For Immediate Release

Friday, May 24, 2019

Media Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: jordan@jgpr.net

Oyster River High School to Host Annual Celebration of Freshman Students’ World Cultures Work

DURHAM — Superintendent James Morse is pleased to announce that Oyster River High School freshmen will take part in the annual celebration of their impact on the world around them.

The 12th annual Power of One: Students Creating Change will be held on Tuesday, May 28, and will serve as the culmination of a year’s worth of work by 200 freshmen in their World Cultures classes.

One of the core goals of the World Cultures curriculum is to encourage students to become active participants within their own communities and give back on a global scale. In this spirit, The Power of One Project was created as a way to demonstrate to students how they can make a meaningful impact on the world.

“We hope to help them understand that what they say, do and think is critically important, and that they, like many of the people we have learned about, can effect change in the world,” said ORHS social studies teacher Matt Pappas.

Students each chose an issue they are concerned about, researched the issue to better understand the root causes and impact it is having, and took action to address their chosen issue.

The focus of their projects include local, national and global issues, and they cover a wide range of topics, from focusing on local farming and homeless veterans to explaining the perils of shark finning and raising funds to combat Haitian poverty. Other projects focused on issues like land mines, ocean pollution, cancer, elephant poaching, water wells in rural Africa and food insecurity.

In the past, students have raised and donated over $20,000 for local and international charities and educated thousands about critical challenges throughout the world.

The Power of One event will be held Tuesday, May 28th from 5-6:30 p.m. in the ORHS cafeteria. Students from Durham, Lee, Madbury and Barrington will participate in the Power of One. The entire event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

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