november community outreach
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We are kicking off 2020 with exciting news! Two of our young writers received a total of four awards for their writing from the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Areli Campos, who is an 8th grader in the AVID program at Red Bank Middle School, received a Silver Key for her poem “Back Then, Now, and the Dream.” Areli originally wrote this poem last year with us and then expanded it to perform at our Giving Tuesday Writers Showcase this past December.
Megan Froehlich, who is a senior at St. John Vianney High School and co-leader of our Teen Writing Group, received three awards: a Silver Key for her poem “And They Forget to Seek,” a Gold Key for her poem “Paper,” and an Honorable Mention for her novel (that’s right, her novel!) The Right to Remain Silent. Megan has been working one-on-one with one of our instructors as part of a new mentorship program.
We are so thrilled that our students received this recognition; however, we are equally proud of all of our students who submitted. It takes a lot of courage to put your writing out there to be evaluated. These writers are all winners in our book!
Here’s what else we’ve been up to this past month! If you are interested in bringing a program to your school or organization, email Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.
Red Bank Middle SchoolThis month, we invited our RBMS 7th and 8th grade AVID students to write reflection pieces on 2019, using sensory details to help ground the reader in their work. Stories were shared about summer camps, grandparents, graduation, and more. The next week, we challenged these young writers to write the poem we couldn’t find–a New Year’s poem! (Anyone have suggestions that we may have missed?) We used hashtag prompts to generate the writing–#iam, #mywishforyou, #letgoof, etc.–and then pulled our favorite lines onto a new page. Students sent their lines to us and our interns worked hard at pulling them all together in one epic poem. You can read it now in our newest issue of Bridge Ink!
We also worked with our second cycle of 6th graders in the AVID elective. Inspired by MLK Day, we came into 6th grade ready to show our students the impact they have already made on the world. We began by writing “I am” statements–from “I am an AVID student” to “I am confident.” Then we took one of our statements and explored how it helps the world. “I am an AVID student. This helps me stay focused and prepare for college. Staying focused inspires others to do the same.” It was so incredible to see how each statement could be turned into a positive affirmation!
Mental Health Association of Monmouth County
This month we visited two separate groups who are part of the School Truancy Reduction & Diversion/PASS Program with the MHAMC and offered reflective writing experiences. At Asbury Park High School, we free-wrote for a few minutes about whatever was on our minds and then turned those thoughts into insightful questions for reflection and discussion. A week later, we brought this writing experience to a group at Audrey W. Clark Elementary School in Long Branch. We talked about the importance of journaling to help us process emotions, de-stress, and gain deeper insight into ourselves. We look forward to working with more groups this year!
APHS’s Dream Academy with the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
One of our longest partnerships is with the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County, and we love supporting their programs. This past January, we visited sophomores in the Dream Academy at Asbury Park High School. We began with meditation and visualization of where we see ourselves in 10 years, specifically January 9, 2030. We imagined where we were living, what clothes we were wearing, and where we were headed (work, school, other). Then we mapped out the pathway working backward from where we saw ourselves to where we are now. Creativity abounded, and we were so impressed with the thought and detail that went into their Life Maps. We look forward to our next visit!
21st Century Community Learning Center (Long Branch)
We are at the midpoint of another fun session of our Picture Book Project for the after-school program with Long Branch third graders. Each Monday, the students enjoy a little carpet time listening to a story and talking about the elements of writing picture books before getting to work on their own stories. So far, the students have created their own characters, the story problem, the story ending and the obstacles their character will overcome to reach their goal. So many imaginative stories are under way!
Tween Writing GroupWe had so much fun with our young writers in Tween Writing Group this month! We began this session with one of our favorite poems–“Remember” by Joy Harjo–and then we wrote a series of our own memories. We then took one of our memories to dig deeper and tell the story beneath it. One student told us about a near drowning at the beach. Another told a story about her friends and their group chat. The following week, we read “The Beautiful Place,” by G. Boston, and then we wrote about some of our favorite places. We are now dedicating a few minutes each week to begin typing our work for revision. Some of us are even submitting to literary magazines, such as our online young adult lit mag, Bridge Ink! We always take a brief snack break (food for thought anyone?) and then end with (what is usually a very silly) Write Around. As usual, laughter and creativity are abundant! Want to sign your child up for Tween Writing Group? Register here.
Teen Writing Group
One of our favorite days of the week at PWN is Thursday, because that is the day our teen writers bring their energy and creativity to our Teen Writing Group! One of the awesome prompts our teen leaders handed out this month was word search puzzles. The prompt was to use the first three words you find to inspire your free-write. The teens loved the idea and came up with some pretty incredible stories. Inspiration flows if you know where to look! We are so grateful to our teen writers for constantly inspiring us. Want to sign up for Teen Writing Group? Register here.
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| by Ellie L, age 13, from Bridge Ink 4.1 |
Bridge Ink 4.1
The latest issue of Bridge Ink is hot off the presses (well more like just posted online) and we are so excited to share it with you! Volume 4, Issue 1 includes our first poem from the European continent: Greece! We also have pieces from Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and of course our home state, New Jersey! Remember that missing New Year’s poem we mentioned earlier? We now have TWO thanks to the collaborative efforts of our RBMS students and PWN interns! Check it out now!
Shore House (Long Branch)With Shore House members this month, we read “A Pumpkin at New Year’s,” by Sandra McPherson. After, instead of writing resolutions, we wrote reflections–looking back at all we have already accomplished. We ended that session by creating personal 2020 mantras for ourselves with “I Am” statements–I am awesome; I am willing; I am worthy. When we returned two weeks later, we read “The Independence (of Puerto Rico),” by Raquel Salas Rivera. We then pulled three of her phrasings to inspire our own work–“I am,” “They tell us,” and “Don’t fear.” Each writer wrote positive affirmations from the prompts. One wrote: “We are here writing at Shore House, where we want to be.” It warmed our hearts to hear how much they enjoy writing with us. We feel exactly the same way!
Senior Space
It was so wonderful to see the eager writers from Red Bank Senior Space after a long holiday hiatus. We jumped right in with sharing writing from the last homework assignment. The room was captivated with each and every voice that universally resonated–the last words of a dying spouse, reuniting with a high school sweetheart, the will to stay put in a home that fit like a glove for 82 years, and a bit of philosophical questioning of where we are headed as a society. In class, we wrote about fear–what drives fear and what eases the burden of it. We heard stories of getting stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel in a 17-year-old Honda after dinner and wine with friends as well as fear of the ocean floor. One voice told of being robbed and shrugging it off due to her mighty “Russian peasant blood.” The stories are so rich and detailed and we look forward to hearing more next month.
A Workshop for Parents of Children with Special Needs We kicked off our monthly workshops for parents of children with special needs this past Monday. Jennifer Borenius of SoulShine Studios began our workshop with yoga–including this awesome goddess pose–and guided meditation. Then we read “Burning the Old Year,” by Naomi Shihab Nye, and used her poem to reflect on what we’d like to carry with us from 2019 into 2020 and what we’d like to leave behind. Our next workshop will be held Monday, February 24. Register here.
If you’d like more information on our community outreach programs, please email Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.
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