October 20th, 2011

Starfish & Swahili

As a kick-off to the 2011-12 school year at Linwood-Monroe Arts Plus in St. Paul, school staff joined together to welcome the students with a Swahili song, with everyone singing, dancing, or playing the drums and claves.

“It was a lot of fun, despite being utterly non-musical and rhythmically challenged,” said ACES AmeriCorps Promise Fellow at Linwood Monroe, Amanda Duhon. “The students seemed excited to be back and to meet their new teachers.”

Using a story about starfish, the new principal, Beth Behnke, explained that even though staff can’t help every child in the world, “We can make a difference for that one.” She promoted the message that each student at Linwood Monroe is an individual star, and we should all strive to make a difference for each of the children we serve.

Tying into this theme, each student at the school will make their own star to hang in the school. ACES looks forward to continuing its strong relationship with Linwood Monroe staff and the all-star students!