Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 410

First and foremost, I would like to thank Champions for Learning for providing the platform and opportunity for schools to receive funding for exciting and essential curriculum materials, and Suncoast Credit Union for generously fulfilling this grant. These funds have already impacted our school and students in a positive way, and will continue to help our students think globally for years to come :)

With this grant, I was able to purchase two book box subscriptions: Momo's Book Club, and For Purpose Kids. So far, we have received 7/12 book boxes from Momo's Book Club, for a total of 28 titles, and 4/6 book boxes from For Purpose Kids, for a total of 4 books. Therefore, in just a few short months, we have grown our Global Citizenship Library from 0 to 32 titles!

The books received so far, as well as the books yet to be received, are shared with students of a variety of ages. Each time a box is delivered, we celebrate in the classrooms with a special unboxing. Multiage lessons based on these books and the thematic resources that come with them from the subscriptions are then carefully curated to share across our campus.  

Here are a few examples of books and lessons we have completed thus far:

We are Water Protectors: After reading the story, and in conjunction with Earth Day, students created upcycled art pieces to display with their writing pieces on why we should use our voices to protect the Earth everyday. Students also formed a Lower School Club focused on recycling plastics to help keep the ocean clean. They were given a bulletin board in the hallway where they post weekly newsletters, trivia, facts, etc. for other students to learn from. All students can post updates on how to better care for the environment and post examples of what they have done in and out of school to continue to protect the Earth.

Alma and How She Got Her Name: After reading the story, students explored where their own names came from. Students were encouraged to go home and discuss their name choices, heritage, and genealogy with their parents and other families members. Next year, this book will be used in conjunction with our Heritage Luncheon, during which the whole school comes together to learn about each other's heritage and share traditional dishes from around the world.

All Are Welcome: After reading the story, students worked together to create a Kindness Calendar of random acts of kindness. Each day, a student pulls a kindness, which is then carried out during the day. Kindnesses include completing a friend, sitting with someone new at lunch, holding the door, and painting kindness rocks to place around campus. By participating in daily acts of kindness, our students are showing that "all are welcome" on our school campus and in our community.

Malala's Magic Pencil: After reading the story and researching more about Malala Yousafzai, students created inspirational posters to place around the school advocating for equal access to education. These included quotes from the book about the power of education as a tool to create positive change in the world. 

On behalf of Seacrest Country Day School, we are extremely grateful for this grant and the experiences it has provided for our students and educators. Thank you again to Champions for Learning and Suncoast Credit Union for helping to enrich our school community, teaching practices, and student's lives.