At the Monday night Dexter Board of Education meeting, 26 Mill Creek students were recognized for their many hours of community service completed through an elective class, Community Service and Leadership. 7th and 8th grade students and their parents filled the Creekside media center as Mill Creek teachers Jill Jastren and Natalie Park presented certificates and pins of achievement to those students who had completed at least 25 hours of service through this class.
Community Service and Leadership (CS&L) is a class offered at Mill Creek where 7th and 8th grade students have the opportunity to plan and participate in special activities such as athletic pre-game festivities, spirit week activities, after school dances, staff recognition activities, and school and community service projects. With such requirements, this class takes the place of a traditional student council program. Students are also required to perform ten hours of community service outside the regular school day.
Before handing out the certificates, Jastren shared some statistics detailing the impressive accomplishments of this year’s 114 CS&L students:
- In total, these students performed 2026 service hours this year, filling over 55 service requests from the Dexter community.
- The students raised $1,773 for the Education Project at Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) through a Money Wars fundraiser.
- The students planned and executed Mill Creek’s annual Dance Marathon fundraiser, which raised $4,716 for pediatric rehabilitation at Mott and Beaumont Children’s Hospitals.
- The students collected and donated canned goods, coats, hats and mittens to Faith in Action this winter, as well as many needed items for the Humane Society. They also adopted a family for the holidays.
- The students tied over 75 blankets for the NICU and Pediatric Oncology Unit at Mott Children’s Hospital.
In addition, the students planned two dances this year, including the Dance Marathon fundraiser.
Students who took CS&L as 7th graders, and who meet certain summer requirements, can serve as Junior Advisors (JA’s) as 8th graders. These JA’s attend a leadership camp during the summer in Rippon, Wisconsin, where they learn valuable leadership skills. During the school year, JA’s help with new student and 7th and 8th grade orientations, and give interested families tours of Mill Creek. This year, they also organized a leadership day for students at neighboring schools and are currently working to raise money for transportation to this coming summer’s leadership camp. Of the students recognized at Monday’s meeting, 19 are Junior Advisors.
All these amazing community service achievements are in addition to a student’s typical class load, homework, sports, music lessons and the many other extra-curricular activities in which these students participate. Jastren thanked also the parents for the very important part they play in ferrying their student to various community service activities.
Recognition was awarded based on the number of hours served over a student’s time in CS&L, with certificates given for 25, 50, 75 and 100 hours of service completed. In addition, Presidential Award pins were given for 50, 75 and 100 hours of service completed in the current academic year. The Dexter Board of Education also presented all students with a certificate of achievement for their outstanding efforts.
Listed below are the students recognized for their hours of service:
Consistent Volunteer – 25 hours of community service
- Kyah T.
- Anya K.
- Cecelia P.
- William L.
- Georgia D.
- Kate V.
Dedicated Volunteer – 50 hours of community service
(these students also received the Consistent Volunteer (25 hrs) certificate)
- Braedy W.
- Abby T.
- Mackenzy C.
- Isabella R.
- Erin H.*
- Lucas G.*
- Dalton F.*
- Antonia B.*
- Holly R.*
- Rachel H.*
- Everet L.*
- Wyatt N.*
- Griffin P.*
- Connor B.*
- Averi R.*
Master Volunteer – 75 hours of community service
(these students also received the Consistent (25 hrs) & Dedicated (50 hrs) certificates)
- Elena L.*
- Noah E.**
Exemplary Volunteer – 100 hours of community service
(these students also received the Consistent (25 hrs), Dedicated (50 hrs) & Master (75 hrs) certificates)
- Diego R.**
- Abby J.***
- McKenna J.***
* received bronze (50 hrs) Presidential pin
** received silver (75 hrs) Presidential pin
*** received gold (100 hrs) Presidential pin
Congratulations to these hard-working students – your community thanks you!
