On a cold night in January, 21 students, five staff members and one assistant principal from Landstown Middle School took over the kitchen at the Judeo Christian Outreach Center, and they got to work.

Together, the group planned, prepared and served dinner for more than 70 guests of the center, which is located on Virginia Beach Boulevard.  As the meal drew to a close, and the evening grew longer, the students provided another gift: the gift of song.  Students provided a rousing night of entertainment by performing a medley of songs under the direction of choral teacher, Ashley Adams.

It was just another in a long line of events facilitated by the school in order to create a Landstown culture of serving for a greater good.

The effort is all a part of Landstown’s school wide sustainability initiative, which began last year, and encourages students to get involved in service projects that will benefit the social, economic or environmental aspects of sustainability in their community. Teachers, like Landstown Civics Teacher Jeremy Hagy, partner with the initiative and create service opportunities for their classes, such as providing dinner for the center.

However, the initiative is not just for students; the faculty plays just as vital a role. In fact, it was the faculty of Landstown that donated the food for the dinner, and the cafeteria workers that helped in the food preparation.

Under the support and inspiration of the initiative, some students develop projects on their own in order to best lend a hand.  Eighth-grader Kemani Montgomery, for example, set up a one-person food drive after hearing about the Virginia Beach school division’s Beach Bags program that provides weekend meals for families in need. Thanks to her efforts, two families in Virginia Beach will get meal provisions for the weekend.

These efforts, and many more, will be the highlight of the Sustainability & Wellness Night at Landstown, Wednesday, Feb. 20 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Students as well as staff will be on hand to present the various projects (from neighborhood clean-up efforts to class recycling programs).

For more information, visit www.landstownms.vbschools.com