Middle School

Students in the Middle School are expected to perform a minimum of 10 hours of community service every academic year. The Middle School offers a monthly community service activity that affords students the opportunity to fulfill service hours during the school day.  Activities include visiting a nursing home, environmental work, sorting and packing food at a foodbank, brightening the days of the sick, playing with children at a day care center, and cycling to raise money for cancer research. All Middle School students and faculty members participate.  Students are also recognized for performing community service outside of school, through organizations like the Girl Scouts or a church group.

The following are required in order to receive a diploma from the School:

•  Every student is required to complete at least 10 hours of service for every year that he or she is a member of the Upper School community.  For example, a student who has attended Shipley for grades 9 – 12 is responsible for completing 40 hours of community service.  It is strongly recommended that students pace themselves by trying to perform at least 10 hours of service every year.
• A minimum of 20 service hours must be served outside of the Shipley community.  Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between “in school” and “out of school” service hours.  As a general rule of thumb, “out of school” service is performed with an adult who is affiliated with a non-profit organization and who is not a member of the Shipley community.  All “out of school” projects should be approved by Mr. Berberian prior to completion.  Please note that interships and research opportunities, while often noble and worthwhile, generally do not fufill the Upper School service requirement.
• Students are asked to record their service hours in the Service Database which is on the computers in both the library and the computer center.  All service hours require either the name of a Shipley faculty sponsor, or the name and phone number of an adult affiliated with the non-profit organization for which the service was performed.  Alternately, students may present a signed note from an adult affiliated with the non-profit organization for which the service was performed.  All service hours must be recorded during the academic year in which they were performed.
• In addition to the above requirements, seniors are required to spend the last three weeks of their senior year pursuing service opportunities, also known as a Senior Service Project (SSP).  Please note that SSPs are in addition to the aforementioned requirements and do not count toward the required 40 hours necessary to graduate.

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