Melody in Adrogue, Argentina

4th forms Blue and Green

Colegio Newlands

Argentina

Adrogue

(Melody #005A1113)

Since the moment Melody arrived at Newlands, our lives changed in a good way. We took our time to reflect upon many matters, especially the way we have to see the world and people who live in. We concluded that no matter the language we speak, how much money we have or our skin color we are all citizens of Planet Earth sharing values such as generosity, solidarity, inclusion, integration, patience, love, frienship, caring and tolerance.

Melody was a wonderful opportunity to remember day by day that we can change the world with little attitudes that are big achievements!!

Melody in Castle Rock, Colorado

Ms. Schuster

Soaring Hawk Elementary

United States

Castle Rock, Colorado

(Melody #028B0114)

Melody arrived over the summer, so she didn't get to spend any time with our class. I think she planned too many locations on her trip. Doesn't that always happen? :)

I wish my class could have shared this experience.

Melody in Ottawa, Canada

Mrs. Sullivan's Grade 4/5 Class

Our Lady of Fatima School in Ottawa Ontario

Canada

Ottawa

(Melody #041B0414)

Melody participated on our school-wide Play Day! She was able to play some of the games however others she could not. Melody immensely enjoyed eating the cotton candy.

We learned that we need a ramp for our second floor so Melody can go to the washroom. We also learned that we need handicap washroom on the second floor. We do have an elevator that can get Melody to the first floor and we have ramps.

Melody in Orange, Texas

Mrs. Diamond's 5th Grade Class

Little Cypress Intermediate

United States

Orange, Texas

(Melody #028B0114)

Melody arrived on our last school day...after dismissal. :( BUT we did some things to celebrate her as if she were here while school was still in session; and Mrs. Diamond showed Melody around our school. We have a very accessible school and are even in the process of a project called "Stay and Play"- a playground that will specifically meet the needs of those with special needs, but is open to all. Our class felt like everyone deserves a place to play, and the part in the book where Melody wasn't able to play with others on the playground touched us. We wanted to change that for students at our own school. We think Melody would be proud!

We learned to include everyone regardless of differences and to look for what makes us similar... in the end it is to just feel accepted and loved.

Melody in Tokyo, Japan

5th Grade Classroom

Christian Academy in Japan

Japan

Tokyo

(Melody #031B0114)

When Melody arrived in our 5th grade classroom at the Christian Academy in Japan, (CAJ), we thought she might like to go up into the reading loft. It’s a great place to relax, lean against the giant fuzzy gorilla, and read a good book. All of us read “Out of My Mind” and we know that this is a good place to read.

Melody is really smart and, of course, she likes to read, so we wanted her to join us in the loft. Since she couldn’t climb the ladder, we had to figure out a way to help her up. We couldn’t throw her up there! Even though she might think that was fun, it might not be safe. We didn’t have enough space in our classroom to build a ramp since the loft is so high. We decided that we would build a pulley system right next to the loft to lift Melody straight up to the platform. We study tools and inventions in 5th grade, so we could put what we learned to the test.

To make it easier to pull Melody up to the loft, we would use a series of pulleys, not just one, so that the work would be less. Here is a link that helps explain what we have in mind: http://www.ropebook.com/information/pulley-systems 

CAJ was the last stop on Melody’s tour of Japan. We hope she had a good time and we will now send her on her way back to the White Rock 4th grade in southwest Missouri.

Sayonara!
From the 5th Grade class at CAJ in Tokyo, Japan

Melody in Kaneohe, Hawaii

Le Jardin Academy's 5th Grade

Le Jardin Academy

United States

Kaneohe, Hawaii

(Melody #005A1113)

Melody arrived the last few days of school. She attended our Moving Up Ceremony with us. She received a lot of lei and they add a little touch of aloha! She also participated (as much as she could) in our Splash Into Summer end of year celebration. We all our good byes a few days ago and look forward to hearing about her next adventure!

We learned that Melody couldn't fully participate in the end of year events at our school. She was able to join us for some dancing and we helped her get into the pool but she had to sit and watch most of the activities. This made us think about how hard it would be to not be able to fully participate and how we could ensure that everyone has opportunities to have fun...

Melody in Poway, California

Scholar University

Tierra Bonita Elementary School

United States

Poway, California

(Melody #043B0414)

Melody was able to experience our fourth grade Maker Town Faire. Fourth graders were working on creating a project from scratch, designing, measuring, creating, constructing, and "selling" it with their peers. It was quite an exciting adventure. She is pictured with the group that got the most tokens from the visitors at the Faire. Visitors each received one token which they could "vote" for which product they would like to really buy if it were in a store. The winner was this "Confetti Bomb." Recycled from a small water bottle, it was covered with Duct tape and had a little shelf that could be raised to let torn paper, confetti, rise to the top.

We learned that during the Faire and Melody's visit, we needed to account for enough space for her to get around and maneuver throughout her time. She would be able to see everything from her angle and I think she would have appreciated all the ingenuity of the Maker's Faire.

Melody in Wikwemikong, Canada

Pulkkinen's Class

Pontiac School

Canada

Wikwemikong

(Melody #045B0414)

Pontiac School welcomed Melody with open arms and many students were curious about our visitor. Melody visited us during the grade six provincial testing week. She worked diligently to finish her test. Her practice for the Whiz kids team helped her be successful and keep up her stamina. During her stay we also went on a field trip to South Bay. We were able to find local medicines on our nature hike (ginger and mountain ash) and we saw 1000 year old fencing posts that had been used by the First Peoples of the area to coral caribou during their hunts. Melody traveled to a student's home and had the opportunity to go visit a traditional healing lodge. At the lodge she sat by the sacred fire for ceremonies. Use the following website - http://www.wikwemikong.ca/ - to find out more about our unique First Nations community.

We learned that it is important to be kind to everyone and include them in our activities. Learning the history and culture of a community can help people understand one another. Introducing Melody to the whole school through a morning announcement helped the school be aware of our visitor and started conversations among everyone. Through this we learned to focus on what people can do and not on what they can't do. We can make things possible.

Melody in Byron, Minnesota

Mrs. Aslakson's Class

Byron Middle School

United States

Byron, Minnesota

(Melody #052B0414)

Melody came to school at the end of our school year so the schedules were a little different. Melody joined our language arts class in the morning. It was a fun day since the upcoming students from the elementary school were over visiting and meeting their new teachers. We had many classes stop by to visit our room.

We learned about how Melody would feel at our school. We do not have anyone currently in our school that uses a wheelchair, but we have had many students on crutches. Our school is quite accessible since it is all on one floor. There are no stairs in our building, unless you need to get to the extra old locker rooms. Our classroom would be very accessible, if everyone made sure to push in their chairs. We have tables in places of desks. We measured the doors to make sure they were wide enough. The cafeteria could be hard for Melody because the lunch line is very crowded and has lots of turns. The tables are attached to benches, so she would have to sit at the end of a table. She might get bumped into since it can get busy in the aisles.

Melody in McKinney, Texas

Connolly's Cray-Crays

Walker Elementary

United States

McKinney, Texas

(Melody #061B0414)

Melody is enjoying our last days of school with us! She has attended our End-of-the-Year Celebration practice, taken a walk out to our courtyard and danced in a conga line on a beautifully sunny day in Texas!

We felt as if we were visiting an old friend with Melody. She made a lot of new friends as she headed to the library with us, sat in the middle of our rug as we concluded her book and rolled around our courtyard studying the various states within our country on our oversized painted map! We LOVED time with Melody - We adore HER!