Grade: 9-12

Teacher Name: Boyd, Danae

Description and purpose of grant: 

Mahjong is an activity that with just a few minutes of playing can improve critical thinking skills and focus this can lead to productive activity to train students’ brains. We would like to provide the cultural as well as the critical thinking focus of this ancient game for all of our learneres on campus. We would elevate engagement through creativity and concentration, as well as build relationships between students, teachers, and even families.

According to the Department of Neurosurgery in the Yokohama City University Medical Center, children showed an increase in IQ scores after a year of playing Mahjong (Higashijima). Since it is a game of patterns, mathematical thinking, and logic, it helps people build their concentration, reasoning, and attention to detail. This makes it a perfect engaging way for students to exercise these skills and later implement them into their academic pursuits. 

As reported by National Geographic, the rhythms of Mahjong are conducive to growing relationships through the extended pauses to reset tiles after each round, unlike other games. Such a game would stand out among many other sessions with its unique variety of play styles and competitive nature. It’s an entertaining and challenging experience for students to enjoy with teachers, students to enjoy with each other, and for students to share with their families and friends outside of school.

In total, we request for 16 Mahjong sets that will have accompanying accessories and 8 packs of 2 Mahjong mats. To transport the sets, we are also asking for two carts to easily transport sets from classroom to classroom. This would allow for 2 Mahjong sessions to happen at the same time each Friday during FLEX sessions for all learners 9-12. Upon the fulfillment of this grant, multiple Mahjong oriented Flex Friday sessions would be instated as consistent learning opportunities and to build community. The added sessions would impact the whole school, considering all students are welcome to play.

Overall, Mahjong would be an enjoyable experience that would promote meaningful engagement and build relationships among students and teachers. Mahjong sessions are something we look forward to including in our regular Flex Friday schedule and we hope that we will be granted the opportunity to purchase these materials for our school.

Implementation process: Each week during FLEX Friday multiple sessions will be offered for students to join. Whole campus, grades 9-12 will have the opportunity to participate throughout the school year. Impact is over 300 learners during each school year. The Mahjong kits are sustainable and will last for years to come. 

Items you plan to purchase with grant money: The items will be purchased from Amazon vendor that is district approved
 

In the event my grant is not fully funded, this is minimum amount I would need to get started on this project:  $1,543.26