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

Joshua Flovin is a second grader at Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori School and said he wants to help classmates who struggle to pay attention in class.

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

The Charleston County School just got new facilities earlier this year, but a teacher noticed the building was missing a space where students could relax, recharge and explore their different senses.

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

Lotz said many of his students have sensory issues and are full of energy: “They have a lot of sensory issues, they’re overstimulated, and we needed to provide them a space where they can regulate those senses, so they can be ready to come back. in class to learn.

She said overwhelmed students are also overstimulated and these feelings can interfere with students’ ability to retain information taught in class.

The lack of a safe place where students could release their intense emotions led Lotz to team up with the school’s instructional coach, Danielle Saia.

Saia said she loved the idea and immediately began working on a fundraiser to raise money for sensory room equipment.

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

“We have a trampoline; we have a glitter board that students can put up and touch. So when thinking about the senses, it’s about tapping into all of your different senses. When a student is in class and they may be feeling upset, or stressed, or just have a lot of energy and need to reset, they can come into the sensory room and use some of the equipment that will help them to calm down so they can refocus and return to class,” Saia said.

Lotz said the room has been successful so far and students who have used it have come back more aware and have been able to focus their full attention on completing their assignments.

“We have kids who are just very active. So they can come here, jump on the trampoline, spin in tops. When they came back to class they released all that energy, it helped them relax their muscles, so when they came back they could sit and concentrate with me,” 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 it could accommodate all the students in the school,” she said.

Lotz and Saia both said the room really allows anyone to come in, reset their mind and tap into their different senses.

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

Lotz is the current Teacher of the Year at the school.

As for how the project made Joshua feel, he said he was very proud of himself: “I did all this with the money I raised. »

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