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"Big Easy" Site of Summer Service

In June Newark Academy students traveled to New Orleans for NA’s second “service intensive.” 
 
This year the community service-focused trip took an in-depth look at race and identity post-Katrina using guest speakers, museum visits, service work, and reflection to enable students to fully engage in the topic and the unique culture of New Orleans.
 
While in the Big Easy, students completed more than 40 hours of community service, helping to build two houses in Gentilly, an often-overlooked area of New Orleans, which featured prominently in the post-Katrina narrative. Students talked to local residents and guest speakers about the power of the media in crafting the post-storm narrative and gained a deeper understanding of the lack of affordable housing in New Orleans. NA students also worked with local students at a food pantry and shared a lunch with them that allowed for discussion about the differences of growing up in New Orleans and New Jersey.
 
Throughout the week students had the opportunity to learn first-hand about various cultural traditions in the city including Mardi Gras Indians, social aid and pleasure clubs, jazz music, various food traditions, and walking clubs. They even had the opportunity to help make the glittering shoes that are thrown during the Muses parade.  
 
On their final day in New Orleans, NA students worked side-by-side with another volunteer group from Texas, clearing invasive species from City Park. While the project was difficult, it allowed students to compare their volunteer work with others and experience manual labor in the southern heat. 
 
The week was a huge success offering students the opportunity to grow as individuals through service to communities in need. A fair bit of fun was had, as well!
 
 
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An independent school for students in grades 6-12