NATCHEZ &045; Trinity Episcopal School graduates are taking more than reading, writing and arithmetic lessons with them to college.

The students also have a good background in service learning, a method by which they develop active participation in volunteer projects. Students in the senior religion class divided into groups to take on service projects with nonprofits in Natchez.

Lee Jones can testify to his group’s &uot;active participation.&uot; They volunteered to wash and paint the outside of the Natchez Humane Society &045; a project that took nearly twice as many hours as they expected. After several pressure washings, they were able to paint and spruce up the outside of the building.

Not that Jones is complaining about the work, however.

&uot;It was a lot of fun,&uot; he said. &uot;It was really satisfying to do something for the community.&uot;

Trinity Head of School Dr. Delecia Carey students participated in two projects with the humane society &045; the painting of the building and development of a Web site &045; as well as volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club.

Club Director Faye Minor said she was proud of the work the students had done for her organization.

&uot;They did a great job,&uot; she said. &uot;It’s unique to have a whole class help us.&uot;

Last year, the students helped throw a Christmas party for the Boys & Girls Club members, raising money for the project and putting together Christmas presents for the members.

Students also volunteered in the afternoons, tutoring the younger students, Minor said.

&uot;You would think they would have been uncomfortable, but they just fell right in,&uot; Minor said.

Carey said she hopes the projects have given students a good foundation for future volunteer work.

For their religion class, students carefully planned their projects, researching the community’s needs and detailing how each group member would participate and what tasks needed to be completed.

&uot;Service learning is something that has really taken hold (in schools),&uot; Carey said.

&uot;We know it’s not enough to ask kids to show up and work. They need to learn why this community needs them to do work like that.&uot;