An elementary school student is raising hundreds of dollars for his school’s new sensory room

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – A seven-year-old student who competed in a triathlon last summer raised $400 during the race and then decided to donate it all to his school to help stock their brand new sensory room.

Joshua Flovin is a second grader at Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori School and said he wanted to help his classmates who have trouble paying attention in class.

“I realized we didn’t have a sensory room, and I wanted us to get one. We have a lot of special needs kids at this school,” Flovin said.

Charleston County School just got a new facility earlier this year, but one teacher noticed the building lacked a space where students could relax, reset their minds and tap into their various senses.

Christi Lotz is a special education teacher at Hursey and has worked in education for 29 years.

Lotz said many of her students have sensory issues and are overflowing with energy: “They have a lot of sensory issues, they get overstimulated, and we needed to provide a space where they can regulate those senses so they can be prepared to come back to the class to learn.”

She said students who are overwhelmed are also overstimulated, and those feelings can hinder students’ ability to retain the information learned in class.

The lack of a safe place for students to soothe their intense feelings forced Lotz to work with the school’s instructional coach, Danielle Saia.

Saia said she thought it was a great idea and immediately started a fundraising campaign to raise money for the equipment in the sensory room.

She said with the help of Joshua’s donation and other funds raised through DonorsChoose, they were able to purchase approximately 30 items for the school’s new sensory room.

“We have a trampoline; we have a sequin board that students can touch. So when you think about senses, the idea is to appeal to all your different senses. When a student is in class and feels like they are upset, or stressed, or just have a lot of energy and need to reset, they can come into the sensory room and use something. of the equipment that will help them calm themselves so they can refocus and return to the classroom,” Saia said.

Lotz said the space has been successful so far, and students who have used it have been better informed and able to focus their full attention on completing their schoolwork.”

“We have some kids who are just very active. So they can come in here, jump on the trampoline, spin in spinners. When they came back to the classroom they released all that energy, it helped their muscles relax, so when they came back they were able to sit with me and concentrate,” she said.

Lotz said the sensory room is for everyone, not just students with special needs.

“Everyone has sensory needs, not just students with special needs. We wanted to make sure that there was room for all students here at the school,” she says.

Both Lotz and Saia said that everyone in the room can really go inside, reset their mind and tap into their different senses.

They said they hope new equipment will be added to the room in the future.

Lotz is the school’s current Teacher of the Year.

Speaking about how the project has made Joshua feel, he says he is very proud of himself: “I did all this with the money I raised.”

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.