For many students, school and life can feel overwhelming and stressful. Academic challenges and social pressure can cause anxiety for some students, making learning an extra challenge. In order to cope with these stressors, many students benefit from having a calming space to retreat to for a break. In this calm space they can engage in relaxation activities  so they can regain their energy and focus, and return to class ready to learn. Research shows that when students are able to practice mindfulness and relaxation strategies they are able to improve their executive functioning skills, boost academic and behavioral outcomes, and manage their stress, which promotes overall wellbeing. (https://calmclassroom.com/pages/research)

At Hollydale Elementary, we are working to create our own calming space for students, the Zen Den. In the Zen Den, students will positively engage with a staff member, who will help them choose the right activity in order to help the student relax and re-regulate. We hope to provide a variety of choices, in order to meet students' individual needs. Students might choose to walk a sensory path, allowing their bodies to move and wiggle, or to work their minds in a new way doing a puzzle or maze, or play a cooperative game with a staff member. The space will also be used for students who need a quiet space to do their classwork. All with the purpose of helping students feel empowered and energized to return to their classroom, ready to learn.

We are seeking funding to outfit our room with comfy seating options, sensory path stickers, brain games, lamps for calm lighting, and sensory activities. 

                                                                                 

It seems like such a small thing right?  Headphones!  Living in the digital age that we do, our students are fortunate to have access to computers that help them navigate the online world- however it can get a little noisy and distracting when they are all trying to watch content videos, listen to audio files, etc.  

We use computers to research and extend our learning.  Our students also use computers for individualized online instruction that meets them at their level and helps them grow beyond the classroom.  Help provide my our 5th grade students with headphones that will allow them the full benefits of online learning.

Frank Love is starting an after-school Garden Club!

Gardens are amazing places, and a lot of kids at our schools don't have access to them. They are places where children can experience a direct connection with the earth, learn about sustainability, growth, and the virtue of working hard and getting dirty. They are places that promote physical and mental health. It's a place that they learn that not every carrot is the same color, potatoes grow underground, and that peas snapped straight off the vine are better than candy.

The Frank Love PTA is partnering with the school to develop the club, and we recently received permission from the district to build beds along the embankment west of the play field.  We're starting from scratch though; Frank Love hasn't had a Garden Club, and we'll need all the help we can get. 

We're asking for your help to get our club started. It will allow us to do the following: 

Licensed Landscape Planning  - The site is a slope, and we want to ensure we can build raised beds that are safe, hardy, and won't make the district's grounds crew's job any harder.Lumber, Hardware, and Soil - We're planning on building raised beds and planter boxes. We have volunteers who are happy to help, but we need the raw materials to put them together.Tools and Supplies - We have a few hand trowels, but we'll need buckets, hoses, shovels, rakes, pruners, rain barrels, and more.Seed and Starters! - It's not a garden without plants! 

We have big dreams, and we want to grow a garden that can give back to the school for years to come. Please help us get it started!