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Kelly Misch
Communications Director
Chardon Local Schools
440.286.0409
6th-Grade Water Week Raises $1,989 for School in Uganda
December 16, 2023 — Chardon Middle School's sixth-grade classes hosted their annual Water Week program in November in support of the local organization Drink Local Drink Tap, Inc. (Cleveland, OH), an international non-profit organization focused on solving water equity and quality issues. Water Week is a tradition of hands-on activities at CMS after reading "A Long Walk to Remember" by Linda Sue Park.
For the kickoff of Water Week — Drink Local, Drink Tap Education Program Manager Ben Jurek met with CMS sixth-grade classes to introduce students to the program's mission.
Ensuing activities for sixth-grade classes included an aqueduct activity; a survival simulation; a hallway walk with water-filled jugs; and a successful stall-the-teacher fundraiser that amassed a sum of $1,989!
Chardon Middle School students walking with water-filled jugs on their heads in the hallway to gain hands-on experience on what the journeys are like for individuals who have long walks to carry water to their homes. Collaged against the backdrop of the "Be the Drop" wall mural at the school showing donations symbolized by paper water drops.
CMS sixth-grade teacher Rachel Holub stated, "With the $1,989 donation from CMS, Drink Local Drink Tap believes they can now begin work on building a deep borehole well with three sets of latrines and facilitating educational programming for the Nsawo Primary School community to learn how to care for the facility updates."
The school community, which comprises 909 students, 19 teachers and 202 community members, otherwise has no immediate access to clean water nor bathrooms for the entire student population.
A collapse of the boys' latrines in September has left students and teachers sharing just five unstable latrine stalls.
Image courtesy of Drink Local Drink Tap - showing a collapsed latrine at Nsawo Primary School
In preparation for what became a successful fundraiser to support the need in Uganda, CMS students learned about persuasive writing in class. Sixth-grade teacher Aubrey Quinn explained that students then put these skills into real-world practice by creating persuasive posters to support Drink Local, Drink Tap and hung the signs in the school's hallways.
Examples of students' persuasive posters hanging in the hallways at CMS.
Chardon Middle School students proudly showcase a wall of student essays at the school wherein students wrote about
the importance for helping to provide clean water to regions that are without and also thinking up hashtags to support the mission.
Chardon Schools wishes Drink Local Drink Tap great success in the upcoming build in Uganda and congratulates our sixth-grade class on a successful service event in support of those in need!
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