West Central Minnesota Cultural Collaboration
Purpose and makeup
The purpose of the West Central Minnesota Cultural Collaboration is to provide a wide variety of opportunities and incentives to increase cultural awareness, to make schools and communities more welcoming, and to bring together diverse people in pursuit of a common goal. A further aspect of this mission is to create a plan that will result in increased academic gains from students.
The Collaborative Council was made up of at least one school representative and one community representative from each school district. The member districts include Barnesville, Hawley, Lake Park - Audubon, Pelican Rapids, and Underwood. Nadine W. Brown of Pelican Rapids is the coordinator for the collaboration.
Activities
Underwood has been active in the cooperative since the 2005-2006 school year. Activities sponsored by the Collaberation have included several activities with 5th graders from Underwood and Pelican Rapids. These have included writing to pen pals, get togethers at Maplewood State Park, at Underwood, and at Pelican Rapids.
Students in grades 10-12 once attended a program at Underwood put on by the "Mixed Blood Theater" and 40 students from Fergus Falls also attended. On a different occasion, seniors went to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater with students from Pelican Rapids, Barnesville, and Perham to see West Side Story.
2010-2011 Activities
Underwood 5th grade met with out pen pals from Pelican Rapids on October 8th, 2010 at Maplewood State Park. This was the initial meeting for our cultural collaborative experience. Throughout the year, we will work with the Pelican Rapids 5th graders for a more diverse cultural experience since our pen pals from Pelican come from a veriety of backgrounds.
During our day at Maplewood, the students were paired with their pen pals and rotated through four different stations. One station included GPS experience where they found locations in the park. Another leader led the students in wildlife games. The third station was a nature hike. The final activity included a group creative writing experience. Lunch for the day was cooked over the fire and s'mores provided a tasty dessert. The beautiful weather that day rounded out our wonderful experience. We will meet up with our Pelican friends again in a few months.
Click here to see some great pictures from our trip to Maplewood!
On February 18th, 2011 the Pelican Rapids 5th graders spent the day at Underwood doing activities centered around the book "Brian's Winter". Activities for the day were book discussion, archery station, sled dog presentation, and chapter drawing.
Click here to see some pictures from the day our pals came to visit!