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NAPS is involved in many community projects. We are proud of the involvement of
our kids in such worthwhile projects. There are three projects covered
here. You can be sure that there are many others that we missed. However,
we will include any we get information about so if you know of something,
write it up and email it to the webpage for inclusion!
NAPS - Class of '06 National Eagle Scout Association (NESA)
Some of the pictures below are of NAPSters attending Family Promise, an organization seeking to provide shelter to homeless families and getting them back on their feet. In the picture, candidates were receiving training. At the end of the training, students surprised the organization by donating canned foods that were picked up over a period of 2 weeks on deck at Nimitz. The battalion helped out tremendously by donating can foods, which in turn helped this organization continue their mission to help impoverished families.
Another activity students did was on 02 NOV 2005. It was located at the First Presbyterian Church in Newport. NAPSters attended a soup kitchen and fed many of the local homeless and had dinner with them. Many of the people there enjoyed sharing a meal and Candidates enjoyed serving them. Many of them thanked students for our service to our country, and students felt honored to have the opportunity to share time with them. It truly opened the eyes of many NAPSters, especially when they learned that many of the people there were retired military. It was shocking to learn who you could find on the streets. It was a great night with lots of laughs and a warm heart at the end of the evenning.
The next goal is to prepare a competition for the battalion for the Captain's Cup. It will be a timed event where the goal is for platoons to RUN around base picking up as much trash as they can. The area of focus will be the shoreline leading to the aircraft carriers. The winner will be determined by who picks up the most trash. In the end, candidates would have received a workout and done something good for the military community.
Another goal for NESA is to prepare a display for the new NAPS building for next year. The display will include pictures of old NAPSters, artifacts from Nimitz Hall, and anything we can get to put into the display. We want a part of the display to be dedicated to scouting since it is being put together by all the Eagle Scouts. The goal is to pass on the memory of Nimitz and to give future NAPSters a taste of what NAPS is all about...service to country, academics, fitness, and a lot of laughs.
    
NAPS Class of '02 Baseball Team Volunteers in the Community
On Oct 6 & 7, 2001, the Naval Academy Preparatory School hosted
a clinic at Gaudet Middle School for the Middletown Senior League
Fall Ball team. Everybody had a great time as they went over baseball
fundamentals and ended the day with a short game scrimmage. It was
during NAPS parent's weekend, so many family members are also in the
picture.
NAPS Basketball Community Service - 2001
By LT Terry Allvord, NAPS Athletic Director
Last Tuesday the Naval Academy Preparatory School Basketball
team played host to more than 30 boys and girls basketball team
members from The Pennfield School located here in Portsmouth,
Rhode Island.
The clinic was organized through Pennfield's Head Basketball
Coach John Devoe and NAPS Head Coach Jim Hamilton.
During the two-hour clinic The Pennfield players were instructed by NAPS coaches and players on the fundamentals of the game while also finding time to play some competitive contests and
scrimmages.
Both coaches were pleased with the great effort put in by all those involved.
"It's really a great way for the Navy to get involved in our community,
we really appreciate all the attention they have given our kids. The
kids jsut had a blast," said Coach Devoe.
Pennfield seventh grader and forward Cameron Crockford had this
to say about the experience, "I had a great time taking on the
NAPS players and I learned a lot about basketball today."
In the end, that's what it was all about. NAPS players and coaches sharing time with a local school and their parents. NAPS offers free clinics year-round in many sports. For more information call (401) 841-4255.
NAPS Lends a Helping Hand - 2000
by Mark Haag
In December 2000, the young men and women at NAPS got together to lend a helping hand. Their recipients were a group of not-so-fortunate kids attending Peter Burnett Elementary School in Sacramento, California. NAPS raised nearly $1,300.00 in donations from more than 280 students and their staff. With this money, NAPS donated a new computer complete with a 17” monitor, color printer, speakers, and educational software. In addition, they were able to donate a shopping cart full of school supplies geared towards keeping the kids interested in school, particularly in writing.
The school is located in a rough neighborhood, and is severely overcrowded. The instructor NAPS was in contact with, Mr. Mark Hughes, explains, “We’ve almost 800 kids now enrolled in a school built for 500. My room is a “temporary,” built for some 15-20 kids, and set up some 14 years ago. I teach 35-40 kids in a regular class, and 35-45 after school. We have five SED (Severely Emotionally Disabled) since the Special Education departments are also over crowded. We’ve even got a 10-year-old who can do Trigonometry, but her parents can’t speak English, so she gets short changed.”
The school, being in the capital of California, is about as ethnically diverse as it gets. Many of the kids learned English as their second language. The kids were absolutely ecstatic when they came back from Christmas break to have a second Christmas, this time at school. They opened the door to their classroom, and saw a brand new computer and a mountain of writing and art supplies.
Their instructor Mark Hughes, explained to the kids that NAPS donated to their class. He also explained what it meant to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School. He pulled up the NAPS home page, and the kids blurted out their excitement: Patrick Conley, age 11 exclaimed “Whoa! NAPS is tight! They also thought they saw a Navy man who looks like The Rock.” Alfonzo Hernandez, speaks English as a second language and is 12 years old adds “Esta bien! I would like a uniform like that, and it is a good school, yes?” Phillip Oliver, 11, shares “I really like the computer, and my dad was a Marine!” Steven Crisp, age 11, exclaims “Shagadellic, NAPS! Are them the guys that got us the stuff? And look, they have to line up like we do!” Mr. Hughes recently shared that “Thanks to NAPS, we have the most productive class on campus (and rumors are running District wide). I’ve got parents from other schools wanting to get their kids in my class. Imagine that.”
The success that NAPS experienced this holiday season could not have happened without the time selflessly donated by several students and staff. To name a few, ATC (AW) Mark Runyan helped to coordinate a day that students and staff were able to wear civilian clothes for the day if they donated. LT Mitsu Binns collected donations from staff members, and M/C Jeffrey Gelzinis, assisted by M/C Shawn Kelliher, helped motivate their classmates into donating.
NAPS is very fortunate to have been in a position to help others like they did this holiday season. One can only hope that in the years to come, NAPS can keep this spirit alive as one of the many NAPS traditions, continually striving to outperform the previous years’ holiday spirit.
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