Waveplace Blog : October 2008

(by Donna McAvoy, Immokalee teacher, from newsletter) Last summer I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Waveplace Program in Immokalee. I was so impressed with the experience on many levels, most especially with the passion of organizers, trainers, investors, teachers, volunteers, and students. It soon became apparent to all of us that something very special was going on. On the last day of the program, I was sitting next to a smiling gentleman who whispered, "God is pleased." As a result, I was inspired to implement the Waveplace course with my 5th and 6th grade technology students during the...

(by Mary Scotti, from newsletter) Each day the children in Nicaragua waited excitedly in the schoolyard. Others on their bicycles anticipated the first glimpse of my taxi as it rounded the bend toward Buenos Aires. Waving and calling out greetings, they would ride along the puttering cab towards the school. Boys gathered round, anxious to be the ones to unload the computers. A mad dash for the door ensued as the children jockeyed to be the first in the classroom. The mentors were usually engaged in playful banter with the children. During the entire pilot, this excitement never waned. The...

(by Timothy Falconer, from newsletter) As I write this, Hurricane Omar is about to make landfall on the US Virgin Islands. From my talks with our friends, it's fair to say that everyone's scared. Guy Benjamin School has been closed all week. Ferry and mail service have been stopped. Mary Burks has moved her live-in boat to Hurricane Hole. Jan Kinder has been boarding up buildings since 6 AM. Everyone's braced for impact. Looking at the satellite images tonight, I'm reminded of our first Waveplace proposal, which starts: "Each summer and fall in the Caribbean, locals watch the weather with...

Thanks to everyone for the gift of your time to make tonight's Waveplace Awards a reality. I'm sure you're all wondering how it went ... and who won! For those watching at home, the live event may have seemed a bit haphazard, with long waits between acts. My apologies and great thanks for your patience. I was running "the booth" by myself. It was quite a task coordinating everything and communicating with four very distant places at the same time. While "whatever can go wrong will", in retrospect quite a lot more went right than not. The dances by the...

Just posted the one-hour Waveplace Awards video, which includes the winners and all twelve children reading their storybooks. http://waveplace.com/awards/ You can either watch the full hour from that page, or choose chapter-by-chapter from the list below the video box. Once watching a chapter, click "next" to view the next chapter. If you just want to know the winners, click the "Award Presentations" chapter. Thanks once again to the many who participated....