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!
