Corbett Prep Students Help Superstorm Sandy Victims

In the spirit of solidarity and support, Corbett Prep sixth grade Student Council representatives reached out to their fellow middle schoolers thousands of miles away.

Far Rockaway, an island peninsula, was one of the hardest hit places in the northeast when Superstorm Sandy ravaged the area, and most of the students at P.S. 53 were left without heat and power.

Middle school students from Corbett Prep of IDS, which buses south Tampa students, were led by seven sixth grade representatives and English teacher Kat Quin. The group immediately jumped in to help.

“They took to their closets. With only one day’s notice, the middle school rallied to donate more than 100 jackets as well as school supplies and novels for teachers’ classrooms," she said. "The students have already shipped several large boxes. And they aren’t finished yet."

P.S. 53 Principal Shawn Rux told Quin about the school's difficulties since the storm.

“We’re in school at a satellite location, but we have no heat," he said. "Many students have lost everything and return to homes with no heat. When the sun goes down, it’s a scary place to be right now.”

Sharing their spirit of service to their own community was also part of Corbett Prep Middle School’s Fall Day of Service last week.

The students and teachers boarded buses in their advisory groups ready to serve people and places all over Tampa: Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, Alpha House, Mt. Cavalry, Child Advocacy Center- Dimples Playland, Bowman Center, R-Club VPK, University Community Center, Hillsborough County School Readiness Program- Lake Carroll Baptist Learning Center, and COGIC— Family Center Children’s Day Care Center, a part of the Hillsborough County School Readiness Program.

“Our Corbett Prep students actively engaged with the young children at the COGIC Center, and they were excellent role models," said middle school faculty member Chris Jones. "We are looking forward to seeing them again in March."

After meeting and training with the facilities team at Corbett Prep, one group spent their morning on campus improving the school’s grounds. In a spirit of gratitude, the students picked up their yard tools and went to work beautifying their own school community.

Darina Glover, middle school technology instructor, and her group used software in the Middle School computer lab to write and illustrate books for children at the Center for United Cerebral Palsy of Tampa Bay. The books will be delivered to the children and some will even be available in digital form.

In addition to the Fall Day of Service, the Middle School Student Council started a school wide canned food drive to provide non-perishables to families in need at Metropolitan Ministries.