Students at The Foundations School recently had a Zoom call with a class at Mokra Horakov Elementary School in the Czech Republic. This exciting opportunity is made possible through Blue Planet, a non-profit organization under the CCE umbrella that facilitates classroom-to-classroom collaborations between schools around the world.

During this call with their friends in the Czech Republic, students at The Foundations School learned a nursery rhyme in Czech, as well as how to count to ten. Afterwards, the students in both classes played a game called “All My Friends…” to see the similarities and differences in their day-to-day lives and interests.

Our students are now preparing to send a culture box to the class at Mokra Horakov. The students in the Czech Republic will also send a box that has treats and cultural items that tell the story of where they’re from. On the Zoom call, students discussed different kinds of candy they would include in the box, as well as keychains of a popular cartoon character from the Czech Republic.

This latest interaction is part of an ongoing web of collaborations facilitated through The Foundations School by Blue Planet. Students have also collaborated with students in the United Kingdom, India, Spain, Morocco, and more. These types of interactions expand our children’s knowledge of the world and enable them think critically and work with people who have different lived experiences than their own.

“It’s amazing how much they grow in a year.”

Etonella Christlieb is a generous supporter of Center for Creative Education. At the start of the school year, she visited with the Flagler Rotary Club to serve as a guest reader in celebration of International Literacy Day.

But Ms. Christlieb—or Ms. Etonella, as the second grade class calls her—did not want that first interaction to be her last one. She became a regular VIP reader, coming once a month to visit the second grade class. Each time, she brought an approved book to read and add to their class library, as well as a book for them to bring home.

“When I came with the Rotary Club, we were telling the kids to make sure they read 15 minutes each night. And the kids said ‘We can’t read! We don’t have books!’” Ms. Etonella explained. “Well, now they have at least five books.”

Ms. Etonella also often brought trinkets that were tied to the story or the season, such as cotton snowballs at Christmastime and bat rings when she visited just before Halloween. Her gifts make the students feel special.

But Ms. Etonella’s real gift as a volunteer isn’t just what she gives the students, but how she makes them feel. She is a skilled reader, bringing the books to life and keeping the students engaged with the story. She hugs the students each time she comes and tells them she loves them. They have looked forward to her visits all year, their faces pressed against the glass when they know she’s coming.

Center for Creative Education and The Foundations School thanks Ms. Christlieb for her consistent generosity to our students. The gifts that she has given them—both tangible and emotional—will ensure that her impact reverberates. We look forward to welcoming her back to the VIP Reader program next year, when these students will be in the third grade!