COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARDS GUIDELINES 2023/2024

Community engagement is one of the key pillars of our Marist ethos. This is something that should
be done by every boy consistently during their stay at the School.

The community service colours awards criteria are moving away from a system that is based only
on an accumulation of hours to one that involves community engagement and measuring the
impact of the activity on the community. The focus of service activities should be on community
engagement, activities based on the interaction with underprivileged communities, and reflecting
on the impact of the activities on the community. However, there is still a place for donations,
collecting items, baking and sandwich making, knitting, germinating seedlings, and filling eco-
bricks.

RECORDING SERVICE ACTIVITIES:

• Boys that have made good use of the Community Hours platform may continue to do so.
• Boys will receive two different record sheets for recording their community service activities:
an internal recording sheet (for service to the School and participating in school-based service
collections) and an external recording sheet (for service to external underprivileged
communities which involves engagement with the members of that community).
• Boys must record their service every time they complete an activity; this must be validated and
signed by the organiser of the activity, or teacher in charge of the activity. The forms must be
filled in at the time of completing the service.
• On the form, the boys must record the date, hours involved (if the activity involves action),
what the activity involved and must be signed, dated and stamped by the organiser of the
activity. Additional evidence (like letters from the organisation and photographs during the
activity) should also be gathered.
• Internal service activities involves service to the School. These include activities like, but not
limited to, sound and lighting for assemblies and events, backstage and tech for drama
productions, peer counselling, peer tutoring, public relations, first aid at sports events, scoring
and timing for sports, MC and adjudication for public speaking, judging for debating.
• Service activities in underprivileged communities are broken down into the following three
categories (in ascending order of impact, see Figure 1):
➢ Donations and Participation: These include, but not limited to, cash and collections e.g.
bottle caps, sanitary pads, old clothing (e.g. Clothes to Good), food items, participation in
events like Shavathon, Flip-flop day, blood drives.
➢ Activities: These include activities like, but not limited to, making eco-bricks, germinating
and growing avocado seedlings, making sandwiches, baking, knitting, making toys, filling
food parcels.
➢ Engagement: These include activities that involve engagement with members of under-
privileged communities (this level carries the most impact).
• At a designated date towards the end of each term, the boys must show the completed
service forms to their tutor/family cell parent, who will then sign the form. The tutor/family
cell parent must use the form to comment on the boys' community engagement contribution
in their report comment.

Figure 1: Image of a mathematical model used to calculate the Impact Score

RECORDING SERVICE ACTIVITIES TOWARD AWARDS:

At designated dates, boys must scan their completed forms and upload these in a Google Form
assignment.
• The Google Form assignment will allow the boys to reflect on their service for the year; the
focus will be on the impact of their service activities on the community and the level of
engagement involved in their service activities. These will include reflections on how they felt
during the activity, what they learned from the engagement, what more they would like to do
and have done with the community.
• The Google Form assignment will be reviewed by a panel of staff, where the activity
involvement will be applied to a mathematical model and impact points will be allocated to
the service submissions. The impact points will be based on the number of hours involved in
the different activities, the variety of activities done, the levels of engagement of the activities,
the impact of the activities on the community, the reflection of the boys on their impact.

CRITERIA FOR SERVICE AWARDS:

• Boys need to apply for their service award; this is done by timeously submitting their annual
service impact reflection form (at the end of Grades 9 and 10) and termly service impact form
(during Grades 11 and 12).
• Half colours can only be awarded during the Grade 11 year.
• Full colours will not be awarded unless half colours have been awarded first.
• Service activities need to be consistent and diverse. This means that the service must reach all
aspects of the service portfolio.
• Service activities must continue, even after the awarding of colours.

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The maximum impact points will be awarded at these different times during the College journey:
Time of submission Maximum Impact Points
At the end of Grade 9 (including service from Grade 8) 20
At the end of Grade 10 20
At the end of Grade 11 Term 1 10
At the end of Grade 11 Term 2 10
At the end of Grade 11 Term 3 10
At the end of Grade 12 Term 1 10
At the end of Grade 12 Term 2 10

• The impact points are applied according to a mathematical model (an example of the model
was shown in Figure 1), in conjunction with a review by a panel of teachers. A score will be
allocated at each time of submission.
• The impact points are cumulative and will contribute to first achieve half colours, and then full
colours.

The accumulated number of impact points required by the current (2023) Grades 8 and 9 to
achieve respective colours in their Grade 11 year are:
Half colours Full colours
45 accumulated Impact Points 60 accumulated Impact Points

The accumulated number of impact points required by the current (2023) Grade 10s to achieve
respective colours in their Grade 11 year are:
Half colours Full colours
40 accumulated Impact Points 55 accumulated Impact Points

The old awards criteria (2022) still applies to the current (2023) Grade 11s:
Half colours Full colours
150 hours of service activities of which a 300 hours of service activities of which a
Social
maximum of 25 hours can be passive maximum of 50 hours can be passive
Responsibility
service. The active hours conducted in service. The active hours conducted in
Service
2023 need to involve some form of 2023 need to involve some form of
Award
community engagement. community engagement.
150 volunteer hours in school-based 300 volunteer hours in school-based
Service to
service clubs and a minimum 30 hours of service clubs and a minimum of 60 hours
School Award
social responsibility service. of social responsibility service.
Social responsibility must involve work in underprivileged communities.
The responsibility of logging hours rests completely with the boy and must be done
General
timeously.
Working with animals can have a maximum of 50% of hours.

The final decision on any service award rests with the College Awards Committee.

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