Hey, Matt Damon! Chief Sealth International High School pledges to join your strike – and invites you here

Actor Matt Damon says he’s on strike – and with the video you can watch above, Chief Sealth International High School students say they’re ready to join him. Haven’t heard about his strike? Watch *his* video:

With that recent “news conference,” Damon and his water.org did his best to make sure you know that 2.5 billion people don’t have access to something you likely take for granted – toilets.

Since Damon is looking ahead to World Water Day on March 22nd, and Chief Sealth is too – with their third annual World Water Week full of lessons and events March 18-22 – they’re thinking their suggestion that he come here should be an irresistible invitation, says social-studies teacher and WWW ringleader Noah Zeichner. Especially given their specific focus – sanitation and wastewater. So they’ve submitted their video to his strikewithme.org website, and sent photos like this one and this one to the #strikewithme feed he launched via Instagram. They hope he will come to Sealth to share the stage with Jack Sim, the activist nicknamed “Mr. Toilet,” who is coming all the way from Singapore to be the keynoter for WWW at Sealth (you are invited too), 7 pm March 19th at the school auditorium, admission free.

As Sim points out in this short video profile of Sim, it’s a taboo topic – and that’s killing people, as taboos too often do. So he talks about toilets, and the Sealth students are doing the same, as is Matt Damon. Will he take them up on their invitation? Stay tuned!

(P.S. A fundraiser continues, to help foot the bill for World Water Week costs and the 9th-grade WEST Project – check it out here.)

14 Replies to "Hey, Matt Damon! Chief Sealth International High School pledges to join your strike - and invites you here"

  • chas redmond March 3, 2013 (11:35 am)

    Wow – first off, Matt Damon is right and funny. Second, the Chief Sealth IHS World Water Week invite, activity, response and challenge – not to mention educational event – is fantastic. Go Sealth!

  • birdrescuer March 3, 2013 (12:34 pm)

    I am so proud to live in this neighborhood where the young people are so cool.

  • add March 3, 2013 (12:39 pm)

    Love both of those videos! The students at CSIHS rock!

  • teacher/mom March 3, 2013 (1:25 pm)

    When it was fashionable to attack and disparage teachers a short time ago (before Newtown), Matt Damon defended the profession to reporters with his arm around his teacher mom. He values education, and I think CSIHS has a good chance of getting him to accept their invitation if his schedule permits.

  • C March 3, 2013 (1:48 pm)

    I’m in love with him!! Please come to WS Matt!!!!

  • Heather March 3, 2013 (2:08 pm)

    I had no idea. I think both videos are amazing. And Chief Sealth students…each and every one of you had made me truly proud.

  • Wet March 3, 2013 (2:28 pm)

    It is true “more people have cell phones than toilets.” No what else is true, Americans are willing to pay more for cell phones and cable than they are for clean water and air through their utility bills. What a coincidence that there has been overflows recently. Are we willing to pay for the needed structural upgrades to our systems to protect our water and air–No but we are sure willing to pay more for that digital device in our hand.
    Go Chief Sealth.

  • Miss B March 3, 2013 (4:18 pm)

    As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in Water and Sanitation and a new WS resident, I am so proud of these students!! Yay! My fingers are crossed!!!

  • Noah Zeichner March 3, 2013 (5:38 pm)

    Unfortunately, we have learned that Matt Damon will be in Europe for the next several months for a film shoot. But we hope to get a direct response from him. Even without Matt, the keynote event at Chief Sealth on March 19th with Jack Sim, will be great. Mark your calendars!

  • Mark Ahlness March 3, 2013 (6:13 pm)

    Great story! Maybe a Skype in from Matt Damon could happen? I just contributed to the fundraiser noted above for a couple of former students I recognized, and am proud to be a former teacher of Molly, the gal who got WWW started. Good things happening at Sealth – way to go!

  • Greenpeace March 3, 2013 (8:28 pm)

    Great work, Mr Z and Sealth!

  • Noah Zeichner March 3, 2013 (9:08 pm)

    A live Skype-in with Damon is a great idea. We’ll see what he says.

  • Teri Ensley March 4, 2013 (1:10 pm)

    Well done students. So proud of, and impressed by all of you!. Have a feeling that you will most likely hear from Matt…how could he not respond to all of you?

    BTW…West Seattle Christian Church goes to a different Central America county every summer to dig a water well for a village. You may want to interview Dan and Joanne Jacobs, who initiated this annual program, to hear about their experiences and major, positive impact it makes on the lives of the people who live in the villages. (If you already know about their efforts, my apologies).

    Thanks again. All of you are our collective future!

  • Gilda Wheeler March 6, 2013 (12:24 pm)

    Nice job Chief Sealth students! With or without Matt the event will be awesome.

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