Sunday, September 30, 2012

Headed to Haiti


How did a whole month go by without a single post? I know, I don’t have a good excuse other than being busy with school and the fact that there are so many different Real Housewives’ shows on (don’t judge)! In all seriousness my time has been spent on something wonderful!  I was recently selected along with 13 other Charter Schools USA employees to go to Francois, Haiti October 8th – October 14th on a mission trip. Our efforts will help the students and staff at The Genecoit Vertus School of Excellence. Currently the school has a little over 200 students and operates in a church without electricity or running water. Our main goal is to raise awareness about the school and bring supplies for the students in need.
My school here in South Florida has been collecting markers and glue sticks for me to take to Haiti and just this past Friday, many students donated $1 each to help the students in Francois. Between donations that were collected at school and sent to me by our families, we have raised close to $900! It truly is remarkable what can happen when we all pull together for a common cause!

While in Haiti, we will also be providing professional development for the staff and working with the students.  Two days will be spent teaching lessons of our choice. I naturally picked first grade and planned two reading lessons on story sequencing with pictures, a math lesson on bar graphs, and a science lesson on life cycles. Because the majority of the students speak French at the school, I will have a translator with me at all times to help with the lessons. We will end the school week with a field day for all of the students. This just may be the perfect opportunity to redeem myself from the epic three-legged race fail when I was in the fourth grade. We’ll see.

When I first heard about the mission trip at a conference in August, I was moved to tears and I knew instantly that I wanted to be apart of this amazing experience. I, too, wanted to make a positive impact on young children living in such a fragile country. I know this will be a life-changing experience for me and I cannot wait to share it with you all upon my return. 

Thank you to my loving husband for always pushing me to be a better person and thank you to my family and friends for your love and support from afar. It has meant so much to me and it will mean even more to those less fortunate than us.

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