Grades 6–8 • Montville, New Jersey
8th-Grade Advisory: Making Service Learning Matter
Eighth Grade Advisory is the last step in a three-year character education curriculum at Lazar, beginning with a 6th grade emphasis on team building, honesty, and respect, followed by 7th grade focus on responsibility, accountability, and resiliency. In an effort to put these traits into action, students select a service project for their final year of middle school. Past projects, all initiated by the students, include raising funds for global and local disasters (Hurricane Katrina, tsunami relief, etc.), collecting toys for Iraqi children, supplies for the troops, help for homeless shelters, crocheting blankets for abandoned babies, and assisting at the Special Olympics. These profound experiences become inspiration for reflection and self-expression through poetry, artwork, murals, plays, and journals, which serve as a celebration of their hard work. Local media coverage has highlighted the full day Heroes Assembly, where members of the military, first response teams, fire fighters, senators, and many more have come to speak to the efforts of the 8th grade students.