ES students were greeted with a new Sensory Path on their return to school this week after a generous grant from the UNIS Impact Fund.

The path was designed by Grade 1 students in collaboration with a local graphic design company as part of their PYP Unit Who We Are. It’s design captures an opportunity for students to follow a racetrack, climb the beanstalk, breathe, hopscotch, and swirl through a black hole before ending on a series of bear prints.

The sensory experience of running, hopping, swirling, slow breathing and jumping is intended to help students channel their energy and to recognise when a purposeful, quick break from the classroom may help them engage in classroom activities. As students in Grade 1 have been learning this year, only they can decide if their body needs to get itself back into the ‘green zone’ for learning. On the understanding that different people have different needs, this path gives them an opportunity to advocate for themselves and to see what helps them feel more relaxed and ready for learning.

Students were very excited to try out the new path and to choose the parts which they liked the most… Even a few adults found themselves testing it out too!