Kentfield, CA (November 2016) – Windchime of Marin recently played host to a group of students from nearby San Domenico School, which left both the students and the residents with big smiles and warmed hearts.
San Domenico School, which encourages their students to “reflect on their learning, find their purpose, and celebrate in community,” is California’s oldest independent school, teaching 640 students in grades K-12.
Gail McCallister, the school’s Service Learning project Coordinator, accompanied the student members of the Service Learning Club (SLC) and later wrote a letter of thanks to the Service Learning members and parents, which she shared with the Windchime Vibrant Life Director. During their visit, the students visited the first, second and third floors of the Windchime building, where they participated in a variety of activities with the residents. As Gail wrote:
“On the first floor, students made personal collages with residents. To create the collage, each student had to learn about a resident by asking questions about their life and then depict that through drawings and cut out pictures. Then they put up the collages outside of the resident’s room to remind them what they care about most.
The second floor was a little more active – they played games. Some residents were reluctant to play bocce ball at first so the students jumped right in to encourage them. By the time balloon volleyball was underway the whole room was participating and laughing.
The third-floor activity was my personal favorite. Students sat with residents and took turns reading from question cards. The group went around the table answering the question. The answers were fun to listen to and often generated animated conversations. One card said, “what is your favorite song?” and a resident replied, “oh I love anything by Glenn Miller, but you all probably don’t know Glenn Miller.” Next thing you know they are all listening to “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller on an iPhone and everyone is smiling and tapping their feet. The girls shared that they liked Adele and played one of her songs too.
It was beautiful to watch the middle schoolers being so present with the elderly – patiently listening to hear the quiet words of those who often find it difficult to recall and express their memories but have so many rich ones to share.”
Activities like these are happening every week at Windchime of Marin. Our Vibrant Life program is committed to providing new and interesting activities to engage our residents and the community at large. For more information, call our Vibrant Life Director, Valdete Lane, at 415.482.4100, or to schedule a tour of Windchime, call 415.233.6809.