September 2011
The Service Learning Academy promoted tolerance and conflict resolution by participating in and sponsoring an entire month of peace activities during September. Students participated with our partner, the Global Peace Film Festival, in the week-long film festival events serving as volunteers, attending films and manning a booth at the GPFF Street Fair.
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| Council students at the GPFF Streeet Fair |
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SL Council student, Lee entertained fair goers with his stilt walking.
(Mrs. D's granddaughter) |
Peace Art Exhibit at City Hall
The Sixth Annual OCPS Service Learning and Global Peace Film Festival Peace Art exhibit at Orlando City Hall was a huge success. Service Learning Council students helped with all aspects of the exhibit including preparing and logging the artwork, making the certificates, helping at the reception, and taking down the exhibit.
Hundreds of students from Kindergarten through 12th grade submitted art with the theme, "Color the World with Peace." The art reception was attended by hundreds of student artists, parents, administrators, GPFF volunteers and board members. Special guests were Ms. Earth Florida, Ms. Earth USA and Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan.
Nina Streich, Executive Director of the Global Peace Film Festival, presented the awards to students in four categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The winning art will be featured in the 2012 OCPS-GPFF Peace Art Calendar used to promote peace and to recognize the talent of our OCPS artists.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, proclaimed the week of September 18th to the 23rd as Peace Week in Orlando.
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| Ms. Teen Earth Florida, Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Ms. Earth USA |
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| A winning artist shows off her painting. |
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| A winning entry in the high school category. |
Enzian Field Trip
For the fifth year the TCHS Service Learning Academy partnered with the Global Peace Film Festival to attend the viewing of a film at the Enzian Theater. The film focused on the issue of homelessness, which service learning students will address through various service learning projects throughout the year.
Before viewing the film, the service learning students spent a month studying homelessness and poverty in Central Florida, in particular the criminalization of homelessness in our state. We learned a sad statistic that Orlando is rated the third meanest city in the USA as far as treatment of the homeless. We also studied some causes of homelessness and some ways to help. SL students sponsored a food drive for our school's food bank. There are homeless students in our school and throughout Central Florida, including in Seminole and Orange Counties as was featured on 60 Minutes.
Over 150 SLA students watched the movie
Civil Indigent and then participated in an interactive session with the film's subject, Pat Fitzpatrick. The movie was about Mr. Fitzpatrick's effort to defend the homeless in Gainesville, Florida. This film was great and Mr. Fitzpatrick was incredibly inspiring. We got to go on stage with him after the program to pose for a photograph.
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| At the Enzian Theater |
UN International Day of Peace
The SLA students prepared all month for the UN International Day of Peace, which featured games that stressed teamwork; booths; face painting; music and dance; and the annual Peace T-shirt Contest. This year over 100 TCHS students entered the contest with entries that showed a great deal of thought and talent.
The day ended with a film. TCHS students were treated to a GPFF film by University of Central Florida student Aleksey Siman. Food for Granted, is a documentary about wasting food and the excess amounts of food prepared in restaurants, buffets and convention centers. Every day across America the food industry tosses away tons of good, unused food, while one in five people across the nation go hungry. In the short film, Aleksey explored the food waste in Central Florida. This was an eye-opening film with a valuable lesson.
THANK YOU TO OUR VALUED PARTNERS FOR MAKING THIS OUR BEST PEACE MONTH EVER: The Global Peace Film Festival; Nina Streich, Executive Director GPFF; the Enzian Theater; The Orlando City Hall; Orlando Mayor's Office; Ms. Earth USA, Nicole Kelley; Ms. Teen Earth, Cadie Hill; Commissioner Patty Sheehan; Aleksey Siman; Pat Fitzpatrick; and our parents, especially Mr. Zelayda for his help at the Street Fair.
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| Raleigh the face painter. |
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| Some of the t-shirts |
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| Mr. Wright judges the T-shirt contest. |
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| At a booth |
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Mr. Doromal invited students to sing along.
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| Filmmaker Aleksy Siman |
