Wow! The past 6 months have FLOWN by since we last updated the blog and SO much has happened in that time! Here’s a quick bullet-pointed synopsis of the highlights:
· We started the year off in September by showing our staff, students, and parents a mini-documentary that we compiled featuring the Kilimani-Henderson V.I.P. partnership. (You can view the documentary at: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=209578)
The support and enthusiasm for the partnership was incredible! Parents and teachers signed up to join our mailing list and fundraising committees. The first and fourth grade classes connected around Literacy and Science units of study and shared across the grades. A group of 6 teachers came together to start planning, preparing, fundraising, and grant writing to travel to Kenya in July 2011. And, our former principal (Dr. Bill Henderson) and current principal (Patricia Lampron) starting looking for community and educational partners to support and participate with us in the V.I.P. partnership exchange.
· 86 students are participating in the V.I.P. penpal exchange (43 from the Henderson Inclusion School and 43 from the Kilimani Integrated Primary). The students wrote and received their first set of letters in October.
· In November, the Kilimani students took their field trips to the Giraffe Center, Mamba Village Animal Farm, Nairobi Safari Walk, and David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage. They filmed their experiences using the FLIP digital video recorder that we brought them this summer and uploaded them online for us to view. It was wonderful for our students to see and digitally journey along with their penpals on the field trips.
· In December, the Henderson Inclusion fourth grade students concluded their Science comparative study of Kenya’s tropical ecosystem and New England’s temperate ecosystem by writing and publishing digital African Animal Adaptation books. The students published 18 different books that focused on 27 different animals found in Kenya on www.shutterfly.com. Through the support of parents and an anonymous donor, every Henderson fourth grader was able to order a personal copy of his or her book, we were also able to order a full set for the fourth grade classroom libraries, and a set to send to Kenya for our Kilimani penpals. We have also started selling the books as part of our V.I.P. partnership fundraising campaign and have so far raised a little over $150 profit in book sales!
· In January, we sent the adaptation books to Kilimani along with another laptop computer that was donated to the V.I.P. partnership anonymously. We thank you, very generous donor!
Also in January, our Kilimani Book Drive committee got underway. We have thus far collected about 500 books for Kilimani’s library and many more are rolling in daily. Our next hurdle is to figure out the best and most economical way to get them to Kenya!
· In February, Very Special Arts, an international non-profit organization celebrating the power the arts have made in the lives of individuals with disabilities, invited representatives from both Kilimani and Henderson schools to attend their International Educational Conference from April 27-31st to represent the Virtual Information Project. VSA is partially funding the trip for our Kilimani partners, although we are currently looking for funds to cover airfare for Mr. Benson (Kilimani Headmaster) and Ms. Nancy (Kilimani V.I.P. teacher leader).
· Last week, we sent a V.I.P. ambassador (Adam DeCosta, high school student from Lexington Christian Academy) to Kilimani School where he will volunteer with our V.I.P. Kenyan partners to fulfill his high school service requirements. We sent an LCD projector (purchased by our Henderson parents through fundraising efforts) and speakers with him for the Kilimani School. Kilimani will now be able to share digital videos from our exchange with large groups of students at a time. He is going to train the teachers on the use of the devise and share a “Welcome to the Henderson School” mini-documentary hosted by the fourth grade Henderson students during a Kilimani school-wide assembly. He will also assist with the penpal exchange and will be filming “The Arts at Kilimani” during their Drama Expose.
We are excited about the progress of the project thus far and are looking forward to the future. We are looking for more grant and funding opportunities to support our future ambitions. Our fundraising campaign continues with strong parental leadership. Our needs include:
1. Additional laptop computers to extend the virtual penpal exchange to next year’s current 3rd graders.
2. Funds to continue Kilimani’s internet services for the 2011-2012 school year.
3. 100 digital disposable cameras and journals for “Show me Africa/Show me America/ Show me Inclusion” photography and digital narrative writing exchange project, piloted by this summer’s team of 6 Henderson Inclusion teachers proposing to go to Kilimani in July.
4. Funds to ship the books collected during our Kenya Book Drive overseas.
5. Funds to send a group of next year’s graduating 5th graders, parents, and teachers, to Kenya to meet their penpals and participate on safari.
If you want to contact us or join our mailing list, please do at virtualinformationproject.vip@gmail.com.
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHS:
1. Henderson 4th grade V.I.P. participants
2. African Animal Adaptation books on display in the Henderson main foyer
3. Danielle’s sister-in-law Zipporah Ali (middle) presents Headmaster Benson and Teacher Nancy with a laptop from the Henderson School.
4. Tiffany Silva-Sanchez, Henderson fourth grade student, creates a graphic contrasting the ecosystems surrounding Nairobi and Boston.
5. Bethany Wood, Boston Public Schools’ Senior Coordinator for International Programs, visits the Henderson School to learn about the V.I.P. partnership. Student authors present her with a copy of their autographed Adaptation book.
