'Freshman Day of Service' to Kick Off School Year at Grayslake North

Grayslake North High School teacher Chris Kubic is hoping to kick off the 2013-14 school year on a positive note with the first annual Freshman Day of Service.
 
Kubic, who teaches the Public Service Practicum (PSP) class at Grayslake North, is looking for students who are interested in performing volunteer work at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville. The Freshman Day of Service is slated for Aug. 12 immediately after freshman orientation.

The Freshman Day of Service idea was a collaborative effort between Kubic and several PSP students, including Mary Beth McHugh and Erica Fisher.
 
"They laid the foundations as part of their Passion Project in the spring. The point of the Passion Project is to turn PSP students loose to address a problem they are passionate about," said Kubic. "They had worked with freshmen in the past and knew that I help with the freshman orientation program, so this seemed like a logical tie-in."

The plan is for buses to take students to Feed My Starving Children at 1:30 and then return to Grayslake North by 4 p.m. At Feed My Starving Children, students will be able to hand-pack meals that will be delivered to hungry children worldwide. The Libertyville facility opened in November 2012.

"We hope the students will bond with each other and with the teachers that will help to supervise, and we hope they will come away with a sense of unity and purpose for their freshman year at North. Service-learning is a passion of mine, and it's one of my goals (as well as a major goal of the Public Service Practicum program) to involve as many North students as possible in community service," said Kubic. "Service gives students an opportunity to give back, helps them develop character traits like compassion and empathy as well as skills in teamwork and leadership, and builds their self-confidence that they can make a difference. The freshman orientation program on the morning of Aug. 12 encourages freshmen to come together and make a positive mark on the campus during their tenure at North; what better time to start than right away, before the busyness of the school year sets in."

To sign up for the Freshman Day of Service, visit the Grayslake North website or contact Kubic at northpublicservice@gmail.com.