The St. George School Fund provides vital resources to help ensure that our school-community engages, challenges, and meets the needs of allstudents. Inspired by Wick Skinner’s gift that launched the St. George School Makerspace Initiative, the School Fund helps fuel innovation, fund educators’ ideas, and ensure that St. George School continues to stretch people’s imagination as to what is possible in public education. St. George School is a community school and the heart and strength of our school is the community of St. George. This fund is evidence of that heart and strength – of our shared commitment, as a school and community, to do whatever it takes to ensure that every single student thrives and, in the process, to give back to the Town of St. George. Below, please find a few examples of projects that were supported by the School Fund this year:
- Educator in Residence (EIR) Program: The EIR program is run by Kieve Wavus –the same organization the operates the Camp Kieve Leadership School. St. George 8th grade students go the Leadership School at Kieve each fall. At camp, 8th grade students engage in activities and challenges that allow them to strengthen communication skills, practice positive risk taking, form and maintain healthy relationships, raise aspirations, and create physical and emotionally safer school climates. This is a key part of our 8th Grade High School Choice Program and every year we see how much growth and sustained learning students take away from this experience. The EIR program places a Kieve staff member from the Leadership School in a public school for 10 weeks. This person has special skills in the areas of social-emotional growth and experiential education. St. George School staff wanted to bring the EIR program to St. George to work with students on social-emotional learning through experiential education, mentoring, crew activities, after-school programs, and integrated lessons developed with classroom teachers. Funded entirely by the School Fund, the EIR program allowed us to bring Kieve Leadership School Counselor Ryan Ford to our school community. Ryan had a tremendous impact on our school through his work with students and staff. One day he would have the entire middle school circled up in the gym doing activities and the next he was mentoring an individual student. He taught – by example and through structured activities – leadership, communication, respect, and collaboration. He was an essential member of our school community, as evidenced by his appearance on the court in the annual 8th Grade March Madness fundraiser when our 8th grade students take on their parents coached by Middle Level Social Studies Teacher and 8th Grade Class Advisor Josh McPhail.
- Forest School – After School Program: Working with our School-wide Behavior Interventionist, Amy Hufnagel, EIR Ryan Ford developed and ran an after school program for 3rd and 4th grade students focused on leadership skills, community engagement, and environmental education. Students explored the natural environment around the school; engaged in activities that taught them about responsibility, respect, and collaboration; and even had a trip to Camp Kieve to test themselves on the 45 foot climbing wall!
- 5th Grade Worm Composting Expedition: This winter, Christine Miller, the 5th Grade Teacher, had an idea for a learning expedition that would combine art, science, and environmental education to teach students about sustaining healthy ecosystems in the community. In this learning expedition, 5th grade students would observe and collect data on the process of decomposition by managing a classroom worm farm. Then, with an artist-in-residence, the class would create a graphic novel about decomposition, recycling, and supporting a healthy ecosystem. The project was not in the school’s budget, however, with the support of the School Fund, this innovative idea will be a reality for student this spring.
Thank you to everyone for their support of the St. George School Fund and – above all – for your support for our students, educators, and school community! To donate to the St. George School Fund, please click here.