2020-21 NHS Chapter Officer Projects

Below are the projects the Oxford 2020-21 NHS Chapter officers created and led as described by the officers.

LAUREN SCHILLER- PRESIDENT

The main project I led this semester was a campaign to write book reviews. The NHS members who participated in the project selected a book from our school library, which they then picked up during a drive-by book pickup. They each read their books and kept a reading log, which then assisted them when they wrote their book reviews. These reviews were posted on the online library catalog and made visible to any OHS student looking through the catalog. The purpose of this project was to inspire other students to read once they read these reviews from their peers. If even one Oxford student is encouraged to begin reading as a result of a review, then the project will have served its purpose to combat the nationwide reading deficiency and will have enabled the NHS to demonstrate its commitment to scholarship throughout the community.


ALEXA BAKER- VICE PRESIDENT AND BROOKE MANDZIUK- TREASURER
The project we led together was making positive and inspirational videos for kindergarteners throughout our district. The NHS members who participated in this project were assigned pages of a storybook to read over video and tasking with making their short videos fun and appealing. We then compiled these short videos into a longer video. In the end, we made three whole videos to send out to the elementary schools, which received around 70 views-- many of which were teachers showing their classrooms, so this project had a broad scope. Through this project, we were able to bring joy and enthusiasm to kids in the school district and the adults who take care of them.


ELLIE DIMALANTA- SECRETARY
My project was entitled “Letters of Gratitude.” Through this project, we (myself and 19 other NHS members) wrote letters to staff members and some students throughout Oxford Community schools. Through this project, we wrote around 400 letters to staff members at OHS, OMS, OES, Clear Lake, and students at OES and Clear Lake. I’ve always loved handwritten notes because I feel like they are a very personal and tangible way to show that you care. This school year has obviously been such a challenge in so many different ways. For teachers, there are so many challenges that are a part of virtual learning as well as in-person learning, and students and teachers alike are facing the mental and social effects that result from isolation. The main goal of our letters was to express gratitude, spread encouragement, share joy, and serve others.


BEN DATSKO- HISTORIAN
Over the past two months, six Oxford High School NHS members worked to create and distribute 15 yard signs throughout the community. These sit alongside M24 and North Oxford Road, inside local businesses, and within a vast array of subdivisions. Overall, this project aimed to devise a way to thank all those who trudge through their grueling occupations amid the ongoing pandemic, and especially those (such as front-line workers like high school faculty members and health care workers) who face the challenges it asserts daily. Although our Chapter's yard signs may only create a slight sensation of warmth in individuals as they read them, sometimes such simple bursts of happiness are beneficial and could be what a reader needs to jump-start the brightening-up of their day.