Morgan Students Give Back

A group of around 75 students at The Morgan School selected to be part of Morgan Assets in Action has gathered together and designed a series of four projects developed to improve the culture and community within the school.

"These students have tried hard to look at Morgan and some of the things we can do to make this a better place," Principal Keri Hagness told the student body. "Part of the purpose of what we're doing is to look at some things that, as students, they could put forward and hopefully [have] students in Clinton perceived differently, more positively."

Morgan Assets in Action is supported by local groups including the First Selectman's Task Force on Substance Abuse and Clinton Youth & Family Services.

According to Kristin Brooks, a Morgan alum ('04) and member of the Task Force, the group hired Connecticut Camp Guys to provide the group of students with training, which would prepare them for their ownership and leadership roles as peer asset builders. Students have been surveyed on developmental assets and results of the survey represent areas in which the community is lacking in supporting the youth, Brooks said.

Students were nominated and hand selected by their teachers to represent the student body and develop projects to build the community. The four projects are Club of Clubs, Adopt a Freshman, Wear a Smile Week, and Husky Helper Day. Brooks said that the program is being funded through the help of two federal grants totaling $200.

To keep kids informed on the school's events, Club of Clubs will focus on what's going on and students plan to create a calendar of events that will be placed on the wall of the main hallway for all students to see.

Adopt a Freshman is designed to be a mentoring program to help the incoming 9th graders adjust to the flow of the high school. Applications for becoming a mentor are available in the guidance office.

The Wear a Smile Week is a scheduled week of events that are meant to create a more positive attitude in the hallways.

On Friday, May 13, all of the students will be participating in Husky Helper Day, a day designed to help the community. Technically a school day-but without classes-students will have the opportunity to help either around town or at the school.

"These projects will happen this year and hopefully gain momentum over the next couple years," Hagness said.

Hagness said that after spring break students will have the opportunity to select up to three activities to help with, including those involved in sports' helping clean and fix up the locker rooms. Transportation will be available, staggered as students go from one place to another.

"There's a genuine spirit that many of you have," Hagness said to the students. "Today was really about that fact that Husky Helper Day is in the name of that spirit [of] 'Can we take a day and focus on helping others?'

"Not a lot of schools take an entire day to focus on service, so it's a big challenge for us and one I would like to say continues as a tradition, but a lot of it rests on you guys," she added.