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!