Safari takes pupils on adventures in writing
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

Roary's Reading and Writing Safari at the Adelphia School, Howell, gives children a place where they can improve their writing skills. The facility was funded through a grant provided by the Howell Township Education Foundation.

HOWELL - There is barely any sunlight peaking through the lush green ceiling created by trees. Inside this area are tigers, giraffes, parrots and, most important of all, books.

Children enter the serene environment excited about what they will discover in this manmade paradise. They walk very gingerly and ask why the room is dimly lit. Their question is answered by one student who says in a matterof fact tone, "It is dark because it is calming to read."

Roary's Reading and Writing Safari is the Adelphia School's interactive reading and writing lab that has been funded through a grant provided by the Howell Township Education Foundation, and the school's PTA. It has been in effect since September 2007 and was created to improve students' scores on the NJ ASK examination.

The reading jungle is adorned with bamboo, vines, a wooden hut with colorful pillows, laptop computers, chairs and tables, and colorful jungle animals that are painted on the walls. The once bare room has been transformed by teachers, parents and members of the community into an inviting place for reading.

According to first grade teacher Lois Muhaw, "When the children get ready to go to the writing lab it is almost like they are going on a field trip. It is as if they think they are actually leaving the building."

Once a week pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade experience a literary adventure as they get wrapped up in the ambiance and are swept away to another place.

Second grade teacher Cindy VanGlahn said, "This is a place where students can be happy and enjoy learning."

Having a fun place was the idea behind the creation of this special room, according to VanGlahn.

"Our principal,Alysson Keelen, wanted a jungle theme, very imaginative, a bigger than-life place for the kids to learn. I took some inspiration from a coloring book and from some materials online" and with some other teachers created the safari, naming it after the school's mascot Roary, a white tiger, VanGlahn explained.

Fourth grade teacher Amy Steinberg said the students "get overwhelmed with excitement, especially when they are in here because they don't see it as work. This is a fun place for learning."

Acting Vice Principal Angela O'Cone, the co-writer of the grant application, said "the key component to the success of this lab is the teachers' collaboration. The safari suits grades K-5, allowing the teachers to collaborate among themselves and across all grade levels."

O'Cone said the lab setting allows a teacher to "focus on a student's strength and to enhance their identified weakness in writing."

"Teachers usually teach in isolation. This lab allows these educators to see another professional teaching. This helps the teachers learn from each other and raise the quality level of instruction," Keelen said.

Third grade teacher Chrissy Anderson said, "I am always looking for a better way to teach. This is a nice opportunity to see a different way."

Muhaw agreed, saying, "You get all of these wonderful benefits at no workshop cost, and see the techniques in action. Not only are the students learning, but it is having a spiraling effect on us, too, as lifelong learners."

According to Steinberg, the lessons that are taught and learned in the writing lab permeates to the regular classroom setting.

"What we do here spills over into the classroom," Steinberg said, adding that the collaboration helps the teachers "make learning beneficial for the children."

According to Susan Flitton, special education teacher and co-writer of the grant application, "This is an innovative program that we are very proud of. The time, effort and talent that everyone donated to bring this into fruition defrayed the cost."

The writing lab cost about $9,000, with $8,000 coming from the PTAand $1,000 in grant money, according to Keelen.

The educators involved in the program have praised it for its work thus far, however, the effectiveness of the lab will be measured by a series of data that include but is not limited to "teacher-generated assessments, fall and spring writing samples, Northwest Evaluation Association profiles, teacher feedback and student surveys," according to information provided within the grant application.