june community outreach

The end of the school year is always bittersweet. We have to say goodbye to the students we’ve been writing with throughout the year. At Red Bank Middle School, we get to see the culmination of their hard work both in the publication of their writing in anthologies and through our Writers Celebration. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with these talented young writers!

And while we know we are making a difference through our program–strengthening students’ writing and speaking skills as well as building self-awareness, confidence, and resilience–it’s rewarding to see our students recognize the importance of reflective writing and the impact it’s had on their lives.

A survey of our 8th graders shows:

Before PWN (start of 7th grade), only 15.8% said they felt confident approaching a writing task.
After PWN, 84.2% said they feel confident approaching a writing task.
Before PWN (start of 7th grade), only 10.6% said they felt confident reading their work aloud.
After PWN, 79% said they feel confident reading their work aloud.
84.2% said they are likely or very likely to use writing when dealing with strong emotions.
94.7% report that writing and sharing with our group has made them feel more connected to others and less alone.

One student wrote: “Before working with PWN, I only used to write a couple of lines, but now I am more comfortable, more confident, and able to write longer.” Another student wrote: “I used to hate reading what I wrote and I wouldn’t write what I felt. I used to keep it to myself and that would hurt. Now I write my feelings on paper and feel a little bit happier.”

We are honored to play such a big role in their lives and we cannot wait to come back next year!

Bridge Ink 3.3
Looking for a good beach read? Check out our latest issue of our online young adult literary magazine, Bridge Ink Volume 3 Issue 3, at www.bridgeink.org! We have selected pieces from young writers in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and right here in New Jersey! You are sure to be inspired as you read about the joys of nature, struggles and encouragements between friends, fantastical ideas about living in a world of words, and more. By the way, submissions are open year-round and are always free, so submit your work today at bridgeinkeditors@gmail.com for a chance to be published in a future issue!

Long Branch After-School Program

June 3 was our last day working with the third graders in the Long Branch after-school program. We finished writing our “object” stories and began writing poetry about objects in the room by creating lists of words we think of when we hear them: “The pencil sharpener: like an alligator, eats the pencil, makes a mess of pencil shavings, made of metal and plastic…” At the end of class, we handed out Blow Pops with the phrase “You blew us away with your writing!” to celebrate their achievements. It was such a pleasure getting to know these young writers, and we look forward to continuing our connection with them next year.

The Resiliency Project @ Long Branch High School
On Tuesday, June 4, we held our last session with the group of girls we were writing with at Long Branch High School as part of our Resiliency Project (helping teens build self-awareness, confidence, and resilience through writing). The girls created a list of people they are grateful for–including their grandmother, teacher, friend, therapist–and then hand wrote notes to them on beautiful stationery. We spoke about how expressing gratitude is a wonderful way to get out of our heads and into a more positive mindset. This group is so creative, insightful, and special, and we will miss them! One of the seniors gave us a hug and exclaimed, “I wish you had been here last year!”

A Workshop for Parents of Children with Special Needs

On June 17, in partnership with SoulShine Studios, we provided a workshop for parents of children with special needs at the beautiful Bungalow Hotel in Pier Village, Long Branch. After yoga and meditation led by Jennifer Borenius, we read the poem “Wild Geese,” by Mary Oliver, and used opening phrases from her poem to write our own reflections. We are so grateful to these women who showed up and openly shared their experiences with us. The next workshop will be held Monday, July 15. To register, click here.

Shore House
This month at Shore House, we read “Ode to My Socks,” by Pablo Neruda, and then wrote our own odes to typically overlooked objects–our shoes, beds, phones, toothbrushes, and more. We discussed how it’s important to take time to recognize what we have and to find gratitude in the little things. As always, we were so inspired by the Shore House members!

Senior Space
With the active seniors at the Woman’s Club of Red Bank this month, we read the first chapter of “The Middle Place,” a memoir by Kelly Corrigan, and discussed the difference between narrative and reflective writing. We then wrote about influential people in our own lives, from friends to children to grandparents. After sharing our work, we then read “Courage,” by Bernard Waber, and wrote our own list of “Courage is …” lines. For “homework,” we asked participants to choose one of their lines and show us the story behind it. We can’t wait to see what they come up with when we visit them next month!