Students will learn concepts like acceptance, resolution and tolerance through activities during the two-day session.
BY JOANIE PERRY | OTISFIELD The first school/business partnership with the Seeds of Peace International Camp here has been formed.
Director of Oxford Hills Community Education Exchange Maureen Howard and Madison Avenue School Principal Jane Gaskell worked together in forming the partnership. They met with Seeds of Peace representatives Thursday morning to discuss the partnership. Howard and Gaskell reside in Otisfield.
The Seeds of Peace International Camp teaches conflict resolution to teens from foreign nations. The camp slogan, “Empowering children of war to break the cycle of violence,” outlines its purpose.
Under the business/school partnership, early in June fifth-graders from Madison Avenue School in Oxford will assist in cleaning up the camp for its opening. Students will help clean cabins and the beach on Pleasant Lake, which borders the camp. They would also do minor fix-up projects like painting and trail clearing, according to Gaskell.
During the summer, heading into sixth grade, students will be invited to events at the camp. Gaskell plans to send post cards to the students involved in the project informing them of camp events they are invited to attend. That schedule is being set up.
A tentative schedule has three sessions planned for summer 2001. The first session will bring new youths to the camp from India and Pakistan and the Middle East. Portland Projects youths will also be at the camp. Under the Portland Project, teen-age emigrants from all over the world, who now live in Portland, are invited to the camp.
The second session will bring former Seeds of Peace campers from the Middle East back to the camp to reinforce the teachings of the camp. In the third session, teenagers from the Balkans, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey will be at the camp.
In the proposal presented to Seeds of Peace representatives, Gaskell wrote, “(the) partnership … would serve to broaden Madison Avenue students’ understanding of conflict in the world and peaceful resolutions which are being attempted.”
In the fall, students, who will be in the sixth grade, will spend a night at the camp and hear camp alumni speak about co-existence and conflict resolution.
Gaskell is planning to have parents and volunteers involved in this part of the project. People interested in volunteering may contact Gaskell at the school 744-0315.
An evening cookout is also planned during the sleepover. Gaskell suggests there may be minimal costs to students for this portion of the program and is hopeful the cost may be underwritten by a grant and/ or donations.
“The purpose of this camp experience would be to help students grow in their understanding of peaceful conflict resolution,” Gaskell wrote in the proposal.
“Children would learn about conflicts in the world, beyond Oxford Hills, and would become more aware of the underlying issues behind those conflicts.”
Students will learn concepts like acceptance, resolution, tolerance, teamwork, trust, empathy, empowerment and leadership through activities during the two-day session.
Howard noted this is a trial year for the program and said she hopes all the schools in the district will have a chance to partner with the camp. “I love the camp and am excited about how it will benefit students in our school district,” Howard said. “It’s wonderful.”