Pupils reached out to older people in the local community by throwing them a Christmas party.
On Wednesday 5 December, 23 older people living close to the secondary school were welcomed by pupils for an afternoon of food, fun and festive entertainment.
Pupils across all year groups were involved in preparations for the party for local residents, which was intended to give back to the community by way of thanking their guests for their contribution to the development of the area over the years.
The students were in fine voice, entertaining their guests with traditional carols. The party formed part of the school’s Festive Winter Gift Programme, which sees pupils get involved in fundraising activities, appealing for donations to help provide gifts for people in need of support and give their time volunteering during the festive season to demonstrate their contributions to the wider community through charitable actions. As part of the initiative, pupils have also been selling Christmas cards to raise money for charity.
Year 10 pupil Mahira said:
“We especially enjoyed serving, singing and sharing stories with our guests. They are an inspiration and we can learn so much from them. Throughout 2018 we hope to build upon the links we have made and will continue to be active citizens within our local community.”
Principal Enass Al-Ani said:
“We are privileged to have members of our local community interacting with our students. It was a very valuable experience for our pupils to have been involved in, as they kindly worked together to organise, prepare food, Christmas carols and host this Christmas party for older people from our local community.
“Our Community Day is one of the many initiatives taking place across the Academy to support the local community. We will continue to work on local projects, support charities and contribute to our community as we aim to instil in our pupils a sense of responsibility and a drive to address issues that concern them.
“More importantly it highlighted to our guests that they are valued members of our local community. It was certainly heart-warming to see the difference we have made to them at this special time of year.”
FESTIVE FUN: Young people from Small Heath Leadership Academy hosted a Christmas party for members of the local community