With support from SGCEF, students at the SGI High School will be able to participate in Books of Hope, now E-Luminate, a not-for-profit organization that fosters literacy development both here and abroad.
Through the project, students will be designing non-fiction textbooks for students in a sister school in Sierra Leone, where students have had to struggle through civil unrest, including war and slavery. School is a luxury for these students, but they do not have the textual materials that line the shelves in our own classrooms. Students’ books, on self-selected topics of interest for various grade levels, will help to bring hope and peace, and bring our sister students the friendship and love needed to construct their dreams.
According to Apryl Poch, special education teacher at SGI High School, “Some of my students have started creating books on global history topics, creative writing, sports, and cooking. While I haven’t been able to provide the students with many visual representations during the “construction” of the web pages, the new site is currently up and running at http://e-luminate.org/. Various videos, photos, PowerPoints, and sample books are available on this website. These “visuals” help show what students will be doing.”