Together: Be Kind, Be Caring, Be the Change

Giving back isn’t limited to a single day or a single season at Rundle. Service learning unfolds all year long in our classrooms, hallways, and through co-curricular experiences.

Through food and clothing drives, service trips, creative and engaging initiatives, and more, every Rundle student at the Academy, College, and Studio gets to learn firsthand what it means to be a kind and compassionate person.

“We’re very intentional about creating opportunities that allow our students to develop the character traits that will shape them long after they graduate: empathy, generosity, responsibility, and the confidence to step forward when they see someone needs help,” says Nicole Jordan, Head of Academics. “When a student – no matter their age – sees year after year that their actions can have an impact on others, they begin to see themselves as capable of making positive change in the world.”

Today, on Giving Tuesday, we are delighted to share how Rundle Gives Back. We’re highlighting eight stories from this school year that show how our students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 – plus Rundle alumni – use their hands, voices, creativity, and generous spirits to lift others up.

Fundraising with a Fun Twist

If you had to pinpoint the most fun day of the school year for our College K-6 students, it would be Choice Day every spring. It’s the one day of the year where students donate $2 for each item on a “Choice Menu” that lets them do things at school they normally wouldn’t get to: chew gum in class, bring a stuffed animal to class, wear their pyjamas, and much more!

“It’s always very exciting because you get to see how everybody expresses themself,” says Grade 5 student Sasha. “And you get to help raise money for people, so I feel like there’s a lot more joy in the halls compared to a regular school day.”

Choice Day is organized by the Kids Care Club, and the student leaders choose where the money raised will go. Last year, Choice Day raised more than $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I think it’s so popular here because the students get to have some independence and they know that the fun that they are having that day is ultimately helping other people through their donation,” says Pat Zack, Kids Care Club teacher sponsor. “The students become invested in the service aspect; it gives them real purpose.”

Grade 6 student Charlotte, who was a member of the Kids Care Club last year alongside Sasha, says Choice Day is both fun and meaningful as a student.

“What I like most about Choice Day is that we’re raising money to help other people,” she says. “It does something nice for someone who had something difficult in their life.”

Making Meals for Calgary Students

Nearly one in three school-aged children in Calgary comes from a food-insecure home. Many go to school hungry and without lunch.

Rundle is deeply committed to helping them by partnering with Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids, an organization that provides food to 8,000 K-12 students in Calgary every day of the year. Many classes and grades across our Rundle Schools volunteer with Brown Bagging, but this year every single College grade 8 and 9 student will spend time at the community kitchen. Rundle also held a snack drive for Brown Bagging during the recent teacher’s strike to continue to support kids their own age around the city.

“Could you imagine trying to get through a school day without fuel? It would be so challenging, especially for a young, growing mind,” says College junior high teacher Joanna Hews. “They do such good things for Calgary; you know that your actions and your giving to them makes an immediate difference.”

Student volunteers help make sandwiches, bake treats, cut fruit and vegetables, and package lunches in brown bags to get delivered to schools.

“The students take it seriously, they leave wanting to do more. I think it’s that recognition that in the same city, not far from them, there are kids their age in this situation,” adds Joanna.

“A big thing at Rundle is being together and well, and others need to be well, too,” says College grade 8 student Patrick. “For them to have a good day at school, you don’t want them to be hungry. If there’s any way that we can help other students, it’s great that we can do that.”

Clothing Drive for Shelters

As we all get ready in the morning, throwing on a pair of socks before heading to school or work, it’s easy to take that for granted and forget just how important they are in not just keeping your feet and body warm, but also for preventing foot health issues.

That’s why Rundle Academy holds an annual sock drive in the fall – Sock-tober – to collect new pairs of socks to donate to organizations throughout Calgary that support people experiencing homelessness.

“Socks are the most requested but least donated item to shelters,” says Academy senior high teacher Zoe Weddell. “They are so easy to overlook but they are crucial for keeping people warm and healthy, especially in the winter.”

This October, the Academy community came together to collect more than 500 pairs of socks, which were donated to The Mustard Seed.

“It’s an easy ask to pick up a clean pair of socks, and our Academy families are so willing to give back,” says Zoe. “It was amazing how much was donated this year.”

She adds that this type of clothing drive is important for our students to begin understanding that their actions have an impact – even students as young as grade 4.

“If you learn about it from a young age, and you see other people giving back towards initiatives that are quite manageable like this, you start to see that your contributions matter and you can really help people,” Zoe says. “It’s good to teach kids that it’s important to give back to people who have a need and who don’t have the same privilege we do; and our students and our community all really do their part.”

Spreading Cheer with Holiday Cards

Each of the 230 seniors living at Aspen Heights Retirement Residence down the hill from our College campus will soon receive a handmade holiday card from our youngest students.

This week, as we enter the home stretch before winter break, K-6 student buddies will work together to create cards to help spread kindness, love, and cheer.

“We want to show our students how small acts of kindness can be shown through simple things like writing cards to our neighbours,” says College primary and elementary assistant principal Joyce Van Rootselaar. “Not everyone is so fortunate to have a sense of connection or belonging during the holiday season, so this is a way that our students can show others that they matter.”

Holiday cards is the perfect activity for the buddy program within the Collett building. Student buddies in Kindergarten and grade 5; grade 1 and 4; and grade 2, 3 and 6, will get to collaborate and learn from each other as they write their cards.

“I haven’t seen my buddy in a long time; I’m excited to see her and I’m excited to also make the seniors feel cared for by making the cards,” says grade 4 student Dami. 

“The older students are role models for the younger students,” adds Joyce. “They can help with spelling, printing, and punctuation, and they just really love being together doing activities.”

Joyce says the purpose of an initiative like this is to show students that giving back doesn’t need to always be financial; all it takes is a piece of a paper and some crayons to make someone’s day.

“There’s so much meaning, so much kindness, so much love conveyed through this small act. We hope it inspires them to continue this behaviour as they move forward, and see that we, as humans, need to care for one another.”

When asked how the seniors will feel opening their holiday cards, Dami shared, “They’re going to feel happy, they’re going to feel loved, they’re going to feel like they belong.”

Added Varushi, her grade 1 buddy: “That they matter in this world.”

Elephant Conservation Trip to Thailand

Is it possible to safely and successfully reintegrate captive elephants back into the wild? At spring break, a group of College senior high students will travel to Thailand on a service trip to find out.

Working with a local wildlife conversation group and the community in northern Thailand, students will spend time at a research facility that helps rehabilitate Asian elephants that have spent their lives in captivity for the tourism industry.

“They’re helping to monitor how elephant behaviour changes when they move from captivity to wild habitats, and if it’s actually helpful to rehabilitate them,” says College senior high teacher Jade Connor.

For the grade 11 and 12 students on the trip, it’s an opportunity for them to help contribute to the ongoing research, and explore options for their future. The second part of the trip will bring students to the southern part of Thailand for further conservation work; helping researchers monitor how climate change and tanker traffic affect the ecosystem in the Gulf of Thailand, as turtle and dugong (sea cow) populations are dwindling.

“I thought it would be a great way to enhance my biology knowledge,” says grade 11 student Emelia. “I really like conservation and animals, and since that’s the focus of this trip to Thailand, it really appealed to me. I find this part of biology and life sciences to be interesting.”

Jade says embedding service components in student trips has always been a foundation of Rundle’s travel program.

“Getting students to not only understand the world around them, but to take action of some kind and do something through care and empathy,” she says. “This connects directly to our caring model at Rundle; understanding the wellness of others and knowing that how we act impacts their wellbeing.”

Holiday Giving for Families

Some service initiatives raise money. Others raise spirits. The annual Adopt-a-Family initiative during the holiday season does both.

Every December, our Rundle schools work with Hull Services, a youth mental health organization, to get partnered with families in need across Calgary and buy them gifts from their wish list to make their holidays more joyful.

“We’re very fortunate; our families really want to give back to others,” says Studio junior high teacher Tisha Mellor, who helps organize adopt-a-family at the Studio. “This is what Christmas is about, and I know that our students really love doing this.”

For the last several years, Tisha has been fortunate enough to deliver Rundle Studio’s gifts and meet the families who benefit from our community’s generosity.

“I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s very emotional. The parents are there, lots of time the kids are there, and they’re all so grateful and so excited,” she says.

These types of opportunities are intentionally embedded in our students’ experiences so they develop the skills that help make them well-rounded people.

“It’s important for us to learn how to be part of a community, how to give back to others, and how to be inclusive,” says a Studio grade 12 student. “Sometimes we can take Christmas for granted, so doing something like this to help others who maybe wouldn’t get Christmas presents is the right thing to do.”

Tisha notes that even though the Studio is a fully remote school, students really gravitate towards the service learning opportunities – Adopt-a-Family in particular.

“Even though we’re an online school, it has the same impact,” she says. “We have a very empathetic community. Our students have their challenges, too, so whenever they have the chance to give back, they really want to.”

Rundle Christmas Market

Market Day at the College Senior High – now in its second year – is one of Rundle’s newest fundraisers, but as a fully student-organized event it is one of the most impressive examples of leadership in action.

Grade 12 student Maeve D. began Market Day last school year as a way for her fellow schoolmates to sell homemade goods and to raise money for charity. This year, the event has transformed into a Christmas market, giving Rundle community members the opportunity to get student-made goods ahead of the holiday season.

“It means a lot to me that there are so many people at Rundle who are just as excited about the market as I am, and who want to be part of it to help others,” Maeve says. The market will feature a number of student vendors selling baked goods, ornaments, crochet, paintings, and more.

When the market was conceived, Maeve wanted to ensure the event would benefit both the student sellers and a non-profit organization. Last year’s market raised money for the World Partnership Walk, while this year Maeve chose the Rundle Bursary Fund as the beneficiary.

“I wanted to give back to something that’s important to Rundle. It’s my last year at Rundle, and I wanted to do something that can leave an impact,” she says. “I love going here, and I really wanted to support the school and help other students benefit from a Rundle education.”

The Rundle Market runs 11:45 am to 12:30 pm today (December 2) in the Conklin building.

We want to thank Maeve and all of the vendors who have stepped forward to help support the Rundle Bursary Fund through this year’s market.

“It’s a really amazing opportunity to have the support to be able to do this in high school,” Maeve says. “This little thing that I can do can help make a difference. Even if it’s a couple hundred dollars, it can go a long way, and it’s amazing that I can be part of that.”

Giving Beyond Graduation

Graduating from Rundle doesn’t mark the end of belonging – it’s simply the beginning of our alumni’s next chapter as lifelong members of the Rundle community. As we continue to celebrate and live our values – especially “be kind” – we intentionally create opportunities for alumni to give back in ways that reflect the generosity and compassion at the heart of who we are.

“Giving and kindness are core values that have shaped Rundle,” says Aaron Goettel, Associate Director of Alumni Relations. “Given the incredible response from previous alumni volunteering opportunities, we know these values are held just as strongly in our alumni community.”

Just last week, we invited alumni, alongside current and retired staff, to volunteer at Basically Babies, an organization that supports families in extreme need, by providing them a full year’s worth of baby clothing.

A group of Rundle volunteers worked in the warehouse to sort through clothing donations that will help support new parents in Calgary.

“It has been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer outside of my children’s school. It was rewarding to learn about a non-profit that I hadn’t heard much about, and it was a good reminder of how I could become more involved in the community,” says alum Alex Mikulak ‘05.

We want to thank the alumni and staff who volunteered their time, as we know that they give back because that spirit is part of who they are.

Our alumni continue to show us that Rundle truly is a K-Forever school; the values instilled during their time here do, in fact, take root and show up in workplaces, homes, and communities as they move into adulthood.

Their commitment to giving back is proof that Rundle’s impact extends beyond the walls of our classrooms and beyond graduation ceremonies. It lives on through the actions of those who carry our values forward to make the world a better place.

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From a fun day of pyjamas to a conservation project halfway around the world, each of these initiatives – and every other way our community gives back – shows the importance and impact of starting service learning at a young age.

Rundle students leave our community knowing that generosity can be expressed through fun, leadership, creativity, and purpose. They give back to worthwhile causes and organizations that mean something to them, which builds a larger community that believes in using its time, talents, and treasures to make life better for others.