All Saints Episcopal Day School and Stevens Cooperative School Come Together to Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with 2nd Annual Day of Community Service
Hoboken & Jersey City, New Jersey – January 16, 2012 – There may not have been any classes on Monday, January 16, but over 200 students from All Saints Episcopal Day School, Mustard Seed School and Stevens Cooperative School spent the day learning what Dr. King meant when he said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’” This “Day of Service” included children from Kindergarten through 8th grade working alongside teachers and parents in a wide range of activities.
“This is a ‘day on,’ not a ‘day off’” remarked one 8th grader. “A friend from another school was surprised I would come to school when I didn’t have to. But it’s the perfect way to spend MLK Day, and I told my friend I wouldn’t miss this.”
Volunteers from all three schools were mixed together, and everywhere you turned in both schools, the classrooms bustled like birthday parties. For the “Cooking with Love” project, young chefs helped prepare gallons of homemade lentil soup and trays of sugar cookies for the Hoboken Shelter. In the same room, industrious packers, part of the “TLC Body Care” project, assembled about 70 goodie bags of toiletries. The items, collected in school drives, were given to the Breakfast Plus Program at Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City.
“Look at all of those!” exclaimed one 1st grader, pointing out the pile of festively wrapped care packages. “Do you think the people who get these will be happy? I think they will.”
Another group filled the hallways collaborating over their “Community Mural” projects. In just two hours, over 40 middle school students worked together to create six 4’ by 6’ works of art. One group created what Martin Luther King’s Facebook page might have looked like, with references to Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges and James Madison. One of MLK’s “posts” reflected one of his inspiring quotes: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
“This is what we’re all about,” noted Dr. David Penberg, Interim Head of School at Stevens. “Through their work and enthusiasm, our students and staff honored Dr. King’s ideals in the most tangible, meaningful way possible.”
At the “Feed Souls and Warm Hearts” project, older students cut swaths of fleece with fringe that the younger ones tied together to make “no sew” blankets and scarves for the In Jesus’ Name Ministries and the University Hospital in Hoboken. Students also created artistic placemats and assembled bagged lunches for the patrons of St. Matthews Lunchtime ministry.
While busily tying up pieces of fringe, one 4th grader reported that Martin Luther King’s greatest teaching was “to make change with words, not war.” The student went on to say, “I want to live my life like him. I want to make a difference.”
At the end of the day everyone gathered to share their experiences at All Saints Church, with a slideshow of pictures from the day, stories from the various service groups and a Martin Luther King themed laser light show.
All Saints’ Head of School, Jill Singleton, praised the students for their hard work and good spirits. She also thanked the over two dozen faculty and staff from both schools who donated their time that day. “It’s amazing what can happen when we come together,” Singleton noted. “These acts of service solidify in our students what we teach them everyday – that they can effect change in their community and in the world. Dr. King’s legacy lives on through the beliefs and acts of young people like ours.”
Sitting together during the celebration were a group of middle school students from all three schools. “I had a great time,” reflected a 7th grader. “There are kids from different schools who became friends today, and we wouldn’t have met if we’d just stayed home. I learned a lot about working together for something we believe in.”
About the Schools
All Saints Episcopal Day School, an interdenominational school in Hoboken, New Jersey, has nurtured academic excellence and social responsibility for children through enriched experiences in an urban community since 1985. Founded with 16 preschoolers, All Saints now enrolls more 176 students from Nursery through Eighth Grade. The school's professional teaching faculty offers a core curriculum of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education and health; as well as an array of special subjects, including Spanish, art, music, dance and community service. The Day School is a ministry of All Saints Episcopal Parish, and fosters an environment in which students can embrace their fundamental connection with children from diverse faith backgrounds. Visit www.allsaintsdayschool.org.
Stevens Cooperative School, founded in 1949, is the only nonsectarian independent elementary school in Hoboken. Stevens is the oldest parent cooperative school in New Jersey and an excellent model of progressive education in action. It is accredited by the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and serves students from 2 year olds through the 8th grade on its Hoboken and Jersey City campuses. Visit www.stevenscoop.org.