Catholic school’s sensory room a calming space that supports students’ learning, well-being

KINGSTON, Pa. (OSV News) — An LED bubble tube and a musical touch wall are just two of many items that students can interact with while visiting a new sensory room at Good Shepherd Academy in Kingston.

The calming space is designed to help children relax, refocus, and build coping skills so they can return to class ready to learn.

The new space — the first sensory room in the Diocese of Scranton’s Catholic school system — was made possible through a generous grant from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund.

After celebrating an all-school Mass Nov. 25, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, visited the room, prayed a special blessing and sprinkled the space with holy water.

“Allow me to offer my words of thanks to all of you, the McGowan Foundation and all of you who had a hand in making this space possible,” Bishop Bambera said. “It’s incredible. We read more and more about opportunities like this in many schools. I’m so proud that we have one here at Good Shepherd Academy. It’s an incredible space and it is a calming space, isn’t it?”

For Good Shepherd Academy principal Jim Jones, the sensory room represents the fulfillment of a long-held hope for his school, the largest Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Scranton.

“It has been a dream of mine,” Jones told The Catholic Light, Scranton’s diocesan news outlet. “After COVID, many of our children were having a heightened sense of anxiety and tension, so we needed a place where our students could decompress.”

The room officially opened Oct. 1, and it has been busy ever since.

“We have multiple children in there every day,” Jones noted. “Our II (Individualized Instruction) students are in there continuously. We’re so grateful for the McGowan Foundation for their support of Catholic education.”

The foundation funded the approximately $50,000 in structural and electrical elements of the project in full.

“If it was not for the McGowan Foundation, this would not be possible,” Jones added. “They were gracious that they got behind our project 100 percent. They were on board from the get-go. They have been a blessing to Good Shepherd Academy.”

Installed in a quiet, second-floor area of the school, the new sensory room is filled with specialized visual, auditory and tactile equipment designed to help students self-regulate, manage anxiety and build coping skills.

“The bubble tower is one of the highlights,” Jones said with a laugh. “Everything is controlled by a cube. When you roll the cube, whatever color comes up, the lights change in the sensory room based on that.”

In addition to the technology, the school also incorporated special seating from a local vendor in Hanover Township, giving students comfortable, flexible options while they relax and engage with the equipment.

“Having the students be able to go to a space where they can self-regulate and learn the necessary coping skills for both an academic setting and a real-life setting is going to have immeasurable effects on both their personal development as well as their academic development,” said Mary Siejak, who has taught Individualized Instruction at Good Shepherd Academy for 10 years.

Siejak, who primarily teaches mathematics to students who need an adapted curriculum, said she already sees the impact when she brings students into the new room.

“When I take them to the room, maybe in about 10 minutes, I notice a measurable difference in their ability to stay focused, not only on content, but then also to perform to their potential in the classroom,” she explained.

What makes the difference?

“It’s a nice quiet space. It is the resources that the McGowan Foundation put into the sensory room. Just having those elements,” she added, noting that the room is designed to help regulate multiple senses in the body and allow students to become truly calm.

While the sensory room is open on an as-needed basis to the entire student body, it is used most frequently by students in Good Shepherd’s Individualized Instruction program.

The new sensory room builds on Good Shepherd Academy’s strong track record of innovation, including its STREAM — Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics — Discovery Room and expanded arts opportunities introduced in recent years.

The Catholic Light is the news outlet of the Diocese of Scranton. This story was originally published by The Catholic Light and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of the Catholic Review’s Catholic School’s Week (Jan. 25-31) coverage. Check back at catholicreview.org/category/schools for continued coverage of the event.

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