I must admit, I was a little nervous, but overall it went really well.  It was an honor to meet with the President and other key members of staff to show them our progress so far, with Write to Give.  We were there for just over an hour and a half  discussing the program, software and our long term plans.   We hope to hear from them soon.

In the mean time, September is quickly approaching.  Where did the summer go?

Later this week I will be posting up some book topics that are available.

I have posted the goals for our program below - please help spread the word.

1.  In the Grand Erie Board, the program was delivered to  55% of the schools in the 2009/2010 school year.  I would like to move this up to 75% this year. We need 8 Books for the winter print.

2.  Produce 4 books from the Waterloo Board.

3.  Produce 4 books from the Toronto area boards.

4.  Have international involvement from Hong Kong and one new country.

Our Big Goal is to raise $8600 to build a library.  During the last couple of months we have been working with VICDA to build a school in a rural area of Kenya.  You can see a picture below.  I would like to add a library for the students in 2011, and of course, fill it with Write To Give Books!

This meeting has been moved back one week.  We meet next Tuesday with the President.  I will be sure to let you know how that works out :)  Fingers crossed they can help spread the word!

Write to Give Members Area

I have almost completed redoing the videos in the Member’s Area of the site and am working on putting exemplars up, for the illustration aspect of the program.

We are also working on implementing a new char forum for teachers as well as an online order form.

Read To Give

This summer we are also working on a pilot project called Read to Give.  This will be connected with our Write to Give Program.  More information will be sent out soon.

We are pretty excited about joining the two programs together.

Stay tuned :)

I am honored that Scholastic is taking the time to hear about our success and hope that they can help us spread the word about the program.  After all, the more teachers and students that participate, the more we can help overseas and raise awareness for poverty among young children.

This summer I am spending some time revamping our Member’s Area for Teachers.  This includes new lesson plans, examples of what is expected for our art wok, king of like exemplers, a central blogging area for teachers to share ideas and much more.

Also, this summer I have been spending some time thinking about new topics for books for this coming third print season.

I have had a few ideas that link with the curriculum, some of these are:

• Our Favorite Canadian Animals - Students write about what these animals look like, where they live and what they eat. *Science Curriculum Connection*
• Move Here Today - A persuasive writing activity where students get a chance to write about their town and why someone should move there. *Language Curriculum Connection*
• Top Ten Movies - Students get a chance to write a movie review.  *Media/Language Curriculum Connection*
• Top Ten Books - Students get a chance to write a class book review of their favorite story.  *Language/Media Curriculum Connection*

The program has been honored by the Grand Erie District School Board as well as by ETFO.  I just found out today that I have received the 2009 - 2010 award for Innovative Projects on Behalf of Children Living in Poverty Award.

Both awards have been a huge honor.  The best part is that the word will now spread a little bit further, with acknowledgment of the program at the Annual Meeting in August as well as in the Voice Magazine this fall I am sure I can double my numbers with the Write to Give Program.

I have posted some pictures below.

During the month of May, Mr. Jackson’s Grade Five class worked hard to get Jarvis Public School motivated to bring in their change.  The Write To Give Committee (the students featured above) from the class worked on posters and collected change for a week.  Their success enabled them to raise just over $200!

The $200 was used then sent to Springs of Hope Highschool, where they used the funds to buy a printer.  They have been in need of a printer to print off exams for the students.

Thank you Jarvis Public School and the community of Jarvis and surrounding areas for your generosity!

The date has been moved back to October 22nd, 2010.  The venue has also be changed to The Greens At Renton.

Special thank you to Howard Yin for donating the use of the facility for the event.

Tickets will go on sale June 1st.

For $100 you can enjoy a dinner, dancing and a silent auction.  All for a good cause

Tickets may be purchased online at www.WorldTeacherAid.org on Tuesday, June 1st.

Just this past week, we got an update from Irene, our contact on the ground in Kenya.

Irene forwarded some great shots of the first two classrooms that are being built in a small community, two hours north of Nairobi.

We are aiming to build 8 classrooms with an administration block for teachers.  Stay tuned for more updates.

On May 19th, Write To Give hosted its first celebration in Waterloo, Ontario.

The celebration was attended by several classes in the Waterloo Region that participated in the Write To Give Campaign.  The students were delighted to see pictures of Africa, their books in the hands of African students and of course they loved the dancing and drumming.

A big THANK YOU to all teachers, sponsors and helpers who helped make the day such a great success. It was a fabulous day filled with excitement, I am sure there are still a few ears ringing!

The big day started with classes arriving and children taking their seats. They entered the theater already smiling, laughing and dancing as they sat down. While  they waiting, they still continued to dance to the African music that was playing.

Once the theater was full (1125) students seated, the official countdown clock began. On the screen we posted a timer, counting down. The kids were shouting as the time counted down…

Once the timer hit 0, the lights went out and we started with our African drummer coming in the side of the theater. He walked down to the stage where he was joined with several other drummers from Sani Abu And Ijo Vodu Dance Company. They are based out of Toronto.

The students were delighted not only to see the drumming, but they also got a chance to get out of their seats and dance! Sani, from the dance company showed them how to complete a special African Dance. EVERYONE was dancing, even my principal and the Director of Education!

In between the dancing and the drumming the students were able to get a chance to see some pictures and video of life in Africa, seeing how they have helped make a difference, thanks to their participation in Write to Give.

They even had a chance to name the cow that was purchased with Write to Give Funds. The cow’s name is now “Oreo.”

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