Photo Gallery Meredith Kee and Rebekah Rangel Principal Barbara Warner

Teachers and staff from Richard L. Scoggins Middle School have committed to helping work for Habitat for Humanity this month. The project was coordinated by Scoggins counselor Michelangelo Siciliano using members of the Scoggins Service Team.

The team, which is made up of faculty, staff and some family members,  has been working on special projects serving the community throughout the year but the habitat project may be the most ambitious and challenging the team has undertaken this year. Principal Barbara Warner, who can now say she has used a nail gun and circular saw, explains why this project has been so important to the Scoggins team.

“Because our school is named for Richard L. Scoggins, a man who lived a life of service to his community, we have made a commitment to incorporating “service to others” as a part of our school’s mission. While our students live this out through the Student Service Learning Committee, our staff models service through our Scoggins Service Team. We began our year by breaking into small groups and performing service projects around the Frisco community, at the Frisco Public Library, the Frisco Senior Center, and Frisco Family Services. Because we really serve two communities – Frisco and McKinney – we opted to end our year with service projects in the McKinney community.” Warner said. Two groups of volunteers worked on two houses on a cul-de-sac in McKinney through Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, May 9 and Saturday, May 16. “At this time of year, when our energy and spirits can be lagging, taking the opportunity to help someone else is truly the perfect way to forget our own stressors, and end the year strong! We had an amazing time – not just because we learned how to use a nail gun (scary!) or circular saw – but because we got to share ourselves and Mr. Scoggins’ mission with others,” she said.

Friends and family of Scoggins fondly remember that the deceased former school board member often quietly assisted community members in need. He also often spent weekends in his own workshop building furniture or helping put together wooden signs for school organizations.

As a team building experience for the teachers, volunteering for Habitat was invaluable. Mike Siciliano, counselor,said, "It's great to work with my colleagues from Scoggins in this setting which is totally different from the classroom environment. You could see that everyone was still quite eager to help out in any way they could for the benefit of the homeowner. We worked hard and had a lot of fun doing it, so it was a lot like working at Scoggins. We work hard for our students, but we also make it fun."

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization with world wide affiliates that helps make simple, decent and affordable housing a reality.