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Heartfelt Greetings from Opportunity Education
Heartfelt Greetings from OE
Valentines for Pen Pals
Share the Love
Start Writing – Right Now
Get to Know our President
Focus on Schools – Surprise in Zanzibar
Becky Walters, New Sister School Coordinator
This School Needs Pen Pals
Educate Our Hearts
www.OpportunityEducation.org
February/March Newsletter In this issue:
Mrs. Hergott is the recipient of this month’s gift certificate for sharing that great pen
pal project. We encourage you to tell us how you have incorporated your
curriculum into pen pal communications. Please email photos and a brief
description of your projects to [email protected].
Start Writing – Right Now
We celebrated Presidents’ Day in February which prompts us to be patriotic. Why not ask
your students to write about their country? If your students are older and from the United
States they could write about the duties of the three branches of government. Younger
students might want to write about what they learned in school regarding Presidents’ Day.
Whatever your social studies curriculum is, have your students share what they have
learned in their letter.
Other prompts we love this month include:
What are some of the best ways you show love to your family? Write about one person in your life that has the biggest heart. February 29 only comes every 4 years when it is a leap year. Describe what you did
on that day that you will remember for 4 years. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He is best known for his development of the telephone. Write about ways that life would be different if telephones had never been invented.
Celebrate friendships with poetry. Visit the Opportunity Education Pinterest page:
www.pinterest.com/opportunityed/ for Friendship Poem templates you can use.
Get to Know our President:
Speaking of Presidents, if you haven’t had a chance to read about our own Opportunity Education President and Chief Operations Officer, on the Opportunity Education website, please let us introduce you:
Jim Ricketts came to Opportunity Education as an experienced businessman, securities
attorney, arbitrator, and instructor. Jim's primary career was Vice President of TD Ameritrade. His extensive background in serving people and businesses as an attorney and manager for 30 years, provides him with the understanding to help in challenging international situations. His background and experience allows him to assist his brother Joe, Opportunity Education’s benefactor, in addressing the issues to lead OEF Staff to support the educational needs of students and teachers in developing countries.
Here is a special message from Jim. He shares how he came to serve others in developing countries.
"Hooked" is what happened as I served on 5 medical missions to Nicaragua. I am not a doctor or nurse, so I worked as support staff. Serving in a poverty area to people that are so appreciative got me hooked. I migrated to the logistics and planning that required erecting a clinic in the bush for 80 medical staff that included 1,200 meals, shelter and transportation for those medical missions. The joy of serving "hooked" me to join Opportunity Education in the logistics and planning to deliver the mission of support to students and teachers in the developing world. I'm not a teacher but the Foundation required the business aspect logistics of delivering school materials to 1,688 schools in 11 different countries.
There are a lot of bright students in this program, yet because of poverty they just don't have the resources. The teachers have the desire to be professional, yet lack educational tools. As I look over a class of students, I imagine there may be the next president of their country or a doctor that cures cancer. Knowing OE is a springboard for educational opportunities for these students drives all of the OE team. A principal of a Muslin school stated to me that OE service improved his and his students’ thoughts of Americans, whites, and Christians. How’s that for world peace in action? It just doesn't get any better than that.
For more information about Jim, visit the Opportunity Education Website under staff or click on this link, http://www.opportunityeducation.org/oeStaff/ourStaff To see more about Jim’s work with Opportunity Education, please watch this short video. http://www.opportunityeducation.org/our-staff/view/2569
Focus on Schools - Surprise in Zanzibar!
Juliana Bwire works in the OE secondary program. She was walking in
Zanzibar when she came by an OE primary supported school. She was
delighted to come across the school as she was not aware of this primary
school. This is the picture.
Mkunazini Primary School
Zanzibar
Mkunazini Primary School was a missionary school built in
1901 by the Anglican Missionaries. Today, the school has a
total population of 456 pupils from Primary 1 to Primary 7.
The school employs a team of 42 teachers and is equipped
with 8 classrooms. No fees are charged; the missionaries fund
the school. In terms of development, Mknunazini would like
to improve the methods of teaching of science and
mathematics used by its teachers.
Trained as a teacher, Becky has been teaching mostly middle school students since 2007 in schools in Omaha, Nebraska; London, England, and Denver, Colorado. Becky had worked with OE as a classroom teacher in several schools so when she and her husband decided to relocate to Omaha she was excited to get the opportunity for further involvement with Opportunity Education. She states, “I’m very excited to get the opportunity to work for such a transformative organization. I am eager to work with and get to know everyone more.” Becky can be contacted at [email protected].
Becky would love to find a sister school for Rift Valley School, this month’s featured school. Let her know if you are interested or know of a school that might be interested.
Meet Becky Walters, New Sister School Coordinator
This School Needs Pen Pals
Rift Valley School, Babati, Manyara, Tanzania
Started in a rented house with two pupils and one teacher, Rift Valley School was the dream of two men, one a young teacher and the other a retired accountant. They started the school to offer a good education to the children that have been orphaned by HIV and for those who might be disabled. They also felt it was important to build patriotism in the
young students. After starting the school the founders invited parents to help support them
financially, and together they teamed up to become the Manyara Group Company which
oversees the operation of the school. With funds invested from parents, they were able to buy
six acres and begin building classrooms. The school has grown and now has 216 students.
There are three Nursery classrooms with 12 teachers and they are taught in a rented house.
There are seven teachers teaching Primary 1 through Primary grade 7. Tuition for day students
in Primary is 210,000 shillings per year ($170); Nursery is 135,000 shillings ($110), boarders
for both pay 675,000 shillings ($540) per year. The school has ambitious plans to buy an
additional nine acres from the Babati Town Council and then continue to build additional
classrooms and dormitories for boarders. Rift Valley School currently supports six orphans but
would like to support more. Adding more classrooms and dormitories would allow them to
fulfill that goal. In addition they have a need of computers, books, science and sports
equipment. They look forward to having a sister school to share experiences and to exchange
ideas and culture between the two schools.
Sometimes “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” This saying prompts us to highlight an amazing book, Facing the Lion, that is sure to be of great interest to many students in Africa and around the globe. Please enjoy reading this book with your students if possible as this book is being shared in Sister School classrooms.
FACING THE LION
Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna
“During the middle of the night, I woke to this huge sound-like rain, but not really like rain. I looked up. The starlight was gone, clouds were everywhere, and there was a light drizzle falling. But that wasn’t the sound. The sound was all of the cows starting to pee. All of them in every direction. And that is the sign of a lion. A hyena doesn’t make
them do that. An elephant doesn’t make them do that. A person doesn’t. Only the Lion. We knew right away that a lion was about to attack us.” This memoir is the extraordinary story of a poor nomadic boy in Kenya who literally travels across the world but never abandons home. Opportunity Education delivers Facing the Lion in Grade 7 Language Arts. This is one of the 446 books delivered by OE to build schools library. Or, it is a descriptive narrative to be read out loud to students.
Must Watch Video:
Through the sister school program we are warming hearts around the world. Thank you for sharing the love. We leave you with a link to this heartwarming video, Educate our Hearts, from the OE website. http://www.opportunityeducation.org/watch/video/15 Please watch and enjoy. (warning… you might want to grab a tissue before you begin.
