In an effort to promote volunteerism, civic awareness, and social empathy Secondary III, IV, and V students at Trafalgar are required to spend a minimum of 15 hours per year volunteering for a recognized community organization.
In addition, Secondary IV and V students may choose to participate in an annual community service trip organized by the school. Past trips have included community service in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.
A minimum of 45 hours of community service must be completed to fulfil the requirements for a Trafalgar Graduation Certificate.
While students in Secondary I and II have no formal service requirements, they will have opportunities throughout the year to volunteer their time, talent, and energy. To further introduce Secondary II students to the program, activities and lessons focussing on volunteerism and social responsibility will be offered throughout the year.
More generally, the school actively supports worthwhile causes and organizations, including the Girls for the Cure walk, holiday food baskets, and the Community Food Depot (formerly the NDG Food Bank).
Un dernier merci à toute la communauté de Trafalgar pour son appui aux Paniers de janvier. Nos élèves de 3e secondaire ont mené une campagne d’aide efficace, créant une compétition amicale entre nos cohortes pour la collecte des denrées. Elles ont aussi organisé une journée festive avec chocolat chaud, une vente de pâtisseries, créé des affiches sur l’insécurité alimentaire pour informer la population étudiante, fait des messages de rappel et envoyé des courriels, afin de motiver et d’encourager leurs pairs à donner généreusement. Au terme de leur campagne, elles ont pu remettre une somme de 300$ à Famijeunes pour l’achat de produits frais destinés aux paniers des familles, à la mi-janvier, lorsque les besoins sont les plus grands. De plus, des cadeaux neufs ont été offerts aux enfants durant la grande fête de Noël de l’organisme, samedi dernier, à laquelle participaient un peu plus d’une centaine de familles du Sud Ouest. D’ailleurs, bravo aux huit élèves senior qui se sont portées volontaires pour aider l’organisme, soit en cuisine, à l’accueil ou aux stations de jeux pour les enfants, durant cette journée fort remplie! Leur contribution est essentielle et l’équipe de Famijeunes est très reconnaissante de notre soutien. En terminant, merci à vous tous de votre participation à notre campagne et passez un heureux temps des fêtes!
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who baked, bought, and supported our bake sale this week! All proceeds will go to La Coalition des familles LGBTQ+, helping to strengthen and uplift LGBTQ+ families and communities within the Montreal area.Together, we've made a real difference—one sweet treat at a time!
This month the muffin pick up will take place on November 29th. Thank you for your contributions, as a reminder muffins must be individually wrapped and nut free.
Starting on November 5th and ending on November 13th, there will be a clothing drive for Bread and Beyond. This organization is collecting winter clothes for unhoused people but also for newly arrived immigrants. Bread and Beyond is looking for winter items which include coats, snow pants, hats, gloves, scarves, long underwear, hand warmers and winter boots. It is so important to help out the community and this is a perfect way to do that. Just think about how cold winter can get and just imagine if you don't have the proper gear to keep you warm. Any help is very much appreciated. Also, the house that gets the most clothes will get an extra 15 house points, so make sure to bring things in. - Submitted by Léla and Quinn
Girls for the Cure was a resounding success thanks to everyone's participation in the walk this year. Not even the weather could prevent us from coming together with the other participating schools! Trafalgar raised over $38,000 for St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, well over what we raised last year.
Thank you to the Girls for the Cure Committee headed by Anne-Sophie Boissinot, to the PCN committee for the great BBQ, and a special shoutout to all the bakers who provided cakes for the auction.
A big 'Thank you' to everyone who baked, volunteered their time, and gave generously to support the bake sale at the Senior Play Performances. As a community, we raised enough to cover the full cost of a Last Sunday of the Month Lunch. This will provide a hot, sit down, family style lunch to approximately 150 people who may need some support at the end of the month.
The annual food drive for Field Day will begin on Friday, May 24th. This year we will be collecting food items for the Head & Hands organisation. Students can bring in food items from the following list:
Granola bars
Cooking oil
Pasta
Any beans and/or lentils
Juice boxes
Canned soup
Rice
Cereal
Oatmeal
We will also be collecting empty egg cartons (sizes: 6 or 12) for La petite mission.
Food items and egg cartons can be brought to school until Thursday, May 30th. Students must label their food items with their house name and place the items in the boxes beneath their house poster in the cafeteria.
Our community service coordinator, Marja-Liisa, took students to serve lunch at Christ Church Cathedral and they were very appreciative of this participation. We received the following note from their Director:
‘Dear Friends, The lunch on Sunday was a wonderfully joyous occasion. ……. Marja-Liisa once again brought her enthusiastic crew of 7 girls from Trafalgar School, which made all the difference when I had 3 regulars absent due to illness. Previously I would have been really stretched to cover for those missing volunteers.’
Congratulations to the students who took part in this endeavour.
Please note that the next muffin drop-off date is March 22nd. We encourage you to bake muffins over spring break and freeze them.