Bishop Forson School

One of my recent projects outside of work has been preparing for a teaching and teacher training experience in Ghana, Africa. A couple months ago, the math department at my middle school was asked to provide a member to correspond with a math teacher at the Bishop Forson School in Ghana. I happily accepted the invitation and have become increasingly involved not onlywith the math teacher but now with the school as a whole. The director of the program quickly asked if I would be willing to volunteer there for a month this summer as a teacher as well as to provide training for the on-site teachers. As I prepare to go there this summer, I am looking forward to it more and more.

The school opened in 2003 and is attended by about 250 children and youth of the rural Volta Region. The school was built to serve the orphaned children who were initially denied quality education, and the students are sponsored by volunteer families and individuals. More information regarding the school can be found here.

I will be taking a few projects for students to experiment with and learn from this summer. One of the projects is creating kites! In my recent research on kites, I have found some really neat designs. I am really looking forward to finding time to create some as I decide which designs are most appropriate to take with me! Here are some pictures of my findings...

Box Kite (thin wooden dowels or flat sticks, glue, wrapping paper, paint)

Bell Tetra Kite (same mater. plus vertex-fasteners... altern.- stiff straws with string through the center)
Hexagonal Box Kite (same idea as a reg. box kite, but it's supposed to spiral really well in flight)

One of the purposes of teaching students how to create kites is to encourage them to see the possibilities of art and math in correlation with one another. I am really looking forward to learning from the teachers there and sharing with them the power of hands-on exploration and learning.

Kite-making will be one project in addition to students experimenting with geometric solids as they create mobiles they can hand proudly in their school and homes. Painting, cutting, pasting, and forming of 3-dimensional figures has been proven to even get college students excited about math class!

These projects will take place during my second week on the school campus as part of a project called "Painting Possibilities." The third and fourth will will be mostly spent working on an extension project for student and teachers of Bishop Forson along with 3 other volunteer teachers. Students will learn together as they design and create a geodesic dome using materials found locally. In short, a geodesic dome is a half-sherical enclosure made of connecting triangles. This structure will be used for students leisure/recreation and a retreat from the hot sun.

Unlike the image below, the students will use weaving skills learning one of the classes during the previous week at "Painting Possibilities" to making coverings that will fit over the triangular openings in the skeleton. So, the blue liking you see will be woven material created by the students.

Geodesic Dome (Bamboo Frame)

In preparation for the execution of this project, I am fundraising. All donations will go into supplies and materials necessary for me to teach and train at this school. It's all volunteer work. I am looking of forward to sharing this experience with friends and family as it progresses, and I feel that it is a great opportunity to help a group of individuals who are less fortunate in many ways.

Here's how you can donate: A link has been set up for donations* to be contributed in my name.

• You can visit http://www.pagusafrica.org/donations/skeen.php and donate electronically.
  

Or

• Mail a check written to Pagus: Africa with "Jenni Skeen" in the Memo or attached note t0 619 West Washington Street, Norristown, PA 19401
  

*all donations are tax deductible

All contributions, no matter how small or large are very helpful and appreciated. Please don't feel an obligation to donate- regardless, I am looking forward to sharing what I learn along the way with you!