AMS PEACE ACTIVITIES

Peace Seed Connection

AMS Peace Committee

101 People for Peace Fund

2008 Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant

AMS Peace Database

PEACE SEED CONNECTION

Peace Seed Connection is a publication of the AMS Peace Committee, which is posted to the AMS website twice a year (spring, fall). If you would like to be added to the Peace Database so that you can be notified each time a new electronic issue is published, contact Julie Winnette.

Peace Seed Connection #7 is our most current edition.

Please also take some time to read, enjoy, and reflect on our archived editions:
Peace Seed Connection #6
Peace Seed Connection #5
Peace Seed Connection #4
Peace Seed Connection #3
Peace Seed Connection #2
Peace Seed Connection #1

For more information: Nancy Hofer

AMS PEACE COMMITTEE

The Peace Committee is an informal group led by several key persons who oversee projects, with the support and participation of many other individuals. All who wish to get involved are enthusiastically welcomed! For more information, contact Committee Chair Sonnie McFarland.

Overseeing special projects are:

Judi Bauerlein
Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Project

Terri Canady
Peace DVD

Allisyn Haberman
Youth Visit the United Nations

Nancy Hofer
Peace Seed Connection Newsletter

Katie McDonnell
Coins for Compassion

Sonnie McFarland, Committee Chair
Peace Retreats

Sunita Prakash
101 People for Peace

Julie Winnette
Peace Database

Pat Yonka
Peace Table (at AMS Conferences)

101 PEOPLE FOR PEACE FUND

Donate online here

Sponsored by the American Montessori Society to promote a global culture of peace through education.

Funds from the 101 People for peace will be used to:

Disseminate materials, resources and information related to peace education
Provide communication tools and networking among educators for peace
Support and encourage the development of peace education activities, materials and research
Educate and promote partnerships among AMS andother organizations to further the work of educating for peace

With a donation of $101, you will receive a copy of Maria Montessori's Peace and Education and a beautiful peace pin as a symbol of your commitment to peace in the world.

Donate online here.

For more information: Sunita Prakash

2009 URSULA THRUSH PEACE SEED GRANT

Montessorians who have formulated a project fostering education for peace are warmly invited to apply for the Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant.

The American Montessori Society Peace Committee created this $2,000 grant to honor the memory of Ursula Thrush, whose dedication to fulfilling Maria Montessori’s vision for peace through children opened doors to many Montessori educators, inspiring them to include peace education in their classrooms and communities. Ursula Thrush founded the Maria Montessori School of the Golden Gate and Teacher Training Center in San Francisco and helped to establish several other Montessori programs, including The Science of Peace Task Force and the Montessori Peace Academy.

Individuals interested in applying for the Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant must e-mail or postal mail a completed application to each of the committee members listed below, no later than February 1, 2009. All submitted materials become the property of the American Montessori Society.

To download an application, click here.

For more information, contact one of the Committee members, below.

Committee Members

Judi Bauerlein: 2173 Oak Creek Place, Hayward, CA 94541

Lesley Nan Haberman: 11 East 81 Street, New York, NY 10028

Sonnie McFarland: PO Box 4155, Buena Vista, CO 81211

Selection Criteria

Applicants must have a Montessori background.
The project must further education for peace.
The project must reach a significant number of children and/or educators.
The recipient of the grant must share the results of his/her project with the AMS community.
The project goal must be accomplished in the year following receipt of the grant.
The recipient must show how he/she will be accountable for the use of the funds.

Notification

Applicants will be notified by February 15, 2009. The recipient of the grant will be announced at the AMS 2009 Annual Conference, as well as in Montessori Life, and the Peace Seed Connection.

Recipients of Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grants

	2008	This year, Lesley Nan increased the funds available so that we could award a grant of $1,100 to each of two projects, one domestic and one international. The 2008 International Peace Seed Grant went to two experienced Montessori teachers from Canada—Laure Kominar of Hillfield Strathallan College Montessori School in Hamilton and Janice Mayhew of Lakeview Montessori School in St. Clair Beach. In collaboration with the Olive Branch for Children, they will provide three weeks of Montessori teacher education to 30 women in Tanzania, Africa, this summer. These 30 women will then work directly with children in their communities who have been orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. The program will focus on developing the women’s ability to make their own classroom materials and to educate other teachers. The 2008 Domestic Peace Seed Grant recipient is Claudia Mann, director at Chaffee County Montessori School in Salida, CO, for her Garden for Peace. This multifaceted project will not only help children experience the interconnectedness of all living things but also reach out to the elderly in the Garden Club, involve children from other schools, provide herbs to local organic restaurants and vegetables to the Harvest Fair, and offer hands-on service to Colorado’s Guidestone Farms program.
	2007	AMS thanks Lesley Haberman and The Family Schools (New York City, NY) for generously underwriting the funding for two grant recipients in 2007: First Place: Tracey Bernard To train several dozen educators in Sri Lanka in peace education skills and activities. Included in the project is the development of a peace curriculum in English, Sinhala, and Tamil; and training in conservation agriculture. For more information: tracy.bernard@comcast.net Honorable Mention: Julie Ikenberry & Little Oaks Children’s House (Lyle, Washington) To connect students in Little Oaks with students in one school in each of the human-inhabited continents, with the goal of creating a communal Peace Quilt for display in diverse communities. The year-long project will include acquiring handprints, photos, and statements about Grace and Courtesy or peace from all participating students; and the creation of a booklet about the project. For more information: mjikenberry@gorge.net
	2006	Victoria Montessori School, Uganda, Africa To implement the Uganda Montessori Peace Education Initiative, which will bring peace education to six schools in war-torn northern Uganda, with the goal of helping students embrace peace and advocate for a culture of harmonious co-existence. For more information, contact Peace Education Initiative directors Lawino Christine Kijange & Olanya Joseph Okwonga.
	2005	Catherine McTamaney To complete and publish her book, The Tao of Montessori (available for purchase on the AMS website).
	2004	Youth Visits the United Nations Project (First Annual)

For more information: Judi Bauerlein

AMS PEACE DATABASE

If you would like to be notified of AMS peace activities by e-mail or postal mail or your address or e-mail has changed since you signed up to be on this database, or if you know of someone who would like to be added, please contact Julie Winnette.