V+April+2008

= School Life Committee – April 1, 2008 = Attending: Mary, Mary Deborah, Charlie, Barbara, Kathy, Susan, Don, Hugh, Angela, Leon, Guthrie regrets – Dick (hip surgery) Next meeting: Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 – 8:30 potluck supper in Lower School Guest: Melissa Marion, representing the Afghan Sister School Committee (which is a sub-committee of School Life) The ASSC was set up 6 years ago, its goal being to show our students another way (other than military) of being a presence in another country. Since the intent was for this project to involve the whole school community, it was felt that placing it under the umbrella of School Life was appropriate. The ASSC has had two foci: fund raising and cultural exchange. The group was guided initially by the AFSC in determining what was needed and where our donations might do the most good. In some cases AFSC staff have carried our donations and letters directly to the school. Fund raising projects, such as note card sales and pizza lunches, have been quite successful. The pizza lunches are now an established part of MS life and garner approximately $600 a month. A group of US students were moved to create a wall of water bottles to heighten awareness of the need for clean water sources. Their efforts raised over $400 for the repair of the Tob Chi school’s cistern. The first personal connections were forged with 10-day diaries, written by LS and MS students and sent via AFSC to students in Tob Chi. The Afghani students responded with diaries of their own, which gave our students rare insight into life in their country. Some CFS students have continued in a pen pal relationship with a Tob Chi student over the years. We were fortunate to meet Noorin Nazari, an Afghani emigrant attending grad school at Duke. Noreen was delighted to hear of our project and has assisted in translating letters for us. Last summer, Noreen traveled to Afghanistan, and we funded her side trip to Tob Chi to take gifts (such as soccer uniforms) to the students there and to videotape the students and the school. Our students were touched to learn that the Tob Chi students carry the letters from their CFS pen pals around with them until they are just shreds of paper. We have also been fortunate to have Naja Babak, another Afghani émigré, as a student in our US. She has also assisted in translating letters and sharing her culture with LS students. During Noreeen’s visit, she saw that there was a health clinic very near to the Tob Chi school. She inquired about the needs of the clinic. This clinic is run by Marie Stopes International. The ASSC had already made a decision to donate $2500 to MSI and were happy to learn that the clinic was so close to the school.. That money has been used to build an outbuilding housing flush toilets for the clinic. Additional finds have since been donated to MSI. Future projects, in addition to funds for the maintenance of the existing buildings, may include working toward helping establish a high school in Tob Chi so that the students may continue their. The ASSC is also in contact with a friend of a relative of Marybeth Dugan who is serving in the military in Kabul. He is collecting items for an orphanage there. Some questions arose about ways in which the relationship of the ASSC and School Life might be deepened. - It would be good to have a liaison from ASSC attending School Life meetings. - School Life could help facilitate ASSC presentations to the Board and the school community. - School Life could facilitate contact with the Durham and Chapel Hill meetings. - School Life could assist in crafting an article for the FCE newsletter about this project. Mary will bring before the Board the idea of scheduling a Board meeting at which an ASSC presentation could be made – probably next fall. It was proposed that after the October 29 community MFW next fall, the ASSC give a short presentation on the Tob Chi project for families new to the school. Many thanks to Melissa for sharing the history of this project with us. __ Looking ahead: __ At our next School Life meeting, on May 6, we plan to look at next year’s calendar and agendas, with attention to the days for all-school Meetings for Worship, and a planned evening session on Quaker education November 6. Meetings for Worship upcoming: Wednesday, April 30, 8:00 – 8:30 am – Center Building Wednesday, May 28, 8:00 – 8:30 am – US Meeting Hall Mary Deborah will send postcards to the Meetings inviting them to attend. She will send an electronic version to Mary for forwarding to the Meetings’ newsletters. __ A few musings; __ Grandparents’ Day was a huge success – largest turnout to date. DES had 40 folks (for 28 kids). LS had over 85. Many grandparents expressed appreciation for the quality of what we do with and for their grandchildren. PSA alerts us to the upcoming farm day, local foods supper, and visiting French students.