August 13, 2018
EDCAL 5
Student ambassadors
from CA perform at
Rwandan Arts Festival
Lynwood Unified students Zion Bennett
and Jose Laguna returned home from a trip
to Rwanda as experienced international per-
formers, after acting as American cultural
ambassadors during an international arts
festival. There, they helped stage two plays
in front of a capacity crowd of 2,000 people.
Bennett and Laguna were chosen to
represent Lynwood and showcase their act-
ing and writing talents as part of the dis-
trict’s Building Relationships and Inspiring
Dialogue through Global Exchange Theatre
Project. The students collaborated with the
Mashirika Performance Arts Company
during the festival and spent nearly two
weeks in Rwanda last month.
“It was so amazing, a once-in-a-lifetime
experience,” Laguna said. “I was nervous at
first, but the students from Mashirika made
us feel like we were home. Although the
culture is so different, it was easy to make
friends. I hope to see them again someday.”
The Ubumuntu Arts Festival, held at the
Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheater,
is a commemoration of the 1994 genocide
against the Tutsi. The event brings actors,
dancers and musicians from around the
world to the Rwandan capital for three days
of performances, panels and workshops.
“Zion and Jose received an opportunity
to see what is possible in the world and they
made the most of it,” BRIDGE Theatre co-
founder Joe Quintero said. “They inspired
their African counterparts and introduced
them to American culture while learning
about Rwandan history through the stirring
performances they saw at Ubumuntu.”
Bennett and Laguna performed along-
side Mashirika students in “Arthur’s Diary,”
a play written by Rwandan students, and
watched as the students staged a production
of “Great Minds Think Alike,” an origi-
nal play co-written by Bennett and Cesar
Chavez Middle School BRIDGE students
about an American family struggling with
their emotions as they navigate the chal-
lenges of life.
Set several years in the future, “Arthur’s
Diary” centers on Arthur, played by Bennett,
and his brother Manzi, played by Laguna,
two children orphaned during the 1994
genocide. Inspired by his brother, Arthur
grows up to be a successful author and his
writings ultimately play a key role in end-
ing a 70-year-old war between the U.S. and
Russia.
“The students are really talented, and
my experience with BRIDGE helped me
prepare for my performance,” Bennett said.
“I was sad to learn about the genocide. So
many young people died. But the Mashirika
showed me their strength through their
own performances. It was uplifting.”
During their stay, the Lynwood students
toured Kigali, sampled international cui-
sines, attended a birthday pool party, intro-
duced their peers to American football and
shared dance moves.
At the end of the “Great Minds Think
Alike” performance, Bennett and Laguna
Lynwood Unified students Zion Bennett and Jose Laguna visited with Rwandan students at the Ubumuntu Arts
Festival in Rwanda. The students showcased their acting and writing talents abroad as part of the District’s
Building Relationships and Inspiring Dialogue through Global Exchange (BRIDGE) Theatre Project.
joined with the Mashirika ensemble for a
dance routine, drawing an ovation from the
crowd, which included U.S. Ambassador to
Rwanda Peter H. Vrooman.
The Rwandan trip was arranged by the
U.S. Embassy in Kigali. Bennett and Laguna,
the first Lynwood students to travel outside
the U.S. as part of the BRIDGE Theatre
Project, were accompanied to Rwanda by
Quintero and BRIDGE co-founder Adam
Kalesperis, along with two teaching artists
and parent chaperone Brisa Laguna.
“I could not be prouder of Zion and Jose,
who traveled a great distance to spread the
message of peace and harmony to an inter-
national audience,” Superintendent Gudiel
Crosthwaite said. “This is a major step for-
ward in our partnership with the BRIDGE
Theatre Project, as we teach our students
the importance of global diplomacy and
benefits of cultural exchange.”
Through the BRIDGE Theatre Project,
Lynwood Unified students in grades four
through eight learn to write short plays,
perform plays and study other cultures.
The program provides workshops over
eight weeks for about 500 district students
each year. The district has partnered with
BRIDGE for four years, teaching students
the basics of improvisation, character cre-
ation, vocal technique, writing conflict and
dialogue, and how to collaborate with other
writers and actors.
“The BRIDGE Theatre Project has had
a major impact on our students, inspir-
ing creativity, collaboration and friendship,”
Lynwood Board of Education President
Alfonso Morales said. “Thank you to Joe
Quintero and Adam Kalesperis for their
tremendous work in coordinating the trip to
Rwanda and for helping Lynwood students
realize their potential.”
Middle school students take part in Special Olympics
Four Suzanne Middle School stu-
dent-athletes participated in the Special
Olympics Southern California held at John
Muir High in Pasadena.
Several months before the games, the
children began training with Adapted
Physical Education teacher Greg Sasaki.
“Preparing is its own challenge,” said spe-
cial education teacher Melanie Kobayashi.
The children had to learn that the very
loud sound from the starter pistol was the
cue to begin racing.
“Loud sounds can be very disturbing to
people with autism and the students had to
get accustomed to that and react appropri-
ately,” she s aid.
The racers learned how to take their
place at the starter line and run in the lane,
focusing on themselves, not the stranger
competing next to them, all the way to the
finish line. And they had to do it with hun-
dreds of unfamiliar faces around them in a
place they had never been before.
All four students participated in either
a 25-meter walk or run earning the highest
reward – a First Place blue ribbon.
They also received green participation
ribbons in the softball throw event. To
prepare for the ball throw, they had to learn
to step and throw overhand from behind
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the line.
“They were amazing,” Kobayashi said.
“It was a lot of work and they made us very
proud.”
Special Olympics is a global movement
of people creating a new world of inclusion
and community, where every single person
is accepted and welcomed, regardless of
ability or disability. More information is
available at www.specialolympics.org.
n n n
Suzanne Middle School students
competed in Special Olympics Southern
California.
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