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Welcome to Laurie Goodman's blog. I use this space to share news and opinions about education and schools in Ridgewood, the state of New Jersey and the nation, in addition to other issues I'm personally interested in. I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, questions or opinions, too, by posting comments on any blog entry. Please observe basic courtesy -- keep your comments focused on issues, no personal attacks or bullying, please. Contact me directly at: lauriegood@mac.com

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ridgewood Village School is set to open in Cambodia with Village teachers, staff & families at dedication

The Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia is now is a REALITY. Twenty five children and adults -- including Dr. Kashmanian & Mrs. Handy from GW and Ms. Stovell from BF -- are traveling to Cambodia to dedicate "our" school and meet "our" students.

Our own students at Orchard, Travell, Willard, RHS, BF and GW Schools had bake sales, raffles, Penny Wars, Hat Days and many other fundraising activities and raised enough money not only to build a rural school in Cambodia, but also to equip it with books, computers, English teachers and other items needed to support a school. These were student-centered fundraising efforts.

After the formal dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony on February 17, the Cambodian students and the American visitors will participate in cultural exchange of games, songs, dances, art, English lessons and music! Ridgewood students have made scrapbooks and even a video of our schools and village to share with the Cambodian students. They are bringing Polaroid instant cameras and video cameras to capture every smile and to capture these memories for a lifetime. According to Mrs. Handy's website, they plan to post the video on her site if the internet at the hotel cooperates. Every Cambodian student will receive a sack with school supplies (notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils, erasers, sharpeners)! The teachers will receive classroom sets of supplies and a list of Ridgewood students who would love to be a Pen Pal! They will also leave postage paid envelopes for the teachers and students to mail their Ridgewood counterparts notes and pictures.

Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this amazing accomplishment -- imagine, students in Ridgewood actually helped build a school in Cambodia!

Click here to visit Mrs. Handy's website, see more photos, follow their progress on the trip to the dedication and more.

Click here for the GW website about the Cambodia School Project.

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