Students take 'virtual' journey to Panama

SHARON — During the spring semester, students at Sharon Center School got a chance to take part in a cultural exchange with students in Panama — without even leaving their classroom.

The exchange was organized by Audubon Sharon Director Scott Heth, Marvelwood School science teacher Laurie Doss and Sharon Center School eighth-grade Spanish Teacher Kerry O’Toole.

“Four years ago, we trained Laurie [Doss] on birdbanding,  and started a birdbanding station at Marvelwood School,â€� Heth said.

Marvelwood is a boarding school perched atop Skiff Mountain in Kent.

“Laurie subsequently decided it would be fantastic if her students could visit the wintering grounds of migratory birds,� Heth said. “The same birds we have up here in the summer reside in warm countries like Panama during the winter.�

Doss made arrangements for the trip, and it has become an important part of the curriculum for many Marvelwood students.

Representatives from Audubon Sharon have traveled to Latin America with Doss and her students.

Then, Heth said, “We tried to figure out how to involve Sharon Center School students in a similar kind of cultural exchange.�

“We decided to introduce the students to children who live in the village of La Zahina.�

La Zahina is so remote that it doesn’t have electricity or modern plumbing. It takes at least three hours along dirt roads and waterways to reach it from Panama City, the nation’s capital.

Before Doss journeyed to La Zahina with her students this spring, O’Toole recorded a video of Sharon Center School students that she could bring with her and show to youngsters at a school in the village.

The video shows Sharon students introducing themselves and drawing pictures of birds that travel from Sharon to La Zahina — and it shows the students playing in snow. 

“I wanted to find a way to include all types of schools in the Northwest Corner, whether they are public or private schools,� Doss said. “I don’t think most of our students realize how lucky they are compared to those in other countries.�

Sharon Center School students also donated medical and school supplies for the Marvelwood students to bring to the villagers.

And while they were in Panama, Doss and her students made a new video — of the students in La Zahina using the school supplies donated by the Sharon Center School students.

O’Toole said it was an eye-opening experience for her students.

“Typically, our class does not have a chance to communicate with real Spanish speakers,� O’Toole said. “We got to know part of a Spanish-speaking world that lives differently than we do.

“One of the first things students talked about in class was about how poor the children in La Zahina were.

Eventually, as they saw the pictures, they thought about how they may not exactly be poor, but instead they are living a much simpler life.�