Valley Ranch Elementary Sends Books of Hope to Uganda
Students at the Latigi Orphan Care Center in Uganda, Africa recently received books written and illustrated by students in the Gifted and Talented Program at Valley Ranch Elementary. It was part of the Books of Hope Project, which is a service-learning program that approximately 50,000 students, teachers, parents and community members nationwide participate in each year.
About 20 Valley Ranch students in grades 2, 3 and 5 worked on the project once a week during the 2008-2009 school year with school librarian Georgena Watson. Students could choose to write fiction or non-fiction. Watson took the students through the whole process, from rough drafts to creating a layout. Students also created original artwork for their books. Watson said the students really enjoyed the whole process.
Watson laminated the pages and had each book bound. The books were on display for parents during the last week of school in May before they were shipped to Uganda. Valley Ranch Elementary Principal Gloria Hammack said, “I enjoyed watching our students make the books during the school year. One of our goals was to help our students understand the importance of giving back to our world.”
