Valerie Bolling, Hamilton Avenue School FWP facilitator, seated on blue seat

The Hamilton Avenue School Family Writing Project brings fifth grade
students, along with their families and teachers, together to share
thoughts and ideas, participate in the writing process, and develop a
stronger sense of community.

Kate Frey, Emilia Rivera, and Valerie Bolling, teachers at Hamilton Avenue School, pioneered a FWP at their school in February 2003.  In October 2003, and again in the Spring of 2004, Valerie Bolling and Rosie Bakas, ESL aide and Spanish teacher, facilitated the second  and third FWPs.   During the sessions,  participants engaged in a variety of activities to get to know each other, express thoughts and feelings about their community, and think about their future hopes and dreams.

Facilitator Valerie Bolling writes, "we culminated our time together with a potluck dinner at the home of one of our FWP families.  At that time, we read aloud our pieces of writing that comprise this anthology, and a wonderful time was had by all."

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Gloria Lee, 5th grade

                        Family Writing Project

You should participate in Family Writing Project (FWP), because it
requires lots of writing, and you can practice your writing skills. You
and your family can also learn more English. if you speak another language
at home. My family speaks Korean at home. You can also spend more time
with your family.  This is good because even though you’re not playing,
you’re spending time together and it’s as fun as playing. The Family
Writing Project turns writing into fun

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Group Poem  About Our Artifact Sharing (Revised) by Valerie Bolling


important objects
worth saving
some saved from younger days
some of the smallest things are the most important

learning what things people liked
learning about events in which people participated
learning about other cultures
feeling connected to people through family traditions

different emotions
connected to sharing
people stopping to take a moment for reflection  
very important project

Participants in Hamilton Avenue School Family Writing Project :
Alangilan Family:  Miguel and Maharlika
Bottero Family:  Mary and Brie
Covello Family:  Pietro, Yolanda, Rosanna, and Stephanie
Derene Family:  Kathy and Sam
DiSapio Family:  Ginny and Ben
Galbier Family: Jose, Sonia, Julia, and Vitoria
Lee Family:  Hojin and Gloria
Marzulla Family:  Joyce and Michael
Mena Family:  Gilda and Maureen
Middleton Family:  Pam and Brent
Ortiz Family:  Marcelina, Steve, and Edwin

Facilitators

Valerie Bolling
Rosie Bakas

We had eleven families in last fall's writing project.  Of our eleven families,
six spoke languages other than English at home: Spanish (2), Portuguese,
Korean, Tagalog, and Italian.

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Spring 2004 Hamilton Avenue School Family Writing Project

Participants

Francois Family: Florence, David, and Fitz
Hart Family:  Bill, Sue, and Evin
Martins Family:  Saskia and Ryann
Montoya Family:  Maria and Jonathan
Valentine Family:  Angela, Christopher, and Noelle
Varney Family:  Elizabeth, Alyssa, Richard, and Rachel
Vergara Family:  Carmen, Alex, and Jose

Rosie Bakas (facilitator) in yellow               Hamilton Avenue Families

Family Writers at work                               Bill and Susan Hart              

Richard, 4th gr., and Alyssa Varney, 5th gr.    Saskia Martins with son Bryan

Group Artifact Poem (Revised)
by Bill Hart
Connections between parents and kids
Reassures our children
We can't imagine life without our kids
Our kids are important to us
Their future is a gift waiting to be opened

Something meaningful can represent our feelings
or personalities
We express something about ourselves
through our valued artifacts
Sharing our possessions gives us the opportunity
to meet people of different cultures
I like the diversity

It is so nice to be with our kids in a school setting
Sharing with them like this is an awesome experience
We learn so much about our children, ourselves,
and each other when we share
I LOVE THIS SCHOOL



Group Artifact Poem (Revised)
by Angela Valentine

Awesome activity,
Nice to see kids in a school setting,
Connections between parents and kids,
Reassures children,
Interesting; can’t imagine life without my kids.

An opportunity to meet people of different cultures
and learn about their backgrounds,  
I liked the diversity,
Something meaningful can represent our feelings
or personalities,
A good way to express ourselves.

Our kids are important to us,
I love school,
I didn’t know you like to travel,  
What would I have brought that was important to me? My guitar.

The future is a gift.

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Newfield School Family Writing Project, Stamford, Connecticut

Facilitators: front row -- Tricia Conduah (L), Sandy Palley-Brant (R)
     back row -- Sharon Longo (L), Valerie Bolling (R)   

Connecticut Takes Family Writing Project on the Road!

Valerie Bolling, a pioneer in the Hamilton Avenue School Family Writing
Project in Greenwich, has taken the show on the road!  Last spring she
trained three teachers at Newfield School in Stamford (a town that
neighbor’s Greenwich and is Ms. Bolling’s hometown) to run a successful
Family Writing Project.
This Family Writing Project is funded by the Connecticut Writing Project
at Fairfield University.  There were 17 participants, representing seven
families, and four facilitators: teacher consultant, Valerie Bolling,
fourth grade teachers, Tricia Conduah and Sharon Longo, and special
education teacher, Sandy Palley-Brant. This Family Writing Project was in
session from March 29 - May 24, 2004.

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At their first meeting, family members and facilitators in the Newfield School Family Writing Project shared artifacts brought from home.  Each item revealed aspects of the bringer's personality and life.  After sharing these objects, everyone jotted ideas in their journal about what they had learned.  Then, these jottings were collected and organized into a group poem:

Group Artifact Poem (Revised)

by Valerie D. Bolling


Bringing something that we love
and sharing what is special to us
Beckoning fond memories to return
Hard to share
Willing to share
Yearning for more to share
New cultures explored and shared
Multicultural, symbolic, diverse
Educational, enlightening, emotional

Learning more about friends we thought we knew well
Even discovering something new about family members
Enjoying stories told by children and adults
Adding new dimensions to “old” stories and “old” friends
Forthcoming, fascinating, fantastic

Safe, comfortable
Listening to others
Connections made
New experiences offered
New insights gained
Passed on to the next generation?
Memorable, troublemakers, refreshing, amazing, awesome!

Tim, raises his hand to participate as he sits with his dad, Jonathan,
and  classmate, Zach.

              Sarina and her mother, Angelina, write their thoughts.

Joey and his older sister, Diana, at work in their journals.