Palmer Trinity School

Campus News |Community Involvement| Best Buddies The Best Buddies chapter at Palmer Trinity consists of 25 students, peer and associate members. A peer buddy is someone who develops a relationship with a person that has intellectual disabilities. The Best Buddies program begins when the students are in ninth grade. Each year we go on monthly outings to various locations such as parks, supermarkets, the post office, and even the bank. This past month we went to the Chess Museum and had a great time. We witnessed beautiful friendships being made as we walked around the museum and got to know one another. It is great to see how passionate all the members are in making friends with the buddies and being able to look beyond their disabilities and recognize them for their abilities. This semester we plan on going to the zoo, ice skating, and a basketball game. It is vital for the youth of our society to realize that people with intellectual disabilities are kids and adults just like us. Because they do things differently doesn't mean that they aren't capable of learning and being active members of the community. By Stephanie Silva, Class of 2009 |PTS Service Club| Interact Each day, upon the signal of the final bell, every Palmer Trinity student treks to the car, van, or bus that takes them home each evening. The trip to the car is more arduous for some, especially those overburdened sixth graders who are dwarfed by their enormous backpacks and often gargantuan musical instruments. Keys in hand, high school students grudgingly lug their math, science, and history textbooks to their cars. Upperclassmen reminisce as they watch younger students trudge along, clutching a tattered copy of Gilgamesh or A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this setting, surrounded by books, it is easy to forget that in some parts of the world books are a rare commodity. Students in many parts of the world are forced to learn without textbooks and teachers to teach without literature. In such a situation, it is almost impossible to learn to read and even more difficult to succeed. The Palmer Trinity Interact Club decided to help solve this problem through their latest international service project, the African Library Project. "I see you. As a classmate. As an equal. As a friend. Do you see me?" - Best Buddies Paula Vizcarra, Victoria Arango, Jessica Salgado, Paula Franco, Luis Lopez-Blazquez, Stephanie Silva, Kristyn Schwartz, Martina Faillace, Carolina Perez, Andrea Ortiz, Tiffani Hiler, Cristina Hernandez, Carla Forns, Camila Victoriano Africa.  The club also raised the $1,200 required to pack and ship the books to these needy communities. Books were collected not only on the Palmer Trinity campus, but also through a coordinated effort at local elementary schools and churches. It is our hope that the new libraries will improve literacy rates in the area and contribute to solving other long term problems throughout this turbulent region. While our service project will undoubtedly enrich the lives of those who receive and enjoy the books, our club has also been enriched by the experience. Through our combined efforts planning, fundraising, and packing the quite literally thousands of collected books, our Interact Club emerged from the project with a sense of renewed purpose and enthusiasm for continuing to serve our local and international community. I can now say with confidence that each member of the Interact Club makes the arduous after-school journey with a new appreciation of the books they carry with them. By Laura Portuondo, President -Palmer Trinity Interact Club Class of 2009 The Palmer Trinity Interact Club was formed two years ago by Palmer Trinity students who wanted to make a difference. Although many of those founding members have graduated and moved on to college, the Interact Club is still going strong. The Interact Club, associated with the Perrine-Cutler Ridge Rotary Club, is dedicated to community service both locally and on an international level. The club participates in a local community service project each month and at least one international project every school year. Past projects have included a Halloween Party for elementary school children, the Baynanza Bay Cleanup, Change for Charlee, Art in the Park, and the Rotary International India Hydraid Project. This year, the club set out to combat international illiteracy through a book drive conducted through the African Library Project. The club's book drive collected over 2,500 books which will be used to establish both a primary and a high school library in Swaziland, Left to Right: (clockwise) Margaret Cookson, Natalie Davidson, Carla Forns, Allison Groh, Joan Ronstadt, and Laura Portuondo Aerie 7

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