March 14 - March 18, 2016
Be the Change Project: 'Personal Diversity'
The students organized a survey recording the cultural backgrounds of each student and breaking them down by grade. The student organizers cut out flags to represent each student's heritage and made silhouettes of each grade to demonstrate the cultural mosaic of their school. These were put on display for the entire school.
The students also organized a map activity whereas each student placed a different colored sticker on a map to explain where they were born, where their parents were born and where their ancestors are from. After examining the results of the map, the students did a final survey that illustrated that the students had learned significantly about diversity within the school from the activities provided.
March 9 - March 13, 2015
The six students planned a Stress Awareness and how to Cope with it Day – based on the fact that stress seemed to be higher at this school than others according to a recent report. They designed three activities aimed at Grades 7 to 12:
1.) Lesson plan for Grade 7-8 health discussing what stress is, how it feels, and ways to cope was created by CONNECTIONS students and taught by teachers to 85 students
2.) Information fair with speakers from the community
3.) Instagram Challenges: A. Meditation yoga; exercise B. Take a break (50 ways to take a break) C. Let your feelings out (show emotions) D. Dance it out E. Talk to others. F. Bonus challenge – spell stress in a creative way.
The stage was set with many posters and announcements to raise awareness about the day and school members were encouraged to wear green (for mental health). It was challenging since all this was offered in a short time during a 40 minute lunch hour, but it still attracted 160 students to participate. After the Stress Awareness Day, the CONNECTIONS students committed to be part of their School Wellness Committee and to offer the Day next year.
It was a very impressive project, especially given how difficult it was for the CONNECTIONS students to meet. At the debrief, one student observed: “ …something (the preparation) that can cause so much stress; once it is completed it can cause so much satisfaction.” Another stated: “The school mood is more relaxed and has lowered tension around year end. The children that participated had lots of fun and enjoyed our activities. I felt that the mood of the school was more positive”.
