[ti:Children at US School Show Their Support for Victims in Japan ] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:Education Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:03.24]Education Report. [00:04.98]Cranes are large birds [00:07.22]with long legs and necks. [00:10.02]In Japan and other [00:12.63]East Asian cultures, [00:14.56]they represent luck [00:16.05]and long life. [00:17.91]Japanese tradition says [00:20.53]a person who folds one thousand [00:23.53]paper cranes gets the right [00:26.27]to make a wish. [00:27.82]Some schoolchildren [00:29.69]in the United States [00:31.18]have been folding cranes. [00:33.17]They want to show they care [00:35.78]about the victims of [00:37.34]the March eleventh earthquake [00:39.58]and tsunami in Japan. [00:42.31]Almost forty Japanese-American [00:45.49]students attend [00:47.00]Somerville Elementary School [00:49.30]in Ridgewood, New Jersey. [00:51.29]But all five hundred [00:53.90]twenty-five students at the school [00:56.45]have heard about the disasters. [00:58.69]So they have decorated their school [01:01.80]with paper origami cranes. [01:04.85]Their wish is for a speedy recovery [01:08.52]for the Japanese people. [01:10.57]Art teacher Samantha Stankiewicz says [01:14.24]the activity gives students a way [01:17.79]to express empathy for victims. [01:20.52]SAMANTHA STANKIEWICZ: "For children, [01:21.52]the folding of the cranes [01:22.76]has been a really positive way [01:23.76]for them to feel like they're [01:26.31]actively engaged, [01:27.05]even though the cranes are symbolic." [01:28.48]These students thought out loud [01:31.42]as they folded cranes [01:33.16]in the school library. [01:35.03]BOY: "The crane is a symbol of hope, [01:37.77]so we try to have a lot of hope [01:41.00]for those people in Japan." [01:42.37]GIRL: "It makes me feel really happy [01:44.61]that everyone's caring [01:46.41]for another country." [01:47.72]GIRL: "I feel sad for them, [01:49.65]like really sad for them. [01:51.14]But I also feel happy for us, [01:52.88]because we are really trying to help out." [01:56.99]And that help is not just [01:58.79]in the form of paper cranes. [02:00.97]The school principal, [02:02.71]Lorna Oates-Santos, says [02:05.01]children at Somerville Elementary [02:07.69]have raised about two thousand dollars [02:10.42]for disaster relief agencies. [02:13.41]LORNA OATES-SANTOS: "We will be donating [02:14.59]that money to the American Red Cross [02:16.02]and Save the Children. [02:17.20]They are two groups that are ready [02:18.76]on the ground in Japan [02:19.94]to help the people of Japan." [02:21.93]The school has a television club [02:24.98]that produces weekly programs [02:27.03]on different subjects. [02:28.71]Fourth-grade teacher Gabrielle King [02:31.82]is director of the club, and says [02:34.56]the students are involved [02:36.05]in the school's efforts. [02:37.92]GABRIELLE KING: "When the earthquake happened, [02:39.85]the children wanted to know [02:41.46]what they could do to inform [02:43.27]other students and raise awareness [02:46.75]for the people in Japan. [02:48.00]So, we decided to do a show [02:49.88]on the earthquake, and to also [02:52.49]making the cranes, the origami cranes." [02:55.29]Some American children have shown [02:57.90]their feelings for the victims [02:59.64]in Japan in other ways. [03:01.88]Yasuhisa Kawamura is Japan's [03:05.12]deputy consul general in New York. [03:08.04]YASUHISA KAWAMURA: "One American young girl [03:10.90]dropped by the consulate a couple days ago [03:13.89]with her own painting. [03:16.13]The painting shows the two countries, [03:18.80]Japan and the United States, [03:19.86]shaking hands over the ocean, [03:22.41]and saying 'We are with you.' [03:24.59]So, we are very, very moved and touched [03:27.76]by this young girl's expression." [03:30.12]And that's the VOA Special English [03:33.54]Education Report. [03:35.16]The East Asia Program at Cornell University [03:38.89]in the United States has a lesson plan [03:42.93]and directions for folding origami cranes. [03:46.98]You can find a link at 51voa.com. [03:52.64]I'm Steve Ember.