Sneak Preview of our Wall of Dreams, Hope and Peace

This week we'll finish putting together all the primary students' projects onto one wall of messages of dreams, hope and peace for the new year. The projects will be displayed on the wall outside of Amelia's classroom (2A).

Infantil's peace signs

"I have a dream that..."

This week, Jason's 5th and 6th grade classes wrote sentences starting with I have a dream...

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963, calling for the unity of the American people and an end to discrimination in the country. "I have a dream" is now an iconic phrase that signals a vision of hope for the future. Check out the students' thoughts below:

I have a dream that when we go to school no one bullies you because of your skin color or anything similar and understands that you are a child like him or her, that you have feelings, that we are all the same...people.

I have a dream that people that are in war and have no house and no food can stay in our country until the war finishes. I can help achieve my dream by...when I am older, helping people enter our country and more countries and find a house to live.

I have a dream that there will not be bullying. / I have a dream that bullying ends. I can help achieve my dream by speaking out against bullying.

I have a dream that racism ends. I think that I can help achieve my dream by respecting all people.

MLK Day Projects

In Infantil this week, the kids learned about peace and colored their own peace sign for our Martin Luther King Jr. cultural project.

In 1st and 2nd grade, we talked about people we admire—our heroes. Then, we brainstormed positive words to describe our heroes. Finally, the students wrote a sentence about a hero in their life and drew a picture of that person. Check out their work below!

Students of 2A with their final projects

Many students wrote that their mums are their heroes:  

My hero is my mum because she is happy. (Mayte, 1B)
My hero is my mum because she is happy. (Luis, 1B)
My hero is my mum because she is beautiful and generous. (Asier, 1B)
My hero is my mum because she is generous. (Candela, 1B)

Other students from 1B wrote about their brothers, dads, and parents: 

My hero is my brother because he is generous. (Sergio, 1B)
My hero is my dad because he is smart. (Emilio, 1B)
My hero is my my brother because he is kind. (Sara, 1B)
My hero is my mom and dad because they are good and happy. (Sofía A., 1B)

My hero is my dad because he is intelligent, generous, funny and kind. (Marcos G., 2A)
My hero is my dad because he is generous. (Marcos H., 2A)
My hero is my dad because he is nice, intelligent and generous. (Juan Luis, 2A)
My hero is my dad because he is generous, caring and intelligent. (Leyre, 2A)

Students from 1A wrote about their aunts, uncles, and mums: 

My hero is my aunt because she is nice. (Daniela M., 1A)
My hero is my uncle because he is very very very fun. (Mario, 1A)
My hero is my mum because she plays with me. (Javi, 1A)
My hero is my mum because she is nice. (Leyre, 1A)

Sisters are great heroes, too! 

My hero is my sister because she is generous. (Noa, 1A)
My hero is my sister because she is fun. (Miranda, 1A)
My hero is my sister because she is fun. (Amanda, 1A)

Some students from 2A chose their teacher as their hero:

My hero is my teacher because she is funny, nice and intelligent. (Angela, 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is funny and intelligent. (Rodrigo, 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is generous and nice. (Jose, 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is intelligent. (Marta, 2A)

My hero is my teacher because she is funny, nice and kind. (Sofia, 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is nice, kind, funny, intelligent, caring and generous. (Angie 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is nice, intelligent and funny. (Daniel C., 2A)
My hero is my teacher because she is nice, intelligent and caring. (Violeta, 2A)

These projects will be displayed on the wall outside of Amelia's classroom (2A). 

Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.

Every third Monday of January, Americans celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most important figures of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. King was a leader of nonviolent activism during the 1950s and 1960s. He, along with many others, fought for equal rights and an end to racial discrimination and segregation.

King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, given in 1963 during the March on Washington, has gone down in history as one of the most inspiring speeches pushing for equality in the U.S. You can find the speech by clicking on the links here:

"I have a dream" written speech

Video of the "I have a dream" speech

Today, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. by volunteering or participating in a "Day of Service." Some ways to volunteer include: visiting the elderly at a nursing home, collecting food for the local food shelf, serving food at a soup kitchen, and cleaning the local animal shelter.

An advertisement to recruit volunteers for MLK Day. "What are you doing for others?"

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To celebrate MLK day at Colegio Torrente Ballester, Jason, Melissa and I each decided to approach the topic with different projects.

With the infantil kids, we talked about peace as they colored their own peace sign.

With first and second grade, we talked about heroes and people we admire. The students wrote a sentence about who their hero is and why, and they drew pictures of their hero.

In third and fourth grade, Melissa talked to the students about equality and what they hope or wish for in the world. The students created thought bubbles to express their vision for a better world.

Finally, Jason talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and the I have a dream speech. The students made postcards with their "I have a dream" statements.

Stay tuned for pictures of our projects with the kids!

"If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward." - Martin Luther King Jr.