The SparQ team designed a one-day event for high school sophomores and juniors to explore the idea of passion and purpose in their lives and future careers. At SparQ, approximately 20 students had the opportunity to discover their potential, connect with professionals in various fields of interest, and explore possibilities for their future.
Through months of research into early childhood education, One Stone members realized one basic skill set that all young children need for success: being polite! Social graces help children navigate their ever-widening world of family, friendships, childcare, and even preschool. The One Stone team created “Polite Passport” as a fun and engaging way to reinforce skills in manners, especially those which parents identified as priorities. Built around an imaginary trip to the seven continents, kids aged 3-5 years old played please and thank you games, practiced setting an elegant table, watched a puppet show about how to ask for help, learned the basics of a good handshake, and sang a song about sharing. Recipients and their parents collected stamps in their Polite Passports at the completion of each station.
Through two events, the One Stone team members delivered the Polite Passport program to over 25 young children. The children were engaged and many showed interest in coming again another day. Parents at the event described the experience as “fantastic” and “awesome.”
One parent wrote, “It was such a fun time for my kids--I’d definitely recommend it to another family. We’re excited to hear about future programs and events!”
One Stone students reflected on the experience and many noted their most meaningful encounter as a unique moment with a particular child in which they truly connected.
In One Stone team members’ own words:
“I loved seeing the little kids really get into the puppet show. They were so excited to learn, and their manners were impeccable!”
“This was the cutest project I’ve ever seen. The kids and parents seemed to appreciate all the hard work we did.”
How might we create an accepting environment that empowers young adults who face food insecurity? One Stone team members from Project Recharge spent nine months delving into the issue of hunger in the United States—meeting with various experts, including the Idaho Food Bank, about the significant impact that hunger has on members of our community.
Open Book Adventures is One Stone’s free tutoring and mentoring program for underserved kindergarteners through third grade students. Once a week for six weeks, the K–3rd grade “Buddies” are paired with a One Stone “Adventure Guide” for an hour and a half of reading, writing, games and connection. This is the seventh iteration of the program, and the planning team continues to learn from each session. Open Book Adventures provides leadership opportunities for One Stone students and forges an unparalleled bond between guide and buddy.
The theme of this session was Open Book Adventures: Your Story. Buddies and their guides spent six weeks exploring books written by different beloved children’s authors including Eric Carle, Bill Martin, Laura Numeroff, Shel Silverstein, Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Dr. Seuss. Each buddy spent time learning the parts of a story and writing their own book. The illustrated masterpieces covered a wide range of interests, and the buddies were so proud of their newfound creativity and determination! New to this session, buddies and guides spent some reading time in the digital literacy world, reading ebooks on iPads.
The session culminated in a celebration of their accomplishments. Each student received a book and certificate of awesomeness for completing the program. Each One Stone Adventure Guide shared a highlight they had with their buddy and celebrated achievements with the families of their buddies.
This Open Book Adventures session reported one of One Stone’s best outcomes yet, with an average 33% increase in reading proficiency from week 1 to week 6.
From parents:
"Ella has always enjoyed reading (or to be specific, being read to) but OBA has helped cement her love of books and she knows SO much about the basics of a story! And she's reading tons of environmental print now!"
"This is an amazing program, we've told other parents and can't wait to enroll again!"
"Elle's favorite part was writing her own book! But I think she also loved the one-on-one interaction as well."
1151 W. Miller St
Boise, ID 83702
United States
208-451-3825
info@onestone.org
One Stone is a member of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools.
Learn more about our accreditation status »
