By Andrew Huang ’15, Staff Writer

When eighth grader Cosimo Fabrizio entered the Kaltenbacher Hall during fourth period on Wednesday, February 12^th, he was simply looking to snack on some free cookies. However, he ended up listening to a presentation about students’ service-based IB extended essays, one of several conversations during the Community Service Council’s Generosity of Spirit Week. By the end of the discussion, Cosimo left well informed about service, even though he is still years away from an introduction to the issues concerning the extended essay and the IB program. He recalls, “Some of the points brought up applied to me, so I was able to understand those better. I had participated in service prior to the discussion but this made me want to further my involvement.”

The discussion that Cosimo attended was just one out of many events that made up the Community Service Council’s Generosity of Spirit Week, which included an open Community Service Council meeting and a Morning Meeting presentation sharing certain students’ service experiences. The week was cut short, first by two planned days off, and then a snow day. Yet, many of the Council’s goals were still accomplished. Community service coordinator Ms. Fischer stated, “I think it [Generosity of Spirit Week] was good, but was a little less successful due to the weather.” Plans for Thursday, such as free baked goods for students who had already reported hours, were pushed back a week when Mr. Austin made the anticipated call Wednesday night.

Yet many students were left wondering as to the origins of this event, especially when considering that community service has not always been a large part of the Newark Academy culture. Some upperclassmen remember the days when service was no more than a brief reflection to hastily fill out and print on the due date. However, efforts such as Generosity of Spirit Week reveal that the Community Service Council is shifting the service paradigm at Newark Academy.

Ms. Fischer explained, “The original idea is actually from a school in New Orleans called Lusher. There they call it Heart and Soul Week, where they focus on the heart and soul of the school and actually do service as well. Looking at [the Council’s] mission, and the idea of generosity of spirit, it seemed like a great marriage to run this event. We do level awards at the end of the year, but we’re trying not to make the quantity of hours the focus. We want to recognize that people are doing some cool and interesting service, and that we just have this generosity of spirit.” The days where students simply fulfilled the school’s requirement and reported meaningless, last minute hours are fading away.

Students are definitely noticing this increased focus on community service. Matt Thekkethala ’15 said, “[The Council is] a much larger presence than ever before. You barely heard from them until Ms. Fischer took over. I didn’t know it existed until I was a freshman.” Now, one would be hard-pressed to find a Newark Academy student who has not heard of the Community Service Council.

However, with all this focus on service, some negative comments are sure to follow. One anonymous student described the emphasis on service and the system of reporting hours as a “bureaucracy,” while others grumble about limits on reporting hours from immersion trips. Yet, it is important to note that Generosity of Spirit Week was not about reporting hours or the technicalities in doing so – in fact, much of the featured service goes unreported. Instead, the purpose of the week was to raise awareness about interesting service opportunities and celebrate our reasons for doing service. As Ms. Fischer put it, “Some negativity is always going to exist. Service isn’t everyone’s thing, just like sports or art aren’t everyone’s thing, and that’s okay. But the Council’s hope is that students will refocus the conversation, and realize that [service] is a real opportunity to build skills for themselves, learn about a new place, where you can learn a lot about yourself and the people you’re serving.” No matter one’s take on hour reporting, Newark Academy students and faculty should acknowledge the generous spirit of those who go above and beyond in service, and its ever-increasing importance in our community.