| Nativity School's HELP Program consists of several
community service activities that are implemented throughout the school year. The purpose of the
program is to provide the students with an awareness of the needs in the community and to develop
a sense of responsibility to assist with these needs.
In July 2000, Nativity School was selected as one of three elementary schools
in the nation by the
National Catholic Education Association as a recipient of the SPICE Award (Selected Programs for
Improving Catholic Education). The award recognized Nativity's HELP Program as an outstanding program
for integrating Catholic social teaching into all aspects of Catholic education.
Components of the HELP Program include:
| Mother
Teresa Week: |
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Specific items such
as canned foods, clothing, bedding, toiletries, etc.
are collected daily for one week and delivered to the
Sisters of Charity in Miami. |
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| Adopt-A-Family:
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Each homeroom class "adopts" a
needy family. During Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter,
the students in the class send gift baskets to their
adopted family. |
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| Pennies
From Heaven: |
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Students collect pennies
throughout the year. The pennies are presented at a
special outdoor mass and donated to the local Respect
Life organization. For the past 12 years we have collected
$49,198.84 in pennies. |
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| Environmental
Awareness: |
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Students participate
in different projects each year designed to raise an
awareness of the environment and the world around them.
Past projects have included:
- Students raised money to donate to the Heifer
Project to buy farm animals for a needy family.
- Students have sold energy efficient light bulbs
and used the profits to buy trees in the forest
(American Forest Association).
- Students have raised money by reading books and
donating the profits to purchase acres of land in
the rain forest. The elementary school hallways
were turned into a simulated rain forest.
- Students created life-size animal painting which
were photographed and displayed on t-shirts. The
t-shirts were sold and the monies were donated to
assist with specific environmental issues such as
the Everglades, the Lighthouses and endangered animals.
The governor of the state of Florida visited Nativity
and spoke to the students on the environment. (He
also purchased a t-shirt!)
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| Service
Hours Program: |
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All Nativity School
Junior High students are required to perform a specific
amount of service hours as part of the religion curriculum.
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