The BRIDGE Newsletter | January 2005

..	THE BRIDGE \| January 2005
	Feature \| Phil's Notes \| Field Notes \| Volunteers \| What's New \| Previous Newsletters

	GOALS & DREAMS FOR 2005 2004 was a wonderful year for Bridges. Our students created some amazing work. Our sites became stronger as we improved our curriculum and training. We launched a successful mentor training program with a series of local and international workshops. And we came a long way towards financial viability. So we enter 2005 with great optimism and a solid foundation for growth. Bridges Sites The Bridges sites are the heart of our program and in the coming year we will continue to improve each of them by providing ongoing training, workshops on site, and Peer Mentor scholarships. We are excited to be launching the Peer Mentor program this year. We will be providing some of the most talented students with scholarships to our Seattle workshops so that they can return to their sites and teach their fellow students. continue
	by PHIL BORGES Looking back at the strides Bridges made last year makes me excited to see all that the New Year will bring. The Bridges exhibit, which had a very successful 6-month run at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, is now scheduled to tour China this year with openings in several museums throughout the country. Throughout 2004 the quality of the media projects produced in our Mentor’s Workshop continued to undergo steady improvement. Building on the success and continue
	VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We have a series of ambitious projects that we want to take on this year and many of them will only be possible with the help of volunteers. Are you interested in archiving our growing collection of photographs, translating materials from English to Spanish, helping with our newsletter or mentoring Bridges students? We have a variety of vounteer positions open that can require as little time as a few minutes a day up to whatever you want to donate. continue
	DANI WEISS - BRIDGES MENTOR I volunteered to mentor in a middle school in Seattle called Aki Kurose, which much to my surprise is a school in my neighborhood. These kids are my neighbors! We first started last year with a group of wide-eyed 6^th graders. I was really challenged, as I don’t have a teaching background. Not to mention that although this is a Montessori class of extremely bright kids, I was not used to working with kids so young. However, the excitement some of the students showed at the first class when they began to photograph one another was extraordinary. As the year progressed we really made a lot of progress. Everyone seemed to become more attached to me continue
	by MICKEL CAMPBELL, OUR MENTOR IN INDIA In late September, 2004, I arrived in Mcleod Ganj in the Himachal Pradesh state of northern India. This small town is perched high on a mountain ridge over looking lower Dharamshala. Mcleod Ganj is the home to His Holiness The Dalai Lama and also to a large number of Tibetan Refugees. As a mentor in the Bridges to Understanding program I had the privilege to work with a group of students at the Tibetan Children's Village school (T.C.V.). Usually six days a week I would make the twenty minute walk/hike up the hill to T.C.V. Half of the distance was covered on the road to Naddi village, the other portion was up a steep, rocky trail that afforded amazing continue
He (H.H. the Dalai Lama) asked the [Bridges] students if they had been taking any good photos, to which they replied, "yes." CONGRATULATIONS HAMILTON MIDDLE SCHOOL Sharon Greenberg, our teacher at Hamilton recieved a $2,500 grant for digital equipment from Best Buy. Sharon says that the grant was easy to put together and she would be happy to share how she did it with any of the other Bridges sites. If you are interested in more information, please contact Susan at susanh@bridgesweb.org	UPCOMING EVENTS Here is an opportunity to join Bridges partner in Nepal, the Sherpa Education Fund to celebrate the Year of the Wood Bird with great Himalayan music, dancing and food -- join the NorthWest Sherpa Association at the colorful and cultural Losar 2005! Date: 12th February, Saturday. Time: 5.30pm to 1.00am Place: Highland Center, 14224 NE Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98007 Tickets: $25 including buffet dinner and Nepali tea (children aged 7 and under are free) To order tickets, Email kyidug@nwsherpa.org or Phone 206 786 0637. More info about the NW Sherpa Association: please see www.nwsherpa.org

A photo from "The Monk" a story of a young Tibetan monk created by Bridges students in Dharamsala, India

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