HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY TO ALL CHILDREN

We believe that the children are our future...

A school sports day, provides an entertaining event that allows students to participate and enjoy success. It was an encouraging atmosphere at the school sports day today as students felt comfortable participating in the activities. The students excitedly looked on as their teachers triumphantly rallied their athletes to the finish line.

Make Their Day! We are privileged to work with a wonderful and dedicated teacher, Ms. Janet Morgan. Today Ms. Janet celebrated her birthday and the staff had a special lunch for her. Ms. Janet you are an inspiration to all of us and we are grateful for your hard work. Happy birthday and may you live to see many more! SURPRISE!

"Many faces, Many Dreams, One Goal - Celebrating Belize!"

Santa Elena R.C. Primary School first ever Patriotic Hat competition!

Fortune has come our way as we were blessed once again when two more groups from Interact visited our school this past summer. Both groups gave us monetary donations, school supplies , sporting equipment along with a LCD Projector. The school has decided to use the funds from the groups to put towards the construction of an area where our students that stay for lunch could comfortably sit under and eat. Please find attached photos of the beginning of the construction of the multi purpose building. We extend a warm thank you to all the groups that visited us this year. Students with thier gifts from Interact Group

Construction of Multi Purpose Building

Interact and SEPS

At SEPS we have built a relationship with Interact( An international group that has a singular purpose to serve Spanish teachers and their students currently enrolled in grades 6-12). They also visits schools and we were very fortunate to have them visit our school. I would like to thank the teachers and students that visited us in June and donated school supplies and made a monetary contribution towards our school shed. Below is a picture of some of the students that they interacted with and benefited from the school supplies. I would like to thank in particular Ms. Sara Dopke who upon arrival to her home sent some more school supplies. We are grateful Sara!

Santa Elena Primary Open Day

The staff at Santa Elena Primary School had one of its first ever Open Day on May 14, 2012 during Education Week . the response from teachers in the area was overwhelming and the comments were positive. Over 35 teachers visited the school and all stated that they would wished to know more about the Teacher Leadership Program. Each standard came up with a theme and used recycled materials to display the theme. Please find some photos below

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S.E.P.S. “ROUND EARTH” TEACHERS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO EXPORE M.O.R.E

“Sharpen the saw!” Have you ever heard that phrase before? It is what farmers and woodcutters do in order for their job to be easier and more effective. On May 4 and 5, 2012, the teachers of Santa Elena R.C. Primary School, went to “Sharpen their saws” in order to make children’s learning easier, funny and more effective; by attending an extraordinary workshop hosted by Belize Teacher Leadership Project, Belize Elementary and Belize High School. The workshop was based on the M.O.R.E. APPROACH, which is Multiple Options for Results in Education. The main purpose of the workshop was, as mentioned earlier, to sharpen the saw, to develop the Olympic Mentality, where the best keeps getting better:, to accelerate learning in a brain friendly environment, to be aware of the seven components of the M.O.R.E. Model and how to appreciate the uniqueness of each learner. Dr. Joyce Swarzman, author of the book, “It’s All about Kids”; was the facilitators of the workshop. Both Dr. Joyce and Dr. Morrow are partnering with Santa Elena Primary School so as to develop a model school adopting the M.O.R.E.Approach. Dr. Joyce is a very dynamic presenter. The time felt shorter while at the workshop during the two days. The activities done and the stories told, made it difficult for any of the teachers present to take any vacation. Everything was so spectacular, engaging and informative. At the workshop we were pointed out the three types of vacations that every human being takes, even the richest of the rich, when they are in a classroom or when listening to a speech. Even though these vacations are “as natural as the sunrise and the sunset”, teachers need to find all sorts of fun activities to minimize these vacations and increase students on task in order to learn more. Personally, I was impressed at the so many things that I learnt at this workshop. I learnt that to appreciate the uniqueness of the learner I need to identify the type of personality they have. The three main personalities are: KTVA (Kinesthetic, Tactile, Auditory and Visual), GASC (the Global, the Abstract, the Sequential and the Concrete learner) and the DEAR (the Driver, the Expressive, the Analytical and the Relater). I learnt that we are wired on this earth for conflict. Therefore, conflict is not the problem; it is how we deal with the problem. Knowledge of these types of people equips the teachers in understanding each student and knowing how to deal with the different behaviors that they demonstrate in our classrooms. I got to understand what teachers and students presence really means and how to demonstrate that presence. I learnt a variety of structures and activities to keep students engaged and focused. Most importantly I learnt the Positive Mental State (PMS), whereby “Validation” is the number one key. Another key to PMS is, positive phrasing when students utter negative phrases or comment. As a teacher at Santa Elena R.C. Primary, I feel proud, privileged and blessed to have embarked the ship of “Round Earth Thinkers” on the journey to the “Cape of Extraordinary Learning”. This journey is to explore riches of options to get better results in education. The fleet in this ship has the Olympic Mentality because we want the best to get better, and we expect to explore more of M.O.R.E. On May 14, the teachers at SEPS opened their doors to the general public to go in and sit in their classrooms and learned more about the M.O.R.E. Approach. It was very successful and the feedback was positive. We had teachers as from far as Belize City and Spanish Lookout. The General Manger of Catholic Public Schools, Sister Barbara Flores was also present for the open day as well. Happy Teacher’s Day to all teachers! GLORIA JONES Standard V Mathematics Teacher

SEPS

I am still in a state of euphoria when I reflect on the historic 2012 Cross Country Cycling Race. What a memorable occasion, a son of the soil, an energetic young man from Santa Elena dazzled many locals and foreigners with his impressive ride to the garland. The teachers at Santa Elena Primary School were elated to share his story with their students and let them know that they too can be anything they want to be as long as they are wiling to work toward their dream. The children watched fervently as our guest, Mr. Geovanni Choto strolled on our compound accompanied by his lovely wife and daughter. A smile of innocence beckoned on his face as he was taken aback by the gratitude and love displayed toward him by the students of this school. Mr. Choto and other gold winners as Olympic Winners developed what we called the, “Olympic Mentality” where the best keep getting better through practice, practice, and more practice. M.O.R.E. (Multiple Options for Results in Education) contains seven major components with over 100 subcomponents, encompassing hundreds of skills, which guides the direction of professional development to create an environment that acknowledges the impact of brain-based instruction. This philosophy was developed Dr. Joyce Swarzman and her staff of Independent Day School-Corbett Campus in Tampa, FL, a National Blue Ribbon Award winning school. One subcomponent of the M.O.R.E. Approach is the Olympic Mentality, where teachers are involved in weekly professional development sessions so as to be on the cutting edge of education. Like Olympians, teachers understand that when there is a passion for something, practice and study become fulfilling and a natural part of what we choose to do. The teachers at Santa Elena Primary School have been involved in a Teacher Leadership program since June of 2010 and have adopted the M.O.R.E. Approach at their school. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Joyce Burick Swarzrman, creator of the M.O.R.E. Approach, will be visiting Belize to conduct a two day workshop on May 4 and 5, 2012 at Belize Elementary School Gym in Belize City. She will share with educators her secret of running a successful school where both teachers and students are in a happy environment, where individuals learn from their mistakes and teachers are willing to “Sharpen their Saw” so as to ensure that every child gets a teacher of the year. IDS-CC continues to emerge as a beacon for other schools throughout the world because of the leadership of the school's headmaster and other school leaders, and the continuous training and high levels of caring and proficiency of the teachers. More information about Dr. Joyce’s visit to Belize can be obtained by emailing Dr. Jennifer Morrow at drjenn02@gmail.com and Mrs. Abigail Wade abbyjwade@gmail.com

Although words cannot say enough for the generous donation we've gotten at Santa Elena Primary School, we would like to say , "Thank You." The students and staff of our school were extremely pleased with the donation of books received for our library.

As educators we are aware of the fact that books are important for the development of our children's knowledge. "The more you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you will go." It is true... we see the excitement on the faces of our children whenever they read and learn something new. Most importantly, we are content when they are inspired to discover, to imagine, to question and to ponder.

Reading is fun ! Indeed it is .... especially when there are smiles on the faces of the children who really understand what they read. You will be assured that our children will benefit entirely form our library and will cherish the books, too. Most importantly , be confident that with every story read; every smile on the face of a child - is a guaranteed thank you that will definitely be coming your way. Your efforts will not go unmentioned. Once again thank you very much from the staff and children of Santa Elena Primary School .




Books, Books and more Books!







Thank You !

Thank you to the Church of Incarnation in Texas.