Family Service Day, Central Park Clean-up, and service trips. Middle schoolers also participate in local service projects, such as card-making for pediatric cancer patients through The Scarlett Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

In keeping with the school’s mission and pillars, teachers seek opportunities to encourage students to solve real-world problems by using empathy to design solutions. For example, our eighth grade capstone project invites students to choose a problem to solve, interview stakeholders, and design possible solutions that will serve their communities. As they research challenges like providing access to fresh water or encouraging on-campus recycling and composting, students come to understand that service opportunities arise in all areas of study.