Sol C. Johnson High School - 2010 Jefferson Awards Students In Action Presentation

Jefferson Awards Students In Action

Not to Equal, but Excel : Hoping for Change & Making

a Difference

Our school Principal, Dr. Freddie H. Gilyard has been actively involved in promoting Students In Action. She has participated in all Jefferson Awards SIA meetings and awards ceremonies.

Our school has been enthusiastically engaged in supporting and participating in Students in Action. We have involved SIA in our school via: Morning Announcements Awards Assemblies Nominating Award Recipients Sharing Responsibility

Students are continuously encouraged to research the Jefferson Awards Students In Action program and to help spread the word about our efforts to increase volunteerism in our school as well as our community.

Our school uses various ways of tracking volunteer hours. Most of these tracking systems are done electronically.

The International Baccalaureate students at Johnson High record volunteer hours using an online log called, CAS Log.

The remainder of the students in our school report completed volunteer hours to the school counselors and/or homeroom teachers. These reported hours are recorded electronically using a system called, SASI.

It is a requirement that all students complete a total of 20 hours of community service before the end of their 11th grade year.

The Sol C. Johnson High School Vision for Jefferson Awards Students in Action is to increase volunteerism in our school by encouraging students to become active in the community while giving them the opportunity to be exposed to helping others. We also aim to encourage volunteerism by honoring and recognizing students monthly for outstanding service to the community.

Brianna Wiggins: Senior Student Leader Joel Patterson: Junior Student Leader Tara Thorpe: Attraction &

Communication Brandon Moore and Antone Correia:

Media & Press Jazette Johnson: Nominations &

Selection Bradley Stallings Christian Walker Victor Miller

Our student leadership team for the next school year includes: Jazette Johnson, Joel Patterson, Brandon Moore, Antone Correia, and Bradley Stallings.

We plan to set up booths promoting SIA in our school at various school functions such as PTA meetings, IB Parent nights, and Megafest, so students can become interested and inquire about joining our leadership team.

We plan to increase the number of members on our leadership team by at least 10 students for next year.

Our "Help Desk for Help" was created so that students are able to have a more effective outlet to volunteerism. Our school now has a bulletin board and a Facebook page dedicated solely to the Jefferson Awards Students In Action program in our school, where volunteer opportunities are posted and students are able to express the way that they feel about volunteerism.

This school year we have had two fundraisers and we are in the process of planning a new one.

• In collaboration with DECA, our fundraisers included a school pep-rally that was in efforts to raise money as a part of our school-wide Haitian Relief Fund, which helped to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

• We also reestablished the Mr. and Miss Johnson Scholarship Pageant, in which students who had the most outstanding service efforts, along with academic achievement and grades, earned the title of Mr. and Miss Johnson and a $250 service scholarship.

•Our upcoming fundraiser is a Senior Gift Basket Sale, where parents and students will be able to purchase baskets for graduating seniors so that they can feel special on their special day.

• We have not had any press releases recently, but we plan on having press releases via the Savannah Morning News and other media about. This is one of our goals that we are very working hard to achieve.

•We have honored 5 students this school year and plan to honor more at the year-end ceremony.

• We have had 4-5 Public Assemblies/Announcements.

• We also have had strong parental support concerning the things of Students In Action.

Our Awards recipients are nominated by teachers, administrators, other students, and community leaders. These nominees are hand-selected by the Students In Action leadership team. They are honored at awards ceremonies where they receive a certificate, official Jefferson Awards pin and lanyard.

We plan to go to our feeder middle schools and make them aware of the Students In Action program by encouraging them to become involved in volunteer activities. We also plan to recruit at least one new high school next school year and to hopefully collaborate with them on various service projects.

Johnson High School has made many improvements concerning Students In Action.

• Last year, our school was not fortunate to have the SIA program, and by starting it at Johnson High School this school year, we propose that this is our biggest improvement.

• We attended the fall leadership conference and attained knowledge and leadership skills that we have shared with the leadership teams from many of the clubs in our school.

• From the beginning of the school year to now, our leadership team has increased by 1 student, and we have partnered with 6 school clubs and organizations to broaden student activity in SIA.

• We successfully planned and held recognition assemblies.

•We raised over $3000 dollars for our Mr. And Miss Johnson Pageant.

• We are also in the process of developing a plan to sustain SIA in our school as well as improve our "Help Desk for Help“.

•Our school now has a bulletin board and a Facebook page dedicated solely to the Jefferson Awards Students In Action program in our school, where volunteer opportunities are posted and students are able to express the way that they feel about volunteerism.

• Finally, we are in the process of planning a grand assembly, where all of the monthly winners will be recognized and one student will be honored as the Students In Action Student Volunteer of the Year.

Because we are aiming to help Students In Action become more visible in our school, students are beginning to recognize this program as a way to become involved in volunteerism. Each day, people from our school and the community recognize the Jefferson Awards logo, and immediately ask "What's new?". Because of these new ways of implementing SIA in our school, people constantly ask for help and inquire about the program.

Jefferson Awards Students In Action

Not to Equal, but Excel : Hoping for Change & Making

a Difference