The Sedona Charter School has started fundraising to send about a dozen students in the Montessori Model United Nations program to the year-long Program Plus Conference in Rome at the end of April.
“It is an educational simulation program that allows students to learn about diplomacy, international relations and the workings of the United Nations,” the club’s flyer states. “In MMUN, students represent different countries and engage in debates, negotiations and problem-solving activities to address global issues.”
“Through this experiential learning, participants gain a deeper understanding of global challenges, develop critical thinking and public speaking skills, and cultivate a sense of empathy and cultural awareness. MMUN aims to empower young minds to become active global citizens and to inspire them to work towards creating a better world,” the school’s website states.
This is the fifth time that upper elementary classroom teacher Maija Alanen will be taking the students to the conference. In previous years, the kids have gone to New York and China as well.
“This will be our first time going to Rome,” Alanen said. “It’s a year-long project [and] this is an after-school club. The kids have taken on a really a big task of digging deep into different hot topics in the world right now.”
“The main [fundraiser] we’re hoping people attend from all of our community is on Dec. 9, we’re having our silent auction, it’ll be available online and it’s also going to be available at the school,” co-lead Lucy Hill said. “That day we will also have a bunch of food trucks. It will be a community event that everyone can come to and grab lunch.”
On Sunday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m., the school will be hosting a yoga on the lawn fundraiser in collaboration with a yoga business. The event is donation-based, with all proceeds going to MMUN.
On Friday, Nov. 24, and Friday, Dec. 22, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the students will have handmade bracelets available for a donation at the Fourth Friday Market at Sedona Vista Village, located at 6657 SR 179 Unit C-2 in the Village of Oak Creek.
“I want to do the [Montessori Model] United Nations because I want to help, and I want to help people that can’t help themselves [and] achieve human rights, because I think everyone deserves that,” student Luke Bassett said.
“What I’ve seen with the students — and I coached soccer at the school in the spring last year, so I know some of them — I’ve seen how they were in sixth grade, and then they did [Montessori Model] United Nations in New York last year, and there were a couple I saw change for the better,” Peter Bassett said. “Their language improved … I saw their character change and saw them step up and get more serious and more self-aware. They have become good examples, and even advocated for their own classroom when they felt things were unfair, or they got together in a group of students and came up with the plan and went and talked to the teachers about it, and it’s a very grown-up kind of way to approach it.”
“We are asking for tax credit donations to offset the money needed,” the school’s website states. “Every delegate is responsible for raising close to $4,000. The delegates will be fundraising throughout the year, but tax credits benefit us greatly. Simply go to the Sedona Charter School website, click on donations, then tax credits. You may donate to a single delegate or to the MMUN group as a whole. The amount you enter will be given back to you when you do your taxes from 2023.”
The public charter school is independent of the public Sedona-Oak Creek School District. For questions about the program, contact Maija Alanen at maija@sedonacharterschool.com, or visit sedonacharterschool.com.
