Summer School is Over!?! :-(

Hey everyone! Time is really flying here....We concluded summer school classes last week, and classes for the regular school year resume (at least for me) on March 9th. The beach trip is this Friday and I still have girls' group and cleaning going on, so I'm still pretty busy. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the Director and all the teachers to figure out my schedule for the school year and then more cleaning to do in the library.

So, about the last few weeks of summer school...........

These two American guys, Alan and Joshua, who are somehow connected to Emily Broxterman, the president of Kindness-Connection, came to help out at the school. They are great guys;-) They were a great help in all the classes and seem really invested in assisting in any way they can in the community of Horacio Zeballos. They both have experience in teaching and development work, so their points of view and talents definitely enhanced the summer school program. Other than being faithful and animated classroom assistants, they have undertaken the task of making a video/documentary of the development work being done at the school and in the community. Hopefully, clips from that video can be put up on both Kindness-Connection and CDCA's websites for a more in depth look at the situation in Horacio. I was so grateful to have their help and to get to know them. I'm sure they participation in the school year will prove to be fruitful.

The little Performance Day ("Clausura") on Friday was very successful. All the kids presented something different from their classes and the art teacher had an exhibition of all their art work. All the teachers displayed the kids' work in sections....I put out about two folders per grade with all their crafts and worksheets and such. Alan thinks that the first graders stole the show with their animal masks and "I see____" performance. I was really proud of all of the kids. The second, third, and fourth graders did the "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes song" along with a song that Puerto Rican schools teach young ones in English and Spanish. I think the words to that Puerto Rican song are on the blackboard in one of the pictures below. The fifth and sixth graders recited/read the conversations that they had written in English. A few were very shy, but they tried their best. There were also some dances choreographed by the art and math teacher and a really sweet song directed by the verbal communication teacher. Once the kids were done, some dancers performed a few tradional Peruvian songs. Everyone ended up dancing with them and had a great time. Overall, it was a great success:)

Up next is the beach trip........Alan, Joshua, and I will be pretty strict with the kids as the waves at the beaches in Mollendo are really dangerous. I'll let you know how it goes (fingers crossed). Also, I hope that the girls from the girls' group can collectively decide on a community service project in the next couple weeks. I introduced the idea to them yesterday, and they were really receptive of the idea. I really think that these girls have the potential to make a significant impact in their community. As I have said before, I have high hopes for these girls:) I will also update on that next time.

My relationships with all the kids have deepened and my relationship with the Director has definitely strengthened. We worked very well together during the summer classes. As his intentions in his role at the school and the communtiy are so noble, we get along very well. I hope that my relationship, ergo the relationship with CDCA, and the school teachers will be equally amiable and that mutual respect will also flourish from good communication.

Its a little strange not being at the school everyday and getting the snack and kissing scrapes (sana, sana.....), but I'm looking forward to the school year........

I'll be in touch! Keep checking every couple weeks.

Pics of Girls´ Group

Girls´Group Pizza Party

Princesa y yo

Fifth and sixth grade girls helping on V-day

Pictures of Kids (videos could not load.....Peruvian connection...)

V-day bags

Erik opening his Valentine´s Day present (the little baggie has a few gifts from Emily Broxterman, president of Kindness Connection)

Erik y Brisa (cousins)

Brisa y Lisbeht (Lisbeht loves to read...she was supposed to be working)

Marco (just 3 years old...he ran out of the class....a lot)

Melani y Nicol (sisters)...two of my best students:)



I have had trouble uploading video to the blog. I will keep trying.......in the meantime, please look over these pics:)

Summer School Activities

Hello againJ I haven’t been able to write for a few weeks for many different reasons: 1. I’ve been super busy with all the adjustments for summer school, 2. summer school in general is draining, 3. there are about 50 kids enrolled in summer school!, 4. there was a transportation strike during the second week of classes……..Crazy, right? Well, as you can deduce, I’ve been really busy. Let’s begin with the first week of summer school….

Things started off really well. We had about 25 kids the first day, and schedules (1 ½ hour block, snack time and break, then another 1 ½ hour block) seemed convenient for everyone. We gradually augmented our numbers about 3 kids everyday the first week. So, we ended the first week with about 35 kids. In my class, every child has his or her own folder where he or she keeps all their worksheets. The really young kids (inicial and first grade) have been learning animals and colors as well as greetings. The second graders have learned colors, greetings, letters, and numbers up to ten so far. The third and fourth graders have learned a variety of greetings, numbers, colors, pronouns, questions such as “How are you?” and “How old are you?” and the appropriate responses. The fifth and sixth graders (all 20 of them…that’s a lot for summer school…and my classroom) have learned letters, numbers, colors, pronouns, question words and their meanings, all the basic greetings as well as “How are you?” and “How old are you?” and the appropriate responses. Attendance has varied amongst several students; therefore, though I had to buy 10 more folders aside from the 50 I initially bought before summer school, only about 45 of those folders get regular use.

In reference to the transportation strike, I have attached a news article from the most legitimate local newspaper El Comercio. The article was written on January 20th, the day the strike officially began.

Unos 4.000 transportistas bloquean las calles de Arequipa
9:55 El gremio del sector cumple desde hoy un paro indefinido por medida que restringe circulación de vehículos de más de 25 años de antigüedad
El gremio de transportistas de Arequipa acata desde hoy un paro indefinido que busca obligar al alcalde de la ciudad, Simón Balbuena, a derogar la Ordenanza 574, que restringe la circulación de unidades utilizadas para el transporte público con más de 25 años de antigüedad.
Unos 4.000 transportistas han salido a las calles a protestar y no permiten el libre tránsito de vehículos particulares y público porque han bloqueado diversos puntos de la ciudad, como los municipios de Hunter, Paucarpata, Bustamante y Rivero, Alto Selva Alegre, Cerro Colorado, entre otros, informó el corresponsal de El Comercio en Arequipa, Carlos Zanabria.
EL NUEVO REGLAMENTOEl municipio de Arequipa emitió un nuevo reglamento que establece que las unidades de transporte no deberán tener más de 4 años de antigüedad y que deberán ser accionadas a gas. El concejo no dará marcha atrás en su plan de reorganizar el transporte provincial, aseguró el alcalde Simón Balbuena.
Los transportistas aseguran que el reglamento es excesivo y que ellos no están en condiciones de comprar unidades nuevas, ni siquiera si la Caja Municipal de Arequipa les ofrece financiar la adquisición de los vehículos.
Basically, the owners of the buses, which I have been told are separate entities from the ministry of transportation, decided to rebel against the municipality of Arequipa and continue to run their old buses. The municipality issued a regulation which stated that the bus owners and drivers had to replace the old buses with newer models that were safer and more environmentally friendly, with less harmful gas emissions. The transportation workers thought that such a demand was outrageous, so they protested and halted transportation services until the municipality finally lessened their demands and allowed the transportation workers to resume use of the buses under the conditions of preparing to purchase newer buses in the meantime. I will let you know if this new plan comes to fruition. So far, the buses are running better and safer, not as rapidly that is.
So, I was pretty unhappy about the strike because I missed two class days that weekL However, with all that, things are running rather smoothly at the school. The teachers all get along and work together and the kids are really enjoying themselves and learning a lot. Every Friday is a half day of class and half day of free time/play time. During the second half of the day, the kids get a short dance lesson from the art teacher. He’s been teaching them traditional dance moves of traditional indigenous music (a.k.a “música de la selva”).
Two of the videos below depict the kids dancing on two different Friday’s to this music. The movement that the teacher is doing with his feet is called “zapatiar” (a.k.a. “tap”) and the movement he is showing them with his shirt and shoulders is called “menear” (a.k.a. “shake”). Two other videos are in my classroom with some of my better third and fourth grade students. They are asking, “How many? What color?” To hear them well, please raise your volume and listen carefully. They make some mistakes and I try to help them along, but they are definitely making progress. Also, keep in mind that they are a bit camera shy…..Enjoy!