Volunteers
VOLUNTEERS MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC WITH STUDENT CHIMERS
A group of dedicated ladies, a bus full of excited students and great weather, combined to make for a fantastic day at the State Fair in Columbia. The West Hardeeville School Hand Chimers, under the guidance of the Sun City Hilton Head Hand Chimers, showcased their talents at the annual State Fair in Columbia on October 19, 2006. The WHS chimers consisted of students from 5th and 6th grade.
The performance was music to everyone’s ears as the chimers played one beautiful song after the other, including “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”, “Let There be Peace on Earth”, and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” The performers had a small audience at first, until the harmonious and celestial sounds coaxed more listeners inside the WIS (NBC Television) Spirit of Carolina tent. The WHS/Sun City Hand Chimers played with flawless effort, sometimes as separate units, but playing several songs as a combined group.
After the performance was over, the children enjoyed the remainder of their trip on the fairgrounds. They ate, drank, laughed, and tried their best to experience every fun ride that was available in the amusement park. It was a well deserved time of relaxation after such a terrific performance.
The West Hardeeville Hand Chimers were merely a dream a few years ago. A benefit jazz performance had provided funding for instrumental music but the school did not have a band. Beverly Stewart, director of the hand chimers at Sun City Hilton Head, approached school administration with the idea to purchase a set of chimes and she would work with a group of fourth graders. The Sun City community has adopted the school and provides volunteer readers, mentors, media center workers as well as school supplies and maintenance services.
Ms. Stuart introduced the students to reading sheet music, understanding of tone, beat and rhythm, and taught the group some simple melodies. The vision became a reality and the West Hardeeville Chimers have become the ambassadors of the school. The program spans over three grades at this time, but is focused primarily at students in the fourth and fifth grade level.
The program demonstrates the blend of volunteerism from a senior retirement community with the youthful enthusiasm of a student both visually and audibly. Their talent has been inspiring and very entertaining. Dedication and genuine interest in the students can always result in wonderful harmony.
Volunteers to Promote Literacy with "My Very Own Book"
Every student at West Hardeeville School will go home for the winter holidays with their very own book as a result of efforts of a neighborhood in Sun City Hilton Head. The Hidden Cypress area, home of several volunteers in the school’s Media Center, decided to take a school plan to give each child a book to a higher level a few years ago and they are at it again.
The school, with students from Pre-Kindergarten through the eighth grade, had been seeing that each child received the gift of a book that had been donated by publishers, bookstores or friends of education, according to Karin Kadar, Library/Media Specialist at West.
Three years ago, the decided that it would really be special if each book was gift wrapped and distributed by a jovial Santa. Last year, the books were sorted by reading level, by gender and some bilingual books were provided for students who were still struggling with their English language skills. Then after gift wrapping, the books were presented as classes came to a classroom that become a book warehouse for the day.
This year, the program that is now known as "My Very Own Book" is again evolved to an even higher objective. The group is asking each teacher to advise the books that would be in alignment with the school’s newly adopted curriculum and the South Carolina state standards. The books are still intended to be pleasure reading but the books, mostly fiction, will reflect the areas of concentration required to meet achievement levels for that particular grade. A specially designed bookplate will be affixed to each book.
The project has the support of the Sun City Hilton Head Community Association and residents received an announcement inviting their support. The school has over 800 students so you can imagine the effort required for sorting, affixing and wrapping.
West Hardeeville School was adopted by the developer of Sun City Hilton Head through a High Performance Partnership arranged by the South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce. As the community developed, the residents picked up on the agreement and became one of the strongest volunteer school support groups in the state. The Council for Corporate & School Partnership and the Coca-Cola Foundation then named it as one of the six best in the nation in 2004-2005.
Chaired by Mary Helen Grady (705-2695) and Joan Reusswig (705-7472), monetary donations and new books would be gratefully accepted by the “My Very Own Book Committee.
Del Webb Corporation's Sun City Volunteer
Jasper County is the home of one of the national award winning volunteer
programs, according to The Council for Corporate & School
Partnerships. The following case study tells the story of the
West Hardeeville School volunteer program with Sun City Hilton Head,
a nearby age-restricted community. The award carried with it a
$10,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation to fund the Sun City
Incentive Fund which rewards student achievement.
West Hardeeville Elementary School
and Del Webb Corporation's Sun City Hilton Head
(Hardeeville, South Carolina)
Goal
Assist a financially and academically challenged school to better serve its population.
Strategy:
Build not only a community for people to live but also a community of volunteers to renovate the local school, improve student achievement, increase reading levels, introduce students to the arts and expand physical activity programs.
Tactics:
The Del Webb Corporation, embarking on building a new residential development, Sun City Hilton Head, wanted to simultaneously help build a solid foundation for learning at the local West Hardeeville School. Through a signed partnership agreement with the South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce, Del Webb initially focused on the school's building and grounds. Developing the new community of Sun City Hilton Head sprouted a group of eager volunteers that adopted the West Hardeeville School project. The Sun City Hilton Head volunteers initially painted the school's interior, assembled desks and shelving and created a geometric learning garden for students.
Del Webb's Sun City Hilton Head volunteers introduced the Sunshine Reader Program, which involves reading aloud with first and second graders, until they can read back to the volunteer.
Sun City Hilton Head volunteers also funded an artist-in-residence program, provided job-shadowing experiences, started a school-run newsletter and organized field trips.
To instill a knowledge and appreciation for music, the volunteers created a new program of hand chiming, an activity of the Sun City Chorus, teaching sight reading and promoting music understanding.
Results:
Significant growth in student achievement, indicated by the Palmetto Silver and Gold Award for three consecutive years.
Achievements were acknowledged by the State Chamber's High Performance Partnership Award for two consecutive years, with developmental reading showing growth for first graders, increasing from 5.0 in August to 13.3 in January, and fourth grade benchmarks up 3.9 points in language arts and 4.3 points in math.
The Sunshine Reader Program expanded to provide one-on-one instruction for struggling readers in the primary grades. Some children receive four to five sessions of tutoring a week. Not only has the program improved academics, but also positively affected motivation, self-esteem and attitudes.
The West Hardeeville Chimers have been chosen to perform at the state convention of the South Carolina School Board Association.
