Sixth Former James Buchan has a future with the Ontario Hockey League’s Peterborough Petes — but he wants to graduate from St. Paul’s School first
October 14, 2026
Whether helping neighbors in Concord or supporting one another on the grounds, SPS students are finding opportunities to put compassion, connection, and service to the greater good into practice.
BY KRISTIN DUISBERG
In September, when Dean of Student Support and Director of Community Engagement Kate Daniels spoke in chapel about community service at St. Paul’s School, she led with a surprising topic: commercial fishing. Growing up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Daniels explained, she learned from her classmates about the perils and challenges of the work that was so many of their parents’ livelihood — and internalized the importance of supporting these fellow community members at her hometown’s annual Scallop Festival, an event that featured not just a delicious deep-fried dinner but also educational programming about life at sea.
“This was my first experience with what we at St. Paul’s call community engagement and the notion of accompaniment,” Daniels said, invoking the term coined by infectious disease doctor, anthropologist, and global health visionary Paul Farmer to describe the act of understanding and sharing in the experience of those in need as part of providing service and support to them. “Informed by our mission to be of service to the greater good and the words of our School Prayer that inspire us to be kind, thoughtful, unselfish, and eager to bear the burden of others, community engagement is an important component of the St. Paul’s School experience.”
Rather than requiring students to complete a certain amount of volunteer service hours each year, Daniels explains, the School takes a more intentional approach to service, rooted in this concept of accompaniment, that begins with developing relationships and meaningful connections with local organizations. These relational connections in turn make it possible for members of the SPS community to truly understand the issues faced by the individuals these organizations serve and what specific needs they have.
Over the course of the year, some of those connections will be forged in chapel, as representatives from Concord-area nonprofits are invited speak to the community about their organizations, their missions, and the individuals they serve. Other connections are already in full swing. As students from the Knitting Club meet to craft hats and scarves for donation to the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, they also discuss the group’s mission and the complex issues that can leave people unhoused. SPS students who participate in Farm Team work side by side with new American farmers who make a living selling their produce at local farmers markets. Members of the Service Learning Team who spend four afternoons each week mentoring sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Rundlett Middle School provide not just academic and social support but also opportunities for creative fun, and student-athletes on the Big Red cross country, track, lacrosse, softball, and hockey teams who offer clinics and mentorship support to local children also teach life skills of cooperation, discipline, resilience, and leadership.
Student musicians perform for residents of The Birches senior living community in Concord as part of a day of service on Oct. 10.
Daniels estimates that 200 students — more than a third of the St. Paul’s student body — have participated in at least one act of service since the start of Fall Term, from organizing a trash brigade to creating cards and bracelets for participants in a local NAMI mental health awareness walk. On Oct. 7, 58 students participated in the annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event in downtown Concord to support THRIVE and raise awareness for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Three days later, students in Manville, where Daniels serves as head of house, spent part of their surprise Saturday off from classes volunteering at The Friendly Kitchen, Concord’s only soup kitchen, and a group of student musicians visited The Birches senior living facility to play for residents in the memory care unit. It’s Daniels’ hope that every St. Paul’s student and many faculty members will participate in community service in some form this year.
As important as this work of engagement and accompaniment is beyond the St. Paul’s community, Daniels also sees its impact in the ways students support one another on the grounds, too. “There are countless acts of kindness and compassion and moments of accompaniment occurring quietly all day, every day here at school,” she noted in chapel. “Teaching a new student how to download and use the REACH app, helping someone with homework, and noticing that someone needs a friend with whom to sit at lunch and then inviting that person to join you and your friends are all ways to truly live and not just recite the words of our School Prayer. These small but mighty acts and others like them say, ‘I see you, I understand what you are going through, and I am here to walk with you.’”
