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Kindred Spirits Celebrate the Season
“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows, LIKE A LIGHT BULB!” This past Wednesday students and parents on the Walking School Bus wrapped up the month of December singing Christmas carols and drinking hot chocolate served by leaders from local houses of faith in the Bester neighborhood. Members of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, New Life World Ministries, St. John’s Lutheran, Hagerstown Church of the Brethren and Cumberland Valley Baptist Church all came together to support kids and families. As the students arrived to their “bus stop”, a Bluetooth speaker played classic holiday songs, and one of the students arrived and said, “I had to come today because of the hot chocolate!” There were also smaller connections between community members and parents. We heard, “If you like to volunteer, swing by the church sometime, we’re right up the road.”
With the arrival of winter, the month of December saw a significant change in temperatures during the Walking School Bus, especially on December 13th when the wind chill hovered around zero degrees. Fortunately, it was the same date that we distributed hand warmers as well as new hats and mittens to all participants, made possible thanks to grant funding and local donations from the Young family and handmade offerings from The Quilt Shop at Traditions at White Swan. As we arrived at the school entrance several other kids were huddled up and shivering in the cold so kids turned to the neighborhood ambassadors and asked, “Do you have more?” Luckily there was an abundance so all who needed them were able to receive them.
Throughout the month of December kids couldn’t contain their excitement for the upcoming holiday and the activities reflected the season with a Christmas tree cup stacking speed challenge and Cookie Face, where you place a Christmas cookie on your forehead and attempt to eat it hands free! One of the kids at Frederick Manor shouted, “This is hard! You try it!” This month we had four raffle prize winners of select sporting goods items to encourage healthy play: Kaydence Plummer, Ayden Robey, Josiah Davis and Maleana McDaniel. Way to go! Next month we’re excited to be able to give away two new fitness trackers and have activities themed around the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the more you walk the more chances to win on the Walking School Bus!
The Walking School Bus is a monthly parent-led effort managed by Bester Community of Hope (BCOH) and sponsored by a generous grant funded by the Washington County Health Department. BCOH is an initiative of San Mar Family & Community Services and is possible due to the generosity of many partners, including the Fletcher Foundation, the Washington County Department of Social Services and Casey Family Programs. If you have interest in helping, we’d still like to hear from you and find ways we can partner to help kids and families get connected! Email us at connect@besterhope.org or call 240-513-6370!
Walking School Bus Thanks Local Heroes
During the month of November, students catching a ride on the Bester Elementary Walking School Bus celebrated the contributions of the local military with members of the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Hagerstown. They were able to not only build relationships with local service members but in the weeks that followed there were a variety of themed activities such as decorating American flags and signing special gifts for the service members who had come to the monthly special event. They also decorated stars for a flag, one to give to the military, and another for them to give to a local hero in their school, family or community.
On the first Wednesday in November, the effort began with four members of the military: SSG Osbourne, SSG Bottum and SFC Fedorko from the Army, as well as A02 Jordan from the Navy. They each partnered with Neighborhood Ambassadors and BCOH staff at four bus stops throughout the community where children begin their walk. At each site kids and parents engaged with service members who provided a variety of popular items including Navy pencils and Army lanyards and formed lines to march to school. “We love working with the community and we want to get out there and talk with folks. We wear a uniform but we’re normal people,” said SSG Bottum. “I had one young man who kept talking about his desire to join the Army. I told him to stay in school, be focused, listen to his parents and be on time and one day maybe I’ll see him.”
We also were able to infuse ideas around discipline and health, as kids began competing in the morning for Army shirts for best marcher to school, most jumping jacks and most push-ups. At the Mulberry Street hub AmeriCorps VISTA Christine Gou is a bundle of energy motivating children to get moving in the morning: see them in action! . This practice of adding some opportunities to get moving keeps kids warm and gets them ready for a great day at school. A parent commented, “I wish they could have the military every day, that’s the straightest line I’ve ever seen.” The morning check-in’s become a time to do a variety of tasks from having snacks, doing activities, relationship building, to celebrating simple milestones like birthdays with a song from peers. Edna, a local grandparent, faithfully brings her two Bester students to the Walking School Bus each week. As we discussed the colder temperatures and keeping kids motivated, she explained, “We’ll be alright, we’ll think right through that cold!”
The more you walk the more you can win on the Walking School bus, with signature prizes announced each month through a raffle. On average we have between 60-80 participants joining us on the journey each week, compared to about 45-50 only once a month last year. In October, we gave away two brand new pairs of shoes, one to Kamden Falls and the other to Gracie Minnick. Next month will be themed around the holiday season and we will announce four prizes of select sporting goods items to encourage healthy play to raffle winners.
The Walking School Bus is a monthly parent-led effort managed by Bester Community of Hope (BCOH) and sponsored by a generous grant funded by the Washington County Health Department. BCOH is an initiative of San Mar Family & Community Services and is possible due to the generosity of many partners, including the Fletcher Foundation, the Washington County Department of Social Services and Casey Family Programs. If you have interest in helping, we’d still like to hear from you and find ways we can partner to help kids and families get connected! Email us at connect@besterhope.org or call 240-513-6370!
Babypalooza 2017! celebrates young families
This past Saturday, close to 250 people filled Bester Elementary School to celebrate young families at Babypalooza 2017! The event was planned by a committee comprised of staff from Bester Community of Hope, Early Childhood Advisory Council, Washington County Safe Kids, and the Towson University nursing program at USMH. The focus was on supporting and celebrating families while providing information on parenting, child development and family living in the neighborhood. The event was possible due to ongoing financial support from the Washington County Department of Social Services and the Fletcher Foundation.
Special guest host for the event was WDVM news anchor Tasmin Mahfuz, who connected with kids and families and helped announce various door prizes for the event. Tasmin shared that she “loved being around so many wonderful families and their cute kids!” Thanks to Scholastic, Clifford the Big Red Dog even made a special appearance during lunch, swooping down to meet and take photos with children who often stood back in stunned amazement. The Hagerstown Artists Group was doing intricate face painting as well as belly painting for expectant mothers. One mother getting her belly painted cried tears of joy when her name was drawn to receive a baby basket provided by Meritus Health.
Randy Scott, manager of Chick-Fil-A in Hagerstown, and his crew graciously donated and served 300 boxed lunches to the crowd and vendors for lunch. “Chick Fil A has a reputation of giving and it’s about stewardship. Scripture says ‘to whom much is given much is expected” and in the case of Babypalooza, it’s about magnifying the impact on the community in such a way that if we can help get more people through the door, then more people have the opportunity to learn and be connected with resources to help their families.”
One mother with an elementary age student was at the event celebrating her expectant newborn. She related that she never expected to be pregnant at this point in her life and was in need of some additional support for her child that was due soon. There was a donated stroller provided from a partner and the mother was emotional in sharing her gratitude; she was even able to bond with another parent at her table while eating lunch. They were relieved to make a connection with each other and see that they aren’t alone in their unique parenting situations. Two other parents were already connected on social media, both attended the event and brought in clothes for an exchange sponsored by Children In Need. They ended up trading items unaware that they were both in need of what the other had to offer.
Many attendees were excited to find out about ways to address safety issues in the home. Several related that they were learning about safe sleep for the first time and others expressed surprise to find out that the batteries in some children’s books/toys could burn their children. “I thought it was an urban legend” said one parent. Electric outlet plugs, drawer latches, and other supplies were available to improve the child safety in the home.
No one walked away empty handed as guests filled their bags with information on parenting, early learning, health and safety as well as complimentary items from a variety of vendors. The Knit Wits, a local crocheting group, donated handmade baby blankets and accessories that were also given away for free at each table. Guests were able to connect with local providers, gain valuable information, and had the opportunity to learn about services and supports available in their community. Local parent Robin Hines said, “It was awesome and (there were) so many community resources. Need to do this more often and bring the families and their children together.”
THANK YOU to each organization and partner who made this event a first class experience for families, we hope to see you again next year!
Special thanks to all of our wonderful community partners who joined us as vendors to provide education, linkages to local resources, supplies to take home as well as provide some on site entertainment: WCPS Birth to Five; Head Start of Washington County; YMCA of Hagerstown; The Washington County Department of Social Services, the Family Center of Washington County, Washington County Healthy Families, Maryland EXCELS, Washington County Health Department, Washington County Free Library, Meritus Labor and Delivery, Priority Partners, Southside Pediatrics, The Children’s Doctor, Bright Eyes Early Learning Center, Maryland Physicians Care, New Covenant Church Independent Fellowship and the Towson University Nursing Program
Several vendors were also donors of special door prizes along with other community partners including: Dr. Browns’; Shop N’ Save; San Mar Pajama project; Safe Kids; Southside Pediatrics; Hagerstown Artists Group; Community Free Clinic of Washington County; Hub at USMH; Chick Fil A; Family Healthcare; New Covenant Fellowship Independent Church ; Priority Partners; Birth to Five; Kids First Swim School; Pediatric Movement Center; Holly Luther; PNC Bank; the Knit Wits; Ready at Five; Otterbein United Methodist Church; Children in Need; Connie Connolly; Meritus Health; Mental Health Association – Healthy New Moms; Discovery Station; Frederick Pediatric Dentistry and Wells Fargo Bank.
Steps Forward on the Walking School Bus
October is in the history books and with the school year in full swing for the children and families at Bester Elementary, that means the Walking School Bus is back! Bester Community of Hope has supported an expanded weekly effort to increase attendance, safety, health and social connections through a Walking School Bus initiative.
Through the generosity of a grant through the Washington County Health Department, the Walking School Bus has expanded to every Wednesday and now includes a team of neighborhood ambassadors, who are residents from the community. They support the effort at various locations on Wednesday mornings and the grant has allowed Bester Community of Hope to support positions for Kay Papeskov, Ed Barrick, Cassandra Thompson, Leticia Diaz, Brooke & James Grossman, Tyisha Richardson and Anthony Bostic, as well as the position of coordinator for Hollie Griffith.
On the first Wednesday in October, the effort began on International Walk to School Day, followed by a school wide assembly to explain the effort and announce new exciting incentives to participate. Kelly Llewellyn from Safe Kids and Meritus Health also presented to students and gave all Bester kids reflective strips and other resources to increase safety for their travels to school. Kids were very excited to learn that the more they participated in Wednesday events, the more chances they received to enter into large raffle prizes each month; the October prize of a brand new pairs of shoes will be revealed on the morning announcements for two lucky students November 1st!
This past month there was also a special Wednesday to recognize all of the crossing guards who work typically work every school day shepherding students across busy Hagerstown streets with little fanfare. Students created paper necklaces with words of encouragement and thanks and presented them to pleasantly surprised guards on their way to school. It was an opportunity to build deeper relationships with the people these youth encounter each day. “This is really great, the kids seem real excited. I’ve been a crossing guard for 50 years, and in this exact spot for 40 years, so I’m crossing the kids of the kids I used to see,” crossing guard Sara Nelson explained. Participants even took the time to sing to Ms. Sara in recognition of her recent birthday.
On the Wednesday before Halloween, all the neighborhood ambassadors got into the spirit by donning costumes, then distributing and decorating handheld pumpkins provided by Greensburg Farm. With all the Halloween candy on the horizon, incentives at the bus stops included fruit and water. Even with cooler temperatures arriving and some rain, more and more students are catching the bus with many parents joining them. One Bester father said,” I wish I had a Walking School Bus growing up, you guys are lucky!”
The Walking School Bus is a monthly parent-led effort managed by Bester Community of Hope (BCOH) and sponsored by a generous grant funded by the Washington County Health Department. BCOH is an initiative of San Mar Family & Community Services and is possible due to the generosity of many partners, including the Fletcher Foundation, the Washington County Department of Social Services and Casey Family Programs. If you have interest in helping, we’d still like to hear from you and find ways we can partner to help kids and families get connected! Email us at connect@besterhope.org or call 240-513-6370!
“I will be the solution finder!”
Leaders from Bester Elementary school took a special trip today to Ecoff Elementary School in Chester, Virginia, to learn more about the social and emotional learning programming taking place in their school. Amongst a host of strategies taking place at Ecoff. Principal Joshua Cole, Ph.D., has adopted Caring School Community to increase emotional intelligence and build community and has explained that “the key word here is empathy”.
The morning consisted of visits into a variety of classroom settings where the work was on full display as teachers hosted classroom meetings, and spent time helping children learn the fundamentals of social emotional learning, including relationship skills, responsible decision making, social awareness, self-management and self-awareness.
In Ms. Richardson’s class, 3rd grade and Kindergarten worked together as a part of the cross age buddies mentoring component to discuss problem solving together, and she implored the students to say, “I will be the solution finder!” in and outside of the school setting. In Ms. Ebbs classroom students were asked to draw a picture to represent a time where they were kind to others, and students described not only sharing and taking turns, but using the right words such as “excuse me” and “please and thank you” to prevent peer issues. Ms. Staenart has worked to create a home-like environment in her classroom so kids feel comfortable sharing and talking through problems. In her classroom meeting kids talked together about a situation on the playground where things got a little rough amongst peers, and what they should to do prevent this next time. The teacher simply guided the conversation and allowed the kids to solve this problem as a group. Kids have the answers!
There were a variety of school values on display in the meetings, including “be brave” which encouraged kids to take chances and not fear failure. Teachers would often use hand signals and quiet voices to model positive classroom behaviors for their students.
After touring classrooms, a panel of students and school staff came together to discuss what has been the greatest benefits of the program. Student Julia Custis explained, “It helps kids realize what they’ve done and learn from it.” Student Brandon Wilcox explained “[Class meetings] teach me how to be disciplined and listen to what people are saying. I also use it in my neighborhood.” He continued, “I have to learn to be respectful even when I’m mad. Basically, we need to be friendlier.” The counselor explained, “It’s a guidance counselor’s dream to have the teacher’s doing this work with you.”
Bester Community of Hope has been partnering with Bester Elementary in Hagerstown, Maryland to implement a variety of evidence based practices and provide trauma informed education at the school over the past two years, including Caring School Community which began in the Fall of 2016. BCOH will host its next large scale community training focused on school based practices on March 29th with Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone.