Erin Dealey

The adventure continues–this time at Escola American Campinas, where Lais Martins is the Elementary Librarian. The EAC school day began with their weekly assembly, celebrating gratittude and 100 students who had completed their summer reading program. Congratulations to all!

In their own version of Carnevale, Grade 5A, the class in charge of the assembly. paraded three floats they had created (from the moveable PE ball cages)–one on Recycling, the second  Diversity, and the third Peace.  I loved the fact that they showed their school’s initials, EAC, were the centerof PEACE. So clever! I told them this is a great example of playing with words!  This is what authors do!

I truly believe that if students feel words are not only fun, but powerful, then writing and reading will be fun for them too. This is what theater has taught me, and why I try to include my mini-play in at least one assembly. At Campinas the Elementary stars were: Lucas, Marcela, Brad, Valentina, Luiza, Victoria, Adam, Tommy, Giselle, and Rafaela. For the 6th and 7th grade presentation, I had Julia, Camilla, Helena, Gabriela, Beatriz, Daniel, and Laine do some fun theater games while two helpers held the books and two others beat-boxed to  my rap. (Wooot-wooot!)

Then it was off to meet with students for some writing workshops. Like Brasilia, many EAC students are Portugues, but there is also a large percentage of Korean students whose parents work for the Hundai plant nearby. Like EAB, the school is filled with bright faces from all over the world. What a wonderful experience for all. They are learning to be citizens of the world.

As for me, the days’ delights and surprises included 6th grader Julia’s gift of her fabulous manga drawing (see my facebook photos), and 6th grader Seongmin who wrote and wrote and was so excited to have fun with English words that he emailed me as well. Obrigada Julia and Seongmin!

From the Pre-K’s to the uppergrades, I had a blast. And another surprise was the marmoset monkeys that hang out on campus! (Real monkeys–not the pre-teen kind!) So cool!

When I wasn’t at school, Lais took me to the Campinas “Hippie Fair,” where we found a theater company perfoming the Wizard of Oz. We poked our heads in at the very end where Tin Man got his heart, Lion his courage, and a very smart Scarecrow recited to Dorothy, while the children in the audience laughed and talked back to the characters. : ) Theater is power.

Way too soon, it was time to say Tchau tchau to my Campinas friends. I am now in Curtitba, and off to go sightseeing soon. tomorrow and Friday are school visits! As Dorothy might say–“There’s no place like Brazil!”