Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Casady Challenge 20/20 purpose

Hello, we are Casady's Challenge 20/20 group, we have been discussing and promoting the Challenges in High Noon, and we have come an an conclusion of selling reusable aluminum water bottles to reduce the average number of plastic bottles in our recycling bins from 200 each week to 100 or less by the end of the year. We were wondering if we could use NAIS' Logo on our school bottles to promote NAIS and Challenge 20/20. We were also wondering if we could receive a small stipend from NAIS on each bottle, to help fund the bottles distributed throughout our high-school and possible all the lower-divisions.

The profits from water bottle sales will be used to purchase a toolkit which includes instruments to measure the amount of electricity used when an item that is not in use is left plugged in, the quality of the air in any given location, etc. This toolkit will allow Challenge 20/20 to pinpoint the places where very simple changes can greatly affect the overall quality of Casady's campus in terms of the environment, which can cut energy costs and enhance the learning of students.

Josh OU

Teacher Tube

New technology at teachers' finger tips: http://www.teachertube.com/

Be a Vegetarian for a Week-Reduce your Carbon Foot Print



Today, we would like to share with you some information which may help us think more about being KIND to ourselves, our planet, and other living things.

When we mention Buddhism, most of us will think about compassion and enlightenment. How do we apply them to our daily living?

With widespread energy crisis, global warming, pollution, and water and food shortage, what can we do to help? Use less energy, drive less, conserve water?

Did you know we can make a bigger difference if we changed the way we ATE?

We cam make a A BIG difference by avoiding eating meat for just ONE day a week. Join so many others who have already pledged to take this little step towards making a big difference in OUR world.

"Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." -- Albert Einstein

When we understand the truth, we can choose the appropriate actions. Be kind to our planet, to ourselves, and to the animals.

Amituofo!

Buddha Mind Monastery
5916 S Anderson Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73150
405-869-0501
www.ctbuddhamind.org

Friday, November 20, 2009

Casady Challenge 20/20 takes action




"If you're interested in buying one of Challenge 20/20's BPA-free water bottles there are order forms on all the lockers. If you buy a water bottle you'll not only be helping the environment by reducing the amount of plastic in the recycling bins, you'll be saving yourself because these bottles are BPA-free. BPA is a carcinogen (which means it can cause cancer) and it can leech into your water if the bottle isn't BPA-free. The bottles are $12 each, or $13 if you don't want the Casady crest. Please return the order forms to a Challenge 20/20 member, Mrs. Clay, or the main office."

As you may have heard, the Challenge 20/20 student group is going to sell Bisphenol A (BPA)-free reusable aluminum water bottles in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by Casady students.
1) Our goal is to have full participation in every grade.
2) The water bottles will be personally engraved with whatever WORDS or name the student wishes to engrave (15 characters max)
3) There will be a $12 charge to the bookbill for each bottle purchased.
4) When a student uses one of the bottles, they are reducing the amount of plastic waste that they normally produce. It is also healthier/safer to use these BPA-free water bottles because they do not leech carcinogens into the contained liquids like other bottles do.
5) The profits from water bottle sales will be used to purchase a toolkit which includes instruments to measure the amount of electricity used when an item that is not in use is left plugged in, the quality of the air in any given location, etc. This toolkit will allow Challenge 20/20 to pinpoint the places where very simple changes can greatly affect the overall quality of Casady's campus in terms of the environment, which can cut energy costs and enhance the learning of students.

A picture of what the bottles will look like is on the flyers that you'll find on your lockers.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Schools Go Green


Educators Grow Green Schools by Vivian Loftness
Credit: Allison Kendall
Green schools are emerging around the country, and they are nothing short of spectacular. Whether built from the ground up or retrofitted, they are awash in daylight and the glow of natural wood, equipped with individualized air, light, and temperature control, and surrounded by rich landscapes designed to shade and regenerate our air and water.
Green schools cost less than 2 percent more than conventional schools to build but provide 20 times the financial benefits, according to author Greg Kats [1]. Even in existing schools that are making smaller changes to lighten their impact on the planet, the benefits are obvious: savings in energy, water, materials, land, and transportation. In a 2006 study of 30 American schools, Kats identified an average 33 percent reduction in energy use and a 32 percent reduction in water use in green schools (as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council [2]) when compared with conventional schools.
Less well known are the seemingly invisible assets of environmentally healthy buildings. A school designed to have a smaller carbon footprint can also have a big impact on the learning and health of its students, improving test scores, reducing absenteeism, advancing new levels of learning, and reducing asthma and allergies. Good ventilation, daylight, cleanliness, reduced noise -- all attributes of green design -- are not merely aesthetic improvements; they can actually promote better educational outcomes.

Proving the Power of Green
Recently, as a member of a National Academy of Sciences committee, I reviewed a large pool of research related to standards developed by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools [3] and the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [4] (LEED) certification system.
Quantifying the health and learning benefits of green schools is not easy, becuase there are so few studies available. But our report, "Review and Assessment of the Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools [5]," concluded that a number of green-school attributes are vital to health and learning.

To begin with, green schools take the challenge of keeping water out -- a necessity for health -- to a sophisticated level. Green, dry schools are designed to capture rain for landscape irrigation and use recycled water in the building. Second, green schools are designed to be well insulated, without "thermal bridges," or cold surfaces, that might result in condensation and water damage.

Managing excessive moisture in the form of leaks, visible dampness, or visible mold has been associated with reduced asthma and respiratory disease in schoolchildren.

In a 2002 study of 32 schools in Finland, researchers identified an average 15 percent reduction in the prevalence of the common cold during springtime in school buildings that had no moisture or mold problems as compared with moisture or mold-damaged schools.

Green schools are designed to have excellent indoor air quality. Reducing indoor pollutant sources, providing adequate quantities of outside air, and ensuring maintenance of the filters and ventilation system have been linked to reducing absenteeism and improving teacher productivity and student learning. In a 2006 study of 54 elementary schools, researchers identified a 14.4 percent improvement in standardized math test scores in classrooms with a ventilation rate that was double the norm.

Local thermal comfort also has a measured impact on student achievement. Better windows as well as walls and floors that do not get too cold or too hot are elements of green-school design, as are up-to-date controls with careful commissioning of mechanical systems.

The next generation of green schools must go even further. They should provide each teacher with local temperature controls independent of fresh-air delivery, along with the ability to open high and low windows to provide a quick refresh of room air without drafts. Future buildings also must manage solar overheating with awnings and shades that do not eliminate light or view.

Most green school buildings are designed or retrofitted to be quiet, managing traffic noise, room reverberation, and noise transmission between rooms. Managing noise in classrooms has been shown to improve student learning and the development of language skills, as well as protecting teachers' vocal cords.

In a 2002 study of 10 preschools, researchers in Stockholm found an 11 percent reduction in vocal strain among teachers in quiet classrooms (with background noise levels of about 55 decibels) as compared with those in noisy classrooms (at a surprisingly common 75 decibels).

Green schools -- both new and renovated -- also are designed to be easy to clean, a necessity for good indoor air quality. Keeping desk and contact surfaces disinfected to help prevent the transmission of infectious diseases and implementing pest-control measures to help control indoor pollutants -- all green-school attributes -- have been associated with reduced levels of respiratory disease.

Finally, when building systems are commissioned to meet the intent of green design, and routine preventive maintenance continues throughout a building's life cycle, the likelihood that the building will remain dry, comfortable, quiet, and clean grows, as do the satisfaction and performance of teachers, students, and administrators.
A Bright Green Future

Some of my favorite attributes of green schools -- daylight, links to outdoor classrooms, and school buildings that serve as labs -- deserve further study to demonstrate their importance to health and learning across the nation.

Green schools almost always are designed around daylight in every space and around views of nature. As long as windows are controlled to eliminate glare and summer overheating, they provide benefits for students and teachers alike: higher light levels without energy costs, excellent illumination of educational materials, and views of nature and the passage of time. Visual access to the outdoors, from morning to night and season to season, is important to our circadian rhythms and our sleep cycles.

One of the most famous school-building studies, completed by the Heschong Mahone Group, identifies test scores 7-26 percent higher for schoolchildren in classrooms with plentiful natural light than for those in classrooms with little or no daylight. Windows also can support natural ventilation, especially with high and desk-height windows that provide free cooling through most of the academic year and let outside air flow into stuffy classrooms as needed.

Ideally, green classrooms are linked to outdoor learning and recreation spaces. The importance of physical activity and of outdoor learning through three-dimensional playgrounds, edible gardens, and nature walks has been highlighted by organizations like the Children & Nature Network [6] and in books such as Richard Louv [7]'s Last Child in the Woods.

In a 2008 field study of 17 children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, researchers identified a 17 percent improvement in concentration performance at memory tasks after a 20-minute guided walk in a natural park as compared with a walk in a downtown setting or a residential setting.

Although not a standard characteristic yet, green schools should be within walking distance of students and teachers. Green schools in neighborhoods designed for walking, or at least in transit-oriented communities where some walking can be assumed, provide recreational and meeting spaces that support the community, improve neighborhood safety and vitality, and ensure the immeasurable benefits of physical exercise.

A San Diego study identified 60 percent obesity rates in low-density, "nonwalkable" neighborhoods as compared with 35 percent in "walkable" neighborhoods.

Finally, green schools should be rich with environmental materials and learning -- a living laboratory for children. Our role in climate change is the topic of the century, with environmental curriculum emerging at every level of schooling.

At the same time, educational researchers emphasize the value of hands-on and tactile learning and of experimentation to engage and capture the interests of students. The opportunities to understand the flow of heat, light, air, sound, and energy in buildings and to teach the science, the math, the history, and the art of innovation for our shared future is most powerfully delivered when the school is a living laboratory.

Our commitment to the environmental quality of our school buildings, in both new and renovated schools, must go hand in hand with our commitment to environmental education and to education that is effective in a highly competitive global economy.
The environmental benefits of green schools are becoming clear; the health and performance benefits now need the spotlight. Going a step further and designing our schools to be environmental learning labs will help create a new generation of green consumers, inventors, installers, and educators. It is a brilliant cycle of win-win both for the Earth and for our children.

Vivian Loftness is a professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Source URL: http://www.edutopia.org/green-schools-student-health-performance
Links:
[1] http://www.cap-e.com/mission/default.cfm#greg
[2] http://www.usgbc.org
[3] http://www.chps.net/resources
[4] http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
[5] http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11574
[6] http://www.childrenandnature.org
[7] http://richardlouv.com

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Communication with Matthew from NY

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Possible Conference Presentation

How about presenting Challenge 20/20 2009-2010 at the Social Studies Conference? Why present? If proposal approved, even if no one attends our presentation, we get $300. We will allocate those $300 to purchase the Green School Tool Kit for Challenge 20/20 for energy audits in 2010 and for the science teachers to have as a resource, to start a fund buy recyclable water bottles and big event recyclable bins.

Presenting is a way of reflecting, evaluating, and setting goals and a path for the future. It is a win/win opportunity and we have time to prepare because the presentation is on February 6, but the deadline for the presentation proposal is Nov. 20. We have presented the Challenge 20/20 project : Hunger Challenge in the past. We used the money for Walk the World expenses.

Brainstorming the Presentation

1. Brainstorming Titles ..
The Question: Climate Change. The Solution: Schools Living Green
Green Schools: Global Challenges, Local Solutions
Green Schools: Intergenerational Entrepreneurial
Green Schools: Change Becomes Peace

2. Brainstorming Possible Abstract:
If there are six billion+ paths to peace/change, what is ours? We will show how children, youth and adults are embracing a "greener school climate." See approaches to water usage awareness, energy conservation, reduction of ecological and carbon footprint. You might find your path to green school change. "Green" door prizes.

Thank you Josh and Rebecca for writing the grant that gave us the Facing the Future curriculum on climate change and digital cameras...

Possible presentation collaborators:

a. Dave Wilton from Facing the Future: Door Prizes for educators: He sent the following e-mail: Thank you for including Facing the Future in your proposal brainstorming. If it's mainly edcuators that you think would be coming to your workshop, I would be happy to send along copies of our book "Engaging Students through Global Issues" on CD to give to attendees. All I ask in return is that you share some basic information about Facing the Future. Ideally, if you have time, I would encourage you to consider finding an example of an engaging lesson activity (doesn't have to be and FTF lesson) to people can experience what it would be like to carry the ideas from your presentation back to their school/community and have a way to engage their students/neighbors with issues you've presented. Happy to be of further assistance if you would like. I hope your trip to Keystone was illuminating. Best wishes! Dave
Dave Wilton
ASSISTANT OUTREACH DIRECTOR | FACING THE FUTURE
811 First Ave., Suite 454 | Seattle, WA 98104 | www.facingthefuture.org
T 206-264-1503 F 206-264-1506 E dave@facingthefuture.org



b. I have also beautiful ornaments made out of recycled paper that we can paint and give as door prizes- Mrs. Czerwinski could take a couple of minutes to explain how she does this project with her pre-school class. They are beautiful. Have not had a reply from Mrs. CZ yet

3. Brainstorming process of presentation: CHANGE becomes peace

Explain Challenge 20/20 via video.(3 minutes). Explain the green schools pilot program and Facing the Future.org CONNECTIONS. Explain how our connection to Susie Shields from the DEQ and Putnam City North students CAST empowered us to expand our environmental school outreach from paper recycling to plastic and cans. Explain what part of the green school pilot program we will be implementing with the $300 stipend...Explain the Energy Audit tool kit. UD Science teachers could explain how they have used the two instruments we have obtained from Mrs. Shields so far. Explain our connection to Facing the Future: Wrote grant, received free curriculum, and digital cameras. Connection of digital cameras to Challenge 20/20 hunger initiative through Ollantaytambo project. Miss Bornhoft could have a part in the presentation. We might also ask her to bring her Vegi Club perspective too. I am sending copy of this e-mail to her too. Explain our administrative leadership: path to paperless school, LEED Building, etc. Maybe we could take a couple minutes video of Mr. Bright explaining our LEED building.

Explain how Challenge 20/20 plans to expand "reduction of carbon and ecological footprint as well as water and energy conservation...I have great Facing the Future handouts on water...Byron could explain Mr. Bottomly's class project on Water for All.. Josh and Rebecca, you could explain how your experience has changed from freshman to junior year through CONNECTIONS. I will ask Susie Shields to consider having a minute or two on ecological footprint. I have been fascinated by the High School Living Green Presentation. Susie Shields knows the source of that PP. I think it might have been from Edmond North. Mrs. Zesiger and Mr. Reynolds took the environmental freshman group that year to the site visit. Maybe environmental club and Mrs. Zesiger could have a part in the presentation too. We can have an 8th grader from Mr. Sappington last year class explain their energy consumption awareness Earth Day project if Mr. Sappington is not available. Mr. Sappington said he could be interested in presenting his project with us.

4. CHANGE BECOMES PEACE (Change a path to peace): SARAH might explain how educating to be green is a path to peace and a way to embrace diversit. Explain how being green expands our understanding of diversity...We might consider having birds and pinwheels decorating the room. We might consider sending an e-mail to Haru to see if he would consider sending path to peace, be the cards and T-shirts for participants.

I will ask Keystone Adventure School and farm http://www.keystoneadventureschool.com/index.htm to consider sharing their vegetable garden and composting project as well as their rain forest project.

Project Budburst: Could this be a possibility?

Project BudBurst : Fall has arrived - celebrate the change of seasons with Project BudBurst! Get outside with your students and have them make observations of seeds ripening, leaf color change, leaf drop, and other interesting changes. It's easy to participate and provides a great learning opportunity at any time of the year. The Project BudBurst team has a goal of reaching 5,000 phenophase observations this Fall and needs your help! http://www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst

November 2009 Investigational Site Visit


Pictures by Deric

Casady Challenge 20/20 Executive Board Josh, Sarah and Deric were joined by Katie and Ritt Mrs. Zesiger, Mrs. Linn and Mr. Reynolds in their investigational site visit to Keystone Elementary School and Farm, an award winning "green school" and "pilot of the pilot Oklahoma Green School Program." The school was founded by former Heritage Hall Elementary School teachers. It is in its 5th year of operations and as John Duhon, the director of projects stated, "every year we are blessed with the opportunity to open our doors to an amazing group of kids>" (55 children attend the school)
Keystone Adventure School and Farm: http://keystoneadventureschool.com/ Keystone Adventure School and Farm is located on the N.W. corner of Danforth(192nd) and Western in Edmond, OK. You can call us at (405)216-5400 19201 N. Western, Edmond, OK 73012





After the visit the brainstorming began

Sarah: I'm not entirely sure how feasible this would be but if some of the tools in the greenschool toolkit could be given to the lower schoolers to let them see how much energy is wasted...kinda do the same thing that Keystone does in letting the kids discover the problems and come up with their own solutions. but of course getting their solutions implemented at Casady would be a lot more difficult than at Keystone. either way it would allow them to learn about the environment.
also if we used the heat laser/kill-a-watt we could gather stats about our school and obviously work to reduce energy waste ourselves but also we could present our results in chapel and challenge the students and faculty to reduce the waste.
that's all i have off the top of my head.

Josh: I had a lot of fun and interesting thoughts towards the site visit to Keystone School. I would like to get a laser temperature reader and
use it in a few rooms around the school. I was also wondering how long the presentation has to be for the $300 grant.

Deric: We are looking forward to his thoughts

Katie: We are looking forward to her thoughts

Ritt: We are looking forward to his thoughts. Thank you for sharing "r.c. treats."

Mrs. Clay: Their recycling program is the same as ours: Paper, plastic and cans. They have the same system and process. Mrs. Clay has questions about how they handle heath hazards, liability issues, insurance concerns. Mrs. Clay has requested to job shadow a Keystone teacher for a day to understand a little bit better how the school operates. Mrs. Clay's main goal was to see the environmental strategies the school is applying and to hear how the children and faculty are using the "Green School Tool Kit" and get advise from the Casady Sciene teachers regarding the tool kit. During the brainstorming time, Mrs. Clay ask students if they wanted to present this project at the Social Studies Conference to acquire the funding for the tool kit and/or for alumminum reusable water bottles. Students responded yes. We will need to apply for the presentation this week. Mrs. Clay requested help for the presentation from Mrs. Zesiger, Mr. Sappington and Miss Bornhoft (Environmental Club activities, energy audit in MD, and Vegetarian Club as well as Carbon Footprint awareness in Spanish Classes)

Mr. Reynolds: We look forward to his comments regarding Keystone. During the bus brainstorming of what Challenge 20/20's focus for the year should be, he brought to the table the idea of "wind power and windmills."

Mrs. Linn: We look forward to her comments regarding Keystone. Mrs. Linn said that the two tools we already own are the most useful for a collaboration between Challenge 20/20 and the science regular curriculum.

Mrs. Zesiger: We look forward to her comments regarding Keystone. In the area of global awareness, Keystone has a Kids Cafes that is raising money and improving the drinkable water of children in remote areas of the world. Mrs. Zesiger's daugther Katie is fundraising next week for the victims of the flood in Manila and Challenge 20/20 and YAC students will help with the effort, but possibilities for future collaborations between MD and UD are only just beginning.

Katie: How about investigating the lake?

Sunday, November 8, 2009

New Climate Change Curriculum

“In 2009, Will Steger Foundation created a new curriculum for high school students that focuses on global climate solutions, called Citizen Climate. This curriculum emphasizes civic engagement and helps teachers and students understand the critical and complex climate solutions being discussed on the national and international stage. It also allows students to formulate statements about what they would like to see happen in climate policy and how these policies and actions can be replicated in their states and local communities. These lesson plans build on the Will Steger Foundation’s original six lesson plans on the basics of global warming. The new lessons cover the carbon cycle, target levels for atmospheric levels of greenhouse gasses, cap and trade, carbon tax, new technologies, concerns of developed and developing countries, and how to formulate position statements.”

http://willstegerfoundation.org/index.php/programs/k-12-education-program/citizen-climate-curriculum

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Teleconferencing between partner schools

Global Nomads Group can help schools make the most of the Challenge 20/20 Program with videoconferences between students. Through live, interactive dialogue, students build bonds with their counterparts around the world, learn about real-world issues, and work together in addressing them. Also, Global Nomads Group can connect students to the places in the world they are interested in learning about, for example to scientists in Antarctica to discuss Global warming, or to peacekeepers in the Sudan to discuss the crisis in Darfur.

To get started:
All Global Nomads Group’s ongoing programs are available to participating schools. There are several videoconference sessions each week with students and guest speakers from around the globe on topics ranging from global warming, human rights, and current events. The current program schedule is at: http://gng.org/programs.

Or, 20/20 schools can create a customized videoconference series. A pair of schools can meet via videoconference several times over the course of the year to explore the topics they are most interested in, and pursue collaborative projects. Global Nomads Group will assist with developing lesson plans, identify guest speakers and partner schools in different countries, and provide tech support. Also, depending on the topic, Global Nomads Group can have a field team connect via videoconference from a location in the world relevant to a school’s chosen topic to bring issues to life in the classroom.

To learn more about how to participate, please contact grace@gng.org or call (212) 529 0377.

Dear Carmen,

It was a pleasure to speak with you today about GNG. Enclosed is information regarding the tech specs for videoconferencing. You can learn more about our programs by visiting our website, http://www.gng.org/programs/fall2009.html

Please do not hesitate to ask additional questions.

Best,
Grace

--
Grace Lau
Program Manager
Global Nomads Group
381 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10013 USA
+1.212.529.0377
gng.org
grace@gng.org
"Uniting the world, one conversation at a time."

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Global Warming 101



Al Gore Debates Global Warming

Possible conference Presentation


European Council of International Schools: We have been asked to be part of a panel about Challenge 20/20 experiences. We will know if the presentation is accepted in December. http://ecis.org/

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

NAIS Challenge 20/20 reflection

Casady Challenge 20/20 was a roller coaster ride, worth the price of admission, of youth voice, choice, and process from its inception.

Our Challenge 20/20 exploration started when Andrew Griffin’07 was a freshman. His idea was to import children’s art from remote villages, sell it and use the proceeds to meet educational needs. NAIS paired Andrew with a Ugandan high school and a museum youth board in Ollantaytambo, Peru. The relationship with the school was short, but the high school’s Headmaster has visited Oklahoma City and our campus several times. Our community has supported his school’s needs for several years. Andrew’s search for a local partner culminated with World Neighbors (WN). Andrew discovered that a relative of his was the founder of WN. WorldFest, their yearly fundraiser, sold imported goods from villages with proceeds supporting projects in those villages. This made World Neighbors a perfect Challenge 20/20 project for Andrew. He became a founding member of the WN Youth Board. In the two years that Andrew led the Board, they raised $20,000. Casady students still participate in World Neighbors WorldFest activities.

Andrew found fertile ground for his vision in two younger creative students, Leann Farha’08 and Ankita Prasad’08. Leann organized a grassroots Walk the World OKC’05 benefiting the United Nations World Food Programme, School Feeding. She participated in Walk the World 2005 debriefing in Rome, Italy. Upon her return from Italy, Leann led Walk the World OKC’2006-2008 raising $25,000. Leann’s efforts led to an increased number of walkers every year and became a citywide outreach. She was also an active WN Youth Board member. Her work continued in June 2009 when a group of freshmen boys led by Graham Bennett’12 had their first Walk the World OKC 2009. Leann believes that four years with the project enabled her to overcome insecurities and transformed a shy girl, terrified of public speaking into a confident leader, an effective communicator, and organizer. She stated, “I received more than I gave fighting to eradicate childhood hunger.”

Our relationship with the museum youth board in Peru started very simply with their bilingual exposure to the book High Noon. The museum’s youth board sought collaboration with a local elementary school of Ollantaytambo, Peru. They joined Leann to raise awareness of global hunger. They hosted a Walk the World,Ollantaytambo’06. Manco Inca Elementary School became our Global Service-Learning Education partner after the walk. In June 2008, the first group of Casady Service-learning students arrived in Ollantaytambo. In June 2009, the second group followed. Fifteen Casady students and three faculty members traveled to Peru to participate in a combined service, language immersion, and homestay experience managed by World Leadership School. In collaboration with other independent schools such as Lakeside of Seattle (in its 8th year in Ollantaytambo) and Groton School of Boston, Casady students are transforming a pile of rubble into the ecological playground –“LAND OF CHILDREN”- designed and maintained by the children. The children with guidance from US teens have also developed a full recycling program for their school and are expanding the program to their homes and town. The teens from the United States have gained knowledge of the Quechua language, enhanced understanding of fair trade practices, and an appreciation of a slow pace of life that reverances nature. The Ollantaytambo “Land of Children” is being documented via donated digital cameras and blogs. In June 2009, Casady students presented their experience in Ollantaytambo at the Second International Service-Learning Conference in Teacher Education in Galway, Ireland. Casady students will return to Ollantaytambo in June, 2010 when they will promote the creation of a trilingual picture book of the Ollantaytambo, Land of Children experience. The faculty leader of the second Ollantaytambo trip, Kari Bornhoft, stated, “When asked to take a group of students to Peru, I had mixed emotions. I would have the chance to see one of the great wonders of the world (Machu Picchu), to experience another Latin culture, to spend time with a group of students in a way no other educator can in normal conditions… The two weeks I spent in Peru were exhausting. It was an incredible learning experience for both the students and faculty. We grew as a team and did equally as individuals. All of us had our highs and lows and as we were stretched found our capabilities mentally, physically, and emotionally.”
During her freshman year, Ankita Prasad’08 wore a “can costume” to motivate lower division students to donate for our canned food drive. As Ankita learned about related global issues of poverty and the problems with consistent communication with our partners, she realized that perhaps the best focus was the creation of global issues youth councils following the guidelines for Global Issues Networks described in High Noon. She promoted the idea with our partners in Uganda and Peru without success. Ankita attended the Challenge 20/20 leaders’ conference in Boston and became a member of the Students against Hunger Youth Board at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and of the World Neighbors Youth Board. She was also a “priceless” summer intern at World Neighbors and she became the preferred youth advisor when organizations explored youth board possibilities for their institutions. As the leader of Challenge 20/20, the canned food drive became the Casady Cans Do Project. Casady Cans Do quadrupled our whole school contribution to the Food Bank during Ankita’s tenure. She added learning components such as categorization games and canned sculpture competitions. She promoted “Food Bank Lunches” to raise awareness of what meals the Food Bank provides from donations and inspired ceramics classes to make bowls for auction during the Food Bank lunch as a reminder of the kids whose bowls would be empty in the evening. Proceeds of the Empty Bowls Silent Auction went to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Food-4-Kids Program. She was also part of Walk the World, but her goal was to seek funding and awareness of the hunger problem in Oklahoma City. Ankita presented Casady's NAIS Challenge 20/20 at the First International Service-Learning Conference in Teacher Education in Brussels and developed an informal partnership with one of the conference participants, a history teacher, from the American School in Brussels. She also presented the NAIS Challenge 20/20 opportunity at the Department of Environmental Quality-Earth Day 2008 Celebration at the Oklahoma City Zoo. Ankita stated, “Service Learning is a great way for Casady students to give back to their community. I believe that participating in service learning not only benefits our community but also broadens student’s outlook on life. Service Learning has given me so many opportunities to change my school, my community and finally my world. Projects like Challenge 20/20 help Casady students become connected to schools across the world and discuss local problems in a global setting. The Casady Cans Do project has raised awareness and collected funds to help eradicate hunger in Oklahoma. No matter what your passion is, you can find a service learning project that is right for you.”

During Ankita’s senior year, members of the Class of 2011 shifted the focus of the Challenge 20/20 project to awareness of the human print in global warming and climate change. Rebecca Roach’11 and Josh Ou’11 are the current Challenge 20/20 leaders at Casady School. In the past two years, they have read High Noon, have seen The Inconvenient Truth, contacted Sierra Club representatives and Casady faculty to raise awareness and help promote recycling in our school. Josh and Rebecca wrote and were awarded a Facing the Future grant to provide cameras to document climate change in OKC and Peru. Our international discussion collaborators in the area of Global Warming/Climate Change challenge were the school in Brussels, Mount Saint Mary School of Pennsylvania, and the Cloud Forest School in Costa Rica. These efforts were not very successful, yet Josh created a website and we learned how to have SKYPE teleconferences with Costa Rican students.

Rebecca and Josh have focused on recyling and awareness and reduction of carbon footprint and water conservation. One of the adult sponsors of this project is also interested in awareness of ecological footprint and energy conservation. Thanks to an "informal partnership" with the Oklahoma Green Schools Pilot Program, Josh has obtained recycling bins to promote recycling of cans and plastic and he is in the process of developing a stronger collaboration with the Casady Environmental Club and the Casady administrative efforts in turning our school greener. Josh stated, When I first joined the Challenge 20/20 group my freshmen year, I was completely oblivious that I would become the president of this group my junior year. During the early stages, we would have only dreamt of having a cans and plastic recycling on a regular bases; we are also in the process of constructing two new LEED buildings on our campus.”
Our new partners this year are a school in China and a school in New York. We board our new ride thrilled about the possibilities.


Carmen Clay
Rainbolt Family Service-Learning Chair
Casady School
9500 North Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73120
www.casady.org
405-749-3103
clayc@casady.org

Sunday, September 20, 2009

New Partners

2009-2010 NAIS CHALLENGE 20/20 NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Dear Challenge 20/20 Team
,

The NAIS Global Initiatives team would like to thank you for your interest in participating in the 2009-2010 Challenge 20/20 program. This is a program that is being received with great interest and commitment by schools from many countries. We have received approximately 400 applications from schools from 56 countries and many states in the US, and we have been able to partner many schools. Our hope is that the Challenge 20/20 partnerships among schools across the globe will provide an excellent foundation for meaningful problem-solving and cross continent relationships that lead to a more promising global future for our students and our schools.

Here is some information about your team.

Number of schools in team: 3
Global problem assigned: Global warming
Grade level of team: 9-12 (upper school)
Term: 2009-2010: Term One - Sep-Feb - Report due Feb 1
Your team's primary contact is:
Carmen Clay
Casady School
clayc@casady.org
(NAIS selects the team's primary contact when the partnerships are first created.)

Below, please find the contact information for all of the schools on your team:

School
Casady School
9500 North Pennsylvania
Oklahoma, OK, USA
www.casady.org
School type: Independent/Private
School size: large (701+)
Participating students' grade level: 9-12 (upper school)

Teacher Leader
Carmen Clay, Rainbolt Family Service-Learning Chair
clayc@casady.org
Phone: 405-749-3103
Fax: 405-749-3223
School Contact
Carmen Clay, Rainbolt Family Service-Learning Chair
clayc@casady.org
Phone: 405-749-3103
Fax: 405-749-3223

School
Millbrook School
131 Millbrook School Road
Millbrook, NY, USA
www.millbrook.org
School type: Independent/Private
School size: medium (201-700)
Participating students' grade level: 9-12 (upper school)

Teacher Leader
Pascale Musto, History Teacher
pmusto@millbrook.org
Phone: 845-677-8261
School Contact
Pascale Musto, History Teacher
pmusto@millbrook.org
Phone: 845-677-8261

School
Concordia International School Shanghai
999 Mingyue Rd
Shanghai, Jiangsu, China
www.ciss.com.cn
School type: Parochial
School size: medium (201-700)
Participating students' grade level: 9-12 (upper school)

Teacher Leader
Chris Carter, Teacher
chris.carter@ciss.com.cn
Phone: 15001936994
School Contact
Chris Carter, Teacher
chris.carter@ciss.com.cn
Phone: 15001936994

Please proceed by contacting your partner school/s and making all the necessary arrangements to begin your collaborative work on Challenge 20/20. The program is very flexible and we allow you as a team to create your own curriculum, design the program and schedule time for students and teachers to communicate.

Many schools selected up to five global problems of interest and we worked hard to identify partners for schools with similar interests and grade levels of students. Our preference is that you work on your assigned global problem. However, if your team wishes to work on a global problem that is different than the one you have been assigned, please communicate with your assigned partner school/s and decide on the final global problem within the partnership. If all schools agree, please send me a message at suciu@nais.org and I will change the topic in our database. Your final global problem must be highlighted in each school's Agreement Form that is due back to NAIS on September 30, 2009. However, if your team needs more time to decide on the final global problem, you may have an extension of a week or so to complete the Agreement Forms.

Challenge 20/20 is an annual NAIS initiative, and schools are encouraged to participate every year to continue their work on solving global problems. More information on next year's program will be available online. Also, we will provide you with updates throughout the year at http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020.

NEXT STEPS
1. Proceed by contacting your partner school/s and if you wish to work on a different global problem than the one assigned by NAIS, work that out within your partnership. You may communicate with each other by: email, phone, regular mail, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, listserves, and blogging. You will find more information on listserves and blogging below.

2. You have been assigned the Term for your partnership's participation based on your selection in the application form. Check with your partner school/s to make sure you're all still interested in working during that Term.

3. Fill out the Agreement Form signed by the Head of School (to be mailed or faxed back to NAIS by September 30, 2009). You may download a copy of the form at: http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020.

The signed Agreement Form from the Head of School should be forwarded to Ioana Suciu no later than September 30, 2009. If you're a school working on Challenge 20/20 during Term Two, you may choose to submit your Agreement for Participation after September 30th as you will not begin to work on your projects until January 2010.

By e-mail: suciu@nais.org

By mail: Challenge 20/20
National Association of Independent Schools
1620 L Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036-5695

By fax: (202) 247-9694

Each signed agreement should also include the name of the global problem your partnership will be addressing. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 973-9755 or by e-mail at suciu@nais.org.

4. Read the details and guidelines for the Challenge 20/20 program online at http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020.

5. Read and advise your students to also read the book: High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them. This book is available at your library or for purchase for $16.95 US dollars at your local bookstore or on our website at http://www.nais.org under Our Publications and NAIS Bookstore, or directly at http://www.nais.org/transact/ProductDetail.cfm?product_code=B91.

6. Begin your work on identifying local solutions to global problems as a team.

7. Term One participants submit any photographs and supplemental materials you would like us to have from November to January and Term Two participants make their submissions from April to May. You may send them by email to suciu@nais.org or by mail at the address listed above. We will use some of these for promotional purposes, display and marketing only.

8. Term One participants submit the team's online report on your progress in January 2010 while Term Two participants submit the report in May 2010. This report will be available at http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020 as we get closer to that date. Once you submit your report, you can continue your work together for the remainder of the school year and we encourage you to do so.

PROGRAM CHANGES AND UPDATES:
1. Challenge 20/20 Listserve: The Teacher Leader and Contact Person at each participating school will be automatically added to the Challenge 20/20 listserve which we will use to send out updates and you can also use to communicate with each other. You may send messages to the listserve for every participant to see at challenge_20_20@lists.nais.org. If you do not wish to be included in this listserve, simply send a message to suciu@nais.org with the Subject Line: Unsubscribe from the Challenge 20/20 Listserve.

3. Blogs: In addition to the listserve, we encourage you to use blogging as a way of communicating with your team. You may use your own school's blogging system or one that you create for the Challenge 20/20 partnership. NAIS recommends the Ning social networking system, a free, safe, secure and user-friendly system available at: http://www.ning.com for schools that have participating students over the age of 13. You can create your own private web page accessible only to members of the partnered schools. Here is how to set it up:

- Decide as a team on who will be the person from your partnership to create this webpage. Only one person per partnership can create it and assign permissions for different people/schools to have access to it.
- Go to http://www.ning.com/.
- Create account - email address and password.
- Name your social network and pick your web address (make sure to include your name: challenge 2020 and initials of your school, i.e. for Potomac School, you can name it challenge2020ps. If more than one project team from your school participates, add a unique word or letter to the site name.)
- Create your site settings. IMPORTANT: Make it private, not public and check the box "just my friends" can view the site or comment. This ensures that invitees only have access.
- Send invitations to join to your students and the faculty representatives from all schools in your partnership only.
- You can post blogs, comments, photos, videos, etc. on your page - which is the collaborative site for your work.
- NOTE: This site is free but there are ads by Google on it. Just don't click on them. If you're interested in having them removed from your page, please send me your page's URL.

The Challenge 20/20 website is a great resource that you can use throughout the program. We will post periodic updates and we encourage you to visit the website regularly at http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020.

If you want to post photos and materials to the NAIS-created Ning website, we encourage you to do so. Everyone will be able to view what you post. To request an invitation to join this public Challenge 20/20 networking site, go to http://2009challenge2020.ning.com and type in your name, email and short message. These instructions will also be available on the NAIS website at http://www.nais.org/go/challenge2020 soon.

IMPORTANT:
: If for any reason, a school on your team can no longer participate in Challenge 20/20 this year and wishes to withdraw from the program, please inform us as soon as possible so we can re-match your partner school/s. Contact me by sending an email to suciu@nais.org.

Once again, congratulations! We wish for you a fruitful and productive experience through Challenge 20/20 that leads to the development of informed and capable global leaders and global citizens.

Best regards,

Ioana Suciu
Associate Director of Global Initiatives
suciu@nais.org

Casady Challenge 20/20 History

HISTORY OF NAIS CHALLENGE 20/20 AT CASADY SCHOOL

NAIS arrived to Casady via e-mail request for participation. Students undertook the challenge of a Massive Step Against Poverty first. Then they added Global Warming-Climate Change. Our first interaction with NAIS was informal. Mrs. Williams from the Primary Division empowered a partnership with Bishop McAllister College in Uganda where she had been doing missionary work for years. At the NAIS Conference in Boston, Mrs. Clay met Mrs. Vickie Weeks, Global Education Service-Learning Director from Lakeside School in Seattle. Mrs. Weeks had a program with the Catcco Museum, Youth Board in Ollantaytambo, Peru. The youth leaders of Challenge 20/20 from the Class of 2007 and 2008 started a collaboration with the Youth Board of the Museum and the Uganda school.

Youth Leaders of Challenge 20/20, Poverty/Hunger Challenge

Andrew G: Attending Harvard University. Projects: Awareness of global hunger through World Neighbors (WN) Hunger Banquet Fundraisers ($20,000 in two years), WN World Fest Involvement: Promote remote villages' art and send proceeds back to the villages for immediate needs. Lack of electricity and Internet challenges did not allow the partnership with Uganda to flourish. We continue to work with World Neighbors. Mrs. Williams from the Primary Division continues her work with Bishop McAllister College.

Leann F.: Attending Rhodes College. Project: Walk the World (WtW) 2005-2008: $30,0000 for United Nations World Food Program-School Meals. Leann was a guest of the United Nations 2005 WtW debriefing meeting in Rome, Italy. Leann was the first youth to undertake a youth-led grassroots walk. Graham B. did the WtW'2009 and raised $2,000+

The Catcco Museum Youth board had a Walk around Ollantaytambo, Peru to raise awareness of childhood hunger in their city. The Casady service-learning program developed a summer global education service-learning program with an elementary school in Ollantaytambo, Peru after that walk. 18 Cyclones in collaboration with World Leadership School, Lakeside School of Seattle, and Groton School of Boston are transforming a pile of rubble into an ecological playground designed and maintained by the children of Ollantaytambo, Peru. Members of Land of Children Project, Jake P., Kendall H, and Mackenzie W., presented their project at the Second International Service-Learning Conference in Teacher Education in Galway, Ireland.

Ankita P.: Attending Berkeley University. Project: Awareness of childhood hunger in OKC. Member of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Youth Board and a Summer Intern at World Neighbors. Fundraisers: Student Against Hunger: Casady Cans Do, Canned Food Drive (4,500 tons of food, $1,500+); Walk the World 2007-2008: Food-4-Kids Program of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma ($1,000). Ankita presented Casady's NAIS Challenge 20/20 at the First International Service-Learning Conference in Teacher Education in Brussels and developed a partnership with one of the conference participants, a history teacher from the International School in Brussels. She also presented the NAIS Challenge 20/20 opportunity at the Department of Environmental Quality-Earth Day 2008 Celebration at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

Youth Leaders of Challenge 20/20: Global Warming, Climate Change Challenge
Rebecca R in collaboration with Josh O led the Global Warming Challenge last year. In the past two years, they have read portions of the book High Noon, seing parts of the documentary The Inconvenient Truth, contacted Sierra Club representatives and Casady faculty to raise their own awareness and helped promote recycling in our school. Josh and Rebecca wrote grants to provide cameras to document climate change in OKC and Peru. They received cameras and materials from Facing the Future.org.

Our international discussion collaborators in the area of Global Warming/Climate Change challenge were the International School in Brussels, Mount Saint Mary School of Pennsylvania, and the Cloud Forest School in Costa Rica. The collaborations did not go far. We met each other and shared what we were doing, but we did not start something together. Teacher sponsors left the schools and the collaborations stopped. Josh created a website and had one skype teleconference with the school in Costa Rica.

Rebecca and Josh were interested in awareness and reduction of carbon footprint and water conservation. One of the adult sponsors of this project was interested in awareness of ecological footprint and energy conservation. Rebecca led the efforts last year and Josh will lead the efforts this year. Thanks to an "informal partnership" with the Oklahoma Green School Pilot Program, Josh has obtained recycling bins to promote recycling of cans and plastic and he is in the process of developing a stronger collaboration with the Casady Environmental Club and the Casady administrative efforts in turning our school greener. Challenge 20.20 is exciting about breaking ground of our first LEED building soon.