Teacher: Alyssa Giger

School: Summit High School

District: Summit RE-1

Website: https://shs.summitk12.org/

Address: 16201 CO-9 Breckenridge, CO 80424

Grade Level: 9-12, as the school librarian

Region: Central Mountains

Project Title: Games for Social Bonding

Category: Social Emotional Learning

Funding Amount Requested: $650

Project Description:
This project is rooted in the critical importance of supporting students' social and emotional well-being. Summit High School, just outside of Frisco, CO, has a current population of 1,070 in grades 9-12. Based on recent student survey data, only 56-70% of students report feeling like they 'belong' at school. Our staff is on a mission to shift our school culture to help address this concern. One method of increasing belongingness is through prosocial peer interactions, particularly live face-to-face interactions. I am requesting funds to encourage such interactive play. My goal is to establish a free "Stay & Play" area, filled with a wide variety of games and activities that they can play with one another in person while at school. These opportunities will positively impact our students' feelings of belonging, sense of value, and ultimately, their ability to learn.

Photos:
Photo 1
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Photo 3

Impact:
This games bookshelf would be located in the center of the school, within the library, and would have open access to students all day, every day, during school hours. The intent is to provide all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, gender, language, or culture, opportunities to connect and have shared experiences in real time while at school. Play-based interactions lead to enhancing cognitive development, better focus, quicker information retention, and improved problem-solving. It also fosters teamwork, collaboration, and conflict resolution skills, which are vital in both academic and future professional settings.

Use of Funds:
The funds will be used to purchase a wide variety of card games (e.g., Uno, Spot-It!, SkipBo, traditional decks of cards, TacoCatGoatCheesePizza, Would You Rather?), board games (e.g., checkers, Scrabble, Rummikub, Monopoly, Sorry!, chess, Battleship, Mastermind, Chinese checkers), and activities (e.g., origami paper, 3-D puzzles and mazes, Rubik's cubes, anxiety-relief coloring books, calligraphy sets, 'thank you' / 'thinking of you' cards), estimated at about $600. To help organize some of the materials, several trays and shelving units would amount to approximately $50. Total amount requested is $650.