CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) – An instructional coach in the Charleston County School District wants to give the children of Deer Park Middle School the opportunity to join a new club, but she needs your help.
Angie Grimes Jones has been at Deer Park Middle for years – and she wants to start a new puzzle club for any students who want to join.
“I’ve actually been thinking about this for a couple of years now because I know puzzles are a great opportunity for kids to come together and work together. And I often see that kids don’t really take the time to talk to each other. Sitting around the table and trying to work through a puzzle is a great and fun opportunity for students to come together,” Grimes says.
At Deer Park Middle School, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income families. Grimes says puzzles break down those barriers.
“One of my goals is not to exclude our students who don’t speak English as well,” Grimes says. “So collaborative puzzle solving is visual. It’s a visual activity, and that’s the same with the Rubik’s Cube challenges. Those are visual things, and they can all work together and laugh. I really envision the Rubik’s Cube challenges as them trying to do these challenges at just one speed, and all the laughter that would come with that. It’s an opportunity for inclusion. And that’s what I really want to see.”
Grimes already owns some items herself, but to open the club to more students, she hopes to offer a wide range of items, including speed cubes, traditional puzzles and board games, and mosaics.
Here’s your chance to become a Live 5 Classroom Champion. All donations are tax deductible and the Donors Choose organization collects the money, purchases the items and sends them to the teacher, so you know your donation is being put to good use. The project ends on August 31st and she’s hoping her project will be funded so she can start the club as soon as possible.
You can donate here: https://www.donorschoose.org/project/logic-strategy-and-mysteriesoh-my/8351417/
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