Park High School Students Shine in ‘The Big Help Out’
During the week of 3-9 June 2024, students at Park High took part in ‘The Big Help Out’ volunteering event. The Big Help Out is a national charity project designed to raise awareness of volunteering across the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities.
As part of HelpOut@ParkHigh, students engaged in various supportive activities aimed at fostering a community spirit among them. These activities included tidying classrooms, updating display boards, assisting the premises team, conducting litter picks both within the school and in the surrounding area, and welcoming incoming new students. Additionally, they extended their kindness by writing birthday cards for residents of local old age homes and were encouraged to help out at home, continuing the volunteering efforts initiated through the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and within their local communities.
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We also collaborated with the charity FEAST With Us, who provide, cook and deliver on average around 1000 meals per week to people experiencing food poverty. Students not only collected food donations for the charity but also actively participated in preparing meals at FEAST’s North London cooking venues and delivering these meals to those in need. Ellie Butterworth of FEAST, who conducted an online assembly emphasising the importance of volunteering, praised the students: “We are delighted to have worked with Park High. The students were exemplary in their work but also for their willingness to find out more and provide for those in need. This is such a valuable project and one all schools should adopt.”
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Our students have collectively achieved over 1000 volunteering points through their enthusiastic participation in The Big PARK HIGH Help Out. To celebrate their contributions, prizes were awarded to the tutor group with the highest Help Out points and to individual volunteers of the week.
Reflecting on the week, Year 7 student Mahi, who also presented in an assembly, shared her thoughts on volunteering: “Volunteering is important as it gives you a sense of achievement, helps you feel better about yourself, improving your confidence and self-esteem. It is also important that it helps us share our talents and learn new skills. We can show commitment and also achieve better physical, mental health and wellbeing.”
Headteacher Colette O’Dwyer expressed immense pride in the students' dedication: “I am deeply proud of all our students and their commitment to this project. Living our values of compassion and teamwork with our students is just as important as academic achievement. This project has provided a perfect opportunity to reinforce these values and make a significant difference to our community.”
A big thank you to all the students who supported projects within Park High and the wider community...you have all shown our character values. And thank you to Assistant Headteacher Mr. Appleman for orchestrating the project.
If you would like to find out more about "The Big Help Out" or "FEAST with us", see links below: