Mama Mary Sunbeam 3

At South Lakes High School we received a grant to present a special program for our approximately 100 ESL students and members of the South Lakes International Club for Education/Entertainment or SLICE (approximately 30 additional mainstreamed students).  As detailed below, Mary Sunbeam of Positive Education, Inc., could present one full or two shortened programs touching each of the participants in a personal way.  The presentations would take place in the spring of 2001, and would coincide with classroom studies of indigenous cultures, nature, and related topics; and the Spring Multicultural Festival tentatively planned for late March.

Much of the following information is drawn from the website for Positive Education, Inc. (http://www.his.com/~positived), the educational foundation established by  Mary Sunbeam, its president and a member of the Cherokee Nation. Drawing from her experience as a poet, storyteller, dancer, musician, and educator in cultural diversity and social studies, Mary Sunbeam presents courses on Native American Indian culture, cultural diversity, storytelling, and personal empowerment.  These topics relate directly to English language education, historical content, and personal development of our ESL and second-language students.

Our first association with Mary Sunbeam began during a healing ceremony or sweat lodge retreat for nine at-risk young men from South Lakes High School in December 1999.  The goal was to intervene in a special way, and to offer some perspective in the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the lives of each participant, many of whom shared Mary’s indigenous background.  All the participants reported a live-changing experience as a result of their time spent with Mary Sunbeam at the Oasis Lodge in Great Falls, Virginia.

More recently, Mary Sunbeam took part in the first annual Reston Multicultural Festival in our community.  Many students from South Lakes also participated as either performers or volunteers, and were able to appreciate firsthand Mary’s special gift for dance and storytelling.  This led inevitably to plans for a program tailored specifically to the needs of language-minority and ESL children at our school.

 

Mary Sunbeam's work has been acknowledged by the American Association of Community Colleges with an NVCC Model Program Award. She has also received awards from Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. school systems, and cultural communities.  Positive Education, Inc. and Mary Sunbeam are active in promoting the value of cultures, nutrition, and ancestral reconciliation through classroom education, tutoring, mentoring, and presentations. The motto of Positive Education, Inc. is:  ©YOU ARE IMPORTANT!, and that is precisely the message we would like to convey to our ESL and minority-language students at South Lakes High School.