Ruben Dario: Our Sister School in Santo Tomas
Since 1999, Lincoln has had a sister relationship with Ruben Dario school in Santo Tomas, Nicaragua. Our relationship has been maintained through the efforts and support of the Options Community Council, Lincoln staff and families as well as Thurston Santo Tomas Sister County Association (TSTSCA) Organization. The relationship has been the inspiration behind our
commitment to providing Spanish language instruction to all students at Options. In addition, our relationship with Ruben Dario fosters empathy
and deepens cultural awareness in a personal way. We are lucky to have this long standing, meaningful relationship.
Our Relationship has four components:
- Student to Student: Our children get letters in Spanish from Ruben Dario students that must be translated. Our children write their return letters in Spanish with the Spanish teacher's support.
- Teacher to Teacher: Lincoln teachers have pen-pal teachers from Ruben Dario. Sometimes teachers exchange educational activities and small gifts.
- School to School: Ruben Dario school is located in Santo Tomas, a very small town where most people do not have phones or running water. Schools do not have basic supplies except what teachers provide. In addition, Ruben Dario's students need to provide for a uniform and school supplies, and some of the children are not able to do that. Each year the teachers send us a list of needed school supplies and we ask you to contribute. The lists include items such as: pens, pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, modeling clay, scissors, erasers, scotch tape, masking tape, glue sticks and more.
- Visits: Four Lincoln staff (Marty, Michi, Cheryl and Marcela) have visited Santo Tomas. In addition some Lincoln families and alumni have traveled to Nicaragua and connected with Ruben Dario. We encourage staff and families to go to Santo Tomas to nurture this personal relationship. In 2008, Griselda Escobar, the Principal of Ruben Dario visited Lincoln for three weeks. This gave children and adults in our community the chance to practice their Spanish and learn about the lives and children who attend Ruben Dario.