Dedham Country Day’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took place on Friday, January 17, 2014, engaging children, faculty, and parents in a morning spent doing and planning various types of community service activities.
The day began with a special assembly during which the Chorus performed two songs. This was followed by classroom time for students to work on their projects, which they later presented to the whole school community at a mid-morning gathering in the Lowell Center.
Community service has long been a significant educational priority at DCD. Throughout the year, children in all grades, from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8, are engaged in a range of age-appropriate community service projects to reach out to others who are less fortunate.
Over the years projects have benefited a number of organizations—local, national, and international—including Nothing but Nets, OXFAM, Head Start, Cradles to Crayons, the Charles River Center, schools in Haiti, the Italian Home for Children, the pediatric cancer unit of Mass General Hospital, the Dedham branch of the MSPCA, and the Dedham Council on Aging, among many others.
DCD has been recognized for its community service activities by PIN, the Parents’ Independent School Network, receiving numerous awards over the years.
The MLK Jr. Service Day celebration is just one of many DCD programs that strives to inspire students to become caring, ethical members of the larger world by emphasizing thoughtful citizenship and respect for self and others.
