OHS Students Enjoy Work Day

Osawatomie High School students learned a lesson in giving back to the community last week during the annual Community Service Day.

High school students spent four hours in the community doing various odd jobs, cleaning lawns, painting and even building a walking path at the Osawatomie Public Library.

“The reason we do it is two-fold,” principal Doug Chisam said. “It started as a day to give back to the community, to say thank you to the people that support us in so many ways. And its been a way for us in reinforce the idea that we are a service-minded group.”

Osawatomie High School has for many years put an emphasis on servant hood and character and the community service day is one part of that emphasis.

Students were out Wednesday raking leaves at many homes and doing yard work and cleanup around the high school. They went to Life Care Center and Vintage Park and at the library, they created a rock, walking path that connects the parking lot to the new entrance. One group also did some painting at the Karl E. Cole Sports Complex. Another group worked at the John Brown History Museum.

“When we first started doing this, it was just grunt work,” Chisam said. “Now we are doing a lot more and it make sense with what we are trying to teach.”

High school English teacher Keith Smith said he thinks the work has another effect. Smith said working in the community gives a sense of pride.

“I think when these kids clean something up or make something look nicer, it’s more difficult for them to think about tearing it up or vandalizing things,” he said.

After working during the morning, lunch was served in John Brown Memorial Park.

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Posted by admin on Oct 27 2010. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry