This interactive presentation brings the vibrant culture of Uganda to your classroom.
How it Works:
We know teachers are busy so rest assured this will not be a lot of extra work for you!
Culture Presentation:
Mary Muroski brings her 20 years of teaching experience and 15 years of experience traveling to Uganda to your middle school classroom with an in-person presentation using vibrant photos and artifacts. This first 45-minute session introduces your students to Ugandan culture. Topics center around geography and daily life including transportation, climate, food, customs, environment, economy, education, and government. At the end of the session, Mary will explain how the video meet will work for the next session.
In-School Video Meeting :
In the second session on a different day, your students visit with students in Uganda via live video for about 45 minutes. (We use Google Meet since this is a platform schools use.) Students in Uganda are well-prepared and will show artifacts, talk about their culture, and do some skits and songs. Song and dance is one of the common ways culture is explained in Ugandan culture. There will be time for students on both sides to ask questions of each other. (Students in Uganda must learn and speak English starting in 3rd grade which makes this work.)Your students can prepare a song or dance to perform for the students in Uganda if they’d like, but not necessary.
Some of the Details:
This works best for 5th and 6th-grade students with about 50 students in the sessions, but can also be tailored for older students. Fewer students are fine but larger groups make it difficult for students to see and be involved. Mary can do multiple presentations at your school to accommodate more students. Mary uses Google Slides for the presentation and will have artifacts to show.
For the video meet with Uganda a strong Internet connection at school and a camera/mic/projector set up is needed. Mary will coordinate with the school prior to the live video exchange.
One consideration for the live video exchange to keep in mind is that Uganda is 8 hours ahead in time and the live video meet should start no later than 9:00 a.m. EST.
Other Helpful Info:
Positive Media Exposure for Your School
In addition to the benefit of this exchange for your students, it can provide an opportunity for increased media exposure for your school. I’ve had local news publish and post a story submitted about the exchanges I’ve done with schools. Media exposure is also a benefit to the foundation and helps us help more children.
No Cost!
There is no cost to your school. Please be assured that there is no solicitation of, or expectation of, any fundraising on your school’s part. We are also not affiliated with any religious or political organizations. (If you do have PTO or grant funds available to help with the cost of the data connection for the live video meet for the school in Uganda it’s always appreciated.)
Learning Standards
Mary can provide helpful information to help you connect this experience to your learning standards. Students will be using inquiry skills; social studies- including geography and government; among other content areas depending on the depth of discussions.
Need to Print the Info?
Next Steps
Contact Mary (mary@ourclp.org) and set up a time to ask questions and discuss the details!
About Mary & CLP
Mary Muroski is the founder and director of the Children’s Legacy Partnership Foundation. Started in 2017, the foundation has been working in local communities and in rural Uganda, to break the cycle of poverty and violence for children through education and leadership development.
Mary had a 20-year career teaching middle school and also served as an instructional coach in the Champlain Valley district in Vermont. She started the foundation eight years ago out of a need she was seeing in some of her students, as well as in her travels to Uganda. Since retiring from teaching Mary enjoys staying connected to education, and giving back to the community, by sharing her knowledge of Ugandan culture which she feels fosters a wider global perspective.
Mary has two grown daughters and two grandchildren who all live in North Carolina. She now shares her time between Vermont and Pinehurst, North Carolina, where she is an active member of the Southern Pines Rotary Club.
