Dear 6th Grade Families,
 
We look forward to seeing you on campus next Thursday for conferences.  You will be able to access mid-semester Progress Reports beginning on Tuesday afternoon.  
 
As you probably know, your child has been studying water in science class over the last two months. They are preparing their Water Reports, which are due March 19 or 20, and I encourage you to look at them with your child.
 
As part of the studies of water, particularly drinking water, over the last few days the class has been discussing multiple perspectives about clean available drinking water from around the world. Bob Densmore showed a short DVD called “Ryan’s Well” about a 7-year-old boy from Canada and the amazing story of his learning about people dying from drinking poor quality water in Uganda. Ryan raised enough money to drill a well for a school in Uganda, which then spiraled into over a decade for his organization, Ryan’s Well Foundation http://www.ryanswell.ca/, helping over 600,000 people in developing countries acquire clean drinking water. An incredible story! During that time Ryan struck up a pen pal correspondence with a young person named Jimmy in that first school in Uganda.  
 
In yesterday’s class, as they were discussing the incredible work that Ryan is doing, several students in every class brought up a YouTube video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc –
that has gone viral this week about the horrific situation in Uganda where young children are being abducted and forced to perform atrocities. This video has NOT been shown at MCDS but it is a buzz in the 6th grade class right now and many have already watched it. In class discussions Bob and the students pieced together the fact that Jimmy (Ryan’s pen pal) had been abducted and his brother and cousins killed. Jimmy escaped and now lives in Canada with Ryan’s family. Needless to say, this was a very poignant moment for the students and for Bob.
 
Because of the sensitive nature of the material involved I wanted to inform you and encourage you to continue this discussion at home at whatever level seems appropriate.
 
This is also a good learning opportunity to discuss issues in the global community, viral videos, fundraising and foundations.  
 
Some useful links are;
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzxpES35o8Q&feature=related
Oprah explains the situation well.
 
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/how-the-kony-video-went-viral/
New York Times article in today’s paper
 
http://mashable.com/2012/03/08/kony-2012-scam/
Questioning the authenticity of the “Invisible Children”
 
Feel free to contact me.
 
Sincerely,
 
Matt Levinson