Fairfield pride rewarded with cash

FAIRFIELD - Fairfield High School was rewarded with cash for community service by high school students.

It was a reward for something the school does and encourages on a regular basis, no matter the reward.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association sponsors the Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge.

The Pride Challenge is a statewide community service initiative that challenges middle and high school students to participate in service projects. Each school chose a community service project that is meaningful to its community. The initiative provides opportunities for Iowa students to have a positive impact in their communities through a community service component, while also providing educational experiences for all involved.

Fairfield already requires students to have 10 hours of community service to graduate. The Challenge was a chance to reward that effort.

The win was a culmination of things the school has done in the past, having paid the fee every year to be a part of the challenge, athletic director Jeff Courtright said.

The COVID-19 situation curtailed many schools projects, including the Fairfield football team's annual visit to an area nursing home.

The following schools and the project were the five 2021 winners.

' Albia - A Family in Need Yard Work

' Waterloo West - Clean the Athletic Area Event

' Calamus-Wheatland - Community Food Drive

' Carroll - Farmers to Families Food Box Program

' Fairfield - Youth Basketball Skills and Role Models

Each school will receive a plaque and a $500 award for the student government program at their school.

Trojans high school basketball coach Mick Flattery was in charge of the project, which conducted 11 skills clinic sessions for boys in third through sixth grades. Many were on travel teams so the clinics were conducted before they had the starts to their seasons.

High school basketball team members helped coach, supervise and demonstrate drills at the Trojan Skills Camp. Each station worked on a specific skill and then games were played.

'We had guys volunteer and the turnout was really good,” Flattery said. 'We had many at each session.”

The clinics give the younger kids a chance to interact with high school players that they see as role models.

'Little Trojan players look up to these guys,” Flattery said. 'They want to play like them. They want to be like them.”

'Our FHS Team helped We had 11 sessions of skills and scrimmages

In all, there were 60 plus little kids participating.

'After teaching the skill and having FHS players demonstrate, the guys would then split up to baskets,” Flattery said. 'At the baskets, our guys would reteach and provide instant feedback to our young players.”

The reward for the basketball team was a chance to scrimmage during an allotted time period.

Participating schools are eligible for certificates of participation, statewide recognition, and grants, as well as an option to participate in a Pride Scrimmage. Schools that receive authorization for a Pride Scrimmage are permitted to use one of their three allotted basketball scrimmages to play a gamelike scenario under all normal game conditions, including charging admission, keeping score and using officials. Essentially, it may be thought of as an 'exhibition” game. Pride Scrimmages are not games and do not count on a team's record.

'The guys we have this year are absolutely awesome,” Flattery said. 'What great Role Models for our younger kids to look up to.”

The Pride Challenge helps schools that already incorporate community service as an extension of learning in the classroom and it provides an opportunity for member schools to participate in a community service project, as well as a platform to highlight their school, their students and their activities. Schools are encouraged, but not required, to participate.

The Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge is a voluntary statewide community service initiative for high schools and middle schools.

Schools take part in the Iowa Pride Challenge by participating in a community service project of their choosing during a designated time period. The intent of the Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge is to support those schools already active in their communities, while encouraging others in the three A's of Iowa - Academics, Athletics and the Arts.

Proceeds from the Pride Scrimmage may either be used to benefit the chosen service project or may be retained by the host school, after a

$250 contribution to the Richard Jacobson Education Fund at the Iowa Hall of Pride.