Thursday, January 4, 2007

CBS- The Early Show Appearance

Students woke up in the early hours of January 4, 2007 to appear on the sidewalk of CBS' The Early Show and show their support for the New Orleans Rebuilding cause. This opportunity was set up by the Kew-Forest School in Queens. Members of the three participating New York independent schools were represented: Kew-Forest (Queens), Trinity (Manhattan), and Ethical Culture Fieldston School (Riverdale). Left: Julie Chen, CBS Early Show anchor, speaks briefly with students about their work in New Orleans. Right: Max (Fieldston), Raymond (Kew-Forest), David (Trinity), Adam (Fieldston), Jared (Trinity), Michael (Trinity), Emma (Fieldston), Ming (Trinity), Lily (Trinity) and Erika (Kew-Forest) wave signs outside CBS studios on the corner of 59th Street and 5th Avenue in NYC. Raymond (Kew-Forest) shows his love of New Orleans. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 1/4/07; 11:34:54 AM from the dept. Discuss

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Retracing our last steps...

On New Year's Day, we retraced our steps back to the Gentilly neighborhood we worked at last March to see if any progress had taken place. Last year, the neighborhood around the school was barely populated and on one particular street we met a woman who had returned with her husband in October 2005 to rebuild after being evacuated to the Houston Astrodome. She and her husband had been the only ones on their block who were back in March when we first visited. This time we saw many more faces on the block and at the school, a new playground was installed where we sat as a group last year. (Left) Students from March 2006 trip scraping paint off trellis. (Right) Photo of school taken on Jan 1, 2007. (Left) Students at pre-work meeting on school yard from March 2006 trip. (Right) A new playground jungle gym set resides in the middle of the same school yard Jan 1, 2007. On our walk down the street towards the one woman's home, we stopped and spoke with Wendell and his family. They returned to their home just last summer 2006. (Left) Liam (Woodside Priory), Jacob (Kew-Forest), and Angela(Fieldston faculty) look on as Wendell speaks of his experiences related to Katrina. (Right) Raymond (Kew-Forest), Dave (Kew-Forest faculty), and Jake (Fieldston) interview a member of Wendell's family on the front porch of their home in the Gentilly neighborhood of Greater New Orleans. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 1/3/07; 9:39:03 AM from the dept. Discuss

Monday, January 1, 2007

Ringing in the New Year 2007 with New Friends

After several days, students from the various schools have begun to develop new friendship bonds. Share in some of their moments on New Year's Eve at the Hard Rock Cafe New Orleans! Lily (Trinity), Erika (Kew-Forest), Ming (Trinity), Sophie (Trinity) Darcy (Woodside Priory), Angela (Woodside Priory), David (Trinity), David (Trinity) James (Trinity),Liam (Woodside Priory), Shachar (Woodside Priory Faculty), Cameron (Trinity) Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 1/1/07; 2:46:19 AM from the dept. Discuss

Audubon Zoo- Noon Fest Celebration

Students spent a part of the day on New Year's Eve volunteering at the Audubon Zoo for the Noon Fest celebrations. This celebration, geared towards families, allows kids to toast in the New Year at noon with chocolate milk. Our students assisted with face painting, concessions, and garbage pickup. Brenda from Audubon Zoo preps students for their work. Byrd (Woodside Priory) volunteers at the facepainting station. Grace (Pelham High School) gets into the festive mood at Audubon Zoo.Photo Credit: Annie DeBoer (Fieldston) Students hand out chocolate milk for Noon Fest Toast to the New Year. Photo Credit: Lizzie Landau (Fieldston) Jeff (Fieldston) paints children's faces at the zoo. Photo Credit: Lizzie Landau (Fieldston) Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 1/1/07; 2:03:39 AM from the dept. Discuss

Sunday, December 31, 2006

A Rain Delay

With thunderstorms threatening all day and high winds, we altered plans and visited the Aquarium of the Americas and Riverwalk Mall. The main fish tank at the aquarium in downtown New Orleans. Shachar (Woodside Priory faculty) checks out the tropical fish. The four schools (Trinity, Kew-Forest, Woodside Priory and Fieldston) take a moment for a group photo in front of the Mississippi River. Individual students also represent Menlo School (CA), Marin Academy (CA), and Pelham High School (NY). Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/31/06; 9:46:54 AM from the dept. Discuss

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Photos 3

Brad (Trinity faculty) and Trinity students help lay dirt for front lawns. Jake (Fieldston) checks the underside of a home. Photo Credit: Lizzie Landau (Fieldston) Trinity students (Angel, David, Marvin) remove gravel. Trinity, Kew and Fieldston students work on prepping sidewalk curbs. John (Trinity) works a saw with another volunteer at Musician's Village. Photo Credit: Brad Anderson (Trinity) Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/30/06; 11:05:48 AM from the dept. Discuss

A sense of purpose

30 December, 2006 by Liam Thompson (Woodside Priory School, California) I came to New Orleans without really knowing why I came. I suppose I wanted to see first hand what had happened to the city, and to be able to say that I had come to help out. I think the real reason why I came is to find a sense of purpose. When I'm out at the building site, pushing wheelbarrows around, wielding a shovel or sealing gaps with a can of spray foam, I can take pride in my work and feel as if I am making a difference in the world. I think that this is a relatively rare feeling but also a very important one. Having a mission and a purpose in this world is very important. The first day at the work site, we were assigned to moving dirt to make lawns for some of the new houses, as well as to clear some debris and remove them. While the work in itself may not have seemed all that constructive, at the very least we could free up other volunteers to work on the framing of some of the other houses. Our efforts also helped bring the houses closer to completion. Nobody can move into the houses if the last details are not completed and as the Habitat for Humanity people said, the last ten percent of the work takes ninety percent of the time. At the end of the day, we went to the Lower Ninth Ward. The destruction, although I had prepared myself for it before going on the trip, was still quite amazing. Up until that point the image of New Orleans had been fairly refreshing. Even though many houses still could not be occupied, there were visible signs of the restoration of infrastructure and the return to some degree of normalcy. The Lower Ninth Ward displayed none of this. Houses and cars were strewn all over the area; foundations were still left from where the houses had stood. I saw one lot where that was occupied only by a few remnants of what had been a home... and a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Perhaps a sign of hope in this place of desolation. I hope that one day, New Orleans can be rebuilt. It will take a long time and many more is left to be accomplished. However, in this very gradual process every little bit can help. The relatively small amount of work that we have contributed to this effort does indeed make a difference. I hope that I can return to this challenging yet inspirational place and I hope that many others can come to contribute and to understand. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/30/06; 10:34:50 AM from the dept. Discuss

Photos 2

Tim from Habitat for Humanity prepping the volunteers. Annie( Fieldston), Erika (Kew), and Becca (Trinity). Eileen (TCI) with Ashley (Fieldston) and Heather (Fieldston)working inside. Sarah M. (Faculty at Trinity) moving dirt. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/30/06; 8:40:45 AM from the dept. Discuss

What does it mean to volunteer?

December 29, 2006 Heather Lewis (Ethical Culture Fieldston School, NY) Today we went back to work at the Musicians' Village. Everyone gave it their best, despite the early morning chill and the afternoon heat. Whether pushing wheelbarrows, shoveling dirt, or working on the houses themselves, people were hard at work as far as the eye could see. During lunch, we had broke up into groups for reflections. One issue my group was exploring was whether or not it was okay to visit devastated areas such as the Lower Ninth Ward and take pictures of the destruction. Some people felt that it would cheapen the power of what had happened while others felt that it was the only way of letting others who haven't seen the damage firsthand know how dire the need still is for help. Students David (Trinity), Eva (Woodside Priory), and Leslie (Trinity) ready for dinner at the Touro Synagogue. After a hard day of work, we showered and rested before heading off to the Touro Synagogue. We were received warmly by the community there and were invited to stay for their service and dinner. We had the option of going to the [Shabbots] service or participating in another group activity, but I decided that even though I'm not Jewish myself, it would be interesting to go to the service and how I could connect it to my own spirituality. I thought it would be drastically different from what I'm accustomed to, and I was right in some ways. But in others, I found that Judaism shares similarities with my own beliefs just phrased in a different language. After today, I really began to reflect on the spirit of volunteering. Everyone always says that they're "giving back to the community," but we rarely take the time to really think about what that means. I think a lot of times we get so wrapped up in ourselves and our own lives that it gets in the way of our volunteering. "Helping out makes me feel good, or "I spent my winter vacation helping out in New Orleans,or even "I have more resources so I feel obligated to help those with less.Even with the best intentions we sometimes fail to realize that it's not about us helping people. It's about people reaching out for support and receiving that support from their fellow human beings. We all have our personal reasons for wanting to come down here to help New Orleans regain what it lost. But I think it's time we put those reasons aside, and instead of giving up our vacations, our holidays, and (most definitely) our sleep, we need to just give ourselves. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/30/06; 7:33:11 AM from the dept. Discuss

Friday, December 29, 2006

Photos of the Day

(Right) Max (Fieldston) and Brigette (Trinity faculty) move materials to the roof with other volunteers. Katherine (Fieldston), Scott (Fieldston) and Adam (TCI) working on a roof. Heather (Fieldston), Cameron (Trinity), and Bianca (Fieldston) putting dirt on the front lawn of a home. Posted by ChiaChee Chiu on 12/29/06; 10:29:56 PM from the dept. Discuss