Eric Greitens Meets with Civitas
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Civitas has a lot of discussions, and that means "talking the talk." Last Saturday, we had an opportunity to meet with an outstanding individual who has "walked the walk," and is still doing so. He is Eric Greitens, a gentleman whose experiences have ranged from being a Navy Seal to winning the Fallujah Marathon (Iraq) to humanitarian work in Rwanda, India, Cambodia, and Croatia. Eric spoke with Civitas students and teachers about how his varied experiences have each taught him important lessons about making a difference. The episodes ranged from Navy Seal training (two and half hours sleep in a week) to service Rwanda (trying to bring tribes back together after a genocide). There is a common bond to each event; engaging as a local and global citizen to try to help people engage more as citizens and to promote peace and harmony. He has finished a book of narrative and photos on his experiences and members of Civitas are invited to come to the book signing at the Missouri History Museum on Friday, November 7. More details on that will follow. Several Civitas student-journalists are writing articles on Eric's presentation; we will have links to those stories on our home page in the next day or so as they become availalble. More photos are available by clicking here.
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Students - Adult Conversation on
Active Citizenship
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Should high school seniors and juniors be allowed to vote in school-related elections? Is there a place for student voices in the discussion of displinary systems, teacher evaluation and curriculum? How do students respond to pandering from politicians? These questions and more will be on the table as students from Civitas programs and adults including many recruited by the Missouri History Museum come together this Thursday evening, Sept. 25, to gather in dialogue. The program will be at the History Museum (map) from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith and Washington University freshman Allison Reed will offer brief opening remarks. Allison will discuss the call for citizenship by youth; Senator Smith will continue that and then describe the legislative hurdles to effecting this kind of change. We will divide into small groups with students and adults and each table. Questions for consideration will literally be on the table and others can be offered by participants. To wrap up the evening, we'll share ideas from each group; see if there is a mandate to continue the process; and if so, determine what we do next.
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Pulitzer Global Gateway "Water Wars" Project About to Launch
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We have been telling you about the "Water Wars in East Africa" project with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. A remarkable new section on its web site is about to launch. It will provide new possibilities for in-depth study by students as well as opportunities for extensive blogging with journalists and students from other schools. This includes students in Kenya, ones who are in the heart of the "Water Wars in East Africa" troubles. Thanks to journalist Ernest Waititu, editor-in-chief of Afrikanews.org, students in two schools in Kenya will be interacting with American students no later than next week. The new web site for the Pulitzer "Water Wars" project is http://waterwars.pulitzergateway.org/. Three journalists who covered the story will be in St. Louis to meet with students and teachers from Wed., Oct. 1 - Sat., Oct. 4. More information on the launching should be available on Tuesday, September 23.
So much happening now. Needless to say, we would like interested students and adults to attend upcoming events. Here they are in summary with links to more details:
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Meeting for New Middle School Teachers Next Mon. Middle School teachers new to the Civitas Model UN gathered yesterday afternoon at Richmond-Heights Community Center (map) to learn the ins and outs of the program. Coordinator Lisa Granich-Kovarik described the philosophy behind the program (collaboration rather than competition), how responsibilities and opportunities are spread throughout the school year, and the nature of the sessions that culminate in the Spring. The next meeting will be for all Middle School teachers on Monday, October 13, from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, also at "The Heights." It will include the important country draft. The date of the student and teacher workshop at the Khorassan Room at the Chase-Park Plaza is Wednesday, November 19. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Lisa at granichkovarik@sbcglobal.net or (314) 865-4704.
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High School M.U.N. Country Draft this Saturday A wise person once asked the question, "How can you have a Model U.N. without students representing countries?" As often is the case, Civitas was short on answers (though not nececessarily opinions). So we need and country draft and so do you. It's this Saturday, September 27, at Crossroads (map) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. It is key to have at least one representative from each school (can be a student or teacher). We would love to have as many as possible because (a) we'll give some background info on how the Model U.N. (Nov. 22) works, and (b) we'll have time for another lively discussion. So below are links to information that you need on how the country draft works. If you have questions, e-mail us at info@civitas-stl.com or call us at (314) 367-6480.
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Upcoming Civitas Events
(Actual events in bold -- always subject to change when change occurs!) Black: High School Blue: Middle School
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| Date | Time | Place | Activity | | | | | | Thurs.,
09/25/2008 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 AM | Missouri History Museum (map) | Symposium with MO History Museum on Active Citizenship by Students (dialogue with adults and students) | Sat.,
09/27/2008 | 9:00 AM -
11:00 AM | Crossroads (map) | High School Model U.N. Country Draft & Discussion | Wed.,
10/1/2008 - Sat.,
10/4/2008 | Varies | Varies | Global Gateway Program on "Water Wars in East Africa" with Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting | Sat.,
10/11/2008 | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Crossroads (map) | Civitas Discussion #4 | Mon.,
10/13/2008 | 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM | "The Heights" in Richmond Heights (map) | Middle School Teacher Meeting with Country Draft | | Fri., 10/17 - Sun. 10/19 | Varies | Varies | Washington University Model United Nations for High School Students | Thurs.
10/23/2008 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Washington
University | Carl Bernstein at Center for Study of Ethics & Human Values | Sat.,
10/25/2008 | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Crossroads (map) | Civitas Discussion #5 & Model UN Prep Session | Fri.,
10/31/2008 | Early Evening | Varies | UNICEF Trick or Treating | Sat.,
11/01/2008 | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Crossroads (map) | Civitas Discussion #6 & Model UN Prep Session | Fri.,
11/07/2008 | T.B.A. | Missouri History Museum (map) | Eric Greitens Book Signing | Sat.,
11/08/2008 | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Crossroads (map) | Civitas Discussion #7 & Model UN Prep Session | Wed.
11/19/2008 | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Chase-Park Plaza (map) | Middle School MUN Student & Teacher Workshop | Sat.,
11/22/2008 | 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM | Spazio's of Westport (map) | HIgh School Model U.N. |
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What's Civitas? See video below: |
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High School Model U.N. Country Draft this Saturday
You can access a complete list of General Assembly members by clicking here. Security Council Members in 2008 (countries in bold are permanent members): - Belgium
- Burkino Faso
- China (Permanent)
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- France (Permanent)
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Libya
- Panama
- Russian Federation (Permanent)
- South Africa
- United Kingdom (Permanent)
- United States (Permanent)
- Vietnam
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