Dear friends and neighbors,
All of the staff of the Goodman Community Center are doing incredible work, and as we’ve celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week here at the Goodman Center, I’ve had the opportunity to check in with the wonderful work our teachers are doing every day in support of their students and families. These efforts often go unnoticed by the public, and they’re even harder to see now that our classrooms are closed and students are learning from home.
And maybe that makes
the work
that much more admirable
.
Teachers don’t teach for the awards. They teach because they care about their students. Their students become a part of their family. I see it in the way our teachers talk about missing “their kids,” and we know the kids miss our teachers just as much. Howard, one of our LOFT Teen Center teachers, has delivered baked goods from his online cooking club to students (no contact, of course), and he told me the kids are just as excited to get a glimpse of him as he is to connect with them face-to-face, from a distance.
So this week,
we honor these heroes among us
. They are helping bring a little consistency to the lives of the young people they work with, and they’re looking forward to the day they can see “their kids” in person again.
Please be safe and be well,
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Becky Steinhoff, Executive Director
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GCC Week at Everly
Did you know
Everly on Monroe Street
is open for delivery and carry-out? And did you know that next week, a portion of the proceeds from all orders placed Tuesday through Thursday, May 12-14, will benefit the Goodman Center? The hardest decision will be whether to order the smoked salmon Caesar salad or the fried chicken sandwich.
Place your delivery or curbside pick-up order
via EatStreet
or call 608-416-5242. For delivery to all of Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Verona, or Monona, visit
Everly's website
and click “Green Cab Delivery.
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OUR TEACHERS
Early Childhood Education
How do you to teach 4K and preschool students over video? Very creatively. GCC early childhood education teachers are offering daily video lessons to these youngest students, as well as checking in with families weekly. “We have to come up with creative ways to connect because learning cannot happen without connection,” said 4K teachers Claire and Michelle. “We created circle time areas in our house to try to have some continuity in the videos, and we play familiar songs from our classroom during our Zoom calls.”
Thank you, Claire and Michelle
and the entire early childhood team
for all that you do!
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Transition Academy
The GCC Transition Academy is an alternative high school, focused on hands-on learning, a real challenge in a world where students can’t get gather together. Teachers have found a way to make it work. They are in the GCC garden and kitchen doing work the students would be helping with this time of year, and
they film everything they do to share with their kids
. From there, students are charged with completing projects related to everything they’ve seen.
If you’d like to check out the Transition Academy teachers’ efforts in the garden, take a little ride or walk down the bike path near GCC.
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Elementary After-School
Like all our elementary after-school staff, Teal Tribe teacher Cassie has taken the lessons she would have done with her kids and transformed them into virtual clubs, like her gardening club where she planted seeds on video and will update her students on the progress of her plants. But one of the biggest challenges she and her fellow teachers face is missing their students.
They’ve built relationships with and care so much about these kids
, not seeing them every day is incredibly challenging.
Being innovative teachers, they found a way to work with that too. “Last week we had our first video meeting with kids,” said Cassie. “It was just a fun hang-out hour, and the staff present were smiling from ear to ear seeing the kids again and hearing them talk. It was heartwarming.”
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LOFT Teen Center
Howard has been working with teens in the Goodman Center LOFT for a long time, specifically with middle school students, and he’s so good at building relationships with kids who are navigating this tricky age. But how to build those connections when the kids are all stuck at home?
Howard found a non-digital way to do it.
He is leading a weekly cooking club that results in some tasty treats that he then delivers to a handful of lucky students. “The kids are isolated in the house, and they crave interaction with folks they know,” said Howard. “It’s exciting to see their eyes light up when I deliver. It shows them that we care and we just want to let them know we miss them.”
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TEACHER SUPPORT
Taking Care of Our Teachers
This year, thanks to a grant from the United Way, the Goodman Center has partnered with the Anesis Therapy Center to make free, on-site counseling services available to all staff who work with children. Teaching is a hard job, made no less difficult by how much teachers care about their students. This program aims to help take some of the mental and emotional pressure off teachers, to give them an outlet to express the difficulties they face working with kids, all on-site at GCC. Our early childhood education staff participated in their first virtual group session just a few weeks ago, and the feedback from teachers was so positive.
When the Center reopens, the services offered by Anesis will be expanded to include child and family counseling, staff training and a parent group.
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Now Pre-Registering for Summer Camp
Assuming the Safer at Home order is lifted at the end of May, GCC is planning to open up for summer camp with limited class sizes and a new set of safety procedures in place. If you’d like to pre-register your child for camp, or if you’d like more information, please contact the following people:
Summer Camp, Ages 3-12:
Garden Fit, Incoming 6th grade:
LOFT Summer, Incoming 6th-12th grades:
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FOOD OPERATIONS
Drive-Thru Food Pantry
All are welcome – no need to call ahead. Food is distributed in the Ironworks building parking lot, 149 Waubesa Street, Madison.
Tuesday
9:30 a.m. – noon
Wednesday
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Thursday
12:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Neighborhood Dinners
The Center is managing a neighborhood
meal distribution three days a week.
Wednesday & Thursday
–
individual dinners
Friday
–
2 family-style meals + a pantry bag of groceries
For delivery in
Darbo/Worthington and Brentwood
neighborhoods:
1.
Your address.
2.
How many meals you’d like
For delivery to
Carbon & Generations
@ Union Corners
:
Contact Fran Augustine at 608-242-4400 or email
faugustine@gormanusa.com
and tell her h
ow many meals you’d like.
Meals will be delivered between
3:30-4:30 p.m.
to the community room, labeled for you.
Sign up once, then you’ll continue receiving meals weekly.
Contact Sara or Fran to cancel. More information, including the dinner menu
here
(scroll to bottom of the page).
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“I really appreciate that everyone has been in constant contact with us. We were always kept in the loop. There was never a question not answered before I asked it. We really appreciate GCC at this time.”
- Beth, parent of a preschool student
This past Tuesday, we joined with people around the world to celebrate
#GivingTuesdayNow
, a day of unity and giving. If you didn’t have a chance to make a gift, there’s still time. If you did, thank you so much. Times are lean, and we understand not everyone is in a position to make a financial gift. You’ve all walked beside us through this journey. The road ahead is long and bumpy, but we’ll get through it together.
* Consider yourself hugged. *
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Information is changing rapidly.
Goodman is constantly reassessing how we can help our community. Current operations can be found at:
goodmancenter.org/corona
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GOODMAN COMMUNITY CENTER
Ironworks:
149 Waubesa Street
Brassworks:
214 Waubesa Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53704
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