My Life's Mandala

School:: Lorenzo Walker Technical High School
Subject:: Other
Teacher:: Kristy Meghreblian
Students Impacted:: 150
Grade:: 9
Date:: July 18, 2019

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Debes Family Foundation - $146.94

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 153

The Mandala Project allows students to embark on a journey towards self-discovery, understanding who they are and embracing the unique qualities that lie beneath the various layers of their day to day life. Once students completed their self-discovery on paper, they constructed their mandalas, adding unique symbols and colors that reflect the layers of their identity. Students then presented their mandalas to their peers and the mandalas were hung from the ceiling and kept up for the entire year as a reminder that their unique qualities blend together to form a diverse, yet unified, Class of 2023.

Ninth grade is a year of transition, as students are just starting to scratch the surface of their identities. This activity allowed them to delve a little deeper, get to know themselves better, and find commonalities with their peers who come from all over Collier County. They truly enjoyed creating the mandalas and were proud of their final product. This project would not have been possible without the generosity of Connect with a Classroom, Suncoast Credit Union, and The Debes Family Foundation. On behalf of my students, I thank you all very much!

grant photo

Original Grant Overview

Goal

A mandala is a story without words. Through symbols and color, it represents the various layers of a person's life. In this introductory activity to my Critical Thinking class, I would like students to embark on a journey towards self-discovery, understanding who they are and embracing the unique qualities that lie beneath the various layers of their day to day life.

What will be done with my students

Students will examine each of the layers of their life and identify symbols and colors that uniquely represent that qualities that make them who they are. They will create their mandala and, in their first public speaking activity of the year, present it to the class. Finally, their mandalas will be hung in the classroom as a reminder of the unique qualities that blend together to form a diverse yet unified Class of 2023.

Benefits to my students

As 9th grade is a transition year, full of both fear and excitement. Many students know themselves on a surface level, but this activity allows them to delve a little deeper. With students coming from schools all over the county, many of them do not know each other. To that end, this activity is a great way for students not only to express their uniqueness, but to find things they have in common with one another.

Budget Narrative

The above supplies will be needed for each student to create one mandala, from brainstorming session to finished product.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Cardboard pie circles (pack of 250)	$45.00
2	Crayola washable markers (2 sets of 64)	$13.97
3	Dry Erase Sticky Notes, 24 pack	$17.99
4	Dry Erase Sticky Notes, 6 pack	$39.99
5	Arteza Dry Erase Markers, 52 pack	$29.99
	Total:	$146.94

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