I am a 1st grade teacher in the village of Shishmaref, Alaska. We are a small, K-12 school in rural Alaska. Shishmaref is a beautiful Inupiaq Eskimo village on Sarichef Island in the Chukchi Sea. Many people have probably never heard of this place, but I would like to ask for your help.
On November 11, 2016 a 7th grader at our school committed suicide. Our community and students are grieving.
If you were to walk around our school in the week following his passing, you would have seen photographs, notes, and letters remembering a boy whose story will remain unwritten. In the wake of this tragedy, I would like to do something positive for our students in his memory.
I am raising money so that each teacher (K-6) can choose a book to purchase a classroom set to give to their students at the end of the school year. Teachers will write a positive and personalized message to each of their students on the inside of every book. By the time students reach middle school, they will have a collection of messages of love and encouragement from each of their teachers.
These books would be given to students in May 2017. The end of the year is a stressful time for students. For many, it is a time of transition and uncertainty. For others, it is a time of demanding statewide testing. This year, it will also be a time when they are missing their friend and loved one.
Every single student deserves to know that their life is worth living no matter what. Sometimes it takes other people to show us what makes us special because we don't see it ourselves. It is important to let our students know that they are more than their circumstances and that they have many adults in their lives who care about them.
Books can be a powerful way to spread messages of hope, love, positivity, and self-worth. They can help us to empathize. They allow us dream and use our imaginations. They show us characters we can relate to and teach us that we aren't alone in experiencing good times and bad. I want to share these messages with our students.
It really does take a village to raise a child, and we have lost one of ours. Nothing can make it right, but, with your help, we can try to make a difference for the future of these students.
Quyanna from the Shishmaref School Northern Lights.
Northen Lights shine bright.
Thank you!
On November 11, 2016 a 7th grader at our school committed suicide. Our community and students are grieving.
If you were to walk around our school in the week following his passing, you would have seen photographs, notes, and letters remembering a boy whose story will remain unwritten. In the wake of this tragedy, I would like to do something positive for our students in his memory.
I am raising money so that each teacher (K-6) can choose a book to purchase a classroom set to give to their students at the end of the school year. Teachers will write a positive and personalized message to each of their students on the inside of every book. By the time students reach middle school, they will have a collection of messages of love and encouragement from each of their teachers.
These books would be given to students in May 2017. The end of the year is a stressful time for students. For many, it is a time of transition and uncertainty. For others, it is a time of demanding statewide testing. This year, it will also be a time when they are missing their friend and loved one.
Every single student deserves to know that their life is worth living no matter what. Sometimes it takes other people to show us what makes us special because we don't see it ourselves. It is important to let our students know that they are more than their circumstances and that they have many adults in their lives who care about them.
Books can be a powerful way to spread messages of hope, love, positivity, and self-worth. They can help us to empathize. They allow us dream and use our imaginations. They show us characters we can relate to and teach us that we aren't alone in experiencing good times and bad. I want to share these messages with our students.
It really does take a village to raise a child, and we have lost one of ours. Nothing can make it right, but, with your help, we can try to make a difference for the future of these students.
Quyanna from the Shishmaref School Northern Lights.
Northen Lights shine bright.
Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Allison Hargrave
Organizer
Shishmaref, AK
Matt Palmer
Beneficiary