Partnership Development
Harambee Christian School-OSU Partnership
As part of a partnership coordinated by the P-12 Project, students and chaperones from Harambee Christian School in Columbus regularly visited Ohio State’s Columbus campus. One purpose of the partnership was to get young students thinking about college. Stories and photos of these visits are on this page: Winter 2010, Spring 2009, Winter 2009, Spring 2008, and Fall 2007. For more information about this partnership, please contact p12@osu.edu.
Winter 2010
On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 14 fifth graders from the Harambee School visited the Ohio State University. George Keeney, Insectory manager, showed the class a variety of insects including tarantulas, scorpions, and spiders. The students also visited the African-American and African Studies Department and participated in activities led by lecturers Viola Newton and Salome Fouts. Salome commented, “Everything worked out very well today because we all—parents, teachers, facilitators, presenters—cooperated in the spirit of HARAMBEE.” Jeff McKibben from International Students and Scholars spoke to the students about study abroad opportunities at Ohio State.
On Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11 third graders started out their visit to Ohio State by touring the Page Hall exhibit about former senator and astronaut John Glenn. Next the students expanded on their studies about Chinese language and culture by participating in activities led by Karen Sobul and Rebecca Bias of the Foreign Language Center. The students also had the opportunity to learn more about stars and planets from astronomy graduate students Jen VanSaders and Ben Shappee at Spitz Planetarium. The last presentation of the day was a paper airplane demonstration led by Dr. Nancy Nestor-Baker from the P-12 Project, who showed the students how knowing the way paper airplanes work is like knowing how to go to college. Students agreed that their favorite moments of the visit included learning to draw Chinese characters, seeing the constellations in the planetarium, and watching the squirrels run around in The Oval.
Photos
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Family Night: May 2009
On Thursday, May 21, 2009, families of students and alumni from Harambee Christian School in grades 4-8 were invited to The Ohio State University campus for a special evening family event. Families were treated to a picnic dinner, which was accompanied by table discussion about college. Ohio State student, faculty, and staff volunteers sat with the families for the discussion, and the paper-covered tables provided a slate on which they could compile answers to share. After dinner, students from Omega Psi Phi performed a step show, and Michele Brown, from Undergraduate Admissions and First-Year Experience, spoke with the parents about what they can do now to help their children prepare for college in the future. While Michele spoke with the parents, the fourth through eighth graders went on a campus tour and their younger siblings made and decorated college savings banks. The evening concluded with a concert by The Ohio State University Faculty Jazz Combo at Mirror Lake. The Ohio State University P-12 Project would like to thank Larry Williamson and the Hale Center, Admissions and First-Year Experience, the School of Music, Phi Kappa Phi, Omega Psi Phi, the PAD at Drake, and the Economic Access Initiative for their collaboration in this event.
Photos
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From China to the Stars: Spring 2009 Visit
On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 30 third- and fourth-grade students and their teachers and chaperones from Harambee Christian School visited The Ohio State University campus through an ongoing partnership between Harambee and Ohio State. The students were welcomed to campus with a brief explanation of Page Hall’s John Glenn Exhibit by graduate student Steve Kowal.
After viewing the lunar sample and other parts of the exhibit, the third graders headed to Hagerty Hall to increase their experience of the Chinese language, which the third-grade class studies throughout the year at Harambee. The students were treated to lessons in Chinese calligraphy and to Chinese games led by Diane Birckbichler, Karen Sobul, and Rebecca Bias of the Foreign Language Center.
Meanwhile, the fourth graders headed to Derby Hall to learn more about GPS technology from Ola Ahlqvist in the Geography Department. After a quick survey of navigational techniques, Professor Ahlqvist introduced graduate students Rick McClish and Alycia Burkitt, who are studying geography at Ohio State. Rick and Alycia led the students in a brief geocaching experience on the Oval, where the students using GPS devices to locate items hidden around the Oval area.
The third- and fourth-grade students joined together for a planetarium show in the Spitz Planetarium, led by graduate student in astronomy, Kelly Denney. In addition to learning the location of various constellations, the students observed the motion of the planets and the moon. After the presentation, the students received star charts that showed the location of the stars in the Columbus sky for this time of the year.
After lunch, Tally Hart and Deb Van Camp from the Economic Access Initiative engaged the students in a conversation about ways to prepare for college and answered the many questions the students posed. At the end of the day, each student received a string backpack with various items donated by the Ohio Union and the Ohio State partners from the day.
The Ohio State University P-12 Project would like to thank the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, the Foreign Language Center, the Department of Geography, the Department of Astronomy, the Ohio Union, the PAD at Drake, and the Economic Access Initiative for their contributions that made this event possible.
Photos
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Spring 2009: A Lesson in Economics
On Tuesday, May 5, 2009, several students from Harambee Christian School came to Ohio State to represent Harambee Imports, a student-run organization that actively showcases the school’s focus on economics. In fourth and fifth grade, the students have the opportunity to interview for positions in Harambee Imports. They participate in decision making about what to stock in their store, how to price the items based on what they learn about supply and demand, and how much profit they want to make, and they run the sales. The profit goes back to the students so they have money to buy notebooks, pens, and other items from the school supply store. At the May 5 campus sale on the Wexner Center Plaza, the students sold items ranging from greeting cards and bookmarks to coffee and hand-woven bags. All items are from fair-trade organizations.
Photos
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A Taste of Russia: Winter 2009 Visit
On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 15 fifth-grade students from Harambee Christian School visited the Ohio State campus. Coordinated by Thaddeus Fortney from the Center for Slavic and East European Studies and Kathy Cameron from The Ohio State University P-12 Project, this visit was designed to cap off the fifth-grade students’ school unit on Russia while exposing them to the foreign language and study abroad opportunities at Ohio State.
Upon arrival, the students were guided through a discussion about Russian history over the past 20 years. Students compared and contrasted Russia and the former Soviet Union, examined colored flags from the republics that comprised the U.S.S.R., and discussed cultural differences. Following the discussion, the students were led on a tour of Hagerty Hall, stopping by the technology labs and the Crane Café, where people can watch television in seven different languages while enjoying snacks or a meal.
Graduate students Ann Wilson, Tim Dempsey, Sara Lowry, Susan Vdovichenko, and Larysa Stepanova, and Slavic Center staff member Maryann Walther-Kiesel joined Thaddeus in leading activities for the students in a large lecture hall in Hagerty Hall. Students learned to write their names in Russian and Georgian, speak some Russian, and perform some traditional Russian dances.
After a brief tour of the Oval area, the students paused in the lobby of Oxley Hall to see information on the many places Ohio State students can go to study abroad. During a pizza lunch, the students watched a Russian cartoon show to see what children might watch on television for entertainment in Russia. Then, graduate students Larysa Stepanova and Dasha Safronova answered the fifth-grade students’ many questions about what it is like to be a student and grow up in the Ukraine and Russia. The day ended with a brief show-and-tell opportunity, using items found in the Artifact Boxes available through the Center for Slavic and East European Studies. Each student received a string backpack full of items donated from various Ohio State offices.
After the visit, one fifth-grade student wrote: “I can’t wait to go to OSU because you’re going to notice what a bright student I can turn out to be.” The P-12 Project would like to thank the following for their contributions that made this event possible for the students in the fifth grade at Harambee: The Center for Slavic and East European Studies, The Ohio Union, Hilander Research Library, and the PAD at Drake.
Photos
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Expanding Students’ World View: Spring 2008 Visit
Twelve third-grade students and three chaperones from Harambee Christian School in Columbus visited the Ohio State campus on April 22, 2008. At the Frank W. Hale, Jr., Black Cultural Center, Erin Galloway from the Study Abroad Program in the Office of International Affairs engaged the students in several activities to increase their awareness of actions they can take now to learn about other countries in preparation for studying abroad someday. Students especially enjoyed locating countries on the world map. Maps were also involved in an activity led by Michael Jaung, Adrienne Strong, and Diane Haddad of the OSU student-led Global Health Initiative. Population distribution and land mass were compared with the number of health care workers in various countries. The students from the Global Health Initiative highlighted the implications of those facts with photos that demonstrated the impact of the ratio of physicians to population in various countries. The children also explored African economics in lessons involving the trade of bananas and charity and international aid with Laura Joseph of the Center for African Studies. After lunch, the action shifted outdoors in celebration of Earth Day. Jane Harrison, Kayleigh Hire, Emily Ellis, and Mark Stevens, from Free the Planet OSU, raised the third graders' awareness of environmental issues through stories and information, a song, and the opportunity to plant seeds in environmentally friendly pots to take home. This event was coordinated by Kathy Cameron, P-12 Project, and Saba Sohail, Office of International Affairs.
Photos
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College Material: Fall 2007 Visit
On Tuesday, October 16, 31 fourth- and fifth-grade students from Harambee Christian School visited the Ohio State campus for a tour of the Geology Museum and a chance to explore Archaeology. They also heard from Ohio State representatives about the importance of working hard in school in order to get to college after their high school graduation. The students had the chance to learn about animals that roamed right here in Ohio centuries ago and to see a giant sloth skeleton in the Geology Museum during a tour led by Dale Gnidovec. Dallas DeForest, a graduate assistant working in archaeology, showed the students a slide show and shared a little about what it is like to explore the past through archaeology. Students worked with pieces of broken pots, reassembling them and inspecting them for clues about the past. A lunch with music and speakers showed the students more about what Ohio State has to offer. Graduate students Janet Fleck and Marcela DeFaria and senior Jackson Chamberlain played lively flute music for the students. Amy Wade and Kevin D’Arco from Undergraduate Admissions and First-Year Experience led an activity where students made an airplane several times as a metaphor for getting the right kind of help in preparing to go to college. Todd Suddeth from the Office of Minority Affairs played a trivia game using statistics to help them understand why college is important. Larry Williamson, director of the Hale Center, led the students on a brief tour of the diverse artwork in the center. Student members of Phi Kappa Phi were present with the group throughout their visit. Each Harambee student received a t-shirt compliments of The Ohio State University P-12 Project that says “Work Hard, Dream Big, Plan Well: College Material.” Coordinated by the P-12 Project, this partnership included the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the Department of Geological Sciences, the Department of Archaeology, the Office of Minority Affairs, Undergraduate Admissions and First-Year Experience, the Economic Access Initiative, the School of Music, and the Frank W. Hale, Jr., Black Cultural Center.
Photos
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