Allison, Cameron, Maria, and I are

coaches at Godby High School.

PeaceJam at Godby is a little different

from PeaceJam at other schools. At

Godby, we have two different groups

of students. The first group is the club

that meets during lunchtime and the

second group is an actual service

learning class

where PeaceJam

comes in once a

week to teach.

The Club

The club is made

up of about ten

students. It always seems to go by

really fast. By the time the students

come into the classroom from picking

up their lunch, we have 20-25 minutes

left with them. Allison usually jumps

right into the decision topic with them.

This group of students, although small,

is very animated. They all have their

individual opinions and are not afraid

to share them.

The Class

The class is made up of about 20 to 25

students. Cameron, Maria, and I are

there every Tuesday for a full period.

We start off by reminding students of

our last session. We go over what they

learned and ask them if they have any

lingering questions.

Then, we remind them

about the conference

date and cost.

Afterwards, we

usually do a quick

icebreaker activity by

taking them outside to

the courtyard. We play games like

linked and grocery store. The games

are usually 15-20 minutes and when

we are done we go back inside to start

our discussion for the day. Our

discussion topics are made up of topics

that the students want to talk about.

We very briefly cover Nobel laureates

because Mrs. Marquez teaches them

Featured School 1-2

Success Stories 2

GCA Project

Updates 3

Mentor News 4-5

Southeast News 6-7

Photos 8

April 2013 Volume 1, Issue 3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

Alexandra Thomas (4/1)

Savannah Hartnett (4/4)

Brandon Mordecai (4/13)

Megan Hall (4/23)

Michelle Avaroma (4/23)

Jaime Bayo (4/24)

Emily Waters (4/27)

Find us on

PeaceJam Southeast

@PeaceJamSE

www.peacejam.nationbuilder.com

Continued on page 2

Donate to PeaceJam Southeast:

peacejam.nationbuilder.com/donate

“Our group continues to grow—

both in size and in strength! We've

noticed friendships forming among

students that might not normally

come together, due to the fact

Lincoln has a tendency to have

stratified cliques based on race

and socioeconomic status. Our

more active members have

delighted us by coming to meetings

prepared with agendas for the

meeting and well thought-out plans

for how we can accomplish their

goals. They have taken the

initiative to come up with a few

fundraising stints to raise money

for Heifer International, as well as

to make sure that they've got some

extra funds to send the way of

anyone who might not be able to

pay the PeaceJam conference fee.

It’s great to see that they're

becoming more and more of a

family.”

- Taylor Fabrega, coach at Lincoln

High School

about them during the week.

Allison, Cameron, Maria, and I have been a coaching team since the start of the spring semester. Although we

have not known our students for very long, we have definitely shared some significant moments with them.

During the club, it happens when the students start delegating GCA project responsibility without being asked

to. In the class, it happens when the students can recall all ten GCAs without our help or when they filled up a

poster board with their dreams and goals after Martin Luther King Jr. day.

As I speak for the whole coaching team at Godby High, we can truly say that coaching at Godby this semester

has been a great experience. The students are fully participating in activities and dialogue related to

PeaceJam. They are working hard on their GCA project with our help and the help of their amazing teacher

Mrs. Marquez. I have enjoyed being able to get to know my

coaching partners better, although it is tough coming up with times

that all four of us can meet. Nonetheless, Allison, Cameron, and

Maria are amazing coaches and I continue to look forward to

working with them.

- Stephanie Hernandez, coach at Godby High

Page 2 The Peace Diaries

“My coaching partner Brandon

Mordecai and I, along with our

students have made significant

progress regarding our GCA

Project. Since last semester, the

students at S.A.I.L High School have

been working nonstop to spread

awareness regarding PCB

contamination at Lake Munson and

the drastic medical effects it may

have on the fishermen that consume

them. After continued

correspondence with the Florida

Department of Health and its

affiliates, we are taking a trip to

Lake Munson to survey these

fishermen and gauge their

awareness regarding the

contamination present within the

lake and the impact the

consumption of their catch may

potentially have upon themselves

and their families. Because of this

trip to Lake Munson along with

constant correspondence with

individuals at both the Florida

Department of Health as well as

other environmental associations

within the state and city of

Tallahassee, we have made great

strides in our efforts to spread

awareness centering around the

contamination at Lake Munson and

will hopefully continue to do so.” -

Catherine Burke, coach at S.A.I.L

High School

“My coaching partner, Sam and I

went to Montford and put on a

bake sale for the Brehon House, a

women’s shelter in Tallahassee. Our

four girls baked mustache

brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and

Rice Krispie treats and we sold

drinks to middle school students.

We raised over $100 today and

we plan on having another bake

sale again in 2 weeks in order to

raise another $100 or more to

donate to the Brehon House so they

can buy supplies for women and

children in the Tallahassee area. “

-Catherine Weisz, coach at

Montford Middle

Page 3 The Peace Diaries

Page 4 The Peace Diaries

Learning about “Equal Access to Water” at

World Water Day hosted by Take Back the Tap

FSU

Training group members volunteered at Ghazvini

Learning Center with the Agrinauts program to

learn about “Eliminating Extreme Poverty”.

Learning about Leymah Gbowee and the

“Rights for Women and Children” GCA during

the “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” screening

with Trafficked at FSU

Page 5 The Peace Diaries

Before being selected to mentor at a conference, prospective mentors have to go through a training group process through which they learn more about PeaceJam while earning PeacePoints.

One mentor wanted to share her mentoring experience:

“My training experience has been amazing! Not only have I learned so much about so many different topics but I have

been able to build many new relationships post-retreat. Attending the events has risen my awareness around many issues

I was ignorant about before. My favorite events were the two documentaries I viewed, "Pray The Devil Back to Hell”

and “Girl Rising.” These two documentaries provided me with new female role models ranging from the ages of 8 to 60.

The women and young girls featured in these films were people who were dedicated to ensuring peace, education and

equal rights for all. It is truly an inspiration knowing that these are real people, not fictional characters. Overall, I am so

excited for the conference, knowing that I can make a difference! The students that we get to work with are going to be

learning a lot from the laureate but we mentors will be learning much more from them.”

- Nicola Main, mentor

Here are few mentors reactions to being chosen to mentor at the Spring 2013 Conference:

Page 6 The Peace Diaries

“I’m proud to say that I have

been a part of the

PeaceJam Southeast family

from the beginning. I was a

PeaceJam teacher and

mentor from the first PeaceJam

Southeast Conference in 2009. I

remember trying to describe the

experience of a PeaceJam

conference to my students before

the first conference, when nobody

knew what to expect. We kept

saying: “we don’t really know what

it’s going to be like, we just know

that it’s going to be awesome”--

and we were right!

Over the next four years, I would

be fortunate enough to work with

groups from Belle Vue Middle

School and Ft. Braden School in

Tallahassee and also to serve one

summer as a PeaceJam teacher in

several different

schools. I draw

inspiration daily

from the Nobel

laureates that I met,

but I am inspired

even more by the

incredible students

and other mentors

that I worked with

who were doing

amazing work in

their communities. It helped me

understand that one person or a

small group of people could shape

their communities in a sustainable,

positive way. My experiences with

PeaceJam remind me that you can

never underestimate the power of

youth.

I graduated from The Florida State

University in Spring 2012 and I am

currently working with Florida

State’s Program in Florence,

Italy. Apart from helping students,

practicing my Italian and eating a

ridiculous amount of pasta and

pizza, I have been trying to

develop a better understanding of

the Florence community through

service. Since September, I have

been working weekly with a small

group of dedicated, service-

minded Seminoles at San Paolino, a

shelter for women and children in

Florence. Getting to know the

children and women at San Paolino

has been the highlight of my time

in Italy and allowed me to see a

side of the city that visitors never

see.

I am proud to see Florida State

students doing various types of

service in Florence, showing that

they are dedicated to truly

learning about and serving the

community here, even when it is

challenging. By giving back,

students come to see Florence as

their home and understand some of

the complexities of the

community. They realize, as I have

come to realize that Italy, like any

country, is more than just the

stereotypes that we impose on it;

Italy is more than just art and

pizza.”

Me cleaning up graffiti in

Florence!

My "Raining Tens" family group,

2011 conference with Shirin Ebadi

Michelle Avaroma and I at

the conference in Spring 2011

Page 7 The Peace Diaries

Congratulations to our March Coaches of the Month!

Taylor Fabrega & Jessica Mcguire,

Lincoln High School

Kaylee Hartman & Michael Braun,

Boys and Girls Club

Catherine Weisz, Anthony Nguyen, &

Sam Soffici,

Montford Middle

Thank you all for your hardwork and dedication to this program!

PeaceJam Southeast is partnering with Big Bend

Anti-Bullying Task-Force, and the Leon County

School Board to hold an Anti-Bullying Rally!

Date: April 13th, 2013

Time: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Front steps of Old Capital

The rally is open to the public- we want to get

as many people out there as possible, so

spread the word.

This is part of the PeaceJam’s Spring

Conference as a service project.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 8

Newsletter Design: Leanna Lakeram

For more information, please contact: Rody Thompson, PeaceJam Southeast Director

E-mail: rhthompson@admin.fsu.edu Phone: (850) 645-8782

Thank you to all of the PeaceJam Southeast Coaches for their hard work and contribution to our program!

peacejam.nationbuilder.com/donate

Amy Correia with students at Fairview Middle

and one of her alumni students, Raymond.

Students at Palmer Munroe Teen Center with

certificates of completion for the Community

Connections Program

Girls at Montford Middle

having a bake sale

Students at Astoria Park listening to their coach,

Felicia Perez