FUSD Elementary School Teachers Informed of Pennies for Peace
Locate your pointer in the middle of the picture . Click to enlarge it.
Use the web page back button to return the picture to its normal size.
AAUW and California Retired Teacher Association representatives met with Fremont Unified School District elementary school teachers from 20 Fremont schools to inform them how the Pennies for Peace program will work The meetings were held on September 4 and 11.
The teachers, who each received two Three Cups of Tea books to take back to their schools, are representatives of a district-wide program entitled H3 which stands for heart, head and hands. The objective of this program is to shape capable, caring, socially responsible youth through character education and service learning.
It’s the hands part that has to do with service learning and that’s where Pennies for Peace comes in. Teachers in the classrooms will pass along information to children on Afghanistan and Pakistan and encourage them to give pennies to the Central Asian Institute, the non-profit organization that collects money for schools in those two countries. Greg Mortenson is founder and head of the CAI and describes the adventures and misadventures of building schools for children, especially girls, in these two countries.
Sara Hinkel, AAUW member and retired teacher, is Pennies for Peace chairperson. “My 90-year-old mother read the book,” said Sara at the September 4th meeting, “and couldn’t put it down. The Pennies for Peace program can make an impact for peace on a global scale.”
AAUW and the CRTA have put together two packets for the Pennies for Peace program – one for primary school students and another for upper grade youngsters who will help describe the book to younger students.
Buckets will be provided each classroom participating in the fundraiser and volunteers will empty them every Friday. These buckets have been donated by Dale Hardware.
Genevieve Angelides asked the teachers at the September 11 get-together to read the book to the children. She informed teachers that Greg Mortenson will be in Fremont to talk to students and adults on March 3, 2009.
“This program,” said Genevieve, “is so exciting for all of us. Its’ gone beyond anything we envisioned and has caught the imagination of the school district and the public. I know the children will be inspired by it.”