Morgan Doucet

KINS 4306

Project Narrative
 This semester I had the opportunity of doing my internship with Jay’s Hope. This

organization works to improve the quality of life for children with cancer and their families in

Georgia by providing social, emotional, spiritual, educational and financial support. Jay’s Hope

was founded 17 years ago in Macon and are continuing to expand with more kids. When I first

came to the office I was showed what a previous intern did for her project which was sibling

boxes. I loved the creativity of this idea and it is now used almost every day for a new diagnosed

child in need of some joy. I knew I wanted to come up with a project that would be useful and

long lasting. When I was brainstorming ideas with my supervisors she was reading my goals for

my internship experience that I submitted in Handshake. She mentioned that she read one of my

goals regarding helping the kids with the school aspect when being diagnosed and through

treatment. This is where my project idea stemmed from and I decided to create a packet of

materials for the counselors and teachers to have when they learn that their student is diagnosed

with cancer. I learned that usually these people are sometimes the first ones to hear about the

diagnosis after family members. I didn’t have much experience with talking with the

counselors/teachers and how they felt or how they told their class about their student. However I

was told by my supervisors that a lot of times they don’t know much about the type of cancer the

child may have or how to appropriately tell their class. My project’s intent was to also allow the

child the opportunity to share with their classmates about how they feel and share information

about their diagnosis. I have learned after talking with some of the kids at the hospital that they

feel isolated and they get many questions which can lead to them feeling overwhelmed. My hope

was if the class and teachers were better prepared on this situation then the child would feel less

frightened to return back to school and feel like they can share their story.
 When I first started working on my project I though the best format would be to include

all the materials in a binder that way if a teacher or counselor needs to reference it the binder will

be easily accessible. I thought it was very important to make sure the materials I choose were age

appropriate for each grade level. As expected, this took some time researching different activities

and information but I did find some things that can even be used in two different grade levels and

just some general information. I didn’t necessarily know which school or grade level would

receive the binder so I made sure to keep the information general. I included a letter as the first

sheet in the binder to explain to the teacher or counselor what the purpose is of the binder. I

broke the grade levels into 4 separate categories: kindergarten through 2nd, 3rd through 5th and

middle school through high school. For kindergarten through 2nd grade I tried to find things the

teacher could use to explain to their class about the student who is diagnosed. I found a story that

is called “The Great MacGrady” to read out loud to the class. This story is about someone who

cooks for the children at a school named Mrs. MacGrady who is diagnosed with cancer and how

Arthur and his friends process this news. I think it is appropriate for this story to be shared with

this age because it explains in simpler terms what cancer is and shows the emotions everyone

might experience. I also included follow up questions so the teacher can lead a class discussion

after the story is read so that way he/she can make sure the students understood the story. For 3rd

through 5th grade I created an activity for the students to express how they are feeling after

hearing about the diagnosis. This activity is called “tic-tac feelings”. There are many emotions

the students will feel and it is important for them to talk about them. I also decided it would be

appropriate to use “The Great MacGrady” story for this age as well. I found an episode called

“Why Charlie Brown Why” to use for middle school classes. This episode is another great

example of showing how Charlie brown and his friends react when their friend is diagnosed with
Leukemia and what her treatment looked like. I included a summary for the teacher to read

before showing the video to make sure their class can understand it. I also included follow up

questions to make sure the storyline was interpreted correctly to the class. The next activity I

included for this grade is called “when I hear the word cancer” which is a sheet that has 2 boxes

one that says “I think about ”and one has “I feel”. I thought this would be useful to give to

students to fill out after they hear about the diagnosis. Teachers should tell their class to write

anything down that first comes to their mind and then after have a class discussion which can

include correcting some of the students statements. I think it is very important for the students to

be able to have a full understanding of the diagnosis and learning more information about the

type of cancer their classmate has will hopefully reduce the amount of questions when the

student returns. Lastly for high school I am using the same activity sheet because I think it is

appropriate for both age groups to be able to understand the diagnosis and share how they feel. I

also included a cancer communication guide that has some ideas of things to say and to avoid

saying to their classmate. I heard from different Jay’s Hope kids that they know their friends

want to help but sometimes they don’t know what to say or not say. This obviously doesn’t

include everything but just a guideline for students to use.

There are also a few things I included not tailored to a specific grade. I included a cancer

explanation glossary which explains different words the teacher can use when telling their class

about the cancer. I also like this packet because it has two different columns explaining the word

for younger children and older children/adults. There is an article discussing different tips about

talking to students about an illness when a classmate is diagnosed. I made a short term and long

term chart explaining the different physical and emotional side effects the teacher can share with

their class. I also made an information form that explains the students name, diagnosis, treatment
plan, if they want to share with the class and other useful information. The last activity I included

was pictures of a sun, baseball and flower for the students to write compliments about their

classmate that is diagnosed. These sheets should be sent to the student when they are not at

school during treatment to remind them they are missed by their class.

I presented my project to Mrs. Jane Wilson (one of my supervisors) and various

counselors in Crawford County. My presentation was in the Crawford County Board of

Education boardroom on April 11th. The counselors were very interested in my project and

thought they would definitely use it if one of their students was diagnosed. Some of the teachers

and counselors couldn’t make it so there was a zoom link sent out for those who couldn’t attend.

When we got back to the office that same day I saw Ms. Jane mailing one of my binders out to a

school which made me feel very proud of my hard work. I believe my project will leave a long

lasting impact at Jay’s Hope and on the students and staff at the school. I am very proud of all my

hard work and time spent on this project and it reminded me that this will hopefully make

everyone feel more comfortable and loved.