The Musical Review will, for obvious reasons, be virtual and we are seeking talented students with digital and visual art prowess to create engaging visuals to accompany the songs. As it stands, there are roughly a dozen singers and a dozen backgrounds to be made, but only two artists have signed up! The designing process should be relaxing, with over a month to finish and afford each student a high degree of artistic freedom.
I have always felt strongly about women’s rights, dignity and freedom from violence and Darnice’s Place is a place making a real contribution to addressing these issues. Many of the girls and women that Darnice’s Place serves need support from all of us to free themselves from bad habits, continue their education and gain skills to build strong and resilient lives. Christine, the founder, is an inspiration to me and many others!
Please join Christine, me, and other volunteers in helping these women.
Thank you- Daria
When Hank travelled home to Australia over the 2019-2020 winter break, he and his family drove the three hours between Sydney airport and his hometown. They drove parallel to a firewall unlike any they had ever seen and saw its destruction firsthand. While his house was saved – the fire stopping only a few dozen meters short of his home – many of his family and friends were not so lucky. When he returned to America he and his mate Iris, a fellow Aussie who had had family and friends lose their houses to the horrific bushfire season too, planned to raise money and awareness for those people who share their home country but who had been less fortunate this bushfire season. Since then, with the help and generosity of the WIS community, they have raised over two thousand USD to be donated to organisations helping fight the fires and protect the people and animals affected most. As we approach what is projected to be another devastating bushfire season in Australia, not dissimilar to the crisis raging on the West Coast, Hank and Iris want to make a final push to raise donations for relief and preparedness in anticipation of another disaster. The two have partnered with Nestle, the producers of Australia's best treat the Tim Tam, to sell the snacks around the WIS community and donate 100% of the profits to fight the coming bushfire season. They invite you to enjoy the delicious treats and to help the fight against the bushfire via contactless delivery or curbside pickup, and they want to thank the WIS community for its unparalleled commitment and generosity to charity and the fight for a better planet.
Here is a link to the sign-up form! I have extended it to take in both delivery and pickup orders. That link should allow you to have editing access to the form which I thought would be best as it allows you to send it to specific people, but obviously please do not share it with the whole group.
Thank you! - Hank & Iris
One of the main effects of quarantine for students in the Primary School is that they do not receive daily story time lessons from their language teachers. This initiative aims to continue story time virtually through the creation of a library of picture book recordings in Spanish, French, or Italian created by the WIS community members. It is crucial that this initiative moves forward so that the students in the Primary School remain exposed to the languages they are learning. Story time builds vocabulary, increases literacy and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime. The continued exposure to literature allows students in the Primary School to build knowledge, regarding the topics of the books. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate your help in continuing story time virtually!
Volunteers would record themselves reading a storybook either in Spanish, French or Italian with the help of the website which provides step-by-step instructions and tutorials as to how volunteers can create their recording.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions!
All the best- Sogio