一个人能在我们的世界中有所作为吗？威尔士亲王学校（Prince of Wales School）的学生和员工在为我们的春季音乐会做准备时探讨了这个问题。我们受到诺贝尔和平奖得主王若琳·玛塔伊（Wangari Maathai）的故事的启发，这个故事在绘本《玛塔伊的和平之树》中讲述。这位女士在肯尼亚植树的故事激励了其他妇女也加入植树行动，结果在农场上种下了超过2000万棵树，使整个国家的景观发生了巨大而有力的变化。确实，一个人能够产生影响并激发巨大而强大的改变。

老师们聚在一起撰写了剧本，并编写了讲述这个故事的音乐。学生们制作道具，帮助老师们涂画背景布景，学习他们的剧本台词，击鼓、跳舞和唱歌。家长志愿者帮助我们创作道具。他们共同成为这个非凡故事的艺术讲述者。

除了艺术、音乐和戏剧体验，这也成为了公民意识和品德的有力例证，并与其他课程有着深刻的联系。演出后，学生们做了以下反思：

“玛塔伊展示了当你相信自己时会发生什么。我对表演感到非常兴奋。我准备好展示自己了。通过在家里练习并努力做到最好，我显示了良好的品德。”

“我学到了如果每个人一起合作并互相帮助，就能完成任务。你只需要坚持不懈。感谢所有教师让这一切成为可能-真的很有趣。”

“我学到了一个人如果全身心投入，并且团结协作，可以做很多事情。”

“我非常喜欢整个学校参与庆祝活动。”

“我认为这个想法从一个小小的种子开始变得如此了不起。我认为每个人都团结协作，流畅运转非常重要。作为一所学校，我们做得非常好。”

这确实需要一个村庄，而威尔士亲王学校是一个非常了不起的村庄。一个微小的种子意见在真正的合作中发芽。

​Can just one person make a difference in our world? The students and staff at Prince of Wales School explored this inquiry in preparation for our spring concert. We were inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai’s story as told in the picture book, Wangari’s Trees of Peace. The full story of one woman planting trees in Kenya, inspiring other women to do the same, resulted in more than 20 million trees on their farms and a complete landscape change for the country. Indeed, one person can make a difference and inspire a huge and powerful change.

Teachers gathered together to write the script and compile the music that would tell the story. Students created props, supported teachers in painting backdrops, learned their script lines, drummed, danced and sang.  Parent volunteers supported us in the creation of props. Together they became the artistic storytellers of this remarkable tale.

Beyond the art, music and drama experiences, this became a powerful example of citizenship and character with deep connections into other curricular areas. Student reflections after the show:

“Wangari shows what happens when you believe in yourself. I was really excited to perform. I was ready to show off. I showed good character by practicing at home and really worked hard to do my best.”

“I learned that if everyone works together and helps out you can get it done.
You just have to persevere. Thank you to all the teachers for making this happen – it was really fun.”

“I learned that one person is capable of doing many things if they devote themselves to it and if you work as a team a lot more things can get done.”

“I really liked how the whole school took part in the celebrations.”

“I thought it was really amazing how far it came from such a big idea. I think it was really important that everyone worked together and flowed smoothly. As a school, we were great at that.”

It truly takes a village and what a remarkable village Prince of Wales school is. The tiny seed of an idea flourished into a true collaboration.