Tomorrow is the big day! I leave for Japan early tomorrow morning and Mr. Mac will leave tonight and arrive in Ireland in the morning. The blogging bug has gotten Mr. Mac too, and this is a guest post from him. He will be writing entries on his own blog, which you can check out here: http://mmccormackblog.wordpress.com/. I’ll try to re-post a bunch of them here too, so that InnovationOnEarth readers can follow along. Enjoy!

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Okay so today is the day we leave and I figure it’s about that time to get this blog started. Some may call that procrastination, I would call it time management. So far this Ireland Experience has consisted of classes, homework, and preparation. Preparation to connect our 5/6 students from the Innovation Academy Charter School with Irish students during our Day of Service in Belfast. This global connection creates a modern day penpal exchange.

First, 50 students made Friendship Bracelets at IACS. Here is the first completed bracelet! 

Second, we had to personalize our bracelets. With help from my Service Team students, we attached pictures, hobbies, and contact information.

I could not be happier with our finished product!  The logistics of this project would not have been possible without the help from our amazing students at IACS, and my classmates Alysha and Anna. I am excited to complete this exchange in Belfast, where Irish students will select a bracelet and create their own to return to our students at IACS!