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Lab Staff Event:
December 4th, 3 - 5 PM
Experiential Wellness Activities
360 Colborne (CEU's provided)
Join Georgia Duncan, social worker with The Lab (and a guest to be determined) for a chance to explore various experiential wellness modalities to use in your work with youth. This will be an opportunity for our staff at the 11 program sites and social workers througout the district to LEARN about and EXPERIENCE modalities such as mindfulness, yoga, and tai chi; and to TRANSLATE this great tool into your classroom for students.
October Lab Staff Event = Success!
Many thanks to all who participated in our first Lab staff event on October 30. Nancy Ward, art therapist and volunteer mentor at The Lab, lead a group of school social workers and teachers in creating mandalas, circular creations that represent the organizational structure of life. As twenty-one school staff bent over their paper circles and filled them with pastels, colored paper and pencils, Nancy Ward described her own experience working with the students at Murray, and gave advice about ways in which this exercise can be used in the classroom.Don't miss our next staff event on December 4th ! (see above).
For more information about
THE LAB email Mallory Haar at mallory.haar@spps.org
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What's Up at The Wellness Lab?
Welcome back, Georgia! After several weeks in Africa, working with the Non-Violent Peace Force, Georgia is back in The Lab, working hard. Georgia is a school social worker and an integral part of The Lab's vision. Her work centers on wellness, group work and creative community-building. Georgia travels to SIX different Lab sites each week, including: Project Achieve, Como Sr., Highland Park Sr., St. Andrews, Battle Creek and Harding. She has been offering presentations on her experience in Africa, leading creative lessons on finding 'balance', healthy strategies for self-care and arts-based projects that support community building in the classroom. Georgia also provides guidance and support to our Art and Wellness Mentors at Murray, Como, Highland Sr., and St. Andrews.
Appreciating Volunteers/Mentors!
We are pleased to welcome four new volunteers! These Volunteer Mentors strengthen The Lab's ability to support students in creative, healthy and positive self-expression. Welome to: Elizabeth Millard (Writing Mentor at Central), Trisha Collopy (Writing Mentor at Highland Jr. High), Kristen Mason (Technology/Writing Mentor at W. 7th) and Rachel Peffer (Wellness Mentor at Highland Sr. and St. Andrews). Special thanks also to our amazing behind-the-scenes Graphic Design Volunteers: Jason Usgaard (chapbook layout/design) Kristie Minkie (special projects layout/design) Neil Fasen and Reid Peifer (www.giantsquidindustries.com) Lab Logo/website design. Finally, thanks to our four paid Mentors
, offering great support to youth! David Doody is a Writing Mentor at Harding Sr. High; Dustin Nelson is a Writing & Film Mentor at Highland Sr. High; Elaine Allen is an Art Mentor at Como and St. Andrews; and Nancy Ward is an Art Therapist/Mentor offering classroom lessons at Murray PSD. Your support is appreciated and inspiring!
You can read about the adventures and successes of mentors, interns, volunteers and youth in the BLOGS at our website, www.thelabspps.com
The Lab model in the Classroom: An Interview with Tara Ryan
Tara Ryan was just starting on the road to becoming a teacher when she first encountered The Lab. Tara was getting certified to work with EBD youth, and met Mary Tinucci when she came to present in Tara's class. Inspired by Mary's work, Tara knew that she wanted to use aspects of The Poetry Lab in her upcoming stint as a student teacher. "I asked [Mary] for more resources...she invited me over to her house, and I left with a grocery bag full of CDs and books!" she laughs. As a student teacher at Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), Tara implemented writing circles into her curriculum everyday.
By adapting The Poetry Lab model, Tara made it work for her group of young women. She started using some writing prompts and materials that Mary gave her. After reading the students' poems and understanding where they were coming from, Tara also developed her own prompts, to delve deeper into the experiences of the students. She says, "I watched the students become increasingly comfortable together...kids can have a connection, because they know what other kids are going through."
Now a teacher at Rivereast Day Treatment Center, Tara is adamant that The Poetry Lab model is applicable to all teachers. "Experiencing the circle helps students academically, not just emotionally," she says, "I sometimes have students organize and plan their writing; it also helps them get comfortable listening to and sharing with each other...this is something that should be used in the mainstream classroom, without a doubt."
Contact Tara at tara.ryan@spps.org
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