Project Phongsali 2011: Correspondents from D.C. Everest Middle School will help us connect with students and staff.
Week Five
Day Thirty:
We Help War Victims has ardent supporters among students in the D.C. Everest Area School District, Schofield Wisconsin. The Everest district, like many others in central Wisconsin, has a diverse enrollment that includes ethnic Hmong and Lao families that arrived as refugees from the Indochina War. While many refugee families have resided in Wisconsin since 1975, the year the Royal Lao government fell, others arrived just in the last decade; the largest recent influx occurred in 2003 after the closing of the Hmong refugee compound at Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand.
Teachers in the Everest District work diligently to help students understand historic events of the Indochina War and the unique experiences of refuge people. They conduct special projects and teach dedicated units that instill in students respect for ethnic, racial and religious diversity.
During Project Phongsali 2011, we are making a concerted effort to remain in frequent contact with Everest teachers and students. This has been a challenging goal since we are laboring twelve time zones away in villages that lack electricity, phone service, and internet connection.
To advance communication with the Everest district, we have appointed two student correspondents who are following our work via periodic telephone calls that we place from the field, when conditions permit. Those correspondents then share our real-time, first person reports with their classmates via newsletter articles and public address announcements at their school.
In addition, D.C. Everest Middle School students are again conducting a service-learning project in which they raise funds to support our efforts. (Information about their fundraising can be found on our blog. See the entry dated June 1, 2010, entitled, “Vietnam Magazine: Students Sell ‘Lollies’ For Laos”.
Here are brief background statements to introduce our readers to our talented student correspondents. Follow our blog to read their postings and learn more about their school.
Hi my name is Jack. I am in the leadership institute of my school. My favorite sport is tennis. I have traveled to four different states to play in competitive tennis tournaments, and last year my team won the Midwest 12’s advance division. I am currently the President of my Student Council and have been a straight A student for four years.
I have one sister, and a few pets. I am a trumpeter in my school band (I got one of the hardest solos this year) and also play the piano. I take German in school, although I have been speaking the language since I was little with my Grandmother who is from Germany. My family loves to travel and we have visited sites all over the world.
My name is Davis and I am in 6th grade. I enjoy my school and teachers. My favorite subjects are Science, Math, Language Arts, and Ancient Civilization. In am the percussionist in the school band and enjoy playing in the concerts with my friends. I am a member of Student Council and my brother is President. Outside of school, I am a competitive figure skater at the Juvenile level, and take ballet at my Grandmothers school. At home, I play the piano and drums, love my pets, enjoy spending time with family, and working for charities. Even though I am not in “Leadership”, I love to help Mr. Harris and the Lollies for Laos project.