Thursday, May 3, 2007

Vega elementary students write books, send them to orphans in India & Uganda

By Pegasus News wire

MCKINNEY – Elementary students at Vega Elementary School in the McKinney Independent School District will ship books they recently wrote and produced to orphaned children in Uganda and India on Friday, May 4. The students have been working for the past few months to write and create the books as part of the Books of Hope program.

Photo from Books of Hope

Laurie Teer, the Library Media Specialist at Vega Elementary, implemented the project with three classes at the school. The students, from 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes, were studying the core value of compassion and came across the Memory Project/Books of Hope program, which helped the students understand and demonstrate the art of compassion.

“It is one of the best things I think our students have ever done and the books they created are incredible,” said Teer. “One student made a book about how to play ‘Tic-Tac-Toe’ and another student wrote a book called How Many Ways You Can Say Hello.”

Several teachers at Vega Elementary were also instrumental in the production of the books. Third grade teacher JoAnn Holman, 4th grade teacher Bryan McDaniel and 5th grade teacher Nana Hill worked the students in writing, laminating and binding the books.

Not provided by MISD

The books were a little hesitant at first, but they're ready to deploy.

The program involves students at any grade level creating and writing thoughtful, educational and/or entertaining books as a way of reaching out to children experiencing extreme challenges. The program is focused on Uganda and India, two countries where knowledge of the English language is central to advancing educational opportunities.

On Friday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. in the school library, Ms. Teer and her students will hold a “packing party” as they prepare to ship the final books to the students in Uganda and India.

For more information about the Books of Hope program, visit their website at http://www.booksofhope.org/booksofhope.html.

For more information about the Vega Elementary Books of Hope project, contact Laurie Teer at 469-742-5157 or by e-mail at lteer@mckinneyisd.net.

See more stories in:

• McKinney ISD > McKinney ISD Elementary Schools > Vega