7th Grade Leadership at Work

Students from Canterbury School's 7th Grade Servant Leadership class, have made a video to help raise awareness and money for McNair Elementary. You, too, can help raise money for the children of McNair Elementary School for supplies and other things that the children need. Please watch our video on YouTube. The comment section has information about how to donaten or go directly to our fundraising page: https://www.piggybackr.com/mason_powell/mcnair-elementary-school-help-the-children-of-mcnair-fundraiser

In My Neighbors' Shoes

http://jelia.wordpress.com/

On February 19 we will begin the In My Neighbors’ Shoes experiences which involves grade level service learning trips that focus on building understanding and empathy for our neighbors in Greensboro. 

The 5th grade will have the opportunity to engage with and learn from students at Haynes-Inman Education Center, a school that serves students with severe to profound cognitive and/or physical disabilities. 

The 6th grade will be focusing on interfaith understanding, as part of their Theology studies of the Abrahamic faiths. They will be visiting the Islamic Center of Greensboro and the Beth David Synagogue. 

The 7th grade will focus on their work with the Millennium Development Goals in Social Studies and learn about water quality and sanitation at the Townsend Water Treatment Plant and the immigrant experience at Faith Action International House. 

The 8th grade will be going on a series of small group trips that emulate the experience of the working poor in Greensboro.  These groups will be navigating the public transportation system, shopping for groceries, navigating the court system, and a will be taking a basic tour of the correction center.

We have created a website that you can follow for up-to-the-minute updates and resources as we prepare, engage, and reflect on the experiences of our neighbors. Check it out at

http://canterburygso.haikulearning.com/skeend1/inmyneighborsshoes

You can also follow the experience on Twitter @CburyServLearn. If you have any questions or you want to be a part of it all, please do not hesitate to contact me at 336-288-2007 x 131 or skeend@canterburygso.org .

6th Grade First Friends Experience

Anne-Barton Carter's 6th Grade Servant Leadership Class visited the food pantry at First Friends Meeting the other day and had a great time. They received some great feedback. Check out the visit and the feedback below:

From Sheila to all at First Friends involved with the food pantry:

Just wanted to share with you about how amazing yesterday was in the food pantry!

Here are some of the reasons:

A class of 14 students from Canterbury, their teacher Anne Barton and two adults came to learn about the pantry and then they set up several activities for our pantry friends to partake in while they waited. It was AMAZING! There were valentines, coloring, pictionary, cookies being decorated, extra helpers and even some video interviews going on! Folks seem to love having the kids there and the kids were loving on our friends. CAROL WHITLEY and FREDRICK JOHNSON came in to share with the class as well and they were wonerful speakers.

From one of the couples that volunteers each month:

The Canterbury students who worked at the food pantry were some of the most amazing young people we've encountered. They were so engaging, engaged, warm, compassionate, positive (I could go on!) imaginable. Thank you for sharing them with First Friends. The food pantry clients loved being with them and the interacting with them. Fellowship Hall felt like a warm reunion of friends having lots of fun!

We went away truly optimistic about the future!

SPENT: Incredible Simulation Game for Empathy Building

Anne-Barton Carter shared this website with our 8th graders to begin to build a sense of empathy for the working poor. It is an incredible interactive website that tugs at the heartstrings and forces you to be in another's shoes. Check it out:

http://playspent.org/

7th Graders Head to McNair Elementary to Work on Math

Our 7th graders headed to McNair Elementary on Monday to work with First Graders on math. Our crew created math games and then worked in small groups with the First Graders from McNair Elementary to teach them the games and then help them play. Check it out:

Servant Leadership at Canterbury Kicks Off

Anne-Barton Carter

This year we have embedded Service Learning into the schedule. Anne Barton Carter, formerly of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, has come on to teach a class directed at middle school age children.

Inherent in this is the on-going task of identifying our own God-given gifts through spiritual practice and discernment (the connection to theology and faith explored with Fr. Finnin) and employing those gifts in service to the world (the connection to the skills and understandings developed in Leadership with Tricia Fisher, our point person on leadership at Canterbury). This class is active, hands-on learning that encourages both the exploration of different spiritual practices and the application of personal gifts and call to challenges in our community (the service learning projects).  In part, we will be using the principles of and adapting materials from the Servant Leadership School.

Anne-Barton has organized a series of speakers at our Middle School Chapels (Phillips Chapel, 8:10am - 8:35am) to kick off the work of our students. Our students will be developing their own service projects around the work that these four speakers do with their respective institutions. It is exciting to see the students take on such important work with such unreserved enthusiasm. Here is the schedule for Servant Leadership Speaker Series in the Middle School:

October 2 

Don Milholin

Founder and Executive Director of the Out of the Garden Project 

The Out of the Garden Project addresses food insecurity/hunger primarily through Guilford County elementary schools.  Our 8th grade Servant Leadership group is addressing hunger and food insecurity in a variety of ways.

October 16 

Rev. David Fraccaro

Executive Director of Faith Action International House 

Faith Action International House is a non-profit which addresses the needs of immigrants and refugees in our community.  Our 7th grade Servant Leadership group will be partnering with McNair Elementary ESL 1st grade students.

October 30 

Liz Seymour

Executive Director of the Interactive Resource Center 

The Interactive Resource Center offers a host of day services to the homeless in Greensboro. Our 6th grade Servant Leadership group will be addressing homelessness and visiting the IRC.

November 13

Rev. Buch Cochran

Executive Director of PeaceHaven Farm

PeaceHaven Farm is a soon-to-be residential sustainable farm project designed to provide meaningful work and supportive group housing for adults with disabilities.  Our 5th graders are investigating service learning projects with those who have different abilities.

Hackschooling

I found this video of a 13 year old named Logan LaPlante which outlines his approach to his own education. He bases his approach to schooling on his pursuit of happiness, which, as he outlines, needs to fill eight buckets*:

1. Recreation
2. Time in Nature
3. Religion/Spiritual
4. Diet & Nutrition
5. Exercise
6. Stress Management & Relaxation
7. Service & Contribution
8. Relationships

The best part of this talk is that without knowing it, Logan has made the case simultaneously for The Big Shift and the way Canterbury provides a whole child education. Check it out:

*"Lifestyle and Mental Health" by Dr. Roger Walsh

8th Grade Homeless Experience 2012

This past week, our 8th grade spent 24 hours learning about the plight of our nation's homeless and hungry. Through a number of experiences, they gained an understanding of the various factors that lead to homelessness and hunger. Furthermore, they were introduced to ways in which they can help. Tricia Fisher, Director of Venture Out, wrote the following letter to our 8th grade parents outlining those experiences. Below that you will see the agenda for the Experience. 

Dear Eighth Grade Parents,

I hope by now your children have shared some of their thoughts and stories about the Hunger and Homeless Project. Our goal was to help the students better understand hunger and homelessness both globally and locally. The two-day event was full of meaningful activities.

It was quite a sight to see all of the students with their hairnets singing loudly while filling 10,000 meal packets for Stop Hunger Now, an international relief agency based in Raleigh, NC. For two frenzied hours, the students filled plastic bags with rice, soy and dried vegetables, that will be shipped to countries around the world. The students worked and learned so much about what a difference a few people can make in the lives of many in need.

We were fortunate to have Cherie and Hayes Holderness (parents of Canterbury alum, Murphy) share their personal story of Biking Burritos here in downtown Greensboro. We were all moved by the Holderness’s dedication to helping others right here in our community. The students were surprised to learn how many local citizens are in need of food and support. Each weekend Biking Burritos feed some of Greensboro's homeless citizens and let them know that people care about them, giving them hope and support. A main breakfast item (usually burritos but can be something else, like sausage biscuits), bottled waters, and hot coffee are given out on Saturday mornings in Center City Park.

The 8^th graders cooked and prepared breakfast burritos for this outreach. A number of students expressed a desire to participate in the Saturday morning outreach. I will be going to help Cherie and Hayes in the morning (this Sat. 17^th) and would gladly welcome any of our 8^th graders (and families) to join us. We will meet at the Center City Park on the corner of Friendly Avenue and Davie Street. We will meet at 7:55-8:00. It usually only lasts about thirty minutes. Feel free to call me this evening if you have any questions. My cell phone is 601-0140.

Please ask your children about their food shopping experience, their chapel service, and their reflections on what they learned.

Check out these web pages for more information.

Stop Hunger Now: http://www.stophungernow.org/site/PageServer?pagename=who_about

Biking Burritos:

http://gsoburritobikers.wikispaces.com/Recipe+for+Burritos

Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks so much,

Tricia 

2012 Schedule:

Wednesday, March 14th

12:30 - 1:00     Overview of Scheduled Activitiies

 Stop Hunger Now Burrito Bikers $1.50 mealChapel Service Expectations

1:00 -3:00      Stop Hunger Now
3:00               Snack
3:30 - 5:00     Play practice, sports practice
                      Burrito preparation
5:00- 6:00      Cherie and Hayes Holderness: Burrito Bikers
6-:00- 7:30     Shop at Save a Lot and eat
7:30- 8:15      Set up shelters and homework
8:15- 10:00    Movie Reflection: With Honors
10:00             Vespers/Chapel prep (8th graders presented a chapel reflecting on what they've learned to the middle school)
11:30             Sleep

Thursday, March 15

7:00 am       Wake up and breakfast
8:00 am       Chapel prep and service
8:35 - 10:45 Back to classes for First and Second Period
10:45           Third Period: Six Hats Reflection with Mr. Skeen

7th Grade: New Arrivals Institute

As part of our MDG introduction, we visited the New Arrivals Institute on W. Vandalia Street. It is a learning center for refugees who have arrived in Greensboro and are looking for the skills and wherewithal to make it in their new home.

Our students worked with adult learners who were studying English. We discussed everything from birthdays and number of children, grandchildren or siblings to ethnic customs and life stories. One group of students played with the preschool-age children of the adult learners. It was a fascinating experience to be able to meet and learn from these people who had been through so much just to get to the United States.

The sentiment seemed to be that the students would have liked to stay longer, but alas, Canterbury and lunch was calling. Below you will see a link to a slide show that Erin Ringrose has created which features our students working with the small children at the center.

Canterbury at New Arrivals Institute

7th Grade MDG Experience Begins at Home

The 7th grade is all alone in Armfield Hall this week, as the 6th Grade is at Kanuga and the 8th grade is at Wilderness Adventure. But don't worry about them too much, as they are getting out in the Greensboro community to learn about some of the issues facing the world which affect our neighbors right here in The Gate City.

Each year, the 7th grade goes through the Millenial Development Goal Experience or MDGs. In it, they are assigned a character and a developing country and given the task of solving the problems they face in a real world setting. Some are wealthy citizens of that country, others are poor. Some suffer from a common disease found in that country, while others may be corrupt. It is all meant to provide a hands-on understanding of some of the issues that face the developing world and which the United Nations' MDGs aim to eliminate.

This year, we've begun the research in a new way. We have sought out ways for our students to experience those problems and contrast them with their own life experience. Today we visited Moses Cone Hospital and took a tour, soaking everything that network has to offer. After the tour we visited with Rosario Hankins and Rene Cone from Worlds Apart, One Heart to discuss their efforts to bring medicine and medical supplies to the Philippines. The students noticed the contrast right away.

After a brief presentation, our students took extra supplies which had been donated and helped to inventory, pack and seal them into boxes bound for Philippines at the end of this month. It was a great experience and there was a lot of momentum within the class to continue the work.

Stay tuned for some more updates on this project.

Volunteer at the Greensboro Children's Museum

There are some great volunteer opportunities this summer at the Greensboro Children's Museum. Check out the options on the flyer at the link below.

Summer 2011 GCM Volunteer Opportunities

Service: 6th Grade Leads the Way on Glasses Project

http://media.uxcell.com/

Our 6th graders took the lead on a drive to collect gently used eyewear over the last month. One of them, Chandler S., is the guest blogger today and provides a summary below:

“They will probably cry with joy when they put on those glasses because they have not been able to see in so long,” said Ms. Leslie Deaton, director of The Free Clinic of Rockingham County, founded in 1998 by a local church in Reidsville. The clinic is a non-government funded public clinic that provides medical, dental, and eye care to people who cannot afford it.


About a month and a half ago, Dr. Tara Jernejcic, who has a second grader at Canterbury, asked us to collect gently used eye glasses for the clinic so that they would be able to give them to people with eye problems. Mrs. Mintz held a meeting for volunteers to make posters, plan announcements, and come up with a name for the service project. A team of sixth graders decided the project name should be “Gee, I Wish I Could See” and decided that the school goal should be to collect 100 eyeglasses. Mr. Jones agreed that if we achieved this goal of 100 eyeglasses the whole school could have a casual dress day. One and a half months later the volunteers counted the glasses and achieved the goal with 123 glasses! As a reward, on April 20th the volunteers were invited to the clinic to learn more about what they did there and present the collected glasses to Ms. Deaton.

8th Grade Homeless Experience: The Idea...

The 8th grade has spent a better part of the year brainstorming, planning, and organizing their capstone service learning experience. This fall we asked the students to come up with a theme within their category of service, Think Globally, Act Personally. After small group work, the class decided they wanted to learn about and serve the homeless and hungry.

The next stage students embarked on was drawing from personal experience, research, and collaboration to determine the types of activities they could engage in to accomplish this goal. Many had spent a night at their church recreating the life of a homeless person, others had taken part in Stop Hunger Now, which works with community groups to create and deliver meals to the homeless, still others remembered their visits to Urban Ministry, while some were excited to document and prepare a movie about their service learning theme. From these varied experiences the 8th graders created what we are calling the Homeless Experience. A generous donor has offered to sponsor Stop Hunger Now, and 8th grade advisors have helped to organize the rest of the night. We are all very excited about the potential for this Homeless Experience and believe the increased awareness and empathy that will come out of this will enhance the leadership qualities of the 8th graders. Here is the schedule for the Experience:

Tuesday, March 1

1:30 - 4:00 - Visit Pathways in Greensboro and Save-a-Lot (to purchase dinner and breakfast with $2.00)
4:00 - 6:00 - Build a shelter from cardboard boxes, complete homework, eat dinner
6:00 - 9:00 - Stop Hunger Now Program
9:00 - 9:30 - Vespers in Philips Chapel
9:30 - 11:00 - Plan for Chapel on Wednesday
11:00  -          Bed

Wednesday, March 2

6:00 - 7:00 - Practice in Chapel for service
7:00 - 8:00 - Make breakfasts for Burrito Bikers
8:00 - 8:35 - Middle School Chapel performance
8:35 - 10:30 - Reflection

To Serve: Service Learning in the Middle School

In an e-letter from September, I discussed three opportunities for leadership and service stressed in the middle school. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce a fourth: our service learning program.


First, Karen Niegelsky agreed to take on the role of Service Learning Coordinator for the middle school. She will work with the advisory teams to support and shape creative service activities, integrate service learning into the curriculum, develop and/or maintain relationships with outside non-profit entities, publicize the various activities within school as well as any family opportunities that may arise, and manage the many possible opportunities to create meaningful relationships.

Second, we have implemented the objectives of the service learning committee to expand students’ world views, foster a “culture of service”, establish long-term partnerships in the community, and create and implement an intentional process for preparation before and reflection after service projects of all types .

Third, in pursuit of our objectives, we have established a theme for each grade level. The 6th Grade, Think Globally, Act Locally, stresses local projects with a global emphasis. The 7th Grade, Think Globally, Act Globally, focuses on a MDG-based slate of projects. The 8th Grade, Think Globally, Act Personally, features an emphasis on leadership.

Fourth, in our 7th and 8th grades we have carved out a block of time within the week to focus on leadership and service with our closely linked Venture Out programs. During this time students will be focused on the preparation, work, and reflection cycle that is crucial to meaningful service and leadership training.

In the middle school we continue to live out our motto: To Learn, To Love, To Serve: To Live.