Daishon Washington-Allen, a 4th-grade student at Paul Cuffee School, holds his self-portrait inspired by the style of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Courtesy of Providence Schools

TIMES2 ACADEMY

50 Fillmore St.

Visitors from Japan: An 18-member delegation of Japanese educators visited Times2 Academy recently to get a glimpse of a public charter school and to understand its impact on the larger education reform landscape in the United States.

A briefing with the administrators described the focus on math, science, engineering and technology. The delegation will visit the California public school system next before returning to Japan.

TEXTRON CHAMBER

OF COMMERCE ACADEMY

130 Broadway

Scavenger hunt: Students and faculty participated in a scavenger hunt in downtown Providence as part of the school’s advisory program. It was held during Spirit Week to promote teamwork and collaboration.

They visited the State Capital, statues, Providence Place mall, the Providence Fire Department and the Providence Public Library.

CVS HIGHLANDER CHARTER SCHOOL

45 Greeley St.

Student election: Students recently learned about the election process and the importance of democracy through a schoolwide initiative. Four middle school students coordinated a voter registration drive and a student election through a partnership with Brown University graduate students.

The project was designed to encourage students to think about the election process and the role of democracy in their lives. A. Ralph Mollis and Sue Stenhouse, the candidates for secretary of state, visited the school to talk to students about the importance of fair and honest elections and to encourage them to join parents at the polls to see the democratic process in action.

Clubs begin: The school recently kicked off its weekly in-school clubs program, held every Friday to give students an opportunity to learn the benefits of teamwork.

Included are clubs for French, technology, knitting, yoga, science, video production, Latin dance, team building games, chess, kite-flying, jump rope and watercolor painting.

PAUL CUFFE SCHOOL

459 Promenade St.

Ballet: Thanks to a gift from The Providence Journal Co., 144 students in kindergarten through second grade recently attended the Festival Ballet production of The Princess and the Pea.

Book fair: The Paul Cuffee Parents’ Association recently raised more than $1,200 for the library by hosting a book fair. The annual fundraiser is part of the school’s emphasis on literacy and is organized and managed by families.

Dedication: Nearly 100 friends gathered recently in the renovated library to dedicate the Rosalind C. Wiggins collection of books by and about African-Americans, to hear historian Joanne Pope Melish speak about the new book The Life of William J. Brown, and to help raise $25,000 for an endowment to support the addition of books and resources to the collection.

Wiggins, who died in August 2005, edited Capt. Paul Cuffee’s logs and letters and wrote the preface to The Life of William J. Brown. An artist, educator and advocate for social justice, Wiggins was a friend to the school, and visited each year to share with students her enthusiasm for learning and knowledge of the school’s namesake.

To make a donation to the Rosalind C. Wiggins Fund or a gift to the library, contact Julia Karahalis, (401) 453-2626, ext. 118, or e-mail jkarahalis@paulcuffee.org

Portrait painting: Fourth-graders have been studying the work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. To experiment with her unique style, students were asked to exaggerate one of their own features and include a picture of an animal when creating their self-portraits.

Charter schools in Providence are invited to submit information about school activities for this column. E-mailed photos will be considered. Contact Stephanie McKenna, (401) 277-7312, or by e-mail at smckenna@projo.com.