This group from Berkeley Prep in Florida was traveling around London, Oxford, and Bath, touring and singing!  They sang 4 times, and 3 of which were in local schools.  All of which, were awesome.  The choir itself, very good, but the love poured into it, AMAZING.

We NEVER know what to expect on performance day.  It doesn’t matter how many emails go back and forth, things change last minute, always!  The very first school we went to in London, the students were coming to watch us, but we didn’t know how many.  Well, they just kept on coming, and squeezing in…until the WHOLE school was there!  The choir sang their hearts out, and on occasion, the audience sang right back, and it really was just a beautiful thing!

Our next two schools in Oxford were equally as touching, and equally as huge of a crowd!  One school even insisted we stay for a “proper tea” and had ALL sorts of goodies for us!  Cakes.  Cakes made just for us.  It’s pretty special.

We also sang at a beautiful church in Bath, St. Michaels, of course, the children’s voices were angelic there, it was awesome, but I still will personally pick a school environment!  I realize it has less bragging rights, but it certainly touches more lives, and the kids definitely enjoy it more!

I’m always blessed by what I do, but some days more than others.  The days that I get to watch groups perform are always extra special, but in schools, inevitably, it warms and fills my heart!  These children were not only blessings to their parents that were there watching, but also to the children they were singing to, and those parents and teachers that were also able to be there.  I realize it’s a bit cliché’, but what a way to love on total strangers!  Kids from an American culture singing for kids in a British culture!  It’s the foundation of peacemaking!  Call the UN, we’ve got this!

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Gallery: Berkeley Prep Blog

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“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”  – Henry David Thoreau

The “Survivor Tree” which stood only 8 feet tall when uncovered from the rubble, was badly burnt, and only had one living branch, was transplanted from Ground Zero and efforts were made to nurse it back to health at a nursery in the Bronx. The tree was not expected to survive. Miraculously, in the spring after the attacks, new growth was observed on the tree and it was continued to be nursed back to health.

After surviving another incident in March of 2010 in which the tree was uprooted during a storm, the tree has become a symbol of hope and rebirth. After the uprooting of the tree, Mayor Bloomberg said “Again, we and the tree refused to throw in the towel. We replanted the tree, and it bounced back immediately.”¹

The tree was returned to the World Trade Center site, as an integral part of the 9/11 Memorial and a reminder to New Yorkers and Americans “of the thousands of survivors who persevered after the attacks”², and now stands at over 30 feet tall.

Sources:

Image Property of the Associated Press

1. Reynolds, Aline. “One survivor from 9/11 returns home, for good”. downtown express. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

2. Blais, Allison (2011). A Place of Remembrance. National Geographic Society. pp. 208. ISBN 978-1-4262-0807-2.

R. Corey Estes, a teacher at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa Florida, is getting ready for his third class trip with ETA which includes a community service aspect. During Berkeley’s yearly eighth grade trip to New York City, the school makes time for the students to do some volunteer work at the Bowery Mission in Lower Manhattan where they serve food to homeless New Yorkers.

“I always thought that we had great kids, but when I saw them talking with the people at Bowery, I saw their faces just light up,” Estes shared.

Since their first trip with ETA, Berkeley has made it a point to include community service in all school trips. The school’s curriculum places a heavy emphasis on community service. Six times a year, the middle schoolers are taken to various locations in the Tampa Bay area, such as elderly homes and children’s hospitals, to perform community service.

“Berkeley, being a private school, has a lot of privileged students,” explained Estes. “We decided that our trips must include some kind of community service experience. While we’re taking a trip, we’ve got to be doing something for someone.”

Community service of any type gives tourists the opportunity to mingle with locals. Every tourist wants a behind the scenes peek at their destination! Volunteer work is the perfect break from touring, and a great way to give back to the community.

ETA offers a variety of options if you’d like to add community service to your tour. If you’re a performing group, you can perform for other students who may not be fortunate enough to have music programs in their schools. For other groups we can arrange volunteer work serving meals, assembling and sorting clothing, community clean up and more. Contact us today to receive more information about community service trips and community service opportunities in New York City, Washington D.C. and any destination you are considering!

Permanent exhibits are located on the third and fourth floors, a rotating exhibit space on the second floor, and retail space on the ground floor. There are also two floors of education studios to house post-visit workshops, after-school programs, and teacher pro-
fessional development. A new elevator makes Petersen House accessible to those with special needs.

The lynchpin of the Center is a 34-foot tower of Lincoln books nestled in the center of the spiral staircase that joins the floors. The apparently endless number of books delivers the seminal message: The last word on Abraham Lincoln will never be written. The books used in this installation ingeniously have fireproof metal bodies painted with the “actual” covers familiar to all Lincoln buffs.

Visitors exiting Petersen House take the elevator to the fourth floor of the Center where they walk through a re-creation of Lincoln’s funeral train, complete with catafalque and Park Service funeral artifacts. They also see a wall map illuminating John Wilkes Booth’s escape route and a re-creation of the barn where the assassin was killed.

The third floor is the “legacy floor” exploring our evolving relationship with Lincoln: his presidency, his role as an icon, and his global
impact. Visitors can view a short film developed by the History Channel in the Lincoln Memorial Theater about Lincoln’s power to
effect social change. Lincoln in Pop Culture shows use and misuse of the Lincoln name to market products.

The second floor houses a Lincoln and Leadership exhibit through July 2012, which explores the qualities of good leadership through the lens of some of Abraham Lincoln’s key leadership principles. The exhibit stresses the universality of good leadership and highlights diverse and motivating examples of leadership. Multiple features encourage visitor participation and interaction.

The official ribbon cutting for the new Center will take place on February 8. Open houses, which will be held February 12 and 20, will feature activities both at Fords and the Center for Education and Leadership.

Written By Sarah Plumb, The Capital Guide Editor

http://washingtondctourguides.com/

One hundred years later, we can truly say that Low reached her goal. Today, there are 3.2 million Girl Scouts the world over—this includes first-year Daisy Scouts all the way up to adult volunteers. Girl Scouts has succeeded in teaching girls everything from crocheting to fire-building.

Though there seems to be a stigma that Girl Scouts are not taken as seriously as Boy Scouts, a quick look around www.girlscouts.org will convince you otherwise. These girls are not just learning how to sew and bake. Even at its humble beginnings, Low encouraged girls to be well-rounded as she opened their minds to possible careers rather than focusing solely on homemaking skills. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the equivalent to the achievements of an Eagle Scout. A Girl Scout who has earned this highest honor automatically ascends one rank when entering the U.S. military.

Many successful women have attributed their success and self-esteem ultimately to Girl Scouts. Successful former Girl Scouts include Sandra Day O’Connor, Barbara Walters, Lucille Ball, Venus Williams, and Queen Elizabeth II.

The upcoming anniversary has, of course, sparked plans for celebration. To honor the centennial, President Barack Obama authorized the minting of 350,000 commemorative Girl Scout silver dollars. The state of Colorado is campaigning for the creation of a special Girl Scout license plate.

But perhaps the most exciting celebration is the record-breaking sing-along that is in the works. To celebrate the 100 years in which Girl Scouts has built the confidence and life-skills of girls around the world, Girl Scouts of all ages and from across America will gather at the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. on June 9 in the world’s biggest sing-along. What better way to celebrate such a big anniversary? Girl Scouts have used song to teach, play, and pledge their loyalty since 1912.

Look for ETA’s “Girl Scouts Rock the Mall” packages under our Washington D.C. tours. Participants will join the sing along and visit some of the most important sites in the area, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. The trip also includes a visit to the Juliette Gordon Low Commemorative Medallion.

Today we visit the National September 11th Memorial

Today we visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama.