Archive for January, 2012
US Embassy student and youth outreach program
Did you know that the US Embassy in NZ has a wide range of teaching tools and resources to help teach and learn about US history, culture, holidays, and many other topics? Did you know that you can request a visit from the US Ambassador or expert speaker to visit your school and give a ‘guest lecture’ on many of these topics? It’s all true!
I’m sending this email to teachers, educators, and anyone interested in youth issues and development to introduce myself and share some information about our new social media channels and programs for youth communities and NZ educators. Please feel free to share this message with any colleagues or friends that may be interested in keeping in contact on any of these topics. As a way of enriching our programs for youth audiences (primary to secondary school students) we’ve created an online sign-up sheet where any NZ teacher, administrator, or youth program coordinator can register their interest in the following areas:
- Having a US guest speaker visit your class or group and talk about a particular topic
- Learning more about how to apply for universities and study in the US
- Teaching resources and guides on US-related themes and topics
- Alerting the Embassy about your programs and projects that have an American theme or connection – maybe we can help out in some way
- Requesting materials or research assistance
- Or if you have a specific question or area of interest that isn’t covered in the form just send me an email and I’ll be able to work with you directly on your project or request
Once you have lodged your interest online you will receive information periodically according to the areas of interest you’ve indicated, for example: if you indicate that you’re interested in science topics we will alert you when we know of a visiting scientist in your area or if NASA is conducting an online video chat with students around the country or globe. We will get in touch with you directly when we have a speaker available to visit your class/group in the 2012 school year (of course we cannot guarantee that all requests will be filled in this time frame, but we will endeavor to do so). The Embassy also supports a number of exchange programs and NZ programs for students (i.e. the NZ UN Youth organization) that we can send you information on.
We’ve got some interesting projects coming up this year – fill out the sign-up form if you’d like to be kept up to date on any of them:
- 70th Anniversary of US Forces posted in NZ during WWII – we’re organizing events and creating teaching resources on this topic to include class field trip guides and an oral history project/competition for history students and teachers
- A NZ tour for the US Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band in June 2012 – check out some of the concerts and activities they took part in when they were last here during the Rugby World Cup: http://blogs.newzealand.usembassy.gov/ambassador/2011/09/marines-make-music-in-taranaki-and-wellington/
- American Youth Leadership Program – we’re looking for a partner school/organization to help host a group of US students to visit and learn about NZ, focusing on science and technology in 2013
- US Elections 2012 – we’ll be offering teaching guides and guest speakers to explain the elections process in the US to any interested groups
If you’d rather keep yourself updated on our programs via social media channels, you can follow or like a number of specialized social media channels:
- US Embassy Youth Outreach Twitter – development, leadership, exchanges
- Study in the US Twitter
- Study in the US Facebook page
- Resources for students and teachers - Embassy website
Please feel free to contact me directly with any other questions or ideas.
Regards,
Shauna Mendez
Youth Outreach Specialist
Office of Public Affairs
Embassy of the United States
