Fund For the Future

Item Description

A Sensory Experience For Every Child

The classroom is a kind of magical place in a child’s life. It’s where they explore new concepts, tackle new challenges, work with their friends, and hear stories read by their teachers. They spend nearly as much time there as they do in their own room at home. So, wouldn’t we want every classroom to be as customized and comfortable as their own bedroom?

With your help, it can be!

This year’s Fund for the Future is dedicated to improving our students' sensory experience in the classroom. Studies have shown that the old method of making children sit still at one type of desk for hours isn’t the best way for them to learn. Many children can maintain better focus, stay more engaged, and absorb information better from different positions, by keeping hands or feet busy, or by being able to fidget while listening. Kids are constantly moving, growing, and exploring, and they need a space that can do the same.

With your support, we want to create an environment that caters to the unique and diverse learning styles of the 21st century learner. We’ll individualize the classroom experience for every child, ensuring that each one has the tools and support they need to thrive. How? By doing the following:

• Obtaining new furniture to allow students to find a comfortable way for them to be attentive and present for the duration of the lesson or of class (such as standing desks, bean bag chairs, cocoon spaces, etc.);
• Purchasing sensory tools to keep students engaged and their attention focused (think weighted lap blankets and stuffed toys, squiggly seats, pencil grips, headsets, gadgets to keep small hands busy, etc.);
• Reconfiguring the classrooms to allow for both more collaborative spaces, as well as more individualized spaces for students to self regulate (moveable desks for group work, quiet reading section, standing desk section, etc.).

Your contributions will have an impact in every single classroom, from preschool to Middle School, by equipping our classrooms with the latest tools and resources to individualize our students’ experience. Differentiated learning is a cornerstone of our program and this is the next step in providing a learning environment suited to every type of learner at EB. It’s an innovative new idea, and one that we hope you’ll support by raising your paddle this evening!

Thank you for your generosity!

Testimonial #1: "Each child is a unique individual, with their own social, emotional and academic needs. When we create a learning environment that tends to those needs, we are providing them the tools to tap into their unlimited potential."  - Carla Maia, Lower School Counselor and Diversity Leader

Testimonial #2: “If I had access to more sensory resources, more students would be able to use these resources when they're stressed out, tired or simply having a bad day, and ultimately destigmatize the idea that these resources are for specific students.” Elodie Voleau, G3 French teacher

Testimonial #3: "I love the anneaux (squishy rings) I use in class. I have a hard time concentrating sometimes, but now, it's like pushing a button: I can concentrate." - G3 Student

Testimonial #4: "I like sitting on the high stool because it helps me with my posture and I'm more comfortable in class.”- G5 Student

Testimonial #5: “Using the headsets (casques) are useful. When there's too much noise, I can't concentrate. A little isolation and quiet helps me read better." - G5 Student