Middle Schoolers Get Their Hands Dirty at Community Day

Last week, 6th, 7th and 8th graders headed off campus and into the local community for Community Day, an extension of our Social Responsibility & Impact program. Woven into the academic curriculum, the goal of this bi-annual event is to provide students with real-world, experiential learning opportunities that directly connect with the classroom. We want students to build skills like empathy and respect, while also challenging them to interact outside their comfort zones. 

Middle Schoolers spent the day with a local non-profit organization, with each grade focusing on a specific theme that expanded on those from Community Day in the fall, allowing for deeper exploration. 

6th Grade: Flowing Forward
6th graders spent the day at CSU Spur’s Hydro Building and explored how water is managed in Denver, how access to water varies based on location and how we can expand the areas water reaches. A few advisories also got their hands dirty at Denver Urban Gardens, where they helped maintain the Focus Points Family Resource Center community garden.

7th Grade: Nurturing Connections
At the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, 7th graders rotated through various activities—they learned how to make migration safer for birds, the ins and outs of elephant ecology, and also used their problem-solving skills during a zoo-wide scavenger hunt. A smaller group of students also participated in a special workshop called EcoExplorers. They chose a UN Sustainable Development Goal and used their time at the zoo to gather data, conduct research, and explore, to prototype a solution to present to their peers at a later assembly.

8th Grade: Branching Out
8th graders kicked off their day with a presentation from Jake Dresden, director of the nonprofit A Little Help, about the power of intergenerational relationships. A group of students took these lessons to Sunrise Community Center, where they connected with elderly residents. Another group went to The Urban Farm to learn about how the organization brings farming to Denver and the vital role pollinators play in the ecosystem. A third group headed into Kent Denver’s backyard to participate in a clean-up of the High Line Canal. They learned about how the canal promotes community with the High Line Canal Conservancy and gained an understanding of how its water is managed with Denver Water.