Talking to Carly

The Cultural Correspondent Program from North Carolina in the World has been and continues to be a wonderful opportunity for the students in Mrs. Dalimonte's third-grade class. Not only have the students been learning about life in Ghana through their Cultural Correspondent, Carly Brantmeyer, but they have also developed a plan to help those less fortunate than themselves. Ms. Carly introduced Mary and her sister Sarah to the class. These girls, ages 12 and 10, have never been to school before because the tuition and fees were too high and their family just could not afford it. The students were inspired by Ms. Carly and her colleagues offer to send these girls to school that they wanted to help other children in Ghana. When Ms. Carly went with Mary and Sarah's family to register, she discovered that school fees/tuition would have to be paid every 15 weeks. After some discussion, the class decided that they wanted to make a difference in the lives of this one family and help to continue to keep these girls in school. The girls started school September 22nd, with Mary going into the 4th grade and Sarah into 3rd grade. Learning that Mary and Sarah did not even know how to write their own names before meeting Ms. Carly, Mrs. Dalimonte's students set out to help these girls beyond collecting money. They wrote letters to the girls, making sure that everything was spelled correctly and sentences were capitalized and punctuated correctly. They were careful to make sure that everything was correct because they wanted to help teach English to the girls through their writing. In the package sent containing the letters, the class also sent Mary and Sarah pencils, pencil sharpeners, and markers.  They continue to brainstorm other ways to help Mary and Sarah.

Another project the students are supporting is Ms. Carly's Project Polaroid. Ms. Carly takes Polaroids of children and their families and gives them the photo. Many of the children have never owned a photo of themselves and some have never seen how beautiful they really are. The joy on the faces of these children holding their Polaroid is remarkable and relays the message of how one act of kindness and one photograph can be so powerful!

To keep up with the correspondence between Ms. Carly and Mrs. Dalimonte's class, visit Ms. Carly's blog at www.carlybrantmeyer.blogspot.com