RE LOG - Spring 2017

34 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 Paul Ransom promised that Ransom Everglades graduates would leave the world better than they find it, but the instinct to be service-oriented leaders isn’t something, like a diploma, students collect when they cross the stage at Commencement. It’s something they develop, and it starts on the Everglades Campus the day they arrive. At the Middle School, community and public service are as entwined with the curriculum as are math and English. I am proud that every sixth- and eighth- grade advisory is creating and executing a novel service project. Some are raising money for good causes, others are heading outside of our gates, still others are serving on campus. Our students also are encouraged to join a number of service-oriented clubs. We have a Storytime club that travels to the West Grove once a week to read books to school children. We have a craft group that knits items for those in need. Techo, a club founded by two Middle School students, annually organizes its own overseas service trip. We have an eighth-grade group, The Ibis and Egret Club, that prioritizes community service. All of our students come together as hosts for St. Alban’s Day, the annual festival that brings hundreds of pre-school children onto our campus for a morning of holiday fun. From the Everglades Campus At the Middle School Instilling a Service Ethic We have found that students who engage in service get far more back than they surrender in time and energy. Service doesn’t merely improve our communi- ties and make our students better citizens; it seems to make them better, period. When students look out- ward rather than inward, they develop empathy and compassion that help them mature into well-rounded, grounded young adults. The healthy perspective and sense of gratitude that accompany this process help them excel in all realms. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that we are seeking to become a member of Ashoka’s Change- maker Schools Network, a global community of elementary, middle and high schools that prioritize empathy, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and changemaking. This will provide an opportunity for us to expand the service elements that are so integral to the Ransom Everglades experience, and to further hone critical character traits in our students. I love watching our students grow while they are on our campus. You may notice how many shoot up in height; I notice how they evolve as citizens of the world. We like to think we were building “changemak- ers” long before there was even a name for it. Rachel Rodriguez Head of the Middle School