Thursday, April 5, 2007
Photo courtesy of Gretchen Preneta by
In Cap Haitien, Haiti, children play with a parachute that students at the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School donated. Playing with a parachute teaches teamwork.
Photo courtesy of Gretchen Preneta by
Students at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School made these songbooks for Haitian children.
At the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School, students are using songs and art to reach out to children in Haiti.
Music teacher Gretchen Preneta and art teacher Barbara Weed have worked with sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to create illustrated songbooks filled with traditional Haitian and American music.
In late February, Preneta took the books with her to Haiti, as gifts to Haitian children.
Preneta was inspired to bring Haiti into the classroom after a summer visit to her brother, who works at Project Pierre Toussaint, a shelter for street children in Cap Haitien.
"Since I'm a teacher, it was an obvious connection for me to bring that world here and have kids here connect with kids in Haiti," Preneta said. "It's a great opportunity for kids to learn about other cultures."
So Preneta taught her classes dances and songs, which students in Weed's classes illustrated.
Preneta spent a week in Haiti, from Feb. 27 to March 2. She used the books to teach the children there.
"Music and art are such a part of their culture," she said. "It was really exiting."
Preneta also took a xylophone and a parachute to the Haitian children, paid for with money her students raised from pocket change.
"We chose the xylophone because it is a durable instrument," said Preneta, "and the parachute because kids (at Gray-New Gloucester) use those in gym class for team building and creative play."
Haitian children are "used to being on the streets and fighting things out," said Preneta. The parachute, she said, "can help them learn to be a team."
Preneta said the connection with Haiti will continue.
On March 28, Gray-New Gloucester students videotaped their songs and dances at the school; Preneta will take the recording with her when she returns to Haiti this summer.
The school is also collecting supplies for the Haitian students.
The Portland nonprofit group Konbit Sante, which sends medical supplies to Haiti, has granted the school space in a cargo container in its next shipment this autumn.
Students are collecting "Hula Hoops, jump ropes, crayons, rulers, soccer equipment, things that just improve the quality of life," Preneta said.
The entire effort has been "a great way for kids to recognize similarities," said Preneta.
Her students have learned the names of several Haitian students and often ask after them.
"That personal connection has made it real," she said. "Kids are kids. There are things they have in common with kids all over the world."
News Assistant Isaac Kestenbaum can be contacted at 791-6308 or at:
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