The annual spelling bee at the Have Faith Haiti Bilingual School is both a year-end celebration of our students’ language advancement and a fun way for teachers to evaluate students’ spelling skills. Inevitably, some familiar faces make it to the final rounds and in keeping with tradition, the students’ excitement in preparing usually means a few ties!
Please enjoy this recap of the 2019 Bee, held on June 14th (more…)
In April, Gardner-White Furniture and Sealy kindly donated 50 new mattresses, as well as a large sectional sofa. Perhaps you caught the story earlier:
Well, they have finally arrived! They were driven to Miami, and from there shipped in a container to Haiti. It can take some time to clear customs, but they arrived in early July. New bed bunk frames were purchased by the mission, and the students helped to build them. And while we watched the fireworks in the US on Independence Day, they slept their first night in the beds! They’re thrilled with their new sleeping digs!
We’re really grateful that people here in Detroit care so much about people who are a half-a-world away!
This event is a fundraiser for scholarships for students from the Have Faith Haiti Mission to attend college in partnership with the Michigan Colleges Alliance. VIP patrons are invited to an exclusive Meet and Greet with Mitch Albom and Dave Barry before the event and enjoy hors d’oeuvres, beer & wine.
When
Friday, August 2, 2019
6:45 pm: VIP Meet & Greet in the Community Engagement Room)
8:00 pm: Main Event
Where
Great Lakes Center for the Arts
800 Bay Harbor Drive
Petoskey, MI 49770
Map
Dan Wenkel and Dr. Beth Robelia, dedicated science teachers from Minnesota, returned with fellow educator and art teacher, Chris Weihe, for another engaging STEAM week in March. STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art, & mathematics, is tightly coupled with innovation and experiential learning. The trio brought down 14 suitcases packed with supplies, including 3 sewing machines, K’nex, snap circuit kits, and more. The week’s focus entailed experimentation, problem solving, building, failing, and persevering. As the kids reflect, it was recognized as, “THE BEST WEEK EVER!”
Dan and Beth had the youngest students building with giant Duplo Legos, launching paper rockets and predicting flight projections, color mixing, building race tracks, and engaging in countless hands on activities. Beth used candy and “fact family” cards to teach our preschoolers addition and subtraction, which the students loved.
Older students examined samples under the microscopes that were brought down during their previous trip. Students also engaged in an engineering challenge where they were grouped and given the task of creating the most durable yet cost effective tower. Students were offered materials like wooden posts, rubber bands, wire, glue, and rope, which they could “purchase.” After understanding various design constraints, students began calculating the cost of their supplies before building. At the end of the week, the towers were tested. While some were crushed under pressure, many survived and our young engineers are eager for larger scale engineering challenges.
Students were taught the importance of recycling fabric, especially clothing. Students became fabric engineers and designed, cut patterns, and actually sewed articles of clothing and accessories for the youngers students. Creations were modeled during the end of the week fashion show. The boys also sewed cushion and couch covers for the living room couch.
Ms. Chris discussed upcycling and taught students to fuse plastic grocery bags with an iron to create purses, pencil cases, and durable bags. Students also learned how to make paper and created ecofriendly paper seedling cups. Students intend to plant seeds in them, and once sprouted, students will place the cups inside garden where they’ll naturally decompose.
Additionally, students were taught how to print images on fabric. They drew images, traced them with silicone to create a print plate, applied ink, and pressed their images onto fabric totes, creating unique designs. Ms. Chris taught the kids the importance of addressing value, along with positive and negative spaces in art. Students also learned about background washing and the various ways to paint with water colors. After school, individual art tutorials were given to the interested aspiring artists.
The kids weren’t the only ones to benefit from the week. The guests taught our nannies how to operate the sewing machines that were kindly donated. They also blessed our teachers with countless educational resources and professional development, where cognitively guided instruction techniques were discussed.
One of the most impressive projects was the garden renovation. With the help of Dan, the mission has a new and durable garden. An eavestrough was placed to guide water into a series of barrels that make up the water collection system. A composter was built so that students can place food scraps and leaves from the yard within to produce rich soil.
ROCKET MAN PEOPLE
Launching paper rockets!
UNDER THE LENS
Josue reviews the microscope lesson
RECYCLING FASHION
UPCYCLING: FROM PLASTIC TO FASHION
FABRIC PRINTING
SEEDLINGS
Enolyka and Lorvens using homemade paper to produce eco-friendly seedling cups
Holy exclamations, Batman, that’s a lot of alliteration! But there was also a lot of spirit as we celebrated the holy season.
Over the weekend we honored some of our sports folks.
We broke bread together on Christmas eve, and Manno, home from college for the first time since he started last semester, sat with the little ones.
No Christmas day celebration would be complete without a Nativity scene and short play.
Junie-Anna delivers a rousing sermon about the meaning of Christmas, and gets photobombed by a skinny Santa!
And music and dance performances from The Band (not that one) and a dance group!
We hope your holidays were as warm and festive for you as they were for us. We’d like to thank you for all of your support in 2018, and all that you make possible.
Last weekend, students at Have Faith Haiti were treated to an all-day field trip to an ecological reserve called Wynne Farm. Taking a multi-faceted approach to nature preserve, Wynne Farm is one of the few nature attractions, ecological parks, environmental schools, and yoga retreats in Haiti. Wynne Farm is located up the mountain south of Port-au-Prince amidst breathtaking ambiance. Its mission is to teach students, farmers, and visitors locally and globally about conservation, reforestation, and sustainable organic farming.
During the trip, sponsored by Dr. Richard Keidan of Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI and friend of the mission Patty Anderson, students toured the farm and visited with the animals, all while learning about the benefits of environmental stewardship.
They also went horseback riding, hiking, learned a Brazilian & martial arts dance, made earrings from recycled plastic bottles, and converted recycled paper into charcoal bricks!
