Rose Extends a Caring Hand (R.E.A.C.H.)
Tanner School
One of the fundamental beliefs at Rose School is teaching our students to help others. We hope to reach out to others within our own community and beyond. Rose adopted an inner city school, Henry O. Tanner Elementary, as our sister school seven years ago. Tanner Elementary is a Chicago Public School on the Southeast side of the city which houses preschool though eighth grade students. The school’s considerable needs came to our attention through a connection that a Rose teacher has with a former Tanner teacher.
Throughout the seven years the relationship has developed in many ways. We have been involved in many fundraising efforts to contribute to the classrooms and programs at Tanner School. We have helped to provide art supplies, physical education equipment, printers, books, and even choir and sports uniforms. We have also enjoyed creating pen pal relationships between the students. The students from both schools have had many opportunities to meet one another of the years. We arranged to have the choirs from each school sing together during the holidays. A few years ago, a real highlight was hosting the Tanner students and teachers for our annual Field Day on the Rose campus.
In the 2008-2009 school year, Barbara Rose organized a successful book drive. The staff, students and parents collected over 3,000 books to be used in classroom libraries at Tanner. The Rose students organized the books in boxes according to grade level. Our efforts have been validated through reports of a new excitement towards reading in their building after the delivery of the books. Tanner has also enjoyed a steady increase in standardized test scores over the past five years.
We hosted members of the Tanner staff in the fall of 2008 for a day of sharing and professional development. Each Tanner teacher was paired with a Rose teacher of a similar grade level. The Tanner teachers observed and participated in classrooms in the morning. Teachers then exchanged ideas over lunch. The teachers engaged in exciting conversations focused on best practices in the areas of guided reading and literacy centers.
In the upcoming 2009-2010 school year, we hope to continue the relationship with our sister school. We are planning a Walk-a-Thon in October. Rose students will have the opportunity to collect pledges for walking laps around the school. The money raised will go towards much needed classroom supplies for Tanner School. We hope to make it a fun day where the students feel that they themselves can reach out and help others who are not as fortunate! CLICK HERE FOR WALK-A-THON!
For more information on Tanner: http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Pages/Tanner.aspx?Source=SearchPage
Barrington Giving Day
Each December Barrington Giving Day invites families living in the Barrington School District 220 to a Giving Day. Here they receive boxes of food, warm coats, blankets, books, and gifts. In 2008 Barrington Giving Day served 776 families. This included 2,400 children. The Rose Student Council and PTO will be partnering again this year to contribute to this important local effort. For more information please visit this link: http://www.barringtongivingday.org/index.html
"Community service efforts build self-esteem and allow students to experience themselves as part of the larger network of people who are helping to create a better world." -Shelden Berman, "Educating for Social Responsibility"