Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grader and we're struggling to get hours. I'd love to know how your child got 150 already. We do 2 hours each weekend. Because of his age, I have to accompany him.

I feel like the schools hand them out constantly. 10 hours for outdoor Ed, 10 hours for something else related to their history class. Bringing in bags for a project, hours. They’re not even helping the community. I get that it’s good for kids whose parents can’t take them to do hours, but as long as your kid turns in all his hours as he goes along and keeps an eye out for opportunities, you’ll be fine

My sophomore has about 200 hours from various places. The impact is on her personality…she has had different experiences and has developed empathy beyond what I think we could have taught her. So don’t think about what those ssl hours can do for your kid, think about what your kid can do for the community.

For my kid it was a line on their apps. Xxx hours of documented community servicei ncluding x y and z. One kid was a scout...lots of service hour opportunities there. Other kid was a strong student. Teacher gave her ssls for assisting other students at lunch.

Anonymous wrote:My DC, a 7th grader has around 150 hours of SSL so far. I read on MCPS that 260+ hours of SSL in senior year will be awarded. Beyond that, will that have any impact in school or college admissions. His friends have already over 400 hours and I would like to understand what impact it has. Could anyone enlighten please

No and anyone telling you otherwise has no idea what they are talking about.

My 7th grader got over 50 hours this past summer from the City of Gaithersburg by attending a SSL camp. She’ll be doing the camp again this summer. Next summer she is going to be a counselor in training which will earn her even more. There are several summer camps that allow students to earn SSL hours. I’ve seen some recently from Montgomery College.

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grader and we're struggling to get hours. I'd love to know how your child got 150 already. We do 2 hours each weekend. Because of his age, I have to accompany him.

Our middle school sends letters with SSL opportunities weekly. My son can volunteer to assist at karate. Kids can rack up hours in the summer volunteering as counselors/leaders in training for city and county summer camps--I think that is easily 20+ hours per week.

If you have to ask, then your kid isn't getting any impact. My kid choose opportunities he enjoyed and wanted to give back. Was not an hours grab.

Anonymous wrote:One of mine got theirs completed by the 6th grade, by helping out teachers or the media specialist at elementary school, one or two hours a week after dismissal. They walk to school and walk home so it wasn't a big deal. No parental figure needed, at all.

All of my kids did this. After school, they walked to their old elementary school and helped out a teacher for a couple of hours. They enjoyed it, and the teacher appreciated the help.

The SSL opportunities are vast.

You can also volunteer for events. Mine is going to help with the Scholastic Book Fair for family night. That's three hours or thereabouts.

One of mine got theirs completed by the 6th grade, by helping out teachers or the media specialist at elementary school, one or two hours a week after dismissal. They walk to school and walk home so it wasn't a big deal. No parental figure needed, at all.

I have an 8th grader and we're struggling to get hours. I'd love to know how your child got 150 already. We do 2 hours each weekend. Because of his age, I have to accompany him.

The quality of hours and what the student learns is half the battle. The other half is how they can articulate these things.

So if a student can articulate the attainment of leadership skills in multiple environments, conflict resolution, increasing responsibility, etc., while bettering the community, that is great. If they have to say a number of hours, the impact isn't great. Just like on a resume, saying how you did something is far better than saying what you did or what your responsibilities were. If it's clear you enjoyed helping others and being thriving in many environments, then it's great! If you just did a bunch of hours of forced unpaid child labor, then it's not so good.

Depends on what the hours are for and how that could be used in a college application. Sure it’s always nice to see service, but just having the hours with no context into how they were acquired, what your DC has learned or contributed to society long term is meaningless.

My DC, a 7th grader has around 150 hours of SSL so far. I read on MCPS that 260+ hours of SSL in senior year will be awarded. Beyond that, will that have any impact in school or college admissions. His friends have already over 400 hours and I would like to understand what impact it has. Could anyone enlighten please