Aug

ust

2016

University of MissouriHigh School

Kathryn Fishman-Weaver, PhD Director of Academic Affairs and Engagement

Dear Partner Educators,

I am sitting in a hotel room in São Paulo overlooking the city and thinking of you. The sun is just starting to set; magic light reflects off the windows on a row of skyscrapers casting soft light down Paulista Ave. Our week visiting schools in the state of São Paulo is coming to a close. I'm both exhausted...and invigorated…

Yesterday, we spent the day in Santos (SP). Everyone told us it was winter and to come prepared. Stephanie and I did not come prepared. We wore sandals and sundresses. When we arrived in Santos, an old man shook his head and told us that he had lived there all his life and never remembered feeling cold like this. Freezing rain stung our faces. The palm trees literally looked like they were going to blow over. Still, we insisted, we had come so far, we had to go to the shore. Together, we marched right into the ocean and laughed. Summer...winter… I remembered visiting another beach, after another full day of teaching, several years ago in San Francisco.

This week, I learned new ways to fold distances between us.

In a relatively short time, I’ve fallen in love with a place 6,000 miles away. Wherever I am, after dinner, I crave brigadeiro; there are certain American pop songs I now associate with driving down the freeway in São Paulo; in the evening, after we tuck in our daughter she calls out to me Beijos, Mama; my phone now autocorrects in Portuguese. When I am in Brazil I feel both at home...and far from home...

Brazil matters to me, not so much because of the food, the music, the ocean, or even the beautiful way the stars hang upside down across the sky, instead it matters to me because of the people I’ve come to know, to teach with, laugh with, and learn with.

Colégio Presbiteriano Mackenzie Tamboré

Colégio Cassiano Ricardo

Colégio Magno

Colégio Emilio Ribas

After spending the afternoon at Colégio Emílio Ribas, Amanda Pais invited us back to her classroom for pie. The class was celebrating high marks on their recent Health exam. Amanda cut me a large piece of lemon pie, which I enjoyed while visiting with a group of juniors. The students were beaming and said they were so happy we’d come back to spend more time with them.

What started as a conversation about goals, turned into a Portuguese lesson for me: complete with lots of pantomiming, holding noses to make the "ão" sound, laughing, and exaggerated syllables. I could have stayed there for days, learning new words.

In this lesson, where I was the student...and my students, the teacher... I learned the word saudade. The class lit up explaining to me, with pride, that there is not an English equivalent for this word.

A student drew a heart on the board. “It is like missing someone, but it’s more than that. It is missing who you are, when you are with that person.” Together...apart…

It was late when we left. The students hugged me and said, Tenho saudades de você. My heart both flew...and sighed... Colégio Dante Alighieri

You--

our students, teachers, coordinators, partners, in this international educational adventure. We are charting a thrilling new course in learning.

I have a million stories I could share from our very full week touring amazing schools, and interacting with outstanding students. For instance, I could write about dancing the cha cha slide with students at Mackenzie Tamboré; teaching in a bilingual third grade classroom at Jean Piaget; leading a reflective exercise in TEN different classes at Dante; taking a Brazilian street dancing class at Magno; or posing for silly photos with the students at Cassiano Ricardo, but for the purposes of this letter, I’d like to share a story about language and lemon pie.

Together we are finding new ways to string words together as we attempt to explain our new relationships in these classrooms. The stars, of course, aren’t hanging upside down, instead we are looking up from the beautiful courtyards of our schools to see the world in a new way.

The same student who taught me the word saudade, also told me he wants to reform education in Brazil. He wants the students in public schools to have the same opportunities he does. I heard from students who want to be doctors, lawyers, judges, filmmakers, veterinarians, and journalists. They all have big dreams. I sat in classrooms across São Paulo listening eagerly to our students’ plans to make the world better. Third grade children told me their thoughts about peace; Julia, a student at Dante, demonstrated leadership by presenting to a team of administrators; I toured the organic garden at Jean Piaget, which is literally growing food and flowers from scraps that used to be thrown away.

Our students are gaining the skills and perspective needed to put the world together in ways we haven’t thought of yet; to fold the distances that used to divide us into new constellations of connection and possibility. Nothing gives me more hope.

To all of you who hosted us last week, but particularly to our students who sent me home with new ideas and a full heart, muito obrigada!

Grata, Kathryn

Director of Academic Affairs Mizzou K-12 | University of Missouri High School

Colégio Jean Piaget

Colégio Presbiteriano Mackenzie Tamboré

AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT

In the spirit of making a positive difference in the world, MK12-HSE is thrilled to announce a new program: MIDDLE SCHOOL GLOBAL LEADERS (MSGL)! MSGL is an interdisciplinary English immersion program that challenges 7th and 8th grade students to tackle real problems. Using problem-based learning (PBL), students will work to solve pertinent United Nations Global issues. This low-cost program offers the possibility of automatic acceptance to the high school program. MSGL launches in January 2017, with training on December 15-16, 2016. For more information, contact HSE today!

LEAD TEACHERS

As you know we are working with a large academic team. However, each course has one lead teacher who provides instructional and curricular oversight to their courses. Below are our lead teacher assignments for the new semester. Please feel free to contact these partner teachers directly via email with any course or student specific questions outside of the discussion space.

Jeff Kopolow, US History 1, US Government, Economics (kopolowj@missouri.edu)

Karen Scales, English 10A, English 10B (scaleska@missouri.edu)

Kat Sasser, English 9A, English 9B, Debate (sasserk@missouri.edu)

Megan Lilien, Health (lilienm@missouri.edu)