Santa Elena Primary School Christmas Entertainment

Santa Elena Primary School children had their annual Christmas Entertainment on December 16,2010 and we were pleasantly surprised and pleased with the items. It is evident that the teachers and students invested many hours for the presentations.We wish all our parents, students, teachers, and staff a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Page 12 - STAR - Tel:- 626-8822 & 626-3788 - Email:starnewspaper@gmail.com - Sunday, September 5, 2010

New Skills for Santa Elena Primary School Teachers

BY: Andrea Guerra

Teacher, Santa Elena Primary

RC School

I had the pleasure of attending an eight day workshop at Santa Elena Primary R.C. School on leadership.

This program is in conjunction with the Ministry of education and B.N.E. Charitable Trust.

The leadership workshop will definitely help me to transform the way I teach and by extension my classroom.

The strategies, techniques and methods are more engaging than the traditional teaching methods;

therefore they are ideal for increasing academic performance and curving behavioral problems.

Of the techniques and methods presented, in my opinion the most effective is the Kagan Structures.

These structures, when used regularly, will create a safe environment that develops learning to learn skills and learning on a whole. Kagan Structures will not change the content but will transform the way it is taught. It aligns instruction with what research has shown is the way student’s learned and retain information.

Along with the academic gains, I also believe that students will develop thinking skills, emotional

intelligence, social skills, teamwork skills, and character values.

By working together through these structures, character values such as respect, cooperation, kindness,

effort, honesty, and leadership will improve drastically. From my perspective and

experience, I believe the change will be relatively challenging but, I am very optimistic. From the

perspective of the students in my class, I am sure the change will enhance and develop a greater

liking for school, their classmates, themselves, others and also the

process of learning.

Page 4 - STAR - Tel:- 626-8822 & 626-3788 - Email:starnewspaper@gmail.com - Sunday, September 5, 2010

BY: Juan Villanueva

Teacher, Santa Elena RC Roman

Catholic School

Dear Belizeans,

For too long, schools have been run in the traditional “chalk and talk” method where the teacher

leads instruction and the children just follow.

I wish to share with you an interesting and innovative

Leadership program that Santa Elena Primary School has embarked on, that will lead our children to new

and exciting learning opportunities. It is a one year program, sponsored by Belize Natural Energy Trust, in

collaboration with Independent Day School in Florida, and endorsed by the Ministry of Education which promotes a more “child centered” education, geared towards the holistic development of the individual learner.

While some teachers were still enjoying their last few days of summer vacation, our staff at Santa Elena Primary School in the Cayo District, were engaged in an eight day workshop facilitated by an

energetic fascilitator Mrs. Abigail Wade from NaRCIE. This year long pilot program will help us to cater for an inclusive classroom environment where ALL learners are welcome and provided with an equal opportunity to learn. To do so, we must first get to know our learners, identify which are

their intelligences (in which way they learn best), and match our teaching methods to the way learners learn.

The staff at Santa Elena Primary School invites other schools and other teachers to make learning more fun, interesting and meaningful to all learners. Education is dynamic, thus we must be in tune to new ideas, strategies and brain research which will help enhance education where no child is left behind. We are sure

that just as Santa Elena Primary school staff has embraced this vision of a happy school as the root of a happy child, there are many other teachers out there who have a passion for teaching and are committed to the holistic education of every individual learner. As passionate teachers, we must keep in our minds and our hearts

that teaching is “All About Kids,” and each child entrusted in our care truly deserves a “Teacher of the Year!”

Yours in education,

Juan Villanueva

STAR Newspaper Article

Page 6 - STAR - Tel:- 626-8822 & 626-3788 - Email:starnewspaper@gmail.com - Sunday, December 5, 2010

Presenting Our Champion Athletes

Juan Villanueva, Teacher, Santa Elena, Roman Catholic Primary School, Cayo.

While many of us were still in bed this past Saturday morning November 27th, there were some eager and energetic children getting into buses from every district countrywide. Yes, it was a busy and exciting weekend for our children with disabilities. They were up from early and eager to arrive in the Old Capital for the Special Olympics. For the very first time Santa Elena Primary School, with its new special education class, had the unique opportunity to participate in the event. Seven special children from our school were among those travelling to Belize City and three of them competed in the games. Each one of our special athletes proudly returned with silver medals in various races. Our champion athletes are:Joseph Hinds who came in second in the fast walk earning a silver medal. Kenra Smith also earned a silver medal with a second finish in the 60m dash. Ariel Bradley also came in second in the 100m dash and second in the relay race. Our school’s Special Education Teacher, Ms Celia Monroy, parents of the students and I accompanied our athletes to the game. It was the first Special Olympics for the children of this area. It is an event that all of us will surely never soon forget.

L-R) Kenra Smith, Ariel Bradley and Joseph Hinds