More Than Me Girls Academy

With one month of school left, we continue to be inspired by the progress our students have made. No ‘summer fever’ or ‘senioritis’ here; the girls aim to work as hard as they can to improve their reading and math skills before summer break. 

Lauren, our Vision Class teacher, reports:

Last week, the Vision girls finished their individual oral phonics tests, and have now officially completed two years of phonics! Our values of the month are "determination" and "mastery", and the girls have done a great job putting those two values into practice. We began our first round of optional Saturday review classes, where all but six of the girls attended to sharpen their reading skills.

They have also been paired together as special "phonics friends" to reinforce the material, and most of them spend their lunch and recess hour reviewing their work so they can become the best readers possible. They have said that they will do whatever it takes to finish an additional half-year of phonics by the end of the school year (instead of just reviewing the material we've already learned), which will have them finishing the year halfway through the second-grade reading program. This is INCREDIBLE considering they all had not had a single phonics class before the year began. We started with Kindergarten phonics at the beginning of the year. The Vision girls are working hard, and we are so proud of their dedication to learning!

When Saturday school is a big hit, you know you're onto something good. We're proud to be pushing for the best outcomes for our girls. When she graduates, she will decide what comes next for her life. And that’s HUGE!

For the girls,

Emily

P.S. We are excited that the last day of school, June 25^th, is also a Microsoft Bonus Day, with donations matched at 100%! Stay tuned on facebook and twitter for how you can get involved and see the progress our girls have made in a year.

Links:

• Check out our brand new Happy video!

Dear More Than Me Family,

THANK YOU for your continued investment in our students. At the MTM Academy, we take the wellness of our girls seriously. Delving deeper into the barriers that girls like Bendu and Dorkus face, we've widened our breadth of resources to meet our students' needs. We've expanded our feeding program. We've started a school clinic and hired a nurse, something that 97.3% of Liberian schools are lacking. Since November, we've dewormed 120 students, treated 38 cases of malaria, and referred 14 students to local clinic/hospitals for more intensive care.

Only 3.1% of schools in Liberia have a computer lab and we are one of them. Only 11% of schools have a library. We opened the "Be Your Best Self" Library this month with the help of the British Embassy.

Our social workers, co-teachers, school aids, and one-on-one tutors ensure that the girls receive an education tailored to their level. Visitng social work professors from Carlow University recently recommended More Than Me to the US Embassy as "the best organization protecting and preparing young women against human trafficking in regions like West Africa."

Again, we say Thank You. Investing in these girls' education will have long-lasting effects on their lives and on Liberia's future development. We're excited to announce that right now, Microsoft is matching new recurring donations 100% for the first 3 months, up to $500 per donor. That's up to $1500 in matching funds! Amplify your impact by making a new monthly donation to More Than Me to further sustain our programs and give our girls the best education possible!

With love for a brighter future,

Emily & the MTM Team