Five Vineyard Montessori students are going to Rome in May as part of the Montessori Model U.N. program. The program brings Montessori students together from all over the world to give research presentations on various countries, and to forge solutions for problems around the globe. The students have been preparing their work for the Rome trip both at home and through an afterschool U.N. program run by Montessori teacher Irene Wendt.
Sixth grader Arin Atema from Falmouth and seventh grader Gracie Coggins of Tisbury are teaming up to present on Palestine. They will also share ideas and caucus on the “Safety of Journalists and [the] Situation in Yemen.”
Seventh graders Marysol Jurczyk of Falmouth and Aiden Zeigenhorn of Tisbury are teaming up to present on Ghana. They will also share ideas and caucus on the “Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space and Nuclear Disarmament.”
And seventh grader Carly Coggins of Tisbury will present on the Central African Republic. She will also share ideas and caucus on “Combating Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the State of Food Security in the World.”
Vineyard Montessori Head of School Deborah Jernegan said the students have excelled at U.N. events in New York in the past, and were ready to take a bigger step. It costs about $1,000 per student, plus air travel, for the event, she said, and the students have been selling baked goods and coffee to chip away at those expenses. Jernegan said anyone wishing to contribute to the Rome trip is encouraged to contact her at the school.