You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.
Our Project
Middle school can be an incredibly difficult experience. Kids are discovering who they are, pushing boundaries, and trying to carve out a niche for themselves. Friendships form and collapse in the blink of an eye, and the social pressure amongst peers can be crippling. ADL is like many other middle schools; as a community, we are dealing with issues of mean behavior, bullying, and peer pressure, as well as academic and social anxieties. We want ADL to stand out from the norm. We want to be seen as a school that has come out on top and has brought about positive social change. Here’s our plan:
Our students and faculty/staff will participate in a school-wide read of the book WONDER by R.J. Palacio. WONDER is an incredible book that garners a very intense, emotional response from readers. Two overarching themes in this book are kindness and acceptance, both aspects of our school community that we would like to foster during the 2014-2015 school year and beyond. The school-wide read of WONDER will provide every member of our school community with an instant connection: we will all have this book in common. Every student, teacher, school personnel, and administrator will have read it, and that allows all of us to start building meaningful relationships right away. By initiating this project we hope to show our students that it takes time and effort to become better people. We want to send the message that we all have a choice in becoming who we are, and at ADL we choose to be kind and accepting.
What does “positive social change” even mean? WONDER will provide the basis for year-long community building through structured activities to unify our school. We want to create a culture where every child feels accepted and valued for who they are and for the unique talents they offer. We feel that we need this project to improve the lives of our students, our ADL school community, and the greater Essex community. This can be achieved with comprehensive, extensive programming both within the school and our town, and by committing ourselves as lifelong learners to upholding social justice for everyone. Our target audience includes our students, faculty, staff, parents and families, and the greater Essex area. To conclude our project, we plan to give back to the community through a day of service. Students will choose a project to work on and/or business to partner with, and will spend the day volunteering their time to help others.
Our organization is best positioned to lead this project because the WONDER committee presented our idea to the faculty and had 100% of their support. They immediately started planning how they and their students could participate. The ADL faculty believes this is a valuable project, and our students who have read this book believe it is a meaningful project to undertake.
Our students and faculty/staff will participate in a school-wide read of the book WONDER by R.J. Palacio. WONDER is an incredible book that garners a very intense, emotional response from readers. Two overarching themes in this book are kindness and acceptance, both aspects of our school community that we would like to foster during the 2014-2015 school year and beyond. The school-wide read of WONDER will provide every member of our school community with an instant connection: we will all have this book in common. Every student, teacher, school personnel, and administrator will have read it, and that allows all of us to start building meaningful relationships right away. By initiating this project we hope to show our students that it takes time and effort to become better people. We want to send the message that we all have a choice in becoming who we are, and at ADL we choose to be kind and accepting.
What does “positive social change” even mean? WONDER will provide the basis for year-long community building through structured activities to unify our school. We want to create a culture where every child feels accepted and valued for who they are and for the unique talents they offer. We feel that we need this project to improve the lives of our students, our ADL school community, and the greater Essex community. This can be achieved with comprehensive, extensive programming both within the school and our town, and by committing ourselves as lifelong learners to upholding social justice for everyone. Our target audience includes our students, faculty, staff, parents and families, and the greater Essex area. To conclude our project, we plan to give back to the community through a day of service. Students will choose a project to work on and/or business to partner with, and will spend the day volunteering their time to help others.
Our organization is best positioned to lead this project because the WONDER committee presented our idea to the faculty and had 100% of their support. They immediately started planning how they and their students could participate. The ADL faculty believes this is a valuable project, and our students who have read this book believe it is a meaningful project to undertake.
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