WMS Altitude Program completes 4th annual Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital Book Drive

By Masha Yurkevich

Windham Middle School (WMS) Altitude students took a trip to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital to donate books that they had collected on Nov. 25. This is the fourth annual book drive that the Altitude program has done for the Children’s Hospital, and this year, Altitude collected 132 books.

Students from Windham Middle School's Altitude Program
collected books in November and then donated them during 
a visit to Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland as
part of the 4th annual Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital
Book Drive for ill children last month.
PHOTO BY MASHA YURKEVICH
    

To collect the books, students set up collection boxes around the school and made announcements to let others know about the book drive.

“We also made posters and posted them around the school and also went to the Windham Public Library to see if we could put a collection box there,” said WMS student Ava Arterton.

An Altitude teacher also posted about the book drive on the internet and ended up raising $230, which was then used to buy books at Shermans Maine Coast book Shop and Walmart for the book drive.

“If I were in a hospital, I would be very happy if someone thought of me and brought me a book,” said Angelina Malan, a WMS Altitude student.

“When I read, it calms me down and makes me feel better,” said student Lee Small. “Maybe these books can do the same thing for the children here.”

The students all agreed that it is important to help people in need and that it feels good to make a difference.

“A little bit goes a long way,” said McKenna Grass-Goodwin. “It is a big hospital and compared to how many books we brought, we did raise a lot but compared to how many children there are in this hospital, a little goes a long way. These books might just help these children feel a little bit more normal during this hard time.”

Some of the students went over to their teachers from the previous year to talk to the kids and tell them about what happens at the Children's Hospital and why they collected books.

"It was a lot about presentation skills, too, and the opportunity to think about others,” said Altitude teacher Lisa Anderson.

Altitude teacher Autumn Carlsen-Cook said that this book drive shows the students a larger community.

“A lot of these students have connections with either themselves who have been at the Children’s Hospital or family members who have been at the Hospital,” she said. “We are all about community at Altitude and this book drive helps the students serve their community as well as practice empathy and compassion.”

“It is a big confidence booster for these students,” said Sophie Simonson, Altitude teacher. “Doing something like this makes the kids feel good about what they are doing.”

Sharon Granville is the Child Life Program Manager at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, with a goal to help children experience emotional safety when they are at the hospital.

“We look to help children understand the ‘why’ behind their healthcare; why are they here, who is everyone that is caring for them, what is their role,” she said. “We look to provide that information to then support coping, with the aim and goal that these children then grow up to be an adult who seeks healthcare when they are not feeling well and are not afraid to see a doctor when they are sick.”

Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in the state of Maine and areas of northern New Hampshire, caring for pediatric patients of all ages from neonates up to older adolescents.

“We want children to enjoy something from home,” said Granville. “Doing something that you enjoy really makes a difference when you are staying somewhere that is not home, meeting all new people, and not feeling your best, so having things like books is fantastic. We are very grateful to the Windham School Program that comes and visits us with their book drive. Our library here is unique in that our books are gifts to the kids that are here.”

By partnering with community support, such as the Windham Altitude Program, the Hospital can continue to fill their library with a variety of books to offer children of all ages and developmental levels. Specifically for the holiday season, the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital has an Amazon Gift Registry that are specific items that children will enjoy during their hospital stay.

“We always welcome any community supporters that would like to select an item from that gift registry,” said Granville. “We also have a volunteer program where we look for a minimum of a weekly six-month commitment to volunteer with us on the pediatric unit, which includes having direct contact with children and their families, playing with them, arts and crafts, games, holding babies, and just helping children feel comfortable while they are here at the hospital.”

The Amazon Gift Registry can be found on the Barbara Bus Children’s Hospital webpage, as well as more information regarding the volunteer program. <

Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital benefits from WMS Altitude Program book donation

By Matt Pascarella

Windham Middle School’s Altitude Program strives to have students become significant community members with a goal to create hands-on learning opportunities, which aim toward students reaching their highest potential. Last year, the program donated books to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland and this year the group, composed of seventh and eighth graders, decided to do it again.

Windham Middle School eighth graders make a book donation
to Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center
in Portland on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Back row, from left, are
Marcus Farinella, Jo Ricker, Mallory Clement, Jovie 
Jauregui, Sophia McGovern, Mr. Sean Mains, Gloria
Veilluex and Melonie Blackey-Marsh. Front, from left, are
Mrs. Lisa Anderson, Matt Denslow, Sam Day, Mrs. Autumn
Carlsen-Cook, and Miss Bry Warren.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA    

Seventh and eighth graders from the program dropped off a large box filled to the top with books on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

“It really is so important to have gotten all of these incredible books,” said Dana Fadel, Hospital Teacher and School Liaison for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. “They will go into the hands of every patient that we have; and all the patients that we see always ask for books, so this is really critical. It’s much appreciated and will go a long way.”

The patients at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital get to keep the books which are used sometimes in an educational setting or to just pass the time. Fadel asks every student she sees if they’re interested in reading and what they’re interested in - many times, it’s books about subjects she received in the box from Windham Middle School, like Bluey, Taylor Swift, Hardy Boys, or graphic novels.

WMS eighth grader Otis Jordan said donating these books made him feel like he was making a difference.

“I’m helping out kids,” said Windham eighth grader Marcus Farinella. “It feels great.”

The Altitude Program heard that Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital needed books, so they put up posters around Windham Middle School and had boxes where students and staff could donate books. They also made announcements stating there were boxes around the school where books could be donated. Some of the books were donated from members of the Altitude Program, but some also came from a book fair at Windham Middle School where individuals could buy a book and donate a book.

“I wanted to help because I want the kids to be happy and if it means bringing in a few books then I will do it,” said Windham seventh grader Khloe Hardy who helped with the book drive by putting up posters and boxes around the school. “I felt really happy when I helped the kids and that I made a difference.”

According to Farinella, the goal of the Altitude program is to try to bring out the best in every kid in the program and do fun activities, raising their spirits while raising their outlook on life.

“It felt great because you got to give people stuff who might not get stuff all the time,” said Windham eighth grader Julez Jeasey.

WMS eighth grader Jo Ricker agreed.

“When you give, you feel a lot better,” Ricker said. “I like taking time out of my day to help people.”

The goal of the Altitude Program is to try to bring out the best in every kid in the program by performing community building activities, like going shopping or going to the Windham Food Pantry, ice skating or to the Windham skate park. The program teaches life skills and helps them accomplish as much as possible.

“This year we partnered with Ripple Effect ... a kind of outdoor adventure leadership program,” said Altitude Program science teacher Autumn Carlsen-Cook, who is in her second year of the Altitude Program. “We took the seventh and eighth graders to Cow Island last year and they did different outdoor leadership activities where they would challenge themselves to a level of their comfort, so climbing wall, zip line, different games to show working together.”

In partnering with Ripple Effect, the Altitude Program will do monthly excursions during this school year. They take grades outside of the classroom for a full day of community building activities, but also learn applications from these activities.

Every student involved with the Altitude Program say they should continue donating to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital because it feels nice getting a gift from someone your age who knows what you might like to read.

“We came here to help these kids ... they should benefit from our kindness,” said Ricker. “It makes me feel wonderful. If we give them a book, it keeps their mind occupied, it keeps them happy. It would cheer me up if I was in the hospital and I read a book I really enjoyed.” <

WMS Altitude Program makes a difference through book donations

By Matt Pascarella

Shortly before the beginning of the holiday season’s school vacation, eighth-grade students at Windham Middle School’s Altitude Program, with the help of seventh graders within the program, helped gather a substantial stack of books that were brought by the students to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

Windham Middle School Altitude Program eighth graders
back from left, Rylynn Miller, Maddi Nolan, KJ Currier, Cam
Moreau, Izaiah Woodbury, Veronika Sullivan and Madi Cicci
donate books to the Giving Library at the Barbara Bush 
Children's Hospital in South Portland on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
Accepting the donation is Child Life Program Manager
Sharon Granville, front. COURTESY PHOTO 

The Altitude Program is one of service, and experiential learning. It stresses being a significant member of the community and its goal is to create more hands-on learning opportunities. For many of the students in the program the typical school setting can be harder for them, so the Altitude Program is a connector for them academically as well as personally. It aims to help students make relationships, build community and work on social skills and communication.

In early December, Windham Middle School teachers Lisa Anderson, Autumn Carsen Cook and Rich Meserve asked the members of the Altitude Program what they can do to make a difference and show compassion.

The eighth graders came up with the idea to donate books to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

“We decorated boxes and put them around Windham Middle School and at the Field-Allen School,” said Windham eighth grader Madi Cicci. “The principal, announced there were boxes for book donations every morning.”

Letters went out to staff and parents informing them of the need to collect new books.

“Giving is kind and thoughtful,” said Windham eighth-grader Izaiah Woodbury. “It felt good to donate the books.”

Woodbury said it gives the kids who aren’t able to go to school the ability to learn through the donated books. If they cannot be visited by their families during the holidays, the books are a gift.

Windham eighth-grader KJ Currier said it felt good to donate the books. It meant a lot that they were able to bring the kids at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital something around the holidays.

“We have some core belief statements for students and some ‘I can’ statements,” said WMS Principal Drew Patin. “One is feeling a part of the community. The book donations fits in terms of being able to see what their impact is on other people.”

Patin said another of the statements is around engagement and seeing themselves in the curriculum but also feeling like what they are doing has a broader impact.

The students say that they are really grateful for being able to learn off campus and out in the community.

“We are really appreciative of their work and generosity and thinking of others,” said Sharon Granville, Child Life Program Manager at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. “It helped us to add books to our Giving Library; we offer a library where families have the opportunity to come and look through different books for different ages of patients and any family that’s staying with us has the opportunity to select a book and use it and thankfully be able to keep it.”

Granville said what’s great about book donations is it allows the hospital to keep up with frequent titles kids are enjoying.

She said that when you are in the hospital, you don’t always have as many choices as you might want so by having a nice book selection, they are able to provide the children with an appropriate choice which allows them to select whatever book they want.

The small actions of the students in the Altitude Program made a big difference for kids who are not feeling well.

“I feel accomplished,” said Windham eighth grader Maddi Nolan. “It made me feel like I did a good deed for the community. It was important because we gave the kids what they needed and deserved. Some kids would not be able to see their families while in the hospital, so I thought this would make them feel happy."

Nolan also said she learned to take a pause and appreciate what she has. <