CIAC
(Athletics Division)

BOB CARROLL MAKES GOODWILL TRIP TO SRI LANKA
Visits site where new school will be built

Bob Carroll and Brother's Brother Representative L. Hingston present first check to Ariyawansa School's principal.Ariyawansa students perform at ground-breaking ceremony.
A student marching band leads the way to the ground-breaking ceremony.Bob Carroll and Mr. Hingston receive the school seal.
Ariyawansa School Principal Miss MahakunaraBob Carroll mingles with students.
The students of Ariyawansa School enjoy the ground-breaking ceremony.Bob makes a new friend!
A Sri Lankan classroomBob enjoys some local food at a post-ceremony luncheon.

The CAS Tsunami Relief Effort continues! Since last month’s update, we have received additional donations from Connecticut schools, including a $21,000+ donation from the East Haven Public Schools! All tolled, CAS has collected over $300,000 from more than 300 of our state’s schools - a prodigious accomplishment indeed! The success of this effort speaks volumes about the benevolence, goodwill and humanitarianism of the students of our state.

Earlier this month, Assistant Executive Director Robert Carroll returned from a trip to Sri Lanka where he got a first-hand look at the devastation caused by the tsunami. While there, he participated in a ground-breaking ceremony for the new school which will be built with the funds raised through the CAS Tsunami Relief Effort. He also met with local educational leaders -- including the Minister of Education, Dr. Tara De Mel, and the president of Sri Lanka, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge -- and reviewed the architectural plans for the new school.

Connecticut’s funds will support the rebuilding of the Ariyawansa Kanista School in the town of Beruwala, Sri Lanka, located on the southeastern coast. The project will be constructed in three phases and will consist of a total of three three-story buildings and a separate auditorium and computer lab. As each building is constructed, the heavily damaged one-story buildings on the site will be demolished. They are still being used but they were heavily damaged by the tsunami. The entire construction project will be completed in 6-9 months.

In September, all schools participating in the CAS Tsunami Relief Effort will have the opportunity to enter a contest to name each of the three buildings of the new school!

To view the architectural plan for the new school, visit http://www.casciac.org/pdfs/school_plans_2.pdf

Scroll down to read a day-to-day log of Dr. Carroll's travels.

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SIXTH AND FINAL UPDATE: June 2, 2005

This morning I had a meeting with the country's Minister of Education who was very surprised and most appreciative when she learned that CT children raised a quarter of a million dollars to help rebuild a school for the brothers and sisters on the other side of the world. This is the first instance that she is aware of where school children and not big corporations are building a school. She was also happy to learn that the American students from CT want to continue supporting this school and when I told her that they wanted their school to be the very best in all Sri Lanka she laughed and said, "And why not."

We talked about naming the school and she said that this would not be possible because it is named after a very prominent person in the region and local officials would resent the school name being changed. She suggested an alternative, "Why not let the children name the buildings like they do in American universities?" I told her that this would be a great idea and maybe we can make it a contest to name the 3 academic buildings, the auditorium building and the library. She felt that 20 and 30 years from now when students ask about the American names on the buildings the school staff can remind them that American children built their school and selected meaningful names to commemorate the event.

I then asked her what was the greatest need. Her response was an exchange programs between teachers of for American teachers to come during the summer months for one month or longer so students can improve their American accents and further learn English.

We talked about students from the school coming to the US during their vacation time to attend camps where mingling with our students will reinforce what they have learned about our language in school.

The suggestion that the plaque with all 300 American schools that will go on the main building should not be made from bronze or brass but from granite. Metal will tarnish quickly because of the close proximity of the school to the ocean - a matter of a few thousand feet.

This evening I am meeting with the Prime Minister who is the number two man in the country. He is eager to discuss what American children have done and wants to personally thank them through me. As you read the terrorists killed a top government official yesterday very close to our hotel so I'm glad to be leaving Colombo tonight in the event the situation gets worse. My next update will be from the CAS office back in the good old USA


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FIFTH UPDATE FROM SRI LANKA: June 1, 2005

I want to share with everyone an emotional poem written by the Principal, teachers & students for the occasion of our visit:

We heard the wild call of the running tide,
We saw how the monstrous water destroyed our land.
We felt the sloshing water waves flung and we thought,
It was a sin we committed.

It sprayed dirty scars on our white uniforms,
It tore our most beloved treasure, our bundle of books.
It let us drink stinking water, instead of mild, for the New Year.
Running tide, why did you become so cruel,
mounting high up in the sky?

We welcome you warmly, those who visit here today.
Distinguished foreign and honorable visitors.
Offering your kind hand to us at this needy hour.
We'll keep you in our hearts forever and ever.

Principal, students & staff
Ariyawansa School
Beruwala, Sri Lanka

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FOURTH UPDATE: June 1, 2005

Students might like some general information on the Island of Sri Lanka so this is what I learned:

Sri Lanka is a pearl shaped island located off the South east tip of India, approximately a few hundred miles north of the equator. It is 277 miles long and 140 miles at its widest. The island is 30 miles from the subcontinent of India. The coastline is 1000 miles long.

The climate is tropical. The temperatures here occasionally rise to 100f. The average temperature is f 81 but very humid.

Sri Lanka has a Democratic Socialist Republic form of government. It also has a parliamentary democracy. The population of the country is 19 million.

70% of the people are predominantly Buddhist, 15% are Hindus and the remaining 10% are Christian

The language spoken here is Sinhak and Tamil. Both are considered the national languages. The currency here is the rupee. Their money comes in denominations similar to ours.

Gem stones are a big export from the island. Their specialty are the blue sapphires and moonstones. The British crown is from Sri Lanka. The most famous blue stones are on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

I mentioned in an earlier update that when we arrived at our school we were greeted by the students with betel leaves - 40 to be exact. It has a shinny green hue and is accepted by all as a common symbol which expresses respect and gratitude. Usually the sheaf consists of 40 leaves, as I mentioned, This is a number ideal for formal occasions. Students, mostly in rural areas greet their new teacher on the first day of the school year which begins in January.

Students do not get one long summer vacation but go from Jan - April and then get a 3 week vacation. School then resumes in late Apr. and goes to the end of Jul. The vacation the entire month of Aug. School then resumes in Sept. and goes through November. They get the entire month of December as their third vacation period.

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day.

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THIRD UPDATE: May 31, 2005

After meeting a second time with our architect I can supply more details on our project. The present population of the Ariyawansa School is 768 students, a staff of 25 teachers and an administrative staff consisting of a principal and two assistant principals. The breakdown of students is 425 boys and 343 girls. The ethnic mix is similar to the ethnic mix of the country. The Sinhala Budhist are the great majority of students - they number 610. The Muslins account for 150 students,Tamil 5 and Christian 3.The students range in age between 5 - 16. The grades are 1 - 11. We are building a school to house 1500 students.

The Existing buildings are:
One two story building 25 x 70 ft.
One single story Library building 25 x 40 ft.
One single story building 20 x 100 ft.
One single story building 20 x 95 ft.
One single story building 20 x 95 ft.
(to be demolished)
One temporary shed

Construction will take place in 3 phases:
In the first phase extensive filling and
grading will be required to prepare the land for constructing 3 story buildings. Soil tests will be needed and detailed plans will be given the architect and builder that meets all building regulations and guidelines. Then construction of 2 three story buildings will be built to house classrooms for 1000 students.

The second phase will be to build the third 3 story building that will house a computer lab, other speciality rooms for science and the principal's quarters and separate Islamic prayer rooms for boys and girls. Toilets will be constructed in all three buildings that can be accessed from both inside and outside the buildings. The other part of phase 2 will be a playing field adjacent land given to the school by a Budhist temple adjacent to the site. This will consist of a running track of 100m and facilitiesw for netball, volleyball, basketball hoops and for their national sport - cricket.

In phase 3 the single story building (20 x 95 ft.) and shed will be demolished to make room for the auditorium, library and possibly a second computer lab. The landscaping of the entire grounds will complete the project.

We are hoping that this building which the architect estimates will cost $550,000 will come in at a much lower cost so that we can use some of our existing dollars to purchase desks, computers and library furniture.

The wish of Miss Mahakunara, the school principal is to encourage teacher exchanges because students need to have their English reinforced by Americans. She also asked that we try to find a way for students at the Ariyawansa school and Connecticut schools to communicate which again will reinforce Sri Lankan students to reinforce their English language skills. Nagen, my Sri Lankan friend, from Pittsburgh, will get his firm to set up a website so that communication can exist daily for both our students to communicate and broaden knowledge about each others respective countries.

Tomorrow I am meeting with the firm that will make the plaque that will be put on our school listing all Connecticut schools that have contributed to the project.

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

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SECOND UPDATE FROM SRI LANKA
Friday, May 26, 2005

Yesterday we visited the Ariyawansa School in Beruwela which is in the Southern part of the country. The students greeted me with a corsage and welcomed me with betel leaves which is their traditional welcome. They then led us into the school yard behind a marching band. The school presently has 676 students, a faculty of 25 and a principal and two assistants.

The teacher of English introduced us to the studentbody and the entire faculty. The Minister of Education attended the ceremony as did the architect. The students performed local dances and sang traditional songs. The Principal spoke as did the Minister of Education. I spoke as well telling them about CAS and that 300 schools with a total studentbody of over 150,000 contributed to this effort that has now led to the building of this school. I then presented the Principal and Minister with watches and other key officials small clocks and key chains with the CAS logo. They in turn presented me with gifts made by the students which I will put up in the CAS office for teachers, principals and students who come to CAS can see.

After this official ceremony I was taken to lunch of traditional Sri Lankan dishes and following lunch I met with the architect who shared and gave me copies of the preliminary plans. The school will be built in 3 stages consisting of three 3 story buildings and a separate auditorium and computer labs. The architect suggested that the necessary science lab be placed in a nearby school to be used by college bound students of both schools and the computer lab be in our school to be used by both schools as well. This will make dollars go further in reconstruction and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. We also walked the site and did the traditional groundbreaking that takes place when people everywhere builds public buildings.

I discussed with the architect about having a large bronze or brass plaque put on the main building that would list every Connecticut school that contributed to this project. He suggested we not use any metal because being so close to the ocean it would not hold up. His suggestion was to use granite with the school names carved in the stone. I will put him in touch with Kaestle Boos, our CT architect who will donate the plaque to discuss this part of the project further. I will also show Chuck Boos the architectural drawings to get his input on how to optimize the best use of the facilities.

I then visited all the grades and classes and spent lots of time with the younger grades who did not attend the auditorium ceremonies because of lack of seating.

Today, I will visit a factory that produces the granite plaques and see what's available and what the cost will be. When the plaque design is completed CAS will provide a copy of the print to every school participating in the project as well as a certificate of appreciation so that students in all 300 schools can see their name on the plaque.

The entire project will be completed in 6-9 months and the Minister of Education and school officials would like be to return for the dedication ceremonies and to see what CT student dollars built.


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FIRST UPDATE FROM SRI LANKA
5/24/05

I arrived in Tokyo for a couple of hours layover from my Hartford - Los Angeles flight. It was a 12 hour trip from LA. After 45 minutes I boarded a second Air Singapore plane for the next leg of my journey, Singapore for an overnight stay before leaving early the next day for Colomba, Sri Lanka. The Tokyo/Singapore leg of my journey another 8 hours and the trip from Singapore to Colombo was just under 4 hours.

A driver picked me up upon arrival at 2 a.m. and the drive from the airport into the city was bumper to bumper because the Buddhists all over the world celebrate Wesak on the 23rd & 24th. It's the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar since three stages in the life of the Lord Buddha took place on this particular day; namely, his birth, enlightenment and death. As a mark of respect, alcoholic beverages will not be served in any public places. The sidewalks and streets are colorfully decorated with intricately designed paper lanterns and huge illuminated billboards called "pandals" which depict the life of the Lord Buddha.

Today I met with representatives from Rotary Sri Lanka and reviewed preliminary plans for our school. The project will be constructed in 3 phases and there will be 3 two story buildings in all a total of 1500 students K-12. As each building is constructed the heavily damaged one story buildings on the site will be demolished. They are still being used but they were heavily damaged by the tsunami.

Tomorrow I travel to the south/eastern coast to the town of Beruwala where we are rebuilding the Ariyawansa Kanista School. The male students will occupy one building, female students the second building and the third building will house a computer lab and an auditorium.

A large ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. with dignitaries, school ministry officials, the school staff and student body. I will present the principal with our first check made out in the amount of $50,000.

After the ceremony I will meet with architects and contractors to get more intricate details on the project and then make changes of give it my blessing. The architect will get the plaque design from CT architect Kaestle Boos and make sure the finished product is ready to be placed on the main building when the project is finished. All 300 schools that participated in the project will be listed on the plaque.

Former President Bill Clinton is coming to Colombo on Tuesday for his second visit to the area but I don't suspect our paths will cross.

After tomorrow's ceremony I will be traveling all along the coast to see the destruction and try to capture it all on film for all our CT students to see.