Around one million people around the world live without clean water. 

A total of 170 million go hungry every day and physical is the most form of child abuse.  

Those were a few of the facts CJ Morris Elementary School fifth graders shared with an audience of family and friends Thursday night.  

The children did presentations on a variety of topics from world hunger to childhood diabetes to homelessness. 

CJ Morris is an International Baccalaureate school and as part of the rigorous academic program that emphasizes global learning, the students studied how various issues affect the world they live in, said fifth-grade teacher Mary Wendland.  

The students had to pick a topic to research and work with their group to put together the presentations.  The campus is a one-to-one school, providing each student with a laptop computer and incorporating technology into the research, Wendland said.  The students worked on the projects in class for six weeks.  

“They take an approach of no matter how small you are, you can make the w orld a better place,” she said.  

After the presentations, the students gathered on the playground and performed three songs for the audience.  

Diva Arellanez, a second-grade teacher and coordinator of the International Baccalaureate, or IB, program said the students learn the importance of diversity and to respect different views even if they don’t agree.  

“I think we go deeper into the studies and we’re global,” she said. “It’s not just about my world here, but the global world.” 

Shown:

CJ Morris fifth-grade IB Program students school family and friends on world issues.

Fifth grade students perform for visitors.