Welcome to
the web site of the Marina Orth Foundation. In the United
States we are called the Marina Orth
Foundation. We are a 501.c3 non-profit organization that serves
underprivileged schools in Colombia. At the request of the secretary of
education of Medellin, we have developed a pilot program in English and
Information Technology with teachers and students at the Marina Orth
Rural School, a school of 350 students from kindergarten through high
school. This program makes the Marina Orth school the first public
bilingual school in the country. It is also the first school in Colombia
to provide every primary school student a laptop from the One Laptop
per Child Foundation. We are currently planning to develop similar
projects in other schools in
Colombia.
Thanks to the work of the Marina Orth Foundation and the
generosity of the Chevron Corporation, each student in kindergarten
through fifth grade at the Marina Orth School has his own personal
laptop to use at school and take home with him. The foundation
has also arranged for the donation of thirty PC’s for the technology
room, as well as the construction of a new cafeteria and new field house
for athletics, assemblies, and after school programs. The
foundation is currently developing its VUELA (Taking Flight) Project
that seeks to use the laptops in innovative ways to improve
education. The foundation is also developing an advanced
English program in the
school.
OUR
STORY
Escuela Marina Orth began in the sixties when
Peace Corps volunteer, Maureen Orth was asked by the people of the rural
community of Aguas Frias, in the Andes mountains above
Medellin, to help them build a school. With
a donation of building materials from the National Federation of Coffee
Growers, the people carved a site out of the side of the mountain and
together with Marina built
their first school. Escuela Marina Orth began with two
classrooms and 35 students. Today it is a fully equipped
primary and secondary
school with
350 students from pre kindergarten
through
high
school.
In
2004, Dr. Horacio Arango,
Secretary of Education of
Medellin, asked Maureen Orth to help make the school named for
her the first public bilingual school in
Medellin. In 2005, she hired Luis Fernando Sanchez to be Executive
Director of the Marina Orth
Foundation, which was formally incorporated in 2006. Since the formal incorporation
of two non-profit foundations, Marina Orth
Foundation in the United States and Fundacion Marina Orth in
Colombia, the foundation has dedicated itself to creating a model public
school to
eventually be replicated elsewhere so that primary and secondary students in Colombia
and elsewhere, no matter their race, gender or
economic background, can compete globally and make a positive
contribution to the
world.
NEWS
Teacher's day
Teacher Appreciation Day is held every year in Colombia on May XXth.
During the month of May students and parents honored all of the teachers
of the Marina Orth School and Campo Alegre School. The photos are of a celebration hosted by
the Parents' Council and the Foundation.
CELEBRATION OF THE ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD COMPUTERS BEING GIVEN TO CHILDREN OF CAMPO ALEGRE SCHOOL AND THE INAUGURATION OF THEIR INTERACTIVE CLASSROOM
"Welcome
everybody," began fourth grader Yulieth franco in english. Yulieth
served as master of ceremonies for the "Presentation of the ONE
LAPTOP PER CHILD Computers and Inauguration of the First Interactive
Classroom" in the Campo Alegre Rural School, in EL CARMEN DE
VIBORAL .
Ministry of Education of Colombia, and the Education Impact Organization of Chile visited us
On May 4, we were visited by representatives from the Ministry of Education of Colombia and the Education Impact Organization of Chile. They were able to observe and interact with the primary school students using the laptops. Along with sharing the pertinent information about this technological and pedagogical experience, our visitors reminded us how we are an example not only in Colombia but throughout South America.
Participation in Council “Lúdico” in Medellín
María Camila Castañeda, a fourth grade student at the school in Aguas Frías, participated in a city-wide Student Council representing the 70th communa, or neighborhood, of Medellin. With the support and guidance of Inder, the Marina Orth Foundation, and the school, she garnered recognition for her performance in this activity. During the course of the event, she was interviewed by the regional television station Telemedellin and the newspaper Altavista Somos.
School's First Leadership Workshop
With lots
of energy, the educational community in Aguas Frías and in Campo Alegre
launched the school's first
Leadership Workshop this April 29th and 30th. In the
workshop, teachers, the principals, and staff from both of the
Foundation's locations trained students in assertiveness, social skills, goal
creating, life planning, and self-analytic exercises that
included documenting their personal history and defining their
future.
Visit of Chevron
On February 4 of this year we received the visit of directors of Chevron Petroleum Company for Latin America and the Caribbean. His president, Wes Lohec, the president for Colombia, David Banzand the manager of public affairs and government Patricia Serrano accompanied by an important people, observed by first hand the progress we have achieved in the primary students using their laptops on the One Laptop Per Child Project, that the Foundation has been developing since 2 June 2008. In the photo can be seen the enthusiasm of every body during the short and simple ceremony that ended with the presentation by the visitors, school kits to all students of Marina Orth Rural School; after which members visited classrooms where Chevron personal interacted with students, teachers and staff responsible for such of the Foundation projects.
At the conclusion of a multimedia presentation given in the summary assessment of the path in thisproject, explained by the executive director of the Foundation.
One of our students will be attending The Youth Ambassadors Program
Our 10th grade student Yuliana Quintero Monsalve, who just turned 15 a few months ago, has been chosen among many applicants from all over Colombia to participate in the Youth Ambassadors Program, an immersion program supported by the U.S. Department of State. As a part of this experience she will visit different U.S. cities like New York and Washington D.C. where she will have the chance to interact with young Americans, learn more about their culture, and improve her English and leadership skills.
International Visitors Leadership Program
From March 13th to April 3rd Luis Fernando Sanchez Hurtado, the executive director of the Marina Orth Foundation participated in the International Visitors Leadership Program hosted by the U.S. State Department. As a part of this program, he had the opportunity to meet with specialists in a variety of fields including education and the arts. He also was able to visit different sites of interest and was able to observe and participate in a variety of cultural events. The ILVP provided the participants with a deep understanding of the diverse political, social, economic, and cultural life of the United States through exposure to diverse points of view. This was also a great opportunity to develop lasting and beneficial contacts with organizations in the United States.
February 25 Coming Soon: Our Virtual Classroom
On December 2nd the teachers of the Campo Alegre Rural School, located in the hamlet Campo Alegre, a neighborhood of the town of El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia, about an hour from Medellin, met in the after school center, Creas, established by Marina Orth school to receive training in the fundamentals of the step by step and one laptop per child program. The teachers jointly constructed the framework of the project to build the 2010 plan of action. We are very excited to have added this wonderful new school to our program.
Dec 2nd: Teachers from our second school are trained at Marina Orth School
On December 2nd the teachers of the Campo Alegre Rural School, located in the hamlet Campo Alegre, a neighborhood of the town of El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia, about an hour from Medellin, met in the After School Center, Creas, established by Marina Orth Foundation to receive training in the fundamentals of the Step by Step and One Laptop Per Child program. The teachers jointly constructed the framework of the project to build the 2010 plan of action. We are very excited to have added this wonderful new school to our program.
Creating A New Policy For New Education
On the 26th and 27th of November, in Santa Marta , The National Ministry of Education brought together leaders from educational projects being developed throughout thecountry using mobile technologies like One Laptop Per Child. The purpose was to create new national policies governing the new technologies. The name of the workshop was: "Towards a Policy of Including Mobile Technologies in Education". The Marina Orth Foundation was proud to participate.
November 20th and 21st: Second National Meeting of Resource Finders
On the 20th and 21st of November,representatives of leading non-profit organizations in Colombia, including Marina Orth,attended a workshop in Bogota convened by the Universidad del Rosario and the Foundation Mercadeo Social to study how to search forresources in times of economic crisis.
October 26th: A very exciting day for us!
The inauguration of the step by step/ one laptop per childproject, at the campo Alegre rural school, located in the hamlet of Campo Alegre, El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia. The primary school of 120 students, grades preschool through five, is the second school in Colombia to adopt the Marina Orth Foundation program, using laptops donated jointly by the state government of Antioquia and the Auteco Company of Colombia. Campo Alegre will follow in its curriculum the four core points of the foundation's program: English and Information Technology emphasized; Leadership training and One to One Learning (One Laptop Per Child).Marina Orth and local officials and teachers from both Marina Orth School and Campo Alegre School were present for the ceremony.
We are one of the only rural communities to be fully connected!
After waiting several years, our community of Aquas Frias is equipped with wifi. Thanks to an unprecedented public/private partnership between Motorola, Empresas Publicas of Medellin, the Mayors Office, the Secretary of Education's office, Eleinco (which has installed the network); led by the Marina Orth Foundation, our community is now fully wired for the internet. Now, not only the students at our school but also their families are able to connect our small mountain top with the entire globe. We can upload, download, Google and twitter. Thank you all who made this pioneering work possible!
1.October 22: October 22: Inauguration of the Creas After School and Community Center:
In a rented house near our school, and in partnership with Inder, the Recreation and Sport Institute of Medellin, we have opened Creas, an after school and day care center available to the families of our community seven days a week. Creas was created especially for the children whose parents are not home during the day. It is a safe and fun place for homework, tutoring, reading, films and other worthwhile activities.Thank you to Inder and the City of Medellin for helping us, especially council member Santiago Londoño.
August 27-28: First Annual Science and Creativity Fair
Under the leadership of the Foundation, the teachers and students of Marina Orth School presented their own unique designs and inventions in two wonderful days of the first ever creativity and design fair. The first day was marked by the artistic expression of the students and a group of teachers who performed songs, plays, and poems for the rest of the school.The second day the science projects were presented in various rooms, each with a special theme: exhibition room, origami room, little planetarium room, conference room, film forum room y experimental room.
August 25: Regional Educational Forum
The director of the foundation, Luis Fernando Sanchez, presented the Step by Step Project at this conference of outstanding educational programs in Medellin. The project was selected as one of only two experiences from Medellin to participate in the upcoming national educational forum in Bogota. Participants in the forum were impressed by the magnitude and creativity of the project.
July 30-August 1: Visit of Group from Rincon Del Mar
A delegation of 45 people from the Rincon Del Mar School, led by the Secretary of Education of San Onofre, Dr. Celia Carrasco, and consisting of the principal and teachers of the school, and members of the partner Maria Mulata foundation arrived in Medellin to participate in a workshop, "Approaching Project Step by Step." This workshop sought to prepare the foundation and the school to work together in implementing the Step by Step Project in their school in the coastal region of Sucre.
July 23: Visit of Group from San Patricio School of Bogotá
Accompanied by members of the OLPC Foundation, Dr. Cluadia Urrea and Dr. Sandra Barragan, several representatives of the San Patricio School of Bogota arrived to see up close how the laptops work in our school, with the hope of implementing them in their school in Bogota.
July 2: Better Teachers With More Knowledge of Teaching English
In October, the Friends of Colombia Organization will provide an English teaching workshop for the English teachers of Eastern Antioquia. The program is sponsored by the Secretary of Education of Antioquia, the Friends of Colombia Organization, the Marina Orth Foundation, the Embassy of the U.S. in Colombia, and the Movement of Businesses for the Development of Eastern Antioquia. This is the beginning of many activities that the Secretary of Education of Antioquia will develop with the foundation.
June 19: Replication of Project Taking Flight
Congregated by the Embassy of the U.S., the director of the foundation attended a meeting in the U.S. Embassy in Bogota with the goal of presenting the results of Project Taking Flight. This meeting was attended by representatives of the Secretaries of Education and Communication with the object of making it possible to open five more experiences in marginalized areas with histories of violence. These intitutions are now making steps towards beginning these experiences.
June 10: Visit of the Secretary of Education of Itaguí, Antioquia
Led by the Secretary of Education of Itagui, Dr. Fernando A. Barrera, a group of 6 members of said institution realized an interesting visit to the Project Taking Flight with the goal of learning first hand how we are fusing technology into the curriculum here.
June 4: Rincón del Mar, San Onofre, Sucre
The Julio Ernesta Urrea Foundation and the Marina Orth Foundation are seeking to replicate the Step by Step Project Project in the Rincon del Mar School in San Onofre, Sucre, an area of the Atlantic coast. To begin the process, a meeting of the foundations, government officials, and school leaders was held in the office of the Maria Mulata Corporation in San Onofre.
June 2: Visit to Carmen de Viboral
As part of the process of implementing the Step by Step Project in the Campo Alegre School of Camen de Viboral, delegates of the foundation, the Secretary of Education of Antioquia, the Embassy of the U.S., and the National Ministry of Education visited the school and were entertained by a nice cultural presentation by the children of the school.
June 2: Interinstitutional Project
To find the relevance of the laptops for teaching English, several representatives of the Embassy of the U.S. and the National Bilingual Project of the Ministry of Education arrived at the school, discussed the topic, and observed classes.
June 1: CREAS Day Care
To provide a complementary educational experience to the children of Aguas Frias that guarantees them protection and care, the foundation decided to open this center for children of the primary school who are free from school but lacking parental supervision in the afternoon. The center is a space for the children to learn and play and is directed by the Inder Foundation of Medellin.
After one year we are pleased to present our Evaluation of Project Taking Flight, through a multimedia where you will find all of the evidence and research that supports our achievements and activities.
There is no doubt that thanks to the collaborative work of the directors of the foundation and the school, the teachers, the parents, and the students, the achievements have been significant.
Requirements
To be able to enjoy the multimedia, your computer must have the following tools:
April 24: All the Way from Korea to see Marina Orth School
A delegation headed by Dr. Ulio Taemyung Han, the executive director of the Service of Investigation and Educational Information of Korea, some members of the Ministry of National Education and the Secretary of Municipal Education made a special trip to visit our school in order to learn about the advances in information technology that we are making through our VUELA (Taking Flight) Project.
April 21: Latitude Responsable (French Organization)
Ludovic Ronier and Pierre Louis Caleel, representatives from the Responsible Latitude organization, visited our school to exchange ideas about IT learning strategies. In the words of these gentlemen, "This is a really interesting project for information technology and quality education."
We are thankful for their visit.
Cartagena, April 20: Summit: Technology, Sustainability, Education and Development
The Marina Orth Foundation attended this event, which was hosted by Dr. Francisco Santos, the vice president of the republic; Dr. Judith Pinedo Florez, the mayor of Cartagena; and the Technological University of Bolivar. At the meeting, our foundation presented the innovative educational techniques using the one laptop per child equipment that we have used in the first months of our VUELA (Taking Flight) Project.
Medellin, March 1 to 31: Photographic Exhibition of the Marina Orth School
Throughout the month of March a photographic exhibition presented by the Secretary of Education of Medellin appeared in the teacher's college, showing important landmarks in the history of Marina Orth School and the Marina Orth Foundation.
March 11: Ambassador Brownfield Visits
The U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, William R. Brownfield, visited the Marina Orth School to see first hand the progress that the foundation has made with its innovative programs in technology and English. He was greeted in English by seventh grader Yasbledy Acosta before an excited assembly of elementary school students. Sixth grader Julian Ibarra presented him with a traditional Colombian sombrero, and the Ambassador presented the school with a generous donation of educational books. Before leaving, the Ambassador toured every classroom of the school to interact personally with the students and observe how they use the laptops in the classroom. He left feeling that he had seen something truly special and promised to work for more such experiences throughout Colombia.
Bogota, March 3 to 6: First Find-Factory OLPC Colombia
First grade teacher, Martha Lia Valencia, along with Henry Velez and Luis Fernando Sanchez of the foundation attended this event in the Colombian capital where the Foundation presented the creation and implementation of the VUELA (Taking Flight) Project. The event was attended by international groups interested in implementing the One Laptop per Child as well as the Barefoot Foundation, founded by pop singer Shakira, which also sponsors three schools with OLPC
In Wednesday night’s presidential debate, when Barack Obama mentioned that he wanted to see young people serving in greater numbers in volunteer programs such as the Peace Corps, I felt heartened, because I know first-hand what an indelible mark these kinds of experiences can make on one’s life, and how very good they can be for the soul as well as for the country. More
October 7, 2008: Official Launching Of The One Laptop Per Child Project At Marina Orth School
The master of ceremonies, student Juliana Quintero, gave the welcoming in English to more than one hundred and sixty attendees. In a formal atmosphere, the attendees also listened in English to the song of the Marina Orth School, sung by its students. Immediately afterwards, two students, Cindy Milady Quintero and Julian Ibarra, explained the project OLPC; making clear that it is an important educational project that is doing much more than simply connecting computers to the Internet.
