Hi Mary Anne!

I somehow skipped your journal about creating a virtual link between your school (district) and the school you will visit up in Greenland. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!

So I am trying to do the same thing with my school and the Pribilof Island Schools. Having an energentic, enthusiastic, dedicated point of contact is a must. I am most fortunate to have a contact there now, and will cherish it forever.

Some of the energy and driving force for the project has to come from the (my kids and the Pribilof kids) students. I am trying to do that by showing them the Bering Sea ecosystem. The Prib kids know all about that so no need. When school begins at the end of July, I will have my kids read a book, and begin to enter greetings and questions to the Pribilof kids.

I have a nagging fear, that with the school year will come less and less of an interest in the blogsite. 'Ya know? Just like people reading the journals here and asking questions, once you come back, they always find other things to do. I know already that one of the keys to keeping the communication going is a point of contact...thank heavens I have that, but I know there are other things.

Do you have any suggestions on how to keep the interest going in a 'sister school' situation? 

warmly,

Maggie 

 

Mary Anne Pell…

One of my ideas is to establish an ongoing research project with the need for the two schools to compare data and find similarities and differences. We conduct water quality monitoring in my classes, so I may bring a water testing kit for the Greenlandic school. If each site is studying the same parameters then we can begin to make some hypotheses about differing data. Continuing contact will primarily be teacher driven, until the kids find some common ground and establish a good relationship with another student. Even if the contact is not long term, though, each student’s world expands with contact, and the world becomes smaller. I may have more insight at the end of the summer and will let you know if I have any additional ideas.
Take care.
Mary Anne