Read about Graded's Ilha do Cardoso project featured in the Veja SP, a local news online magazine. The article written by Carolina Giovanelli celebrates the volunteer work encouraged by American schools in Sao Paulo. She highlights the work done over the last twelve years by Graded students to uplift the lives of the inhabitants of Ilha do Cardoso. Great job Graded.
In association with TETO, Bricks is excited to announce that on Sep. 27th, 19 students will be going on our first trip. During the weekend, Graded students will have the opportunity to do a hands on community service, constructing houses for the families in the Native Brazilian Community of Tekoa Pyaui. Created to provide emergency dwellings for those living in poverty, TETO, active in Brazil since 2006, has constructed over 1040 homes for families in poverty in the districts of São Paulo, Osasco, Carapicuíba, Santo Andre, and Embu.
Left to Right: Julie Foudy, Amy Flindt, Ange Molony, Brandi Chastain
On Thursday the 23rd of May at Pacaembu stadium, Ms Flindt and I turned into giggling teens bursting with the excitement of meeting a couple of our childhood heroes. Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain were members of the US Women's soccer team throughout the 1990s and rose to fame after the World Cup win in 1999 (Chastain's celebration became as famous as the goal she scored).
Foudy and Chastain spent the week in Sao Paulo training coaches about ways to incorporate and encourage girls to join and then remain involved in soccer. In addition to this, the stars worked with about 125 junior girls in soccer clinics throughout their week long stay.
On Thursday evening a panel was held at Pacaembu to discuss the hurdles that Brazil faces in trying to attract more women (and support of women) to sports. Both Foudy and Chastain spoke about the struggles that the US faced in the 70s to get women into sports and that this struggle for equality in sports in not a new one. They encouraged the attendees to come together to come up with strategies to get the sports clubs, media and the government on board. I was shocked at some of the numbers that were presented to us: 13 million women/girls in soccer in the US vs Brazil's 400,000. Even if you consider that Brazil might not be able to get accurate results the difference in numbers is still alarming.
So, what can Graded do?
First - Graded girls you gotta keep playing sports!
Second - Create opportunities for girls in our community to get involved in sports.
Starting in August I would like to see our Graded Basketball and Soccer Cares clubs make an effort to attract more girls to these groups. It would be great to start with more Graded girls helping out (Gabriella M is already on board) and then we need to come up with creative ways to get the visiting girls to change their mindsets a little about sports, hopefully this will happen by having fun! Girls who play sports gain confidence, stay healthy and develop leadership skills, three awesome reasons to make sure this happens.
Check out this video aimed at keeping girls on the field:
Graded's FALA organization has won the 2013 AASSA Global Citizen Award! The organization will be recognized by AASSA and they will receive US$2500 for the program. The FALA program continues to improve even after 14 years and it makes a profound impact on the lives of all who are involved. Congratulations to all of the students, the current advisors, Ms. Carla Ramalho and Ms. Cary Varella and last semester's advisors, Ms. Lucinha Ariani, Ms. Natália Forattini and Ms. Sandra Greenwald. A special thanks also goes out to last year's advisors, Ms. Solange Lewis and Mr. Michael Lewis and Graded's Community Service Coordinator, Mr. Ana Cris Fernandes.
In less than two weeks Graded will see the return of our fashion show with the goal of raising money to build homes for the less privileged. This event is also a chance to support your classmates, as several of them will be featured as models. The event will take place at Shopping JK Iguatemi on Saturday, March 9, from 5-7 p.m., and tickets are only R$50. Please seeAnais Ioschpe (Grade 11), Matt Dias (G11), or Rafa Goldlust (G10) for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!
Each year the Association of American Schools in South America (AASSA) awards the Global Citizen Award to a student or school organization. For the second year in a row Graded's nominee is the FALA program. The selection committee felt that FALA has made "exemplary contributions" which have led to a positive local change and the experience has changed the lives of all of the participants. The overall winner receives up to USD$1,000 from TieCare International. Congratulations to all who are involved in the FALA program!
Victor Lee worked with a team to create the video below and note that the music was written by Caio Mello.
The Graded Animal Alliance (GAA) visited visit the AILA animal shelter last weekend. The shelter has approximately 400 dogs and 250 cats and the group visits periodically. Aside from volunteering at the shelter the group takes on specific projects. The next small project includes donating an apparatus that will allow a dog who is missing his hind legs to move about more easily. This is one more example of how our students spend time volunteering on the weekends.
This past weekend Graded hosted the Global Issues Network Conference of the Americas and it was an amazing learning event for all involved. The planning committee of Leo Sabo, Edu Ramos, Eliana Keinan, Carlos Krell, Pollo Suarez, Jennifer Gadsen-Carpenter, Geoff Carpenter, Caitlin LaFrance, Mark Engstrom, and David Bair has been working for over a year to organize this event. Over 300 students participated from 27 different schools and another 70 of Graded's students volunteered to support the event. Daisy Krell, Lika Kishino and Aleandro Oliveira also provided valuable support. The team built the theme around Wangari Waathai's story "I will be a humingbird" and each participant was asked, "What's your drop?" GIN takes community service and lessons on sustainability to a new level. A level which our students certainly deserve and need for today's world. It's not about holding bake sales to raise money for community service, it's about looking at how local groups can tackle issues related to J.F. Rischard's book, "High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them." It's clear that everyone involved in this weekend's conference left inspired by the learning and with hope for the future. GIN is an event for all ages. So, what are some of the takeaways for students this weekend?
Students learned from their peers through team workshops. These workshops provided participants with ideas and solutions that can be taken back to their schools. Some of the examples included:
working to eradicate lion fish from the Dominican Republic reefs
eliminating disposable plastic on various campuses
reforestation projects in Quito, Ecuador
organizing and running summer camps for children
promoting peace at UAS
creating beautiful hanging gardens using plastic bottles
The students also had access to passionate professionals who have decided to dedicate their lives to improving the world. While typically a keynote speaker will come to a conference, speak and then leave, at GIN, the speakers are accessible to students throughout the conference. Imagine being able to speak to Mike Furdyck, John Liu, Rob Burroughs, Linda Ragsdale, Lori Kumler, Sammie Raynor and Bruno Massote. All are excellent role models for our students because they are not just talking about addressing sustainability issues, they are taking action. Here are just a few of the interesting tidbits that students may have
Linda Ragsdale
Mike Furdyck decided to start TakingITGlobal, a not for profit organization designed to connect youth from around the world instead of seeking fortune as an entrepreneur in the information technology industry.
Linda Ragsdale promotes peace and the idea that we all have a choice how how we act. This after being shot in the terrorist attack in Mumbai.
Lori Kumler shared information on Brazil's water policy and how it is helping clean up rivers.
John Liu who is working with governments to rehabilitate ecosystems gave us all a wake up call to act and change our ways.
Rob Burroughs decided to use his passion, football, to stop the spread of HIV in Africa through Grass Root Soccer. Rob is currently a senior in college but he is a alumni of GIN conferences.
While students can certainly collect waste for Terracycle, Bruno Massote showed them that his company is using sophisticated technology to reuse and recycle very hard to recycle trash.
Sammie Raynor showed how young people were able to create, Lumana, a micro-finance corporation that helps small business owners in Ghana succeed.
You've heard "Ilha do Cardoso" mentioned many times over the years and now you have the opportunity to experience the project first hand. Find out how the partnership between Graded and the Ilha community is mutually beneficial. You'll realize that this is not about handing out donations to a charitable group. This is about working together to solve real life problems in a sustainable manner.
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