Dear Friends,

Greetings from the children of DEPDC’s Half Day School!  The 2010-2011 school year is in full swing, with nearly 140 enrolled students in kindergarten through 6^th grade.  The first school term is already complete, and as usual it was packed with activities for holistic learning.  The vital education, vocational training, and material support from the Half Day School make all the difference for the marginalized, impoverished migrant children who come to study here. 

 This year, we are adding a multi-media dimension to showcase and document the diverse range of learning opportunities and fun-filled activities made possible by generous donors like you. To begin, writers at our DEPDC blog describe a typical, happening day at the Half Day School at this post, complete with a colorful photo slideshow of our students’ daily routine.

 Besides classroom education, the Half Day School also recognizes the need for vocational training so that our students get to learn marketable skill sets to make an independent living safe from exploitation. Last month, the Half Day School held a series of vocational training workshops for 40 students where they learned about a variety of skills, from the basics of electrical work to making beautiful crafts. With some help from our technologically savvy staff, we invite you to watch these short video clips, where one student proudly demonstrated his electrical masterpiece while others channeled their creativity into making marketable flower arrangement and fragrant doll decorations.

 Field trips are another important component of education at the Half Day School, as we believe that the children learn best by hands-on experiences. To give an example, in this video, our students learn about the true value behind a grain of rice by farming in a rice paddy themselves – a combination of fun, exercise and engaging learning indeed! And speaking of exercise, this blog post gives a fun account of how our students uncovered their hidden talents for self-expression when they participated in a dance class organized by two of our dedicated international volunteers. To further inspire our students to explore their artistic and athletic abilities and to help them develop self-confidence, our teachers organized the first annual Half Day School Singing and Dancing Contest! I encourage you to read more about this memorable activity day in this post. As a reward, the winners from the contest got a chance to be special performance guests on Parents’ Day to perform in front of all their parents.  Watch this video and see for yourselves how the Half Day School got talents!

 Needless to say, none of these educational opportunities would have taken place without your generosity in the past years. Your contribution is what proves that even the children most vulnerable for sex and labor trafficking should be entitled to education and a safer childhood, and that they can learn, thrive and grow to face a brighter future.

 I hope that our new approach of multi-media presentations above gives you an interesting glimpse into our students’ world at the Half Day School. As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions on improving our students’ learning experiences. Once again, on behalf of the Half Day School students and their families, I extend my most sincere thanks to you for making it all possible.

 Thank you so much,

Alinda Suya

DEPDC Directing Team Executive

Embedded Hyperlinks:  

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com
(DEPDC blog)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/a-full-day-at-the-half-day-school/

(A full day at HDS)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/7/60ZTOxw_n40

(Vocational – electrical)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/6/0zi93LMBRlI

(Vocational/crafts – flowers)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/10/b75RxymeKEA

(Vocational crafts – dolls)

http://www.youtube.com/themyutc#p/u/26/RkTlz37bvZg

(Working in the field)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/the-half-day-school-is-shaking-things-up/

(Dance classes)

http://depdcblog.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/half-day-school-kids-got-talent/

(HDS Singing and Dancing Contest)

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMyutc#p/u/12/1nlvVW_Di7U

(Performance for Parents’ Day)

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