No Husky Helper Day 2014! What!?!
Morgan Outdoor Maintenance
March 27, 2014
Written By Jonathan Markovics |
Husky Helper Day has become a tradition at The Morgan School. The first Husky Helper Day was held in the spring of 2011. On the day of the event, Morgan students disperse around the community to landscape and spruce up the Town of Clinton.
The goal of Husky Helper Day is to get students out of the classroom and into the community. The students meet the people who run the town departments and other organizations. Everyone who participates in Husky Helper Day lends a hand where help is needed.
Prior to Husky Helper Day, students signup for a community service or school service site. Some of the places that students can choose are Joel, Pierson, Eliot, Morgan, the Clinton Town Beach, Hammonasset State Park, Clinton Fire Department, Clinton Police Department, the town hall, local churches, nursery schools, and many more. Husky Helper Day 2013 had over twenty five locations that students could choose from.
Each Husky Helper Day has been successful. The community loves the involvement of high school students and how much work can get done in one day. The Clinton Patch, Morgan PawPrint, and The Day published articles before and after the event, sharing pictures and opinions from the students, staff, and community members.
Last year, at an assembly in front of the Morgan student body, Mrs. Keri Hagness, Morgan’s Principal, said, “I can’t tell you enough how much this has impressed our community with the work that you do, that it really has helped shift that perception about what kids are capable of, and each time we’ve had Husky Helper Day, you guys have gone above and beyond.”
Unfortunately, there is not going to be a Husky Helper Day 2014. How can such a successful event that was praised by Mrs. Hagness and the community be stopped?
The question, “How come there is not going to be a Husky Helper Day 2014?”, was easy for Mrs. Hagness, answering, “The organization from last year was so intense that it required administration as well as Mr. Richetelli (Business Teacher at Morgan) hours and hours of time. I lost some of the parent support from the Morgan Alliance, because people graduated, and I didn’t want to put responsibility on the teachers because they are busy teaching.”
Overall, the ultimate reason that there is not going to be a Husky Helper Day 2014 is because 187 parents called their kids out of school the day of the event. Even though many students loved this day of helping the community, those that did not enjoy the day ruined it for the majority.
Hagness ended the interview saying, “We need to rethink [Husky Helper Day] and I am in the planning stages to create a committee in which we can get maximum participation. I can’t continue to have 187 students call out.”
kendrardean • Apr 9, 2014 at 1:05 pm
It’s very unfortunate that 187 kids would not want to come to school on Husky Helper Day. In my opinion, it’s a little selfish. These are probably the same kids that complain about school every single day and that makes me ask why you wouldn’t want to come to school on the one day where you don’t have to learn? Why would you rather sit home and be lazy than help out the very community you live in? Pretty pathetic.
jensengarcia • Mar 28, 2014 at 9:25 am
Nice article, Jonathan. I am disappointed Husky Helper Day is canceled. It sounded fun. I hope get to do it in the future though because it seems like it is really fun to do and will be a great help.
dahlberg32 • Mar 28, 2014 at 9:21 am
I am so upset that there will not be Husky Helper Day this year! It was an amazing event to help out our community and I don’t why so many people would call out. Great article and I thought you incorporated everything that needed to be in the article.
Maddi Roman • Mar 28, 2014 at 9:05 am
This is a shame. It is unfortunate that people can be so selfish as to ruin something that is beneficial to the community. I understand and respect Mrs. Hagness’ decision; 187 kids calling out of school is ridiculous and lazy.
vuongtruong12 • Mar 28, 2014 at 9:01 am
Nice article. We should have Husky Helper Day because it’s really fun to do it.
Lily • Mar 28, 2014 at 8:56 am
Its very unfortunate that there will not be Husky Helper Day today, but thank you for the informative article!
thatkidajrai • Mar 28, 2014 at 8:56 am
Great Article, I am a little upset that we are unable to have Husky Helper Day. Hopefully the years after us respect it as much as we did.
mmcdermott2014 • Mar 28, 2014 at 8:51 am
I really liked your article, but i’m annnoyed that I wont get to participate in Husky Helper Day!!
kpmoran95 • Mar 28, 2014 at 8:50 am
Great article. This gave great insight on Husky Helper Day. I am quite disappointed we won’t be doing it again. The community is clearly losing such a great day.
kadriscoll2014 • Mar 28, 2014 at 8:50 am
Great article. Husky Helper Day does sound like a lot of fun and very beneficial, and I hope that they can get it resolved for next year.
leahcampano • Mar 27, 2014 at 5:38 pm
Nice article Jonathan! Your article was informative and concise, and got right to the point. I’m upset there will not be a Husky Helper Day this year because I really liked giving back to the community and helping out, even if for only one day. I hope we can figure out a way to bring Husky Helper Day back in the future.
jmark324 • Mar 27, 2014 at 3:53 pm
It is unfortunate that Husky Helper Day had to stop and that nothing similar in nature will replace the event this year. In my opinion, if Husky Helper Day was making a difference without the 187 students being involved, then it should have continued. Some involvement of the Morgan student body with the community is better than no involvement.
jonahmorello • Mar 27, 2014 at 2:29 pm
Great article Jonathan! It’s very disappointing to hear that there will be no Husky Helper Day this year. Hopefully they fix the situation for next year, but with that many students calling out it’s not worth it. Husky Helper Day is a great way to change the way the community views the school, but not having a Husky Helper Day this year is not helping us.