The document discusses the Think Care Act project for 5th grade students at Shipley School. The project has students explore their personal strengths and interests, identify a problem in their community to research, and create an action plan to address the issue. Students carry out varied projects, like volunteering at a farm for retired horses or fundraising for prosthetics. They present their work at a school fair, displaying their pride and sense of accomplishment in making a difference through their TCA projects. The goal is for it to be a transformative experience that goes beyond an ordinary school assignment by giving it real purpose.

1. Read more about the fifth grade
Think Care Act project at
www.shipleyschool.org/
shipleymagazine
ACADEMIC MILESTONE
THINK CARE ACT
Making a difference,
one project at a time.
“Big changes come in small packages.” Fifth grader
Vanessa Becket ’22 perfectly summarizes a lesson that
Shipley wants all of its fifth graders to learn through the
Think Care Act (TCA) project—a culmination of their
Lower School experience and a capstone of Shipley’s
Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED)
program.
Part business plan, part service project, the TCA
assignment starts with self-discovery. Students explore
questions like: Who am I? What are my strengths? What
am I passionate about? On the verge of adolescence, the
process is developmentally critical to the fifth graders,
who identify a blend of performance characteristics
(perseverance, self-discipline) and moral characteristics
(respect, compassion, integrity), along with personal
interests that define who they are.
Then, students look outside of themselves into their
local communities, the country, and the world to identify
and research a problem that they can help solve using
their strengths and interests through raising awareness
and personal action. The project challenges students to
address the issues they identify and create innovative
plans that lead to concrete action.
The projects are as varied as the students who carry
them out. From volunteering at a farm for retired horses
and collecting personal care items for a women’s shelter,
to raising money for children who need prosthetic
limbs by offering dance classes, the collective tapestry
of projects boasts a richness of individual talent and
passion.
Students share their work with their families and
the Shipley community at the annual TCA fair, where
students’ sense of pride and accomplishment are on full
display.
“We’re hoping for a transformative experience,” says
Dr. Usha Balamore, Shipley’s Assistant Head of Lower
School and Director of Character Education. “If it’s
meaningful to the students, they rise to a higher level than
just another assignment. This has purpose.”
Shipley Magazine | Spring 2015 1Mark Tassoni Photography