Ledyard High School offers an array of clubs for individuals to get involved with in their school community. One group, the National Honor Society, allows members to volunteer at the elementary schools. From reading to the little ones to assisting with the annual field day, the students have an overwhelming amount of opportunities to dedicate their time to the community.

Since the fall, members have been commuting to the Gales Ferry schools to read books in classrooms. This has been an annual tradition for years.

“Opportunities like reading day and field day honestly just make me really happy and make me feel like I am giving back to programs that I enjoyed so much when I was younger. It is really cool being on the opposite end this time,” junior Jenna McHale said. “My favorite memory would have to be when I was reading to a first grade class at Ledyard Center School and the kids did not want us to leave. They would scream along to ‘five little monkeys jumping on the bed’, do every sound effect during ‘Click Clack Moo’ and were so engaged and happy. It was cool seeing kids so interested in reading and seeing them so happy to see us.”

Senior Kevin Hutchins is grateful for the time he has had with NHS and was intrigued by one reason that members come to the schools.

“Mrs. Bousquet said that the kids aren’t the most motivated and I think when they hear about what we do at the high school and how much fun we have in different groups, it gets them open to trying new things,” he said. “As for being in NHS this year, it was a great opportunity for service and leadership and it even gets you more involved with functions in and out of school, which helps you get to know and become friends with so many people.”

Allowing high schoolers to volunteer on a consistent basis allows the younger generations to see how important it is to give time to the community.

“When I was in elementary school I always looked up to the NHS kids running field day, I always wanted to be like them,” junior Bethanie Deveau said. “So it was weird that when we were there I kept looking for the big kids and then realizing that I was one of the big kids. To maybe be that person for someone in elementary school now watching all of us run their field day would be really cool.”

“Being in NHS this year was busy, but tons of fun! It is really great being part of a group that is so dedicated to community service and being involved in the school community,” McHale said. “There is always something going on which I love since I hate sitting around and doing nothing.”

Megan Brawner, Editor-in-Chief 

Senior Megan Brawner is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is the captain of the cross country team and runs Indoor and Outdoor Track. She participates in Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA) Club and is the secretary of the Senior Class. She is the Editor of Key Club. She will attend Central Connecticut State University to study Business next fall.