School Visits continue..................... and so does the school year

First Grade classroom 1



First Grade classroom 2











View of sinks near bathrooms


View of girls' bathroom stalls at Santa Maria




Hi! So, I visited an elementary school in Paucarpata a few weeks ago (pictures above) with Director Froilan. The visit went well and the travel time was not as bad as I expected. I had heard that Paucarpata might be about an hour from my apartment, but it was about 45 minutes. Paucarpata is a one of Arequipa's poorer districts like Alto Cayma (Cayma highlands) and Ampliacion Socabaya (past the city of Socabaya). Santa Maria, the area I visited, was much like La Mansion and Horacio Zeballos such that the population is mostly comprised of immigrants from other parts of Peru and the socioeconomic status is very poor. The area seems to lack in basic public services such as a sewage system and water like Horacio and La Mansion, although the school seemed the be better equiped infrastructurally like La Mansion yet unlike Horacio.

I plan to visit a school in Quequeña this week (granted the Director doesn't have another UGEL meeting), so I shall report on that soon.

As far as the school year goes, the kids at Paz y Esperanza are mostly doing well. The 6th graders are moving from "Who? Possessive Pronouns and Family" into "Where? and Location" after having taken and revised an exam. The same 3 students did well on the last exam, but many students are understanding and pronouncing English words and phrases better and better every week. 5th grade and 4th grade are taking the "Who? Possessive Pronouns and Family" exam this week. 1st and 2nd grade are up to letter Q this week and making lots of progress on the alphabet as well as school vocabulary. 3rd grade is still very difficult to deal with and engage. When I do keep their attention they recite and sing the alphabet perfectly and sing all the vocabulary songs correctly as well as remember phrases and numbers up to 30. When I don't have their attention, things get stressful and I resort to art (usually painting), which they enjoy.

Art lessons are coming along quite nicely with 6th and 4th grades as well 5th grade, sometimes. They are learning shading techniques and will move into self-portraits after recreations soon. There are a few students who I believe are definitely artistically inclined and could become very good at drawing as well as painting.

I have to start planning the kids' end-of-the-year English and Art presentation/show since December is quickly approaching. I can't believe that I'm leaving Arequipa in two and a half months....

Please comment your thoughts:)