Projects:

We had to do 6 different projects with 6 different grade levels. The first project was discussing their summer vacations. We found out that the fourth graders went all over the USA. The second project was butterflies with third graders. The third project was with fifth grade and they did river water quality testing. This was tricky because the river bed had grown alot since we had a flood in June. I had to get the water and go down a steep hill to get to the river. I did not end up in the river so that was a blessing. The fourth project was with second grade and it was about vegetables. We did not have a successful vegetable garden though. We had so much rain in June that our watermelons and pumpkins were growing. The problem was animals eating the food. The other problem was that children were picking the vegetables and using them as balls. The fifth project was our Soup Luncheon to raise money to feed the hungry. This was with sixth grade and they did a wonderful job serving the teachers soup. The teachers would pay money for soup and all the profit went to a organization that feeds the hungry. Our last project was with first grade and it was about plants. The children loved doing the plant projects. We planted a flower garden, dyed paper with flowers and observed plant parts. The hardest part was working with the other grade levels. Some teachers did a wonderful job of doing the projects and some did not want to help at all. The children loved doing the projects and learning so that is all that matters to me.

Video Conferences:

For the most part the video conferences went smooth. The first two and the final one had technology problems. The challenge was that it was late on our side. If the conference ran late I had parents taking their children home and not waiting until it was over. The reason was because some of the time was dinner time and bed time. We did have a wonderful turn out of children though. We had a wonderful support of parents too. Some of them would want to observe the conference.

Communication and Relationship with your partner:

I have a wonderful relationship with the whole school of Shishiori. Some of the teachers would ask to see my face on the conference so the children could say hi to me. My partner were emailing me or Elissa to gain information. I hope to continue the relationship with my partners. I am hoping to take my husband to Japan someday so he can meet all the teachers too.

Impact on you, your students, your faculty members and community:

The impact on me was that it was a learning experience. It allowed me to get out of my comfort zone (which I do not like normally) and go to another country to learn about other people in the world. I was not used to being so spoiled. I also learned about technology in the process too. I love using skype and would like to keeping using to communicate with people. The impact on my students no matter what grade level was the opportunity to see other children their age. Some of them were amazed that the children were their age. It was refreshing to see their reaction to the conference. It was that way with first grade especially since it was their first experience. Most of the faculty was supportive of this program. Some of teachers wanted to send things to the children in Japan. We have to prepare the children for a state mandated test so that took away from our time that could be used learning about Japan. The community continued to support this program as they had in the past.

Suggestions and Recommendations:

Since this is the last year I guess there will not be many suggestions. I just want to say thanks for a wonderful opportunity. I am hoping that my husband some day can participate in the teacher program. Right now, he can not apply because we are trying to have a baby. I hope to stay in contact with everyone involved in the Master Teacher Program.

I have attached a picture from each project:

First pic- One of my students dying paper with flower dyes.
Second pic- The third grade's butterfly.
Third pic- The fifth grade's river water quality test.
Fourth pic- The second grade's watermelon before it was eaten by an animal.
Fifth pic- The sixth grade teacher soup lucheon. Danita was in charge of the project.
Sixth pic- Fourth grade discussing their summer vacation.

Thanks again,

Deana Melancon
Callisburg Elementary

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