CONNEXION mar 2014 - The American School Foundation of

Transcription

MARCH 2014
T H E
A M E R I C A N
S C H O O L
F O U N D A T I O N
O F
G U A D A L A J A R A ,
A . C .
From our LEARNING GOALS
Our ASFG community strives to be...
Community Contributors
Respectful, responsible, honest, and kind
Collaborative team members with positive inter-personal skills
Constructive and pro-active leaders
Global citizens committed to peace, diversity, and
environmental responsibility
COMMUNITY
CONTRIBUTORS
La comunidad del ASFG se esfuerza por formar...
Ciudadanos comprometidos
Change the World,
One Project at a Time
Respetuosos, responsables y honestos
Individuos preparados para trabajar en equipo y con
habilidades interpersonales positivas
Líderes pro-activos
Comprometidos con la paz, la diversidad y la problemática
ambiental
T H E
A M E R I C A N
S C H O O L
F O U N D A T I O N
O F
G U A D A L A J A R A ,
Empty Bowls:
Nurturing Awareness
Early Childhood Students:
Caring, Informed Citizens
A . C .
Service Learning and
Global Citizenship
Constructive kind
Collaborative team members
environmental responsibility
pro-active leaders
Respectful
responsible
honest
positive inter-personal skills
CONTENTS
Editor´s Note
2
Director´s Note
3
Change the World, One Project at a Time
4
Community Contributors at ASFG
5
La práctica hace al maestro
6
Fighthing Hunger One Bowl at a Time
7
Mama, A.C.´s Friendship with Early Childhood
8
NHS Picking Up Trash
9
Forget Socrates!
10
Proyecto: Maíz 2o grado
11
La Alegría de Dar
12
ASOMEX
14
Early Childhood Students: Caring, Informed Citizens
15
“Do Your Share For Cleaner Air”
16
A Journey Down the Río Grande de Santiago
17
Young Children, Emergent Curriculum, and Social Activism
18
5th Graders Compost
19
Bio TU
20
Hagamos de Nuestra Ciudad un Bosque Urbano
21
Everything is Possible
22
ESF Gives An Opportunity
24
Hicimos nuditos, nuditos y nuditos, son como nuditos de thank you
25
Empty Bowls: Nurturing Awareness
26
Connecting Through Music
27
Celebrating and Respecting Cultures!
28
Seguimos demostrando nuestro compromiso con la comunidad
29
Service Learning and Global Citizenship
30
Comprometidos con la paz, la diversidad y la problemática ambiental
32
ASFG Parents Support Litter-Free Education & Recycling in Chapala
34
Collaborative and Talented
35
March 2014 Connexion Magazine 1
EDITOR´S NOT E
DIRECTOR´S NOTE
“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about
progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be
broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for
their sakes and for our own.” César Chávez
When I started thinking about this edition of Connexion, I
immediately thought about service and community service learning
in our school. Our work with our many projects is a vital part of what
it is to be a Community Contributor. We definitely are trying to
integrate the idea of service learning into our curriculum and this
process is ongoing. Over the years, this work has defined our
school, our community, and us as individuals. Please read Aizuri
Minakata’s piece regarding the redefining of service learning in fifth
grade, “Comprometidos con la paz, la diversidad y la problemática
ambiental.”
Our work as community contributors spills over in a number of
directions. We reach out in a number of ways: Art Fest, Empty Bowls,
NJHS and NHS, our school trips, our sports teams, Poetry out Loud,
ASFG Green, school publications, and the music and drama
programs. Stefanie McGrath writes about doing our share for clean
air and social activism in early childhood. Check both these articles!
Contributing to the community is our way of, we hope, changing the
community for the better. Rafael Sánchez writes about some things
that are happening in our high school to meet this goal in “Change
the World, One Project at a Time.” From the smallest gesture of
kindness in our school to the largest outpouring of support with
Empty Bowls, we seem to be on a mission to nurture a number of
communities while honoring ourselves through service. And please
read an interesting overview of what community contributing looks
like in Early Childhood with Tina Cartensen’s article, “Caring,
Informed Citizens.”
Community contributing begins with individuals and ends
somewhere over there – way over there. And it includes everything
and everyone in between. It also involves reaching out in all
directions for the good of our community and for the good of the
communities we are supporting. Melissa Gibson has integrated a
social activism project within her 8th grade civics class, where
students are taking on one issue at a time and asking vital questions
about what we do in communities to create sustainable solutions for
poverty, environmental problems, and inequality. Please read
“Service Learning & Global Citizenship” to find out more.
Thank you to all of the contributors and directors who are dedicated
to the creation of this publication. My greatest respect goes out to
all of the editors around the school who kindly and skillfully take out
their red pens in the name of good writing! And a most sincere
thanks goes to María José González who takes all of these words,
ideas, and photos and creates a thing of beauty.
Finally, thank you to Mr. McGrath who has just begun his time
leading our community into interesting, rewarding, and creative
places.
Kristen Fry
editor
Kristen Fry
art director
María José González
copy editors
Norma Guinto, Caleb Cook, Julie
Villand & Mary Anne O´Connor
creative contributors
Amy Bokser, Diego Soberanes,
Rafael Sánchez, Andrea Ortiz,
Ma. Lourdes González, Chris
Peterson, Beatrice Benavides,
Michael Hogan, Ivonne Mena,
Ana Rosa Ureña, Daniela
González, Anna García, María
Inés Aranguren, Alejandro
Garza, Tina Carstensen, Stefanie
McGrath, David Markman, Sam
Morrison, Renata Sánchez Dau,
Fernando Ausin Gómez, Oscar
Suárez Bon, Bill Cotter, Patty
Gutierrez, Sofía Benítez, Cristina
González, Renee Martínez, Jun
Kee Lee, Regina Ledesma, Iliana
Fernández, Melissa Gibson,
Aizuri Mirakata Viramontes,
Andrea Senkowski, Aldara
Alonso, Regina García, Liliana
Terán, Stacy Ohrt-Billingslea,
Gaby Silva, Serena Millstone &
Dallas Giroux
photos
Brian Zink, Claudia Jiménez,
Caleb Cook & Kristen Fry
cover photo
Claudia Jiménez
Our Struggle Against the Common
Enemies of Man
I remember the first time I heard Kennedy’s inaugural address some 22 years after that
historic January morning in 1961. My older brother and I tuned in to a Sunday night PBS
documentary on JFK’s presidency. My brother was always deeply fascinated by public
service and knew more about political history than a boy his age typically does.
The most quoted line from that speech, of course, was Kennedy’s call to service, “ask not
what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” My brother
would recite these words with impeccable intonation, a skill undoubtedly made possible
being raised by our Boston-born parents.
But it was in an earlier part of the speech that moved us even more.
Now the trumpet summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though
arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call
to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out,
"rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common
enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
So we continue our struggle against the common enemies of man. In schools, we
welcome this burden. At ASFG, it is what our fourth learning goal is all about.
Community Contribution is a way of living, not as a single event or a final project, but as
a self-actualizing practice from which we gain common purpose and individual
happiness. We engage in a long twilight struggle, year in and year out to make a
difference in the lives of others, in our communities and in our homes.
At ASFG we become community contributors by working towards two objectives. First,
we need to practice compassion. Elie Wiesel writes, the opposite of love is not hate; it’s
indifference. We must work to understand the problems of today and mindfully
appreciate how those problems manifest themselves in our daily lives.
Second, we need to develop the skills to affect change. People who care enough to
change the world are only successful if they are highly skilled thinkers, learners and
communicators. It’s not enough to want to contribute to our world; we must also know
how.
Only through the combination of compassion and skill will we be effective community
contributors.
The American School
Foundation of Guadalajara, A.C.
Colomos 2100
Colonia Italia Providencia
Guadalajara, Jalisco
C.P. 44630
México
t. 3648-0299
In this issue of Connexion we reflect on the value of our fourth and most encompassing
learning goal, being community contributors. We hope you enjoy the perspective,
welcome the responsibility and relish the personal fulfillment chronicled in the pages
that follow.
www.asfg.mx
2 Connexion Magazine March 2014
a sfg community
Graphic by Andrea Ortiz
h igh sch ool
and that is something great!”
I also talked to Francis McCann, a sophomore, who
has focused on academic help for other students.
He has worked in the tutoring club and has
volunteered to mentor geometry students working
on Google SketchUp. Another junior, Annette Malé,
has been working with Pacto de Amor, which
focuses on teaching English to less fortunate
children. Annette says, “Personally, I love it. I love
knowing that I am helping those kids have a better
future.” Not only do the children learn and clarify
their academic doubts, they have fun engaging with
their tutors.
Change the World,
One Project
at a Time
by Rafael Sánchez, high school student
It is part of our high school program to develop
responsibility and care for our community, both
inside and outside of ASFG’s walls. Students such as
myself are given the opportunity to collaborate with
an organization of their choice to show commitment
and improve the community. In the last few days I
have been talking to other students with the
purpose of learning about their service learning
projects, so that I can share what we are doing with
the rest of ASFG.
First, I talked to two juniors who have been working
with Adoptando un Amigo, an organization
dedicated to rescuing dogs from the street and
finding a loving home for them. Both Ana Paula
Medina and Francesca Cornero have been walking
a dog that lives only one block from the school and
whose quality of life is not great. This may seem like
a very small project, but Ana Paula, who has also
been helping at the adoption center in Petco, says:
“If I can make that dog’s life better or happier with a
stroll around the park, then I am improving a life
Two seniors that told me about their service
experiences were Estéban Gómez and Paty
Rodríguez. Paty has been helping organize
fund-raisers for low-income parents of children with
cancer. She also helped with the mini-olympics for
children with special needs hosted by the school.
Estéban has worked building a park for children,
decorating a church for several ceremonies, and has
worked with Operation Smile, which provides
integral treatment for children with facial
malformations.
This school year I have been working hard on
contributing to the community too. At the
beginning of the year I joined an organization called
Pro Cultura y Capacitación de la Mujer Mexicana,
which gives education and housing to girls. I have
been tutoring these girls, helping them broaden
their knowledge and inspiring them to pursue their
education. I am also working with Adoptando un
Amigo and Writing Club, a tutoring group for ASFG
students focused on writing.
Everything we do to help our community, no matter
how little, is a step towards the improvement of our
world and ourselves. In our school we have the
responsibility and the opportunity to change our
world one project at a time.
Community Contributors at ASFG
by Mary Anne O´Connor, Academic Assessment
The idea of ASFG’s “Community Contributors” makes me think of the old saying: “Charity begins at
home.” I have experienced firsthand the caring presence of so many colleagues, school staff, and
students these past weeks as I suffered the death of my elderly father in early January. The sadness
and pain of his loss were made lighter by the kind words, warm embraces, and moving expressions
of sincere solidarity offered by so many.
As I reflect on the ASFG descriptors for Community Contributors, I see them mirrored through those
who reached out in genuine concern, wanting me to know of their thoughts, prayers, and desire to
accompany me through this time. I give thanks to those who were so kind and respectful in wanting
to be there for me. Positive interpersonal skills were evident in the gentle touch, knowing nods, and
similar stories shared. Peace is the word that best describes the heart-felt condolences offered me
throughout this grieving time.
If it is true that charity begins at home, then the practice of community contributors can as well. I can
bear joyful and grateful testimony that here at our school community of ASFG, from our
maintenance and cleaning staff to our administrative staff, from our students to our teachers, and all
the folks in-between, we are indeed a community that contributes positively and constructively
within our walls in service to one another. These traits will bear fruit outside our walls as well, for
here within we have lived an attitude and value that will permeate each aspect of our being once we
leave this space. I believe the world to be in good hands when folks such as ours are still present
and moving amidst it.
i t´s elemen ta r y
a sfg communitY
La práctica hace al maestro
por Ma. Lourdes González, auxiliar de maestra de arte de primaria
Yo no me considero una artista; sin embargo, después de catorce años de
trabajar con diferentes maestros titulados en artes plásticas, he adquirido
algunos conocimientos. Alguien me dijo un día que para ser artista se
necesita tener tres cosas importantes: talento, gusto y práctica; todo esto
aderezado con imaginación, creatividad y técnica. Como yo tengo el gusto,
la práctica, las técnicas y tal vez un poco de talento, decidí que podía
compartir lo que tanto me gusta.
Empecé con una clase extracurricular de barro y poco tiempo después,
agregué una clase extracurricular de dibujo. Pensé que hasta ahí estaba
bien, pero me animé a tomar el reto de hacer taller de verano. De este taller
aprendí que los mejores maestros de arte son los niños, por su forma
diferente de ver la vida; más simple, sin miedo y con mayor imaginación y
creatividad.
He tenido la oportunidad de trabajar con alumnos de muchas edades y me
he dado cuenta de que, en la actualidad, los niños están más interesados en
el arte, tienen mayor conocimiento y son críticos de sus propias obras. Los
alumnos nos presentan un reto diario de actualización y los maestros les
debemos tiempo de calidad, aceptación y respeto a su forma de expresión.
En todo este tiempo he tenido grandes retos que me han dejado muchos
aprendizajes. El primero fue una clase de arte en el kínder, con niños de tres
años. Capturar la atención de los niños, que se interesen y trabajen felices
en el proyecto ¡es todo un reto!. Mi admiración y respeto a las maestras de
kínder.
No cabe duda de que mi mayor reto ha sido trabajar con niños invidentes.
Al dar una clase de barro a niños invidentes de diferentes edades, tuve que
pensar en cómo transmitirles la seguridad de que podían hacer las cosas sin
que me ganara el sentimiento; cambiar las palabras como miren, vean,
fíjense por toquen, huelan, sientan, a la derecha, a la izquierda. Era un grupo
muy grande, por lo que mantener el orden tampoco era fácil pero con el
apoyo de maestros y alumnos de secundaria, los resultados fueron
excelentes. Los niños invitados a la clase se fueron con una gran sonrisa por
la experiencia vivida, y los maestros y alumnos involucrados se sintieron
orgullosos de su labor social. Yo terminé agotada pero aprendí que cuando
se quiere o se tiene el gusto por hacer algo, los límites nos los ponemos
nosotros mismos.
Sesión de trabajo con
niños invidentes
Mi mayor gusto ha sido que los alumnos expresen su arte libremente, que
les guste y lo disfruten, porque el talento ya lo tienen. Mi meta cada año en
el taller de verano es tratar de tener proyectos en donde los niños puedan
expresarse y estén felices. Creo que he logrado esto con el muralismo y el
grafiti, pues a los niños les gusta mucho esta forma de expresión. Una de
mis mayores satisfacciones es cuando los niños me dicen: "Miss Lourdes, me
gusta mucho tu clase" o "yo quiero estar en tu clase".
Me falta mucho para ser artista pero soy una practicante con mucho gusto
por el arte.
Fighting Hunger
One Bowl
at a Time
by Chris Peterson, middle school art teacher
The first annual Empty Bowls event was something
very special. The atmosphere was electric. Close to
one thousand students, artists, teachers,
administrators and community members attended.
We were unified in taking action to reduce the
number of children experiencing hunger in
Guadalajara. How did we do it? We combined
beautiful ceramic art, delicious food and social
activism. All these elements together created an
experience that was memorable, moving and not
easily duplicated.
It’s time for round two. Our community has
combined efforts to produce more than one
thousand five hundred hand-made ceramic bowls.
All these bowls will be available to take home for a
small donation. There will be an incredible array of
designs that astound and amaze. Fierce monster
bowls from fourth grade. Early childhood pinch pots
that will melt your heart. Technically advanced
designs from the hands of our middle and high
school students. And teacher bowls that will have
you wondering why our art faculty is not greater in
number than three. The silent auction of
professional bowls again will create additional
excitement as bidders compete for a wide range of
artwork in glass, ceramic, wood, mixed media and
even metal. One final element of the event can’t be
overlooked. Food. This year you can expect as many
as eight different, delicious international soup
offerings. ¡Buen provecho!
You do not want to miss Empty Bowls. Mark your
calendars today. Utilize all the technology at hand to
remind yourself of this significant event. Thursday,
March 20th from 5:00-8:00pm here at ASFG. Please
participate in making a donation, enjoying a bowl of
soup and making a difference in our community in
the company of family and friends! Art, food,
community, and above all, social activism aimed at
reducing hunger in our very own community.
ear ly ch ildho o d
high school
NHS Picking Up
Trash
by María Inés Aranguren, high school student
National Honor Society members are ASFG students
that stand out, not only because of their high
academic achievements, but also because of their
consistent efforts to make ASFG and our city a
better community. Service (along with character,
leadership, and scholarship) is one of the four core
qualities of the National Honor Society (NHS). In the
past years, NHS has been involved in an array of
service projects ranging from helping at a local
orphanage to clothing drives for the needy to
helping in school events. This year, the NHS has
focused on a trash clean-up project right outside
our school walls.
MAMA, A.C.’s Friendship
with Early Childhood
by Beatrice Benavides, PK/K9 assistant
Shortly after learning that the money raised by early
childhood bake sales was for MAMA, A.C, I began
volunteering at their downtown school. It’s been
about six months since I joined their programs and
the children there teach me something new every
day. To say that they come from very difficult
backgrounds would be an understatement. Despite
that, these children show up with a desire to learn
and to fully take advantage of the opportunity given
them by MAMA, A.C.
benefitted from MAMA, A.C. with some students
going on to get college degrees. For the past 14
years, early childhood has been supporting MAMA,
A.C.’s efforts to meet the increasing demands. Over
the years, our section has contributed a total of
$195,000 pesos to this organization. Through bake
sales run by parent volunteers, our community is
helping the children of MAMA, A.C. find hope and
increase their opportunities to build a successful
life.
Founded in 1988, by Rogelio Padilla Diaz, MAMA,
A.C. has worked to provide social and educational
programs for homeless, abandoned, and abused
children. With a community house, working
children’s home, school, street work, and
educational programs for mothers, MAMA, A.C.
aims to defend, protect, and improve the lives of
children who are living and/or working on the
streets.
What I most admire about the students at the
downtown school is their selflessness. They are so
willing to help and share what little they have. I see
these children sharing battered school supplies with
classmates, making sure no one goes without a
snack at recess, and voluntarily cleaning their
classrooms. These values are taught by MAMA, A.C.
and this is what makes the organization stand out to
me. Early childhood is proud to share these values
and to be a part of MAMA’s efforts.
Since its foundation, nearly 3,000 children have
Though at first this activity was only a tentative
service option for the club, we decided that we
would, in fact, focus on trash clean-up this year since
we were pleasantly shocked with the results of our
first cleaning session. To our surprise, in about thirty
minutes we filled numerous large bags – and that
was just with the trash from our block on Colomos
Street. Though a considerable amount of the trash
was either paper or plastic, other miscellaneous
objects ranged from glass bottles and bottle caps to
cigarette butts and even a knife.
After a few more monthly cleaning sessions, we
decided to expand the project. In our January
session, we increased our group size by bringing
other friends from school to help out, and by joining
with Fernanda Segura from ASFG Green and a few
middle school students. We also broadened our
session by spreading to Ottawa, Managua, and
Filadelfia Streets. We have also modified our
strategy by bringing reusable gloves to pick up the
trash and “lona” bags for multiple trash categories.
Despite the fact that this project just started this
year, we are looking forward to improving it and
collaborating with ASFG Green to make it as
efficient as possible. Furthermore, we are planning
on not only picking up more and more trash, but
raising awareness about the issue and taking action
to minimize the trash situation. We invite you to join
our next community clean up on Friday, March 22nd
after school in the fountain area.
h igh sch o o l
IT´S ELEMENTA RY
a lobster, used a butter knife, listened to Mozart, or
learned to appreciate a painting, unless we had
been taught. These are all acquired tastes.
Forget Socrates!
by Dr. Michael Hogan, high school history teacher
Socrates used to teach that children were already
born with all the knowledge they needed. It was up
to the good teacher to discover ways in which to
bring this innate knowledge to the forefront.
Teachers who used these kinds of methods were
called "Socratic teachers." Aristotle considered this
patent nonsense, of course, and I happen to agree.
The Socratic Method only works after the student
has been taught basic forms of knowledge. No
student can give an intelligent “opinion” of the
hypotenuse of a triangle, the valence of a hydrogen
atom, the value of negative capability or the
usefulness of quarter notes unless that student has
been taught the specifics of the related discipline.
This also applies to the arts. Development of an
aesthetic sense and the study of art and music are
not casual acquisitions to someone who truly wishes
to develop creatively. They are not a mere
accoutrements put on to show off at cocktail parties
where "the women come and go talking of
Michelangelo." They are instead a deepening of
that area of the inner self where creativity will
emerge. Acquiring taste is a learning process. It is
what we did as children. Few of us would have eaten
For me as a writer and historian I found it useful to
look for mentors, for people who were good at what
I wanted to do. I tended to associate with people
who enjoyed history and literature, and were
knowledgeable about them. I helped myself to their
knowledge, and in the process widened my
community and developed my skills. T.S. Eliot,
writing about transcendental moments, moments in
which the timeless connects with time, uses the
metaphor "where the music is heard so deeply that
we become the music while the music lasts." This
total immersion in music can release creative
powers that few would even guess at. With the
personality, the ego, lost in the music, one's deeper
self has a chance to emerge. The same is true of any
kind of art where one goes beyond the surface of
the painting or the sculpture or the poem and
penetrates to the depth of the work. This cannot be
done without study, however, or without discipline.
"I know what I like" is the most common defense
that someone offers when one simply hasn't taken
the time to study or understand the music, poetry or
painting in question. As teachers we need to find
ways to bring the arts into our classrooms in creative
ways. How can we merge painting and poetry? How
can we illustrate aspects of sculpture with anatomy,
or music with mathematics? The answer of course is
by deepening our own knowledge of these arts in
our personal lives, by developing our aesthetic
sense so that we clearly demonstrate by our
passion, our love, and what will be readily perceived
by our students: that all art is connected and that
the experience of creativity is multi-faceted and
touches every aspect of human life. When we do
this, we also build in the process a community of
like-minded artists, writers and audience, not only
among students and fellow teachers at ASFG, but in
the larger community of Guadalajara, and ultimately
the world though YouTube and the web. In doing
this we build deeper connections with others. “You
can’t get the news from poetry,” William Carlos
Williams once wrote, “but people are dying every
day from lack of what is found there.”
Proyecto: Maíz
2o grado
por Ivonne Mena y Ana Rosa Ureña, maestras de primaria
Otra actividad que nos gustó mucho, fue cuando
tuvimos oportunidad de compartir lo que
aprendimos con los compañeros de otros grupos
para hacer un dibujo de nuestra parcela en Drawing
de Google Docs.
Los alumnos de segundo grado, estamos muy
emocionados con el proyecto del maíz, que
iniciamos el mes de octubre para estudiar el tema
“La alimentación”, en la materia de Exploración de la
Naturaleza y Sociedad.
Elegimos el maíz como tema del proyecto debido a
que es uno de los 3 granos principales que
alimentan a la humanidad y especie central en la
alimentación, sociedad, cultura y economía de
México.
Ahí aprendimos a valorar el trabajo de todas
aquellas personas que nos hacen llegar los
alimentos desde el campo y a apreciar nuestro
planeta y sus bondades.
A partir de la pregunta que nos hicieron nuestras
maestras:
¿Qué comemos?
Expresamos los intereses e inquietudes que nos
permitieron guiar nuestra investigación.
Lo primero que quisimos saber fue cómo se cultiva
el maíz, así es que investigamos y sembramos en un
lugarcito del Área Verde, donde pusimos en
práctica lo que estábamos aprendiendo.
A lo largo del proyecto hemos realizado y
continuaremos realizando diversas actividades en
varias materias:
• Arte: hicimos un muñeco con hojas de maíz.
• Español: elaboramos un cartel, un poema, un
recetario con platillos a base de maíz, registros de
las visitas hechas a la parcela en papel o en
documentos de Google Docs y aprendimos a usar
Drawing.
• Exploración de la Naturaleza y Formación Cívica:
creamos el Plato del Bien Comer.
• Biblioteca: leeremos leyendas indígenas.
• Música: cantaremos al maíz.
Al inicio de nuestro proyecto tuvimos la visita del Sr.
Luis Aranguren, presidente de “Arancia”, quien nos
vino a platicar sobre lo que se hace en su compañía,
a partir del maíz, como la pasta dental, chocolates,
aceite para cocinar, etc.
Registro maíz
El día que fuimos a plantar Vale, Betty R. y yo
estábamos muy emocionadas. Ya queríamos plantar
y divertirnos. Ya que llegamos, mi Miss nos dio una
semillita violeta. Ya que plantamos bien la semillita
empezamos a quitar hierbas; había muchas. Vale,
Betty y yo nos divertimos mucho. Yo les bailaba a las
semillitas. Pero hubo un momento que nos tuvimos
que ir. ¡Nos despedimos de las semillitas!
Paloma L.
Ahora están grandes porque ya pasó tiempo. Las
plantas crecieron con el sol, las lluvias que acaban
de pasar y el amor que todos les dimos.
Les voy a dar un consejo muy importante: cuiden las
plantas; son como nosotros; crecen, necesitan agua
y amor y algunas veces las matamos.
Otro consejo es que no las arranquen, porque con la
naturaleza vivimos.
Alexander U.
México es mi país
Rico en aromas
donde se come maíz
en todas sus zonas
y en todas sus formas.
Me gustan las tortillas
hechas por tradición
se cocinan en hornillas
y son una adicción.
Eduardo C.
Y aún no hemos terminado, ya que próximamente
tendremos conferencias y para cerrar: una
grandiosa kermés en nuestra Led Conference.
asfg comm un i ty
a sfg community
bebés. A pesar de que ellos no son suficientemente
grandes para darse cuenta de lo que hacemos y de
agradecerlo, nosotros sí reconocemos lo increíble
que es estar ahí para esos bebés y hacer lo más que
podamos por ellos.
Como dijo un miembro de NJHS de unos años
atrás, Francisco García Bedoy: “No veo el servicio a
la comunidad como una manera de ayudar, sino
como una manera de ser ayudado.” Estas palabras
son verdaderas; todo lo que hacemos nos ayuda a
ver el mundo de manera diferente; a agradecer por
lo que somos y tenemos; a sonreír y darnos cuenta
de lo hermoso que es ayudar y dar a los que lo
necesitan.
La Alegría
de Dar
por Daniela González y Anna García, alumnas de high school
“Si tienes mucho, da mucho; si tienes poco, da
poco; pero da siempre.”
Este año, NJHS ha ayudado a múltiples
organizaciones como: Adoptando un Amigo, FM4 y
Casa Hogar Nacidos para Triunfar, así como en los
eventos que organiza la escuela. No hay nada más
bonito e inspirador que visitar estos lugares y
ayudar en lo más que podamos. La organización
con la que más nos hemos involucrado es con la
Casa Hogar Nacidos para Triunfar, a la que
intentamos ir todos los sábados. Desde ir
simplemente a jugar con ellos hasta llevarles dulces
y Barbies, los niños de esta casa hogar son los más
felices cuando estamos ahí divirtiéndonos junto con
ellos, y nosotros también.
Entonces, realmente no les interesa si les damos
algo muy valioso en precio; para ellos el dinero no
significa nada. A estos niños les importa mucho más
recibir un abrazo, un dulce, un pintado de uñas.
Todos los niños de esta casa hogar están llenos de
vida, de ganas de sonreír y reír; por eso es que nos
contagian esa sonrisa cada vez que vamos. Siempre
cuando entramos a la casa y les avisan a todos que
estamos aquí, todos los niños corren a nosotros y
saltan para que los carguemos y abracemos; no hay
ni un solo niño que no quiera aprovechar nuestra
presencia y nuestras ganas de hacerlos felices.
Cuando jugamos fútbol, les pintamos las uñas a las
niñas, les leemos cuentos o jugamos carreras de
triciclos, podemos sentir lo afortunados que somos
de poder estar ahí, ayudando.
Tania, una niña de diez años de la casa hogar, nos
dijo un día cuando fuimos a visitar a los niños: “Me
gusta mucho cuando vienen porque nos hacen reír y
podemos estar felices.” En estos momentos es
cuando te das cuenta que aunque sólo fuiste a
leerle un cuento a una niña de diez años, la hiciste
feliz. Tal vez hiciste la diferencia entre que su día
fuera uno más, o que fuera uno que disfrutó. No hay
nada más satisfactorio que salir de la casa hogar y
ver a todos los miembros de NJHS sonriendo,
diciendo que se la pasaron genial y compartiendo
anécdotas de las horas que estuvimos ahí. Durante
nuestros años de servicio en NJHS hemos
aprendido que no importa con qué ayudamos a la
casa hogar, si no cómo la ayudamos. Los ayudamos
con sonrisas, abrazos y ganas de hacer a los demás
felices y esa es la mejor manera de ayudar a un
niño.
Los niños de Nacidos para Triunfar tienen de uno a
quince años. No sólo jugamos con los de seis años
en adelante, sino que también hemos cuidado a los
P e & spor ts
ea rly childhood
Early Childhood
Students: Caring,
Informed Citizens
by Tina Carstensen, Early Childhood Principal
ASFG has a long history of involving our families in
community service projects to support those in
need. We have been interested in improving the
way we involve and thus empower students through
these activities and so are trying to move from
community service projects towards what we define
as service learning. Service learning is a strategy
that combines academic and social education
objectives with an important reflection component.
ASOMEX
by Alejandro Garza, Director Atlético
En una sencilla pero emotiva ceremonia de apertura, se inició con las actividades del torneo ASOMEX,
donde fuimos anfitriones, del 24 al 29 de enero. Durante esta convivencia contamos con la participación de
12 escuelas americanas en México: 407 estudiantes inscritos en 26 equipos, divididos en basquetbol,
categoría juvenil “B” y fútbol, en la categoría infantil.
Los que tuvimos la oportunidad de participar y convivir durante las jornadas deportivas, vivimos grandes
partidos, lleno de emociones y derroche de energía por parte de nuestros estudiantes deportistas; con este
marco y un ambiente de gran espíritu deportivo creado por alumnos, entrenadores y padres de familia,
donde se promovió de manera permanente la cortesía, la disciplina y respeto, dentro y fuera de la cancha,
permitió asegurar parte de los objetivos que traza ASOMEX en sus espacios de convivencias deportivas y
con ello poder brindarle a los estudiantes las oportunidades de crecer en el aspecto educativo y formativo.
Felicitamos a todos los integrantes de nuestros tres equipos, que nos representaron en esta convivencia
deportiva ASOMEX, por su entrega, cooperación, trabajo en equipo y sobre todo, dejar en alto a nuestra
institución educativa por su cordialidad e imagen como estudiantes y deportistas dentro y fuera del colegio.
Los resultados que obtuvieron nuestros equipos fueron los siguientes:
Equipo y Categoría
Rama
Resultado
Basquetbol – Juvenil “B”
Varonil
1er. Lugar
Trofeo Sportsmanship
Basquetbol - Juvenil “B”
Femenil
Mención por empatar con otras dos
instituciones en el premio al trofeo
Sportsmanship
Futbol- Infantil
Varonil
3er. Lugar
Trofeo Sportsmanship
We had our first opportunity to enrich a traditional
community service project when we began our
annual sweater and blanket drive for ONI, an
organization established to eliminate childhood
malnutrition in Mexico. Moving the collection box
from a centralized spot outside the office to
individual classrooms made the donations more
accessible to the children and increased student
involvement. Children were proud to talk about
what they had brought in and they were
encouraged to explore donations through sorting
and counting activities. This inspired individual and
group conversations about how the donations
would be used by the families that ONI serves.
Children thought of writing parent reminders for
donations, drew pictures and notes to attach to
items that would be sent to ONI, and one nursery
child even broke her piggy bank to buy more
blankets!
Another way to help students feel the power of
people caring for each other was to celebrate a
Hand-Me-Down-Day where we wore clothes that
had been inherited from a loved one. We talked
about how it is fun to wear something that has been
shared with us in this way, as well as reflecting on
how it is good for the environment. Children
enjoyed telling their classmates the history behind
their hand-me-downs.
When the collection ended, students brought the
clothes and blankets from all of our early childhood
classrooms together and were able to practice
folding, sorting, and counting again. Then we
packed up the donations and thought the project
was over. But the children surprised us by asking
their teachers if the families liked their letters and
hand-me-downs and we realized we hadn’t thought
about the reflection piece of a service learning
project. Because of our students’ interest in
learning more about what happened to the
donations, we sent representatives on the trip that
the school made to deliver the donations to ONI.
While on that trip we made a short video for our
students to help them see how their effort made a
difference for others and to encourage more
reflection and discussion about what they had
learned and how they felt about the project.
Journal Pages
Next year we may begin this project with the same
video and ask our students if they can help us think
of ways to improve what we are doing to serve this
community. We are also looking for ways to
improve other existing service activities such as:
How can we share the learning experiences our
students have with our EarthBoxes with other
preschools where we are sponsoring EarthBox
projects? What is the best way to teach our
students about the work of MAMA, A.C, the
organization that early childhood supports through
funds raised in bake sales? How can we foster the
efficacy gained in these activities so that children
look for ways to improve the lives of others in ways
we haven’t imagined? By employing such
reflections with our current community service
projects we hope to move into the deeper
experience that service learning can provide, not
only for our students and their families, but also for
the wider community in which we live.
Equipo ASFG de basquetbol juvenil “B”
Campeón ASOMEX.
ASF G comm u n i t y
In the middle
“Do Your Share For
Cleaner Air”
A Journey Down the
Río Grande de
Santiago
by Stefanie McGrath, ASFG green coordinator
Carbon footprints are trails left by our daily
activities. They are the result of individual choices,
government policies, and actions of corporations,
and civic institutions. These footprints reflect a
larger problem: Humanity’s growing metabolism of
resources and the strain that is being placed on our
natural systems.
There are numerous ways we can reduce our
footprint, improve the quality of life, and influence
policy so future generations have the opportunity to
enjoy rich and rewarding lives. The most effective
actions individuals can take involve changing
energy use with transportation and powering
homes, as well as purchasing socially and
environmentally responsible products.
by Sam Morrison, middle school science teacher
“We are a species of unlimited appetites living on a
planet with limited resources” (National
Geographic, 2010). To achieve sustainability, we
have to ask questions about how we want to live
and use the resources on this planet. ASFG Green
encourages everyone to reflect on his or her
lifestyle decisions and seek opportunities to reduce
one’s climate impact.
By taking 35 cars off of the road for every school
bus used, ASFG voluntarily implemented an
environmental commitment to reduce the release of
carbon dioxide in the air and ease global warming.
Congratulations to our trailblazing ASFG families
working towards a sustainable future for all. We
encourage everyone to “Do Your Share For Cleaner
Air”!
Learn more about your carbon footprint and the
steps you can take towards sustainability at
www.myfootprint.org.
At ASFG we tell our students to be community
contributors. We teach them to become global
citizens, to be pro-active leaders and to have a
sense of environmental responsibility. ASFG truly
values these principles, and I, as an ASFG teacher,
am showing our students what we truly believe in. I
am doing this by bringing awareness to a vital river
system here in Guadalajara and taking some of the
first steps to restore it.
When I first arrived in Guadalajara nearly three years
ago I went on a hike in the Barranca Huentitán, on
the northern edge of the city. I was inspired by the
scale and the grandeur of the canyon and the river
below. For thousands of years this river has carved
and eroded cliffs into the volcanic tuffs and ash
flows that now loom nearly 2,000 feet (520m) above
the river. A friend told me that no one dared touch
the polluted water in the river, and the Río Grande
de Santiago has been on my mind ever since.
As I continued exploring the outdoors and the
beautiful places that surround Guadalajara, I
learned more about the plight of the Río Santiago in
towns like Ocotlán, El Salto, Paso de Guadalupe,
and San Cristóbal de la Barranca. This river, and its
major tributary, the Río Lerma, are two of the most
polluted and misused rivers in Mexico.
Undertreated wastewater is dumped directly into
the river. Along with this waste, the Lerma/ Santiago
receives the by-products from pulp and paper mills,
leather processing factories, and both
petrochemical and chemical plants. There are also
chemicals and fertilizers introduced by meat, dairy,
and produce farms in the basin.
This September a team of five environmental
activists will float, in two rafts, down the entire Río
Grande de Santiago. Along this journey we will
create a 25 to 40 minute documentary film
highlighting the insurmountable beauty of the
Santiago's canyons and the tragic state of the river's
health. We will interview local residents to gain a
deeper understanding of how their lives interact
with the river. We want this unique perspective of
one river in Mexico to provide people with a better
awareness of what is happening in rivers throughout
the country. Our nearly 300 mile trip (524 km) will
begin in Lake Chapala near the city of Guadalajara,
and trace the river to the sea near the city of San
Blas in Nayarit. The expedition will take at least one
month, as we overcome dams, rapids,
eutrophicated stretches of invasive plant blockades,
and possibly our own sickness caused by the river’s
pollutants.
The administration, teachers, and students at ASFG
have shown an incredible amount of support for this
project. ASFG Green helped spread the word to the
community and even held a tomato plant sale
during the ASFG posada which raised $260 USD for
the project. With the help of ASFG, the greater
Guadalajara community, and our supporters in the
States, we have reached our fundraising goal of
$9,000 USD.
The team and I are already hard at work preparing
for the journey. Storyboards are being developed,
maps are being surveyed, pollution studied, menus
planned, equipment lists written, T-shirts made, and
film festivals entered. As the project moves forward,
it is the team’s desire to get students involved and
make them effective community contributors. One
example of this is a group of 7th grade students
(Steven Lee, Cristobal de Oyarzabal, and Juan Pablo
Ruiz) in the Global Issues 20/20 Challenge class that
are currently working on a project entitled “The
People and History of the Río Santiago.” They are
looking at past efforts of organizations to help the
river and where they have succeeded and failed. We
hope more students will get involved and learn
about the challenges that face this river system and
a part of Mexico that we all love.
If you are interested in this project, come see Mr.
Morrison or go to santiagoriver.com to learn more.
ea rly ch ildho o d
IN THE MIDDLE
5th Graders
Compost
by Renata Sánchez Dau, 5th grade student
Young Children,
Emergent
Curriculum, and
Social Activism
by Stefanie McGrath, PK/K3 teacher
You wouldn’t think that a group of young children
could help shape a city’s landscape, affecting over
100,000 citizens while educating them in
environmentally responsible behaviors. But in 2013,
while studying the functions of parks in our society,
a conversation arose among children on a field trip
to Parque Agua Azul which shaped our classroom’s
path of inquiry.
Andrés: Where do I put my trash? It is all mixed in
the bins.
Tessa: I think they are using trashcans to keep the
park clean but they don’t know about recycling.
Nashla: We can help them. Let’s paint trashcans
with different colors so we can help keep materials
separate, like for plastic, organic, and other stuff.
their plans to help Parque Agua Azul. They
expressed their willingness to take an active part in
the construction of an environmentally responsible
city and thus opened the eyes of many to the
possibilities for young children to become active
agents of social change.
The work has continued with the children writing
letters to ask for donations (paint, paint brushes,
and printing services) as well as designing a large
sign to be hung at the entrance of the park. The
children are also planning the details of a
fundraising experience to help purchase stickers to
accompany the waste bins. Before the end of 2014,
we will invite past and present students to Parque
Agua Azul to paint bins, adhere stickers, and hang
signs. Our work is just beginning to take shape and
we are committed to helping one of our city’s oldest
and most important parks, Parque Agua Azul.
Compost is made out of green and brown waste.
Green waste is food scrap, like vegetables and
fruit peels. Brown waste is stuff like lawn clippings
and dead leaves. When you mix brown and green
waste and wait for it to decompose it becomes
compost. Compost is plant fertilizer because it is
vitamin and mineral rich dirt. It helps plants grow
stronger and healthier.
This year in Ms. Dallas’s class all 5th graders are
composting. We get the green waste from the
cafeteria kitchen and the brown waste from the
gardeners at school. We use a bin in the Green
Area, where each day students go with their
partners to either add more green and brown
waste, flip the compost (to give it oxygen), or
check that the pile is not too wet and not too dry.
It took 10 weeks for our compost to be ready!
The best part of composting was that we could
help the environment and our plants. We gave
some of our compost to teachers in the school
(who wanted some for their home gardens) and
put the rest of it on plants around the school. I
really liked this project and I hope we can do it
again.
Reflecting on this conversation with the children, we
decided to begin a crusade to educate others about
recycling. We started within our school walls,
making posters (which, of course, required us to
wear capes). We became known as “Recycling
Superheroes.” Our culminating act in 2013: One
Sunday the children presented on local television
alumni a sso c i a ti o n
a lumni a ssocia tion
BioTU
por Fernando Ausin Gómez, ex alumno del ASFG
BioTU es un programa educativo de la
sustentabilidad y las energías renovables
que lleva 5 años recorriendo casi todo
el país. Desde que nos dimos cuenta de que la
humanidad consume mucho mas recursos de los
que el planeta puede regenerar, dejamos todo lo
que estábamos haciendo anteriormente y nos
dedicamos a estudiar y a educar acerca de la
importancia de la sustentabilidad. Así fue como
creamos nuestro autobús, el Quetzalcóatl, donde
vivimos, viajamos, y trabajamos desde el 2009 para
demostrar diferentes soluciones o “ecotecnias”
acerca de lo que podemos hacer para ser más
sustentables. Ya hemos recorrido más de 22
estados y 33,000 kilómetros utilizando biodiesel
producido con aceite vegetal usado, paneles
solares, baño seco, haciendo nuestra propia
composta, y llevando diferentes tipos de semillas
orgánicas para sembrar.
¡Como exalumnos del ASFG, hemos tenido la
oportunidad de trabajar varias veces con el colegio
y apoyar a “ASFG Green”, desde sus comienzos! De
hecho, un año, nos invitaron a dar una plática a High
School acerca del Servicio Comunitario, y cómo
nuestro trabajo es servicio a la comunidad. Fue
algo complicado para nosotros, ya que vivir la
sustentabilidad y compartirlo con otras personas
era más que nada nuestro estilo de vida y propósito
en la vida… pero después de pensarlo mucho,
coincidimos en que trabajar para la sustentabilidad
de nuestra raza en el planeta, es justamente Servicio
Comunitario.
Imagínate que vives en una casa con tus hermanos.
Tus papás han salido de vacaciones y se llevaron las
llaves de la casa. No pueden irse a ninguna parte, y
solamente les dejaron un gran pastel que les
alcanza para comer felizmente durante la semana
que no estarán en casa. De repente, algunos de tus
hermanos empiezan a comer más pastel de lo que
les pertenece… y por lo tanto, comen los pedazos
del pastel que les tocaría comer en días futuros.
Quizás no se dan cuenta del daño que eso podría
ocasionarles en el futuro, pero a ese ritmo,
quedarían sin comida a media semana…. Tú te
pones a investigar los problemas y a explicárselos
de una manera que ellos pueden entender y
empezar a cambiar sus patrones de consumo. Esta
analogía describe en pocas palabras nuestro
trabajo, la de concientizar a personas de nuestra
generación acerca de los retos sobre nuestros
patrones de consumo y cómo podemos comenzar a
vivir mas sustentablemente (sin “comernos” los
recursos del futuro.)
Hasta el momento, ha sido una experiencia muy
exitosa y altamente gratificante. Trabajamos con
niños y jóvenes, los motores del cambio para el
futuro, para ayudar a asegurar la sustentabilidad de
nuestra raza. Tenemos muchas soluciones y
experiencias útiles que las personas pueden
encontrar en nuestra página de Internet
www.biotu.org ¡y agradecemos todo lo que ya
hacen para ser más sustentables! Sigamos
construyendo soluciones para nuestro mundo.
Hagamos de Nuestra
Ciudad un Bosque
Urbano
por Oscar Suárez Bon, ex alumno del ASFG
Soy ex alumno del ASFG y actualmente trabajo en
Extra A.C., una asociación civil conformada por los
principales medios de comunicación (El Informador,
Grupo Promomedios, Milenio, Unidifusión,
Radiorama, El Occidental, Televisa) con el propósito
de apoyar a sus ex-trabajadores. Esta asociación lleva
17 años apoyando a personas de la tercera edad, en
situaciones vulnerables. Desde hace 5 años,
comenzaron con el proyecto “hagamos de nuestra
ciudad un bosque urbano”, que tiene como principal
objetivo duplicar la masa forestal de la zona
metropolitana de Guadalajara, en los próximos 10
años y fomentar, entre la población, una cultura que
promueva el cuidado al medio ambiente.
Soy Coordinador Académico en Extra A.C. y en este
momento estoy desarrollando la logística para
emprender talleres de educación ambiental para la
población, con los cuales esperamos que nuestros
beneficiarios puedan ser más autosuficientes y que
puedan gozar de una mejor calidad de vida.
Algunos de los talleres que ofreceremos son de:
Agricultura Urbana, Farmacia Viviente y Plantas
Medicinales, Elaboración de Composta, Germinados
y Súper Alimentos, y Técnicas de ahorro de agua,
energía y dinero, desde el hogar.
El comité ejecutivo, junto con el equipo operativo de
Extra A.C., estamos muy preocupados por las
condiciones ambientales y sociales críticas que hoy
en día nos acontecen y es por ello que estamos muy
comprometidos con la sociedad Jalisciense, para
que juntos podamos aspirar a un futuro más
prometedor para las siguientes generaciones.
A través de nuestras campañas en medios hemos
logrado establecer un fuerte vínculo con la
ciudadanía, invitándolos a la adopción de árboles en
el vivero estatal Colomos; también los invitamos a
participar en nuestras jornadas de limpieza y
mantenimiento del bosque de la primavera y a
reforestaciones que tenemos año con año en
parques, camellones, Bosque de la Primavera, etc.
Creemos que el cuidado del medio ambiente es
responsabilidad de todos, pero a la vez queremos
ser el medio o vehículo mediante el cual la
ciudadanía pueda participar en la transformación de
nuestra ciudad, en un bosque urbano, otorgando las
herramientas y recursos necesarios para llevar a cabo
esta transformación.
Los problemas del mundo son muy complejos y
podríamos pensar que no podemos hacer nada para
frenar el curso de la situación, pero existe un dicho
en inglés que dice: “Think Globally and Act Locally”
que finalmente es una invitación a ser conscientes de
los acontecimientos globales, a través de nuestras
acciones individuales en nuestro entorno. Si
lográramos hacer cambios individuales de manera
colectiva, estaríamos logrando grandes
transformaciones a nivel global. Por eso existe un
dicho muy veraz que dice: “para cambiar al mundo,
debes empezar por cambiar tu mismo”.
Soy Oscar Suárez Bon y he ayudado a más de 300
familias a producir su propio alimento en un
contexto urbano y soy especialista en alternativas de
producción de alimento con metodologías
autosustentables. Estoy certificado como
Permaculturista y Agricultura Biointensiva y para mí,
esto es el comienzo. ¡Los invito a conocer nuestro
proyecto y a sumarse en la transformación de nuestra
ciudad, en un bosque urbano!
I N TH E MIDDL E
IN THE MIDDLE
“Everything is possible, but nothing is certain in
Rurrenabaque.” - Antonio (Rio Beni Health
Foundation)
As we pushed the wheelbarrow laden with a
seventy-five kilogram cement filter through the vines
and mud of the Amazonian rainforest, Antonio’s
words kept running through my head. It was our first
day in Torewa, a small village in the Bolivian Amazon,
and we had just begun the project phase of our trip.
My group of four students, along with Antonio and
myself, was in charge of delivering this filter five
kilometers deep in the forest to a family desperately
in need of clean water.
As we pushed and heaved the filter through the
forest with sweat dripping in our eyes and the sun
quickly setting, the immensity of the situation set in.
While Students Shoulder to Shoulder (SStS) aims to
fully immerse students in service learning trips
abroad, I was worried that we might be a bit too fully
immersed. Just as I began to doubt that we would
have time to deliver the water filter and get back to
camp before dark, we rounded a bend and saw the
home where we were to deliver the filter.
Nothing could have prepared me or my high school
students for the world we were about to enter. When
SStS say that they aim to guide trips that are “bold
enough to generate worldviews shaped by universal
values of justice, responsibility, and compassion,” I
can wholeheartedly say that they mean it. This trip
was nothing short of bold.
Everything is possible
by Bill Cotter, middle school science teacher
As we entered the family's home, which was a simple
roofed palapa lacking walls, with a family of seven
huddled underneath, the father came out to greet us.
We explained that we were here to deliver the water
filter that his family had requested through the Rio
Beni Health Foundation. For a minute, my high
school students fresh off the plane from the United
States and this family that lived deep in the Bolivian
Amazon stared at each other, until his smile and
welcome broke the nervous tension. Quickly, we got
to work.
In my time as a teacher, I have not seen anything as
powerful as I saw in those moments. My students,
who had spent the past week in Rurrenabaque,
Bolivia with the Rio Beni Health Foundation learning
about and building Bio-Sand filters, quickly put their
training to work. As two students began teaching the
family how the filter worked, I accompanied another
two down to the river where the family normally
fetched their drinking water. As the students carefully
filled their buckets in the muddy water, the silence
said it all. We were all in shock that up until this
moment, this mucky river water had sustained this
family. As we walked back from the river to place this
water into the filter, turning it into clean drinking
water, my students and I discussed the amazing
impact of this project.
It was in that moment that my experience with SStS
all came together. SStS is an organization based in
Vail, Colorado that prepares students to be global
citizens by programming service learning
expeditions in seven different countries. The
philosophy behind SStS is that for students to
become effective global citizens, they need direct
experience engaging their intellect and curiosity
through real world projects. I had signed up to be a
teacher leader for this trip because I believed very
strongly in their mission to “inspire high school
students to engage in responsible global citizenship
through on-line study, full immersion service
programs, and public presentation.”
At that moment there was no talk of missions,
philosophies, or educational goals. Instead, it was a
time of pure learning and engagement with the
world, a moment that will forever be in the hearts and
minds of my students and myself. We were not
simply learning the biology of water filtration, nor
were we on a trip to Bolivia. We were living the
mission of SStS by engaging our “intellects, curiosity,
and senses of obligation” to become “effective
global citizens.”
To learn more about Students Shoulder to
Shoulder please visit:
http://www.shouldertoshoulder.com/
To learn more about the Rio Beni Health
Foundation please visit:
http://www.netzerbrady.org/
EA RLY CHILDHOOD
Hicimos nuditos,
nuditos y nuditos,
son como nuditos de
thank you.
por Patty Gutiérrez, maestra de K6
ESF Gives An Opportunity
I have always thought that School is important and I have always had good
grades. But I did not realize how important they were until I needed them. One
day, at the beginning of second grade, my dad came back from work and said
he needed to talk privately with my mom. My parents never talked privately so I
knew it was something very bad. After a while my parents came back to the
kitchen. My mom explained how dad had lost his job but we would be ok. My
dad told us we would have to make some changes in how we spent our money
until he found a new job.
About a month after my mom and dad said they needed to talk to me they said
that I was going to have to keep my good work up at school. They explained I
had to get a scholarship if I wanted to stay in this school. Having a scholarship
made me give my best effort in school at all times. I felt more responsible.
School became my “job” and I had to work hard not to get fired. At school,
some of my friends stopped being my friends because I started to act “nerdy”,
not like the careless girl I was in first grade. Still some of my friends asked me
why I was so meticulous in my work and why I was so determined to not only
get good grades, but also obtain excellent grades.
Before this experience, perhaps, I was not the nicest girl. I was even mean to
the girl who is now my best friend. I have learned to be a better friend and I am
really against bullying. In the third grade I also experienced being a victim. Last
year, a friend of mine was getting bullied for doing the right thing and she did
not tell anyone. When I noticed, I went to the office. From this experience I
learned who my friends really were and school became far more meaningful.
Durante la colecta de suéteres y cobijas para ONI,
unos padres de familia de K6 decidieron hacer las
cobijas como proyecto de familia. Inspirados en esta
oportunidad para crear conciencia acerca del poder
de hacer felices a otros, propusimos a los niños la
idea de hacer este mismo tipo de cobijas para el
personal de mantenimiento, seguridad, cafetería y
servicio de copias del colegio.
Algunos de sus pensamientos:
“Sí, hay que hacerlas para que estén calientitos y vean
una película con su cobija y un chocolatito caliente.”
“Ellos vienen todos los días a limpiar y poner linda
nuestra escuela, también nos cuidan y nosotros les
damos las gracias y les hacemos algo lindo que les va
a gustar porque son de cuadritos y los cuadritos son
lindos.”
“Ellos nos ayudan y nosotros también los ayudamos a
que estén calientitos.”
Pedimos entonces ayuda al resto de los grupos de
preescolar y con la donación del material por parte
de los fondos de algunas ventas de pasteles
organizadas por padres de familia de preescolar,
comenzamos a trabajar.
y el personal de preescolar. Mamás, tías y abuelitas
vinieron a ayudar para terminar las cobijas. Algunas
maestras y papás se ofrecieron a llevarse cobijas a
casa y hacerlas como proyecto familiar, ¡y así
logramos hacer 70 cobijas!
Hicimos un video con la participación de
administradores, alumnos y padres de familia del
colegio, quienes expresaron su gratitud por toda la
gente que entrega su esfuerzo para hacer de nuestra
escuela un lugar mejor.
En diciembre, la directora de primaria organizó,
como cada año, las cajas navideñas con todos los
productos que trajeron los alumnos de todas las
secciones del ASFG. Este año, las cajas incluían una
cobija especial hecha con mucha paciencia, entrega
y agradecimiento.
Algunos niños fueron a la entrega de las cajas y
externaron su agradecimiento a nombre de todos los
niños de preescolar.
Al terminar el evento, compartimos fotos del evento
con los niños y algunos comentaron:
“A mí me gustó que fueran felices con sus cobijas.”
“Estoy feliz de que tengan cobijas para que no les dé
frío y no se vayan a enfermar, porque si se enferman,
se sienten muy mal.”
“Es importante hacer las cobijas porque en el invierno
te da frío y si nosotros nos esforzamos pues se les
quita el frío y son felices.”
“Las hicimos con mucho amor y nuditos.”
“Hicimos nuditos, nuditos y nuditos, son como
nuditos de thank you.”
Tuvimos una gran respuesta por parte de las familias
I have developed a love for learning and I have become more responsible. I still
have a scholarship and I’m fortunate to have it. For me, the most important
thing is that I have learned to be grateful for what I have and I have learned to
use my resources to stay in the school that I love.
Anonymous author
h igh sch oo l
Empty Bowls:
Nurturing Awareness
by Sofía Benítez, high school student
People go hungry every day: this is a fact. A
prevalent misconception, it is an issue exclusively
reserved to remote developing countries. The
matter of hunger is closer to each and every one of
us than we have probably cared to notice. It is no
simple concept, and as such, it has been the focus
of several humanitarian projects. It caught the
attention of the ASFG student body thanks to Chris
and Jodi Peterson, art teachers who use their craft,
and inspire others, to fight hunger one bowl at a
time.
IT´S ELEMENTA RY
that took place the day of the event. The
interpretations of Empty Bowls constitute a
collection of pieces that display talent and
collaboration. At the event, those who buy a bowl
can also enjoy a serving of soup provided by
restaurants in the city.
Regardless of our background, our age, or our
beliefs, knowing that the potential for making a
difference is within us is an empowering realization.
Whether it is a bowl that we make today, or an issue
we address tomorrow, we are constantly finding
ways to become involved in our community, to help
others, and thus grow as individuals that effect
greater change in our surroundings.
When the Social Activism Club was approached by
Chris Peterson one year ago, we were given the
opportunity to make a change in our own
community through art and activism. By creating
beautiful bowls, no two alike, we had a hands-on
experience that initiated a process of awareness
and expression. We learned that Empty Bowls is a
movement that transcends boundaries and has
been held in many countries, including Honduras. It
ties together artistic development and active
service.
The Social Activism Club was founded on student
initiative approximately three years ago. It seeks to
further incorporate students’ voices and
perspectives in the school environment, with a
political, social, and cultural focus. Some of the
social issues that have been addressed in the past
are discrimination, gender equality, social
interaction, relationships, and bullying. We enacted
the You Are not Alone campaign, inspired by the
work of artist Candy Chang, and we have guided
symposiums. Students from inside and outside the
club consistently sign up to lead and take part in
these activities. Empty Bowls, when first introduced,
triggered great student response and willingness to
develop it in our school community and beyond.
Before the event, several workshops took place.
High school students learned basic bowl-making
techniques and were then left free to unleash their
creativity. Each artist’s trademark was clearly
embedded in his or her bowl, and the color and
diversity that reigned over the tables the day of the
event was something remarkable. Absolutely
anyone could make a bowl, and though hesitant at
first, more students signed up than we could have
anticipated.
Local artists donated their artwork to a silent auction
Connecting Through Music
by Cristina González, early childhood and elementary music
teacher
This past month, I had the opportunity to travel to
Japan with my father and brother on a concert tour.
My brother, David, is a pianist and I accompanied
him by singing. David was born with Miller’s
syndrome. He only has four fingers on each hand
and his right arm is shorter than the left one. As
difficult as this might sound, this has not been an
obstacle for David to be able to play the piano. In
fact, my brother has won several prizes for his
amazing ability to play the piano. His second place
win in the Piano Paralympics in Vienna last
November was what lead my family to Tokyo this
past February.
About SAC:
The Social Activism club is a collaboration of
students from every level of high school, where
everyone contributes ideas, effort, and creativity in
order to accomplish our goals. Currently, there are
twenty-five members in the club, plus our advisor,
Mr. Liam O’Hara. We have a great combination of
veteran members who have been a part of the club
since it first began, as well as newly inducted
members who heard about what we do in school
and joined. Anyone who is interested may approach
Pamela Quirarte or myself, as well as Mr. O’Hara. All
help is welcome!
The concert, in Tokyo, was to recognize the winners;
pianists that despite their differences, in comparison
to other pianists, are amazingly talented. Singing in
another country was exciting and interesting, but
what impacted me the most on my trip was having
the opportunity to meet young people who, in spite
of various disabilities, were extremely passionate
about music.
I got to know Kanae, a girl with cerebral palsy, who
attests that music has helped her develop her
communication skills and her ability to talk, and it
has also helped her to become more self-confident.
With the use of just one finger, Kanae is able to play
beautiful melodies that express passion, love, and
devotion in every note.
Junichi was born deaf and Wung-Guei was born
blind but that didn’t stop them from becoming
pianists.
I was so very impressed with the determination I saw
to overcome all obstacles. Rather than focusing on
what they were unable to do, these young musicians
worked hard to multiply what they could do.
I think our community and everyone in it would be
much better off if each one of us could be
passionate about what we do and about life. It’s
funny that sometimes we forget how fortunate we
are and we complain about simple things. Let’s live
every day not looking at the things we can’t do, but
doing our best in what we are passionate about.
This will impact our lives and society.
I T´S ELEMEN TA R Y
P ROGRA MA MEXICA NO
Seguimos
demostrando
nuestro
compromiso con la
comunidad
por Iliana Fernández, Directora Técnica de primaria para
Programa Mexicano
Celebrating and Respecting Cultures!
by Renee U. Martinez, elementary school teacher, Jun Kee Lee and Regina Ledesma
4-32 is having fun learning about the Korean Lunar New Year with Jun Kee’s mom. In this picture, Jun Kee
shows Avril how to play Yutnori. They are dressed in traditional Korean clothes, called Hambok.
Uno de los objetivos de aprendizaje del ASFG es
que nuestros alumnos aprendan a ser líderes
pro-activos y comprometidos con su comunidad.
Como institución educativa, nos esforzamos por
transmitir ese mensaje, no sólo dentro de las aulas
sino en todo nuestro quehacer cotidiano. Así, tanto
maestros como personal administrativo se
involucran activamente en acciones que
contribuyen al crecimiento de diversos sectores de
la comunidad. Una muestra de ello es la reciente
colaboración con los colegios y escuelas de la zona
escolar a la que pertenecemos y con el Consejo
Nacional de Fomento Educativo (CONAFE).
Como institución líder en el ámbito educativo, el
ASFG ha extendido el alcance de la capacitación
continúa que ofrece a sus maestros y directivos a
través de la diseminación de tales conocimientos y
habilidades entre los directivos de las escuelas y
colegios de la zona escolar a la que pertenecen
nuestras diferentes secciones. Personal del
Programa Mexicano ha ofrecido presentaciones
sobre diversos temas de actualización pedagógica
durante las reuniones de Consejo Técnico de Zona.
Mexicano también ha sido anfitrión de las reuniones
del Consejo Técnico de Zona de primaria y
preescolar en enero y febrero
respectivamente. En tales ocasiones, se abrieron las
puertas de los salones de clases para que los más
de 20 directores de escuelas de nuestra zona
escolar, conocieran de primera mano nuestro
sistema de trabajo y llevaran libremente a sus
maestros las experiencias vividas. Cabe mencionar
que fuimos objeto de múltiples felicitaciones por el
trabajo de nuestros profesores y nuestra
supervisora de primaria participó en un webinar de
Literatura Balanceada que nuestro colegio ofreció a
los maestros del Programa Mexicano de primaria y
escuela media.
Otra instancia de colaboración con la comunidad
fue la participación del ASFG en la capacitación
tecnológica para maestros que tuvo lugar en
nuestro campus. A este evento asistieron un grupo
de maestros de diversas poblaciones del Estado de
Jalisco, representantes de Google, Laboratorios
Julio y autoridades de la Secretaría de Educación
Jalisco (SEJ) y el CONAFE. El propósito de esta
reunión fue brindar capacitación a dichos maestros
en el manejo de las tabletas que les fueron donadas
y nuestro colegio les facilitó los recursos
tecnológicos y la capacitación impartida por la
maestra Dominique Dynes.
En el ASFG nos sentimos orgullosos de poder
compartir con otras escuelas nuestros recursos y
prácticas docentes. Haciendo patente nuestra visión
de ser una institución educativa líder, contribuimos
así a la superación del nivel educativo de los niños y
jóvenes de la comunidad jaliscience.
El Programa
Caring Friendships
4-32 had fun decorating cookies and sharing with
their reading buddies on Valentine’s Day!
I N TH E MIDDL E
Service Learning and
Global Citizenship
by Melissa Gibson, middle school social studies teacher
Our 21st-century world stands at a crossroads of
promise and great peril. Thanks to globalization and
technology, we are more connected with our
brothers and sisters around the globe than we ever
have been. The promise of this interconnectedness
is the potential to expand worldviews, to build
empathy and cultural understanding, and to allow
for greater collaboration in the fight for justice and
human rights (think Twitter and the Arab Spring).
But there is also peril. Whether we look at the
Walmartification of the world, the destruction of
local cultures, or the environmental and human
impact of global capitalism, it is pretty clear that the
world is in a scary moment. For adolescents, the
state of the world can be overwhelming, especially
when the perils loom larger than the promises. It is
tempting, as teachers and parents, to try to protect
our children from these realities. Yet as American
writer James Baldwin reminds us, “You must change
society if you think of yourself as an educated
person.”
In eighth grade social studies, we take his charge
seriously. Our focus, in both the US Civics and
Model United Nations courses, is on global
citizenship. Not the rose-colored glasses kind
focused on food, fairs, and festivals, but the real
deal: How can we make this connected world a
better place? How can we bring the promises to life
but keep the perils at bay? How can we use our
education to improve this world we all share?
In our Model United Nations course, students
engage with these questions through cross-cultural
experiences and learning. Students spent half the
year studying pressing global issues (such as the
Syrian refugee crisis or the regulation of GMOs) and
trying to imagine solutions from the perspective of
another nation, such as the Central African Republic.
Then, over four days in Washington, DC, we worked
alongside thousands of other teenagers in an
attempt to carve out solutions to global problems
IN THE MIDDLE
that even our best politicians struggle to solve. Now,
through a virtual exchange program sponsored by
the Global Nomads Group, we are collaborating
with a girls’ school in Amman, Jordan, in order to
analyze global problems through one another’s
eyes and help one another develop culturally
sensitive solutions to these problems. Walking in
someone else’s shoes and seeing the world through
their eyes—whether through UN simulations or by
building cross-cultural relationships—is at the heart
of teaching for global citizenship.
Also at the heart of teaching for global citizenship is
service learning. Service learning is a form of
democratic education that has students learn about
and take action on pressing social issues—students
serve and learn in tandem. In our US Civics class,
students are building from their study of democratic
citizenship to investigate a social issue (such as
global warming, extreme poverty, and educational
inequality) that faces a community to which they
belong. Students have been researching issues for
several months and are now embarking on the
process of designing a solution or planning an
action that they can take, individually or collectively.
From making iBooks and YouTube documentaries to
volunteering with local groups or organizing for
community change, students will understand what it
means to be a conscientious and engaged citizen,
one who not only serves the community in a variety
of ways but also thinks critically about why social
problems exist in the first place. While we’ll be
working on a local scale, it is this practice of active
citizenship that I hope will transform our students
into change agents in their global community.
This transformation is a marvel to watch. Already,
students are more curious: “Miss, can we talk about
what’s happening in Venezuela?” “Miss, why do
people think Mexico’s education is so bad?” “Miss, is
throwing a party really the best way to help La
Huizachera?” “Miss, why aren’t people doing more
to stop these problems?”
What I hope my students see, is that through study,
service, and relationships, they themselves have the
power to “stop these problems.” They can be the
global leaders that the world is waiting for.
i N TH E MIDDL E
Comprometidos con la
paz, la diversidad y la
problemática ambiental
por Aizuri Minakata Viramontes, maestra de español de escuela
media
Formar ciudadanos comprometidos es una parte de
los objetivos de aprendizaje del ASFG, pero ¿qué
puede significar esto cuando se cursa el quinto
grado? En esta etapa de la vida en la que se inicia la
adolescencia, caracterizada por un lado por algunos
rasgos como: la búsqueda de la independencia, la
identidad y la pertenencia (entre otros), y por otro
lado, el egocentrismo.
¿Cómo hacer para proporcionar experiencias en las
que, logrando respetar a los alumnos en esta etapa
de sus vidas, pudiéramos también apoyarlos en el
desarrollo de la empatía, el respeto y el
compromiso?
IN THE MIDDLE
A partir de estas dudas, fue que tratamos de
encontrar respuestas en el equipo de maestros de
quinto grado.
Para empezar, definimos el propósito para las
actividades de servicio a la comunidad para el
primer grado de middle school: exponer a los
alumnos a experiencias que les muestren las
necesidades que existen en algunos de los grupos
vulnerables en su comunidad, para que se
concienticen sobre las diferencias en el entorno.
Una vez definida la misión, pudimos concretar el
proyecto en el que ofreceríamos tres opciones para
que los alumnos pudieran escoger y con esto,
estaríamos ayudándolos en su desarrollo integral,
pues tendrían la libertad de elegir las actividades
con las que más se identificaran.
No empezamos de cero, como ya es sabido; desde
hace muchos años que los alumnos de quinto
grado conviven con las alumnas de La Escuela para
Niñas Ciegas; pero no era suficiente. Una visita por
grupo de “advisory” al año y una “albercada”,
además de darles regalos y ayudarles a financiar
algunas cosas que necesitaban, nos parecían que
eran actividades que marcaban el inicio de algo
que nunca se lograba concretar y que tampoco se
lograba reflexionar a profundidad. Entonces nos
preguntamos: ¿Cómo íbamos a lograr que se
desarrollara la empatía, el compromiso y las otras
actitudes de compromiso social?
Buscando respuestas y otras opciones, el año
pasado nos enteramos que en los poblados donde
están los pueblos wirráricas había escasez de
alimento, por lo que varios grupos de personas se
preocuparon por los niños indígenas de Jalisco; las
cifras de desnutrición y de pobreza extrema
aparecían en los periódicos y en las noticias, así que
nos unimos al grupo de títeres La Cucaracha y a La
Casa de Salud Huichola para apoyarlos con
alimentos y al mismo tiempo aprendimos sobre las
leyendas y los usos y costumbres de su cultura. Así
fue que añadimos una opción más.
se quemó once veces, en época de secas y, al
parecer, se debe a la mano del hombre que se
provocan estos incendios. Sería una opción para
aquellos alumnos que tienen “habilidades
naturalistas” (Gardner, 2008), y que estén
interesados en la problemática ambiental, pues tal
parece que cada vez más, los árboles nos
estorbaran, porque “echan basura e impiden el
caótico crecimiento de Guadalajara”.
Me parece que es a través de las actividades de
servicio a la comunidad variadas, que estamos
ofreciendo la oportunidad a los alumnos para que
practiquen los valores universales y logren
encontrar un día, la trascendencia como seres
humanos satisfechos de su desarrollo humano
incluyente.
Creemos que al dar a los alumnos diferentes
propuestas y al dejarlos elegir, estarán más
comprometidos y tendrán una experiencia más
enriquecedora, pues será un mismo grupo el que
haga un solo proyecto todo el año; lo relacionará
con lo que está estudiando y en cada uno de los
casos se lograrán ver resultados al final del ciclo
escolar, por ejemplo: la relación entre nuestros
niños y los niños invidentes será más firme porque
habrán hecho varias cosas juntos y en todas las
actividades serán las mismas parejas (un niño de La
Escuela para Niños Ciegos y uno del ASFG).
En el caso del trabajo con Los Amigos del Nixticuil,
aprenderemos a comprender cómo podemos vivir
en armonía con la naturaleza, así como las
dificultades por las que se pasa para poder
preservar áreas naturales en la actualidad.
Queremos hacer un huerto en la escuela partiendo
de los conocimientos y apoyo que nos ofrecerán
personas del Fraccionamiento Privado Los
Guayabos y del grupo del Nixticuil.
En el caso de la Casa de Salud Huichola, el grupo
empezó a conocer aspectos de la cultura y al final
del año esperamos que aprendan a respetarla;
queremos lograr que la cultura wirrárica sea
admirada por sus artesanías y por ser parte de la
rica herencia indígena que forma nuestro país.
Este año incluimos una tercera opción, que es el
apoyo a La Asociación de Amigos del Nixticuil,
Bosques Sustentables, A.C. Este grupo está tratando
de proteger una gran extensión de bosque y
naturaleza que está amenazada por los límites del
área metropolitana de Guadalajara. El año pasado
ASF G gr een
HIGH S CHOOL
ASFG Parents
Support
Litter-Free
Education &
Recycling in
Chapala
by Andrea Senkowski, Aldara Alonso, Regina García, and
Liliana Terán, ASFG Parents
In the 1980s, the Gilberto Organization
emerged after the devastation left in Mexico by
Hurricane Gilberto. A group of women,
alongside the First Lady of Mexico, organized to
help make a difference by teaching families how
to improve their quality of life through various
educational programs. In 2014, the Gilberto
Chapala Organization has turned its attention to
assist the underprivileged in Chapala by
implementing an anti-littering program, as well
as to provide educational and infrastructural
help to a local recycling center.
By educating students at Foránea 56 High
School in San Juan Tecomatlán about the many
effects of littering, we will help students
understand the benefits of recycling plastic
bottles (both environmental and financial).
Eventually, we will incorporate more waste
materials to be recycled as well as introduce
composting to be used in growing organic fruits
and vegetables.
With the help of ASFG Green with this project,
we have begun the work towards a more
environmentally friendly community in Chapala.
The San Juan Tecomatlán project is interested in
making links to the environment as well as our
ASFG Green community. Thank you ASFG!
If you would like to get involved, please contact
[email protected]
Collaborative
and Talented
by Stacy Ohrt-Billingslea, high school drama teacher
Theater is a collaborative and immediate art form. It
employs the talents of live performers who present
a story, real or imaginative, for an audience. It is a
reflection of life that reveals truths of humanity,
provokes questions, and empowers us to seek and
create change. It educates, inspires, and entertains.
For me, theater and teaching are my passions and
for all I give, I get double in return. It is passion for
the stage that burns inside me, but it is the
connections with the students and the artists, the
collaborators who are committed to a common
goal, that make a stimulating journey and successful
production. We create a community that gives to a
greater community an experience that can educate,
inspire, and entertain.
With I Never Saw Another Butterfly (stories from the
children of Terezin and the Holocaust), Brundibar
(together children stand up to bullies), The Colunga
Performance (a lyrical performance piece for
Artfest), and the timeless Dr. Seuss-inspired
Seussical the Musical, I have had the pleasure of
collaborating with over 300 individuals here at
ASFG – teachers, students, administration, faculty,
and parents.
What we bring to the table and learn through the
process helps us understand our role in our
community. Over the years, I have worked with
many talented artists, teachers, and students. These
people also tend to excel in many other areas. They
are the students who are involved in everything.
They are leaders, they are mentors, they are
intelligent, they are creative. Through careful
observation and experience, I have discovered
many common characteristics among people who
gravitate to or excel in the arts.
Qualities of a Successful Collaborator
1. Risk takers
2. Creative thinkers and problem solvers
3. Flexible attitudes, not thwarted by failure
4. Imaginative and playful
5. Positive outlook: their glass is always half full
6. Responsible, on time, committed
7. Lifelong learners
8. Skilled listeners, reflective responders
9. Open-minded
10. Curious
11. Empathetic
12. Willing to be goofy
13. Sense of humor and innate talent are always a
bonus!
When starting any new collaborative creative
project, my job is to rally these collaborators. To do
so I usually start with my version of Henry the V:
“Once more unto the breach dear friends,
remember as we begin, everyone involved in this
journey shares the same goal, to have fun and be
successful. If we give our absolute best we will
create something AWESOME, once more.”
This is exactly what we are doing here at ASFG.
Together, we can evoke change. Together we
educate, inspire, and – heck, why not? – entertain.

CONNEXION mar 2014 - The American School Foundation of

Transcription

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