Global Social Awareness Outside of the Classroom

GSA is a required class for both 11th grade and 12th grade students at Duchesne Academy. Through this course, students learn about their Greater Houston Community and service opportunities. The goal of the class is for students to feel inspired to be active, informed, and responsible citizens in their communities. From January to the end of March, students in the B Bin GSA class served at Memorial Assistance Ministries (MAM), the Parish School, and Duchesne’s Lower School.

Four Duchesne girls were assigned to serve at MAM which is a thrift store with programs that held build stable families. MAM has programs that include financial education and coaching and computer literacy services. Students spent their mornings working at the registers, organizing inventory and returns, and helping out customers. Junior Sophie Clark volunteered at MAM where she helped the full-time retail employees, “The biggest thing that I learned was that anyone can donate, and anyone can volunteer.” 

From left to right: Juniors Sophia Hadad, Julia Harfenist, Mikah Kreuzer, and Blake Blanton signing into the front desk to receive their visitor ID badges before going to volunteer at their designated classes. (Photo: Amanda Medrano)

The Parish School is a private school for children with communication delays and learning differences which can include dyslexia, autism, or auditory processing disorders. The four Duchesne students who volunteered at the Parish School spent most of their time engaging with the Parish School children. In addition, they assisted the teachers by printing and laminating visual signs for the children. Students had the opportunity to observe the nature studies, music therapy, and this year’s school musical, The Giving Tree, during their volunteer experience. 

Lastly, two girls stayed on campus to volunteer at Duchesne Academy’s Lower School. They interacted with Pre-K 3 (3 year old girls) and Pre-K 4 (4 year old girls). Their day to day activities ranged from playing on the playground with the girls or walking with them to the nurse’s office if one was injured. In addition, they also helped hang up crafts in the hallways or complete tasks that teachers may not have had time to complete. The GSA students enjoyed being able to build up the children’s creativity and help them along their academic journey. 

GSA students completed the class by showcasing their volunteer work and observations through a final project. The MAM group created a poster, the Parish School group created a vlog, and the Duchesne Lower School group created an informational flier. Through GSA, students live out the 3rd and 4th Sacred Heart goals and become more active members in their Houston communities.