Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Wat Sadet Field Trip

Aleena was very excited about school on Monday because the second graders went on a field trip to deliver the books that they had purchased for the Wat Sadet school.  Wat Sadet was impacted by the flood, with the first floor classrooms under about a meter of water.

ISB did a great job in organizing the second grade's fund raising for Wat Sadet.  The kids earned the money, purchased the books, and then completed the loop by delivering the books to the school.  It's great that in addition to making the effort to raise the money, that they got to see the people that they were helping.

First thing Monday morning the second graders boarded buses for the forty-five minute drive to Wat Sadet.  Each had a plastic bag containing the books that they had purchased with the money raised by their class.  Each class was accompanied by their teachers and two parent chaperons.  I think every class invited its homeroom mom, but they had different ways to select the other parent.  One class asked for volunteers and then drew a name out of a hat.  I was fortunate to get to go, the primary reason probably being my camera, although Ms. Wood's assistant is into photography and has some nice camera equipment and skills.

After arriving at the school, each class went to a separate pre-K classroom.  The classrooms were a stark contrast to those found at ISB.  There was no air conditioning, smart boards, computers, walls lined with books and supplies like you find in every second grade classroom at ISB.  There weren't even desks or tables for the students.

In each room, a teacher read the children a story from one of the books brought by Aleena and her fellow second graders.  After the story, each second grader was paired with a pre-K student from Wat Sadet.  The ISB students gave the books to their partner, and together they reviewed the books.  The second graders had made book marks for their partners and brought blank bookmarks so that their partners could write their name and draw the Thai flag on them as a memento for the ISB students.

I can't say enough about how well this was done and how lucky I was to be allowed to be there.  The kids really did a good thing and went above and beyond what was expected from them in raising money.  The books that they provided will make a difference to those children.  While I know that Aleena may not fully appreciate how lucky she is in life, I hope that this might at least sow the seed.


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