TAKING ACTION AS GLOBAL CITIZENS

     I am bursting with pride and excitement to share this update from Michael Glotter, our Global Village Connect representative, who has been in Uganda helping to initiate the work on the garden Radnor pen pals have made possible.  Gang, YOU are agents of change, making a better life not only possible, but an absolute given for the thousands of students who will attend Buyanga Primary School for years to come.  This is living proof that sustainable solutions to food scarcity are so doable. Who would guess that creating a haunted house and a community bake sale could be the beginning of so much opportunity for so many students in a village so far away?  Thank you for being compassionate global citizens with hearts of gold. Let's do all we can to keep the love and good will growing.

Kindly consider a charitable gift this season. Share your bounty...
Visit www.GlobalVillageConnect.org and donate to our garden project.  Thank you!

RMS PEN PALS SKYPE WITH UGANDAN PEN PALS!

Radnor Pen Pals had the rare and special opportunity to Skype with a few of their pen pals in Uganda last Tuesday.  It's hard to put into words what it feels like to make this far-away connection come directly into our classroom.  In a word, it was THRILLING!

Seeing and hearing our pen pals somehow makes the connection so much more real.  Students prepared questions, and the Ugandan students were curious about our lives, as well.  When asked what they dream of being when they grow up, they responded that they wanted to become doctors and engineers and teachers.  Then each of our students came up one by one, introduced themselves and said what they dream of becoming.

    Our fundraising efforts this year have made it possible to begin the installation of a new garden at Buyanga Primary School.  Radnor Middle School pen pals have earned $2,500 from the haunted house and from a bake sale, pictured here.  Below are photos of the site selection and the beginning of the garden that will make it possible for every child at Buyanga to have lunch each day he or she attends school.  Our last school garden is going strong and sustaining the daily lunch at Buppala School, and soon, many more students will be able to rely on a healthy lunch every day.  RMS Pen Pals are changing the world! 

Working Together ~ We're Changing the World!

Behind the scenes

The Warehouse of Discarded Children turned out to be more than just a successful fundraiser...
it was a remarkable collaboration.  The actors were fully committed and they worked together like a true ensemble.  The power of this production was the teamwork and comraderie that the students demonstrated.  And they freaked a lot of people out, too!

Thank you to all our stellar volunteers: Joanne from GLOBAL VILLAGE CONNECT, Jack Sharples (RHS, '07), Joleen on make-up, Ian from Eastern U, the parents who helped out, and especially to ABUELITA'S EMPANADAS for your incredible contribution.

After it was all over, counting our profits was a whole other cause for celebration.  We raised $2000 from this event.  That's enough to build 4 acres of garden at Buyanga Primary School in Uganda!  

Join us at Pen Pal & Popcorn Club on Thursday where we will look at what a $2000 investment can yield in Uganda.  There will be lots of popcorn and plenty to celebrate.  We are truly making the world a healthier, more equitable place.  Proof of my philosophy: PEN PALS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!  

ONE NIGHT ONLY: The Warehouse of Discarded Children: RMS Pen Pal Fundraiser Thursday, Oct. 27 4-8:00

 

Radnor Middle School Pen Pals are going to freak you out!  This year's fundraiser to grow and sustain our projects in Uganda features The Warehouse of Discarded Children, Abuelita's Empanadas, Ugandan handcrafted jewelry, cool headbands, and a bake sale.

Thursday, October 27 from 4-8:00 @ Radnor Middle School

                                 Enter the bus loop on the S. Wayne Avenue side.

Zombies are Made, Not Born!

HIDDEN AWAY FOR YEARS....

RADNOR MIDDLE SCHOOL'S DISCARDED STUDENTS ARE ON DISPLAY FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!!

BEGGING FOR RELEASE....
     

IS THERE A REASON THEY WERE DISCARDED???

                           DO WE WANT THEM LOOSE IN THE VILLAGE OF WAYNE???

Can't make it to our fundraiser?  SPONSOR A ZOMBIE online @ Global Village Connect RMS Pen Pal Project

Thinking Globally

    It's a new year with new faces, new teachers and new experiences.  And while going back to school is a jolt to the system, it's also an incredible opportunity to start fresh and refocus on what matters most.  This year, my focus is on developing a global perspective.  While the Pen Pal Project that has evolved over the past seven years has been transformational, this year my commitment to developing a global mindset is moving front and center.
    I am honored to have been selected by the US Dept. of State as a Teacher for Global Classrooms for this school year.  This means I will be studying best practices for integrating global awareness into my classroom, and I will also travel abroad for a couple of weeks as a teacher-ambassador in the Spring or Summer of 2017.  This is one of those rare and special moments when I get to connect our students with children in another part of the world.  I can't think of anything more thrilling.
    While making new friends is always exciting, the joy of maintaining a friendship over a long period of time brings tremendous rewards and sometimes challenges.  Sustaining our friendship with the Buppala School in Uganda, and expanding our reach to the Buyanga School where our friend and headmaster has been transferred will take persistent effort.  Our garden and goat projects continue to deliver to the community, and this year we will begin to try and replicate some of the success we've enabled at Buppala to the nearby Buyanga Primary School.  We welcome anyone who is able to join us after school on Thursdays.  If you have any desire to participate in any capacity, please let me know.  There is so much to learn and accomplish.  May this be our best year yet!

Pen Pals Send Peace Flags to Liberia!

Photo by Alex Lowy

         Radnor Pen Pals have been working steadily for the past several weeks on a series of instructional and decorative Peace Flags to adorn the classroom of our student teacher, Ms. Caitlin Baker, who is about to embark on a two-year adventure as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia.    Creating Peace Flags with math formulas, health facts, science concepts, proverbs, poetry & tie dye is a way of providing Visual Literacy for students who have little access to books, posters or media images.  And expanding our reach to classrooms in Liberia makes our global connection even stronger.  Radnor students had a brief introduction to Liberia earlier this year when our very own Mr. Bennie shared his experience as a Liberian refugee.  We look forward to communicating with Ms. Baker's students in the near future. 

Photo by Alex Lowy

Good luck, Ms. Baker!

Update to SCA Corporation on Buppala Primary School Garden, Two Years Later

SCA Environmental Education Grant Lessons in Sustainability: Learn, Practice, Teach & Share: Two Years Later.

    Having recently returned from Uganda, I wanted to just share this photo and update you on the garden that you helped make possible with our Environmental Education Grant from 2014 entitled “Lessons in Sustainability: Learn, Practice, Teach & Share.”  The grant gave Radnor students an opportunity to learn about sustainable gardening and best practices while our partner school in Uganda was able to apply similar lessons through the installation of a school garden.  I am happy to report that the garden SCA made possible at Buppala Primary School has been transformative.  As a result of this garden, the school is sustaining a lunch delivery program to the 600 pupils in and immediately surrounding the school, and this past season they generated a profit from the apple-banana crop (pictured in the photo), providing funds to pay for laborers to help weed, and to reinvest in the development of the maize, cassava & bean portion of the garden.  As you can see, the plants are thriving.  It is mind-blowing to recall the bare stalks that we planted less than two years ago that are now producing abundant hands of bananas to nourish the school and replenish the garden.  While the pineapple crops did not fare as well, the school is expanding the banana crop, and the student population is clearly benefiting from our investment.  

    My most recent trip to Buppala included the delivery of 50 goats to students in our sister school.  Hopefully, this will continue to improve the health and well-being of the children in this remote village.  It is our intention to monitor the progress and measure the impact of our investment.  I am grateful to SCA for having made this worthy investment and I hope we have an opportunity to collaborate again in the future.  Thank you for caring about kids and for your generosity towards Radnor Middle School and Buppala Primary School

Celebration!

 

     Traveling in Uganda fills me with so much joy and gratitude, and holding on to that is always a challenge.  Since returning to Radnor, I make a point to walk slowly.  Verrrrry slowwwwwly, like people walk in Uganda.  It forces me to notice my surroundings, and it makes me feel calmer and more connected to my environment.  It's easier to remember to breathe when I slow my pace down, and the signs all over our building are another helpful reminder.

    Sharing my journey with my students and with the pen pals is a great honor, and sharing the pictures that Buppala students captured is another reason to pause and wonder.  The photos that Mususwa George took are full of energy and life.  The pictures perfectly depict the joy and gratitude that the people of Buppala feel in response to the multitude of ways our school community has transformed their village.  The celebration this day was in honor of the 50 goats that were delivered to Buppala children and their families, thanks to the generosity of our school community.  

    Visual literacy is a new way of learning and thinking for Buppala students.  Using Olympus cameras donated by the LeCroix family, Buppala children are learning to 'Frame, Focus, Flash & Follow through' to capture their world.  The photos reveal evidence of a rather extraordinary talent.  Remember, this is the first time this child has ever used a piece of electronic equipment.  We all know the adage: "A picture speaks a thousand words," but the gift of exchanging photos with our pen pals, and sharing these with our community, give each of us access to one another's world that makes this global connection deeply personal.  Enjoy the pictures, and remember to slow your pace and take notice.

Celebrating the gift of 50 goats from Radnor Middle School.  Photos by Mususwa George, Buppala student with an eye for capturing the joy in his community.

Pen Pals Partner with Ardmore Rotary Club

   
     Gavin Brumfield shared the work Radnor pen pals have done this year to earn a matching grant from the Ardmore Rotary Club.  The support from Rotary emphasizes the power of community in teaching students here and abroad that they can make the world a healthier, happier place.
    Thank you, Ardmore Rotary, for encouraging our students to develop leadership skills through social entrepreneurship.  The 50 goats we delivered to Buppala families is a testament to the impact that sharing and caring can have for people of all ages.

Buppala, Here I Come!

This is why I am committed to this project...
                           Here's Monica in 2012, before we began the lunch program:
                                                                                        

And here's Monica in 2014:
                                                                        

      It's amazing what one meal a day can do for a child.  She's beautiful, inside and out.  And since this photo was taken, Buppala Primary School has taken complete ownership of the lunch program with the garden that SCA Corporation helped us install in 2014.  Now, it's time to bolster the nutrition and the opportunities for the neediest students in Buppala with a Goat Giving initiative.  Radnor Middle School students, friends and families have raised a herd of 50 goats that I am honored to bring to our pen pals next week.  Thank you for your generosity, and thank you for making the world a healthier place. 
      I look forward to sharing photos and stories of this next adventure in our beautiful collaboration with Buppala Primary School. Follow our exploits at Global Village Connect

Bon voyage!  

Goat-ing to Buppala!!!

Radnor Middle School has proven once again that we are the school with heart in the heart of Wayne!  On February 20th, I will be traveling back to our sister school in Uganda with Global Village Connect to deliver 50 milk goats to children from Buppala Primary School.  This pay-it-forward goat giving initiative has the capacity to change the health and welfare of multitudes of families.

The collaborative effort of Radnor students will be evident as each goat will be sporting a funky tie-dyed collar and leash crafted by every homeroom in a Schools to Watch activity, during Pen Pal and Popcorn Club on Thursday afternoons, and during MLK Day On of Service.

The goats were donated by Radnor students, friends and families who have managed to transform the village of Buppala over the past seven years.  This beautiful pen pal exchange has enriched both of our school communities.  Radnor students have learned that they have the capacity to literally raise up a village, and Buppala students are learning that they can sustain an organic garden, develop a small business from their crops, and feed each student a healthy meal every day they attend school.

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed.  If you would like to donate (and name!) a goat for this herd, it's not too late. Donate on-line at Global Village Connect and follow the Give a Goat  link.  Be sure to mention that you're a Radnor supporter.  I look forward to sharing pictures and stories from Buppala soon.  Much love & gratitude to you all.

Learn about WHAT ONE GOAT CAN DO