We were invited to join the Canadian Playful Schools Network to infuse play in the middle years. We have always been an active school, with many hands-on learning experiences being available throughout our building, but with the pandemic hindering our connection to the community and our ability to welcome community members into the school, we knew we needed to reestablish that connection.
This innovation promotes the partnership of community and school. It extends beyond the breadth of our teachers teaching our students, and promotes partnerships between the community and the school to promote further learning for our staff and students. We become partners in learning from community members and have fun while doing it. We tackle problems as a team, and make a mess regularly.
After seeing our final project from the 2022-2023 school year, community members who were not originally involved have come forward, offering their skills for sessions with students. Our project has now become small learning experiences throughout the year for students, where locals are invited in to work with students in small blocks; from construction to music, students are learning from others in the community and gaining skills that extend beyond the classroom. From a mural created by students in our school that was installed in a community space, we know that we needed a mural within our school building to represent our students and community as well.
Reach out to the families of your students. You never know, their parents may have some interest or skill that can be shared with students of all ages. Once you have a few people coming in, spread the word around your community. From local business owners, to past students, people love to give back to the school and help support students!
