Lending a helping hand
About 80 faculty and staff from Providence High School in Burbank arrived at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School in Sun Valley Tuesday morning prepared to spend eight hours improving the school’s library and playground.
The library at the school, where preschoolers through eighth-graders attend, needed a complete reorganization of its books, and the playground didn’t have any painted lines, keeping students from playing very many popular games during recess beyond tag.
PHOTOS: Providence High faculty, staff volunteer at Sun Valley school
The Providence High teachers and staff also planned to paint a kickball field, a dodgeball field and add hopscotch and four square lines to the asphalt — something kids have been wanting for several years, said Melinda Nassar, a first-grade teacher and vice principal at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School.
The Sun Valley campus was opened by the Sisters of Providence in 1950, and some of its students go on to attend Providence High.
Every year, the Providence staff convenes for a day-long retreat to reflect on their work at the high school. But this year, the high school’s new principal, Allison Castro, wanted to dedicate the day serving others.
“We reflect and share — It’s usually a whole day of just that,” Castro said. “But I thought, why not really hit our mission, and let’s get out and do some service and make real use of those eight hours, and find a community that could use our help.”
Through the Sisters of Providence, the mission at Providence High is to serve the poor and vulnerable with compassionate service, Castro added.
“It’s one thing to think about, it’s another thing to put it action,” she said.
After learning that Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School could use some extra attention, she quickly settled on it.
Just an hour into the morning, the Providence staff had cleared the library of its books and prepared to paint its walls before reshelving the books.
Nassar said the students and staff at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, who were still on winter break on Tuesday, will appreciate the improvements.
“They’re going to come back tomorrow surprised,” Nassar said, adding she was particularly excited about the playground changes.
“The kids needed something out here,” she added. “As a teacher… It’s also nice to see strangers come in for our kids. They don’t even know our kids. It’s nice to see that good happens.”