Community Service/ Humanities Events

Community Service

The Importance of Community Service

Community service provides HISP students with opportunities to learn and grow through helping others. Serving one’s community fosters a sense of civic responsibility while expanding a student’s perspective about people and place. Through community service, students:

• Learn new skills.
• Build confidence.
• Develop compassion for others.
• Relate what they learn in school to the real world.
• Make the world a better place.

Community Service Requirements

HISP students are required to perform five hours of service each academic quarter. You may complete 10 hours during the summer and use these for fall semester.  See Community Service Opportunities for a listing of HISP-approved activities or check the HISP bulletin board for postings. Community service must be done through a public organization (non-profit), which would include school fairs and festivals and science competition judging, community fundraisers, park clean-ups, and organizations that help the homeless, for example. Volunteering at private athletic clubs does not count. If you are unsure if a particular event or activity qualifies as community service, check with your HISP social science teacher. Document your community service using the Community Service Report Form found on the “Forms” link on this page.  Take it with you for signature when you are volunteering! 

Community Service Report Forms must be submitted to your social science teacher by the end of each quarter.

Summer Community Service

During the summer, students may earn up to 10 service hours and apply those hours to the fall semester (first two quarters of the school year).

Humanities Events

All HISP students are required to attend three humanities events each quarter and to submit written reports to their literature teachers. The following are some guidelines for what constitutes a humanities event (for our purposes) and some suggestions for what you should include in the write up. Please direct any questions to your literature teacher. 

Purpose of Attending Humanities Events 

Attending Humanities Events exposes a person to the arts and to a variety of artistic expression. Education cannot happen just at school–it must go beyond the walls of the classroom. Watching a play being performed is quite a different experience than reading a play from a book. We want each student to broaden their horizons and to take advantage of what the humanities have to offer. We hope that each student will try a number of different experiences and gain an important glimpse into life beyond McClatchy.

What Is a Humanities Event?

 Students are required to attend 3 live Humanities Events per quarter. The humanities can be defined as the study of the human experience.  It includes such areas as: Literature, Poetry, Art, Photography, Theatre, Music, Dance, Film, Language, Philosophy, Religion, History, Archeology, and Politics.  A Humanities Event must be an official experience of the humanities.  For example:

• Performances of music, dance, drama, poetry recitation, and the like.  
• School performances (plays, musicals, concerts) are worth TWO events!  We want to support the arts at CKM.
• Visits to art galleries, museums, or historical places with guided tours 
• Sanctioned activities of the HISP Council (parents’ group)–we will provide you with as many options as we hear about throughout the year.
• Lectures which deal with the humanities (outside of school–not our classes), either 
• Church services/religious functions which are NOT part of your family’s regular religious activities 

What Is NOT a Humanities Event?

• Movies or TV shows pertaining to the arts.
• Listening to recorded music.
• Street musicians, musicians playing at a shopping mall, etc.
• Restaurants with ethnic food, music, and/or artwork displayed; or shopping mall arts and crafts shows.
• McClatchy Club Events (unless special arrangements are made) or events during the school day, including field trips.
• Zoos or aquariums.
• Sporting events, even if in a different country.

What Do I Need To Write About?

Each Humanities Event requires a separate write up which will be submitted to turnitin.com as well as Google Classroom.

• The write up should be 1 page, typed, double-spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font.
• Your write up should consist of three paragraphs, organized as follows:

1. Paragraph One: Give a brief description of the event, including what you did, and when and where you did it (i.e. “I saw the Wayne Theibaud exhibit at the Crocker Art Gallery on Saturday, September 17th.”)  Please also include a brief statement as to why you chose to attend this particular event.
2. Paragraph Two: Make a connection between this event and the events in your own life, the world around you, or something about which you are learning in school: perhaps a particular scene reminded you of something from your childhood, or a scene in a book you’re reading; perhaps a particular painting reminded you of an event in history or the current social issues.
3. Paragraph Three: Now explain what thoughts and feelings you experienced during the event: perhaps you felt indignant at what you saw, or sympathetic; perhaps you felt inspired or grateful—explore what caused those feelings and why you felt them.  Include a statement about the value of the event: should other people experience it as well? Anyone in particular? Why? 

Proof of Attendance

You will be required to fill out the Humanities Event Proof of Attendance form in addition to submitting your write ups to turnitin.com.  This form will require you to include the name and date of each event you “attended,” and will have a place for a parent signature to verify.

How will the Humanities Events be Graded?

The Humanities Events will be graded based on the above, 70% of your grade will be based on the write up, and 30% based on proof of attendance.  The write ups will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your response, the thoroughness of your response, and on how well you followed the above instructions (i.e. did you respond to the correct topics in each paragraph and did you follow the correct format?). 

Due Dates

Typically, these write ups are due one week before the end of the quarter (to give your teacher time to grade). Your teacher will give you an exact date towards the end of each quarter.  All write ups will be submitted via turnitin.com as well as Google Classroom.

Summer Events 

You may write about events that you attended during the summer for the first and second quarters. Third and fourth quarter events must be completed during the actual dates of the Spring Semester (February – June).