This spring Upland is hosting the annual DAIS (Delaware Association of Independent Schools) Art Show in the barn gallery. A number of local independent schools participate in this show every year, highlighting their middle school student's artwork and specific projects in their curriculum.  The opening is on Monday April 21st from 5-7 PM. Regular viewing hours are  April 21st - April 25th 8:30-4:30.

Massamba and kids during the main jam.	Massamba Diop shows students how to play the Senegalese Talking Drum.

Massamba and Tony jam at the afternnon all school concert

Tony Vacca leads a percussion workshop for the 8th grade

Time for thanks and hugs

Even some of the teachers got into the act!

The Big Finish!

Students at Upland Country Day School are gearing up for Earth Day by earning cash for Power Up Gambia and learning about rich and diverse African cultures.

The children have learned to make African-style beads for necklaces, they have made realistic African tribal masks and they've constructed a 6 foot wide banner that will eventually make its way to the Sulayman Jungkung General Hospital, the beneficiary of Power Up Gambia's efforts to bring a steady source of electrical power to the impoverished hospital. And last week, percussionists Tony Vacca and Massamba Diop brought thunderous African rhythms to the students at Upland, with some students joining them onstage for an epic eight-minute jam that brought the house down.

"They worked all day with various classes," said Upland's Director of Communications Donna Melton. "The kids all responded very well to Tony and Massamba."  Vassa and Diop took the students and teachers though an hour-long performance that ran the gamut from Afro-Cuban to Dub rhythms, lead by the energetic Diop, a native of Senegal, who leapt from the stage at one point to pound his drum in the face of a few teachers.

All these events and projects are leading up to Upland's participation in the Hagley Museum's "Power Up at Hagley" event on Sunday, April 20. The event, which is free to the public, will use exhibits, demonstrations, and hands-on activities to explore the many ways in which people have harnessed new forms of energy over time to do more work than can be done with human muscle power alone.

University of Pennsylvania and Chadds Ford resident Kathryn Cunningham created Power Up Gambia after spending time in The Gambia for a summer outreach program and witnessing the impoverished state of the hospital there.

Beyond the Power Up at Hagley event, students and staff at Upland have been deeply involved with Power Up Gambia since its beginnings, with nearly every grade level participating on some level.  Melton's husband Dennis and their son Michael, an Upland alumni, went so far as to compose a song for Power Up Gambia that has become the movement's theme song.

According to Melton, the song's title, "Mottanai, My Friends" is a Japanese word with a multi-layered meaning that essentially boils down to "heal the earth" and "don't waste." "That word has made its way into this program and been embraced by the Gambian people," Melton said. "They like what the word encompasses." The Power Up at Hagley festival will showcase Power Up Gambia projects designed by students from many area schools, including Kennett and Unionville school districts and schools in Delaware, raise awareness of the energy needs of hospitals in The Gambia.

Jewelry created by Upland students will be available for sale at the event. Students will also perform and give demonstrations on alternate forms of energy.

The Earth Day event is Sunday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hagley Museum and Library. For more information, visit www.hagley.lib.de.us.

For more information on Power Up Gambia, visit www.powerupgambia.org.

Click here for a version of "Mottanai" recorded with Tony and Massamba, Dennis and Mike Melton, Guen Finley, Jean McDonald, Donna Melton, Marilee Calabrese and Helen Reed.

 

Tony introduces the main jam by the 3rd, 4th & 5th grade classes.