Letters to Dominican young women from two Boston students

Two of my Harbor Middle School students, Ylondah and Milan, were very excited to see the Mariposa Project blog. They asked to write something for this blog, and I suggested that they write letters to the Dominican students. I plan to translate these for and share them with our Dominican students. Thank you, Milan and Ylondah, for all the kind words!

Mrs. Dines loves her great students: Milan and Ylondah!

Dear Dominican Students:
Hi! This is one of Mrs. Dines’s 6th grade students. My name is Milan. I want to tell you how great Mrs. Dines is for the DR students. She is a really cool teacher. She loves to speak Spanish.
I think it’s important that all people should know Spanish at all times because it helps other people who don't know how to speak the language. For example, people who do know how to speak Spanish can teach people who don’t. In our school, there are several Spanish-speaking students that like to talk in Spanish. Some of them teach other kids how to say Spanish words to help them learn. I wish I could be Spanish because I like the way Spanish people talk.
I’m so glad that she is working for all of you. I hope you all have fun with her being there with you. I will miss her so much.
Sincerely,
Milan



Dear Dominican Students:
Hello! My name is Ylondah. I have been a student with Mrs Dines this year. Mrs. Dines is a great friend, but, to us, she is also a teacher, and we will miss her so much as she continues her teaching skills in a different country. Mrs. Dines will make the young women in Cabarete, D.R.’s hearts smile because she has the happiness, potential, and courage inside of her body. D.R. young women will be extremely excited to see her, and she will love to teach these nice young women.
Here at the Harbor Middle School in Boston, in my class, there are about 5 or 6 kids that are from a Spanish country, and the rest are either African-American or from a different country. It’s important for Boston Public Schools teachers to know Spanish because as you can see some kids in Boston were born in the Spanish countries and came to America to learn fluent English. So as the kids go to school to learn English from a bilingual teacher, they won't feel like they have no confidence. Mrs. Dines’s ability to speak Spanish is very good because other kids would probably love to learn Spanish, too.
To close out this letter, I want to say that we will miss Mrs. Dines, but we want her to have a great time with you all!
Best wishes and Happy Summer,
Ylondah

Welcome!

Bienvenidos. We are a group of women teachers who are living in Cabarete, Dominican Republic for the summer of 2010. In Cabarete, we will work with the Mariposa DR Foundation to implement the 2010 Mariposa DR Young Women's Leadership Program. This program provides education, food and excursions for 45 young women. Our teachers will teach health, mathematics, reading, and writing to a group of 45 young women, ages 13 to 18, and we will participate in a variety of activities that will enable us to better learn the Spanish language and understand the Dominican culture. Many of us are teachers in the Boston Public Schools and members of the Boston Teachers Union. The Boston Public Schools has a significant population of Dominican students, an this provided a motivation for our travel to the Dominican Republic. We are very grateful to the Fund for Teachers for providing a grant that covers travel, housing, food, materials, and program fees for two of our teachers!