Red Bank Charter Students Learn Of Hope, Resilience

RED BANK, NJ — What is it like for those in another country who are faced with a natural disaster, such as an earthquake? What can be done to help?

Those were just some of the questions and lessons that came about as students at Red Bank Charter School spent a day examining the theme, "The Eye Of the Storm: Relief and Resilience" at the school's International Day event.

Classrooms at Red Bank Charter School were transformed into disaster zones as students immersed themselves in a learning experience that combined performance art with history, culture, science and cuisine. Students dressed in local garb and showcased what they learned about the impact of natural disasters on various countries as fellow students, parents, board trustees and community members were invited to experience each country with a guided tour, the district said in a news release.

Several public officials attended the event, including Red Bank Borough Schools Superintendent Jared Rumage; Red Bank Regional High School Superintendent Louis B. Moore and Principal Risa Clay; state Sen. Jennifer Beck and Councilmen Mike Whelan and Mark Taylor.

“We have a lot of young people who are aware of their role as global citizens,” Beck said. “It’s invaluable as they become adults that they understand they are not just contributors to the Red Bank community, but to a larger world community. I think that’s been reinforced through the International Day here today in a very unique and beautiful way.”

Every year, students typically study countries impacted by the world’s most challenging and topical issues. Recent topics included the world water crisis, human trafficking, world hunger, and the fate of refugees.

“International Day at the Charter School is a shining example of creative teaching and learning,” Whelan said. “The combination of culture and science to illustrate natural disasters and government was remarkably done.”

“International Day is a way to expose students, even those in the earliest grades, to the world that they will inherit and to connect the curriculum to current events,” Red Bank Charter School Principal Meredith Pennotti said.

The theme of natural disasters was particularly timely given the number of recent events, including earthquakes in Mexico, wildfires in California and hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Fourth-graders concentrated on Mexico and the two large earthquakes that struck Mexico City and surrounding areas in September, killing hundreds of people and reducing parts of the city to rubble. Red Bank Charter School is more than 43 percent Latino and most of those students are from families who come from Mexico, school officials said. Other classes studied how natural disasters impacted people in Peru, Columbia, Vietnam, China, India and Indonesia.

“For many of these students, this wasn’t an abstract academic lesson, but a personal exploration,” Pennotti said. Teachers also built into the lesson the theme of resilience of the human spirit in the face of suffering.

For example, after explaining how the earthquake impacted residents of Mexico, students sang a joyful song called, “Una Sola Voz (One Voice).”

“By the end of the day, our children have a broader understanding of the complex world in which they live and the common bond of the resilience of the human spirit, which weaves through all of us,” Pennotti said.

Photos provided by Red Bank Charter School