FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 12, 2015 Contact: Chris Starr, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach The Peck School | 247 South Street | Morristown, NJ 07960 (973) 539-‐8660, ext. 103 www.peckschool.org
To Peck School Students, the Real “Supergirl” is CNN Hero Maggie Doyne Over the next month, students, faculty, staff and parents at The Peck School will be furiously clicking their mouse buttons to vote for Mendham native Maggie Doyne as the 2015 CNN “Hero of the Year. “ Maggie is among CNN’s top ten Heroes, and she has been recognized for her charitable work in Nepal. Her connection to The Peck School began when her work there was beginning to bloom. Maggie’s inspiring story began with a gap year after graduation from Mendham High School. While interning at an orphanage in India, she learned of the terrible plight of children and refugees in Nepal. She asked her parents to wire her $5000 in babysitting earnings and soon after, purchased land in Nepal to build a small hostel for misplaced children. The Kopila Valley Children’s Home was established in 2007 and immediately after, Maggie’s work came to the attention of The Peck School. She was selected in 2008 to receive Peck’s Award for Community Service. Established by the Board of Trustees at The Peck School, the award honors a member of the greater Morristown area who demonstrates commitment to the service of others. “We chose Maggie because her work epitomized the values Peck encourages in its students,” said Joan Myers, Director of Advancement at the school. Peck has been nationally recognized for its character education program known as InDeCoRe (Individual Development Community Responsibility.) Over those critical early years and Maggie’s subsequent foundation of the Kopila Valley Primary School, Peck embraced Maggie’s efforts in Nepal with a school-‐wide zeal. No one could have anticipated the longevity and depth of the relationship that would ensue. In 2011, Lower School Head Nina Sharma and Technology Coordinator Suzy Becker travelled to Nepal to provide in-‐service teacher training. Armed with materials and resources, many of which were created by Peck students, their goal was to assist Maggie in developing the school’s curriculum, train its teachers, and jump start its underdeveloped technology program. During the teacher training that took place in Nepal, two teachers were identified as possible candidates for additional training in the United States. In 2012, they travelled to Morristown to learn methodologies from Peck instructors. “It was very brave of them to leave Nepal for the first time” said Nina Sharma. “In the end, we learned as much from them as they learned from us.” The Peck School also hosted a Nepali student for a semester, who became a full member of the eighth grade class and lived from November to March, 2014 with a Peck family. A second student will be travelling to the school next year for a similar exchange. Maggie Doyne has done heroic work through her efforts in Nepal. What CNN won’t know about Maggie, though, is that she not only brought education and hope to underprivileged children in Asia, she improved the lives of privileged children in New Jersey by allowing Peck School youth to reach out, make a difference, and broaden their sense of community responsibility. -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ -‐ The Peck School is a co-‐ed, independent, K-‐8 day school in Morristown NJ with a century-‐old reputation for academic excellence and emphasis on character formation. With a 6:1 student-‐to-‐teacher ratio, The Peck School strives to build in each student the capacity for disciplined learning and consideration of others, while preparing students to succeed in secondary school and to lead healthy, productive, and principled lives. Find bright beginnings in our Lower School (Grades K-‐4) and a tradition of leadership in our Upper School (Grades 5-‐8). Learn more at www.peckschool.org, or call our Admissions office at 973-‐539-‐8660 x 108.