“Fun Friday” has been a years-long tradition in Charles Yandell's classroom at Paradise Honors Middle School (PHMS) in Surprise, Arizona. To help students mentally “reset” after state testing, Mr. Yandell would bring in board games and give students a chance to relax and socialize. He believed the break was good for student's mental health and prepared them to learn again.
Seeing the impact Fun Fridays had on his students, Mr. Yandell encouraged the PHMS Parent Booster to take it school-wide. Loving the idea, the booster asked the school community to donate new or gently used board games to build a Games Lending Library for the school. Teachers across PHMS could use the lending library to start Fun Fridays in their own classrooms, making it easy for teachers and providing a fun, relaxing time for students.
The PHMS Parent Booster needed a simple way to keep donations organized and ensure they received a wide variety of games. That’s when they turned to SignUpGenius to build a simple, easy-to-use online donation sign up. They were shocked when the sign up generated over 100 donations in less than a week! With so many donations coming in, the booster was able to build a substantial lending library for the school.
When state testing ended in April, the parent booster kicked off the first school-wide PHMS Fun Friday using the new Games Lending Library. Students enjoyed snacks and board games, and the project was a resounding success. In fact, the booster received several notes from grateful students saying how much they enjoyed decompressing after the rigors of state testing.
“Building the games library has been a fun project - I believe it could work at almost any school,” said Hannah Gleghorn, President of PHMS Parent Booster. "Students love playing games and teachers have found creative ways to use them. SignUpGenius made it all so easy!”
Thanks to dedicated administrators, boosters, and SignUpGenius, the new PHMS Games Lending Library will be used by teachers and students for years to come. We’re honored to help start the new tradition of Fun Fridays at PHMS!
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Hannah Gleghorn, President of PHMS Parent Booster
