Mesa Middle School students raise funds for Afghan schools
Students at Mesa Middle School in Castle Rock raised more than $1,500 last month for the Central Asia Institute, founded by “Three Cups Of Tea” author Greg Mortenson.
The seventh- and eighth-grade students raised $1,566 as part of a Pennies for Peace program through their Connect class, a class that encourages students to be internationally-minded. Mesa is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program school.
The money from the program will go the CAI, which helps build schools, pay for teachers’ salaries and students’ scholarships in regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The kids can just deposit this small amount of change and yet have a huge impact and make a difference somewhere else in the world,” said Jordi Owens, Mesa’s IB coordinator.
Over the course of three weeks, the Connect class taught students about the culture of the students they’d be helping and the history of the region. They also read the middle level version of “Three Cups of Tea.” The students donated handfuls of change at a time as part of the Pennies for Peace program Mortenson founded.
Two ambassadors from each of the 42 Connect classes led the students through different activities, including building miniature bridges, and read the lower level version of the book called “Listen To The Wind” to students at Rock Ridge Elementary.
“That collaboration within the class really built community,” Owens said. “And they came to appreciate that community effort in Afghanistan.”
(c) 2010 The Denver Post
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