may community outreach
We LOVE the start of a new school year! It was a short month, but we accomplished a lot …
Red Bank Middle School
We are so excited to be back writing with the 7th and 8th grade AVID students at RBMS! Our 8th graders were thrilled to see us again–some even ran up to give us hugs and high fives! And the 7th graders seemed just as happy to start writing with us. On our first day back, we invited both groups to write us letters about themselves, telling us anything they think we should know–what their interests are, what they like/don’t like about writing. Reading through the letters afterward made us laugh and cry! Last week, we handed out composition notebooks and gave them time to decorate them with photos and cutouts from magazines to make them feel more personal. We look forward to start filling up the pages starting next week!
Bridge Ink Volume 3 Issue 4 
We are proud to announce that we have put together a special issue of Bridge Ink, our online young adult literary magazine, featuring true stories written by teens who participated in The Interview Project over the summer! The Interview Project requires teens to interview notable Red Bank citizens or people in their lives and document the stories they want to preserve. Some of the interviewees are Lou Troisi from Hobby Masters, Marvin from Elsie’s Sub Shop, and local celebrity Joan Ellis. We are thrilled to share their hard work with you!
Parents of Children with Special NeedsEvery month we partner with Jennifer Borenius of SoulShine Studios to give parents a safe, quiet space to recharge and reconnect. Jennifer begins the session with yoga and guided meditation before we move on to writing and reflecting. This month, we read the poem “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities,” by Chen Chen, and then wrote a list of expectations we hold for ourselves. We spent time composing letters to ourselves, reflecting on how we already meet those expectations or forgiving ourselves if we can’t. We are so grateful to SoulShine for inviting us into their beautiful space at the Bungalounge at the Bungalow Hotel in Long Branch. The next workshop will be held Monday, October 21, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. For more information, email info@projectwritenow.org.
Shore HouseAt Shore House this month, we read, “Broken Music,” by Corey Marks, and wrote off of four different lines from the poem: 1. “in the city” (place prompt) 2. “talking to the air” (dialogue prompt) 3. “window-muffled music” (sound sensory prompt) and 4. “I felt cartoonish” (emotion prompt). So many great lines came out of these writers when sharing their work! One writer described falling rain as “broken water,” another wrote a compelling horror story about the mystery of mist, and another jumped into the sound prompt taking us to the ocean with onomatopoeias such as “lap lap” and “shwoosh” and “crash.” It always impresses us to see where creativity takes these writers!
Senior Space
Last Wednesday, the seniors of Senior Space in Red Bank wrote about food from their childhoods, favorite restaurants that have closed, and what they remembered about Nixon’s resignation. There was a common longing for the Sunday afternoon pot roast with clouds of mashed potatoes drenched in gravy, sweet tender carrots, and little pearl onions–often pushed to the side of the plate. One student brought to life her favorite aunt with a thin willowy frame and large chest in which she kept her hearing aid perched with a thin connective wire to her ear. Her aunt’s take on the Nixon resignation was stated boldly in an Irish brogue: “All politicians are crooks.” It was a lively group with many laughs!
Last Wednesday, the seniors of Senior Space in Red Bank wrote about food from their childhoods, favorite restaurants that have closed, and what they remembered about Nixon’s resignation. There was a common longing for the Sunday afternoon pot roast with clouds of mashed potatoes drenched in gravy, sweet tender carrots, and little pearl onions–often pushed to the side of the plate. One student brought to life her favorite aunt with a thin willowy frame and large chest in which she kept her hearing aid perched with a thin connective wire to her ear. Her aunt’s take on the Nixon resignation was stated boldly in an Irish brogue: “All politicians are crooks.” It was a lively group with many laughs!
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