Teosinte curriculum update
Beth Soltzberg
Hello fourth grade teachers and other teachers involved in the Teosinte curriculum,
The Teosinte curriculum volunteers met tonight to check in about how the curriculum is going so far. I heard wonderful reports from all the schools. It sounds as though the fourth graders have been quite engaged and eager to learn more.
I’m emailing about 2 things.
(1) Letters.
I know that some of you have already completed your letters to Teosinte and have either given them to one of your volunteer reps or made arrangements to do so. For those who have not done this yet, please leave your letters (including the letter that you have selected and flagged, that will be translated and sent to Teosinte) in your school office on Monday, 10/19. One of your volunteer reps will pick up the letters and drop them off for me. Contact me with any questions. Thanks very much.
(2) I also wanted to let you know that the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project’s annual benefit concert is coming up on Sunday, 11/22 at 3pm at the Arlington Town Hall. This event will raise money for our scholarship program for high school and university students in Teosinte, and it is a wonderful way for your students to share the Teosinte experience with their family. The show is geared toward both kids and adults, and will feature Sol y Canto founders Brian and Rosi Amador, and as a special treat for young audiences, their 12 year old twins will also perform. I’ve attached a poster.
Your volunteer reps will be publicizing this concert at your school. If you would be willing to send home an announcement with your students or to help publicize it in other ways, we would certainly welcome that. (And if you are interested in bringing some related activities into your classroom, Sol y Canto offers a bilingual guide for educators on their website. See “resource guide” at http://www.solycanto.com/resources.html .)
FYI – the townwide PTO is also working on bringing Sol y Canto in the spring for a concert at Town Hall for all of the fourth graders.
Please feel free to contact me at any point with questions, ideas, suggestions, etcetera. This is the first year of the district-wide curriculum, and there will certainly be some bumps to iron out! And, we will all benefit if you share your creative thinking!
Thanks very much,
Beth
Beth Soltzberg
Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project
School Programs Coordinator
Beth Soltzberg
Dear fourth grade teachers,
I’m about to get posters printed for the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project’s annual benefit concert, and am writing to ask if you would be interested in sending posters home with your students to help us spread the word about the show. The concert is geared toward families. We hope that many fourth grade families will come, and that fourth graders will enjoy sharing their Teosinte connection with their parents.
The concert will be held on Sunday, November 22nd at 3pm at the Arlington Town Hall. Rosi and Brian Amador of Sol y Canto will perform their vibrant pan-Latin music, accompanied by their 12-year old twin daughters. We’ll be selling crafts made in Teosinte at the show. Proceeds will benefit the high school and college scholarship fund for youth in Teosinte.
If you would be willing to send a poster home with your students, please email me back by Thursday to let me know how many you need, so that I can order enough posters. I’ve attached a poster so that you can see it.
I’ve cc’d the volunteer group to let them know that I’ve contacted you about this. Some of them may have already spoken with you about publicizing the show.
Thanks very much,
Beth
Beth Soltzberg
Coordinator, School Programs
Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project
Beth Soltzberg
Dear Teachers,
Just a note to thank you very much for your work in carrying off today’s town-wide fourth grade concert so beautifully! I saw a lot of kids dancing in their seats (and some teachers, too!) I am sure that this event required a lot of logistical effort on your part, and on behalf of the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project and the curriculum volunteers, we thank you! We hope that this will become an annual event. As always, please let me know if you have any feedback!
I also wanted to let you know that Rosi Amador of Sol y Canto would like to offer you their CD “El Doble de Amigos” at a teachers’ rate of $12 (instead of $15). You can either contact her directly at rosi_...@solycanto.com or go to their website www.solycanto.com.
An Arlington Advocate reporter came to today’s concert, so stay tuned – hopefully there will be article about it!
Thanks very much for all your wonderful work,
Beth Soltzberg
Hello everyone,
I wanted to let you know that the teachers’ email exchange has been delayed. The teacher in Teosinte who had planned to be the contact person for this exchange is not reachable via email at this point. I’ve been trying to contact others in the community who could help coordinate the process, but without success so far.
Right now, El Salvador is in a state of emergency due to heavy rains which have damaged houses, crops and infrastructure, and while we have not heard that Teosinte was particularly hard-hit, it still is a difficult time throughout the country. Given that we only have a couple of weeks of school left, I assume that we will not hear back from the teachers in time to pass their message on to you before summer. I am hoping that we’ll hear back over the summer and be able to pass on their response during next school year.
I do know that the teachers there are very excited about this curriculum and about the opportunity to have contact with you. Thanks for your patience and flexibility.
Beth Soltzberg
Hello everyone,
I’m attaching the link (below) to a really nice article in today’s Arlington Advocate about the 5/28 concert.
As this school year draws to a close, I want to thank you again for all your work on the Teosinte curriculum this year. It has been a pleasure to watch teachers, students, parents and community members working together to bring this program to life for fourth graders. I look forward very much to seeing it develop over the years to come.
Elizabeth Dray, a Bishop parent of an incoming fourth grader and an incoming second grader, and a long-time leader in the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project, will take over helm as coordinator of the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project’s component of the Teosinte curriculum at the close of this school year. I know you’ll all enjoy working with Elizabeth next year. I’m looking forward to continuing on as a volunteer. (My son will be in fourth grade next year, and he and I are both so excited that he’ll get to study Teosinte!)
Have a wonderful summer,