Teaching Stories (Part 7)

At school, we are now into the fourth and last quarter, and we have a mere six weeks to go before the end of the school year! While this year we have other subjects in English like Music, Art, P.E. and Life Skills, I teach mostly Language Arts, and to the younger grades (Kinder, 1st, 2nd and 3rd). I’ve been scrambling to finish the curriculum we’ve put into place, all the while assessing it to see if we need to make adjustments and improvements for next year. It’s a lot of work, and tiring at times, but I love the challenge it brings. When we’re not busy teaching, classes get interrupted now and then for sporadic events. A few up below:

First up we had a carrera (a race), where 10 students were selected (one to two students from each grade), to participate in a short race for a bunch of schools in our sector. They needed two teachers to chaperone, so I was chosen to go along with them. It was a fun morning cheering them on, and a few of our boys won medals which were awarded to the first group of people who finished for each category (I don’t know how many were given, but more than just the first three places).

 

On one Thursday I went down to the Montessori classrooms to do have lessons as usual, and found the rooms empty. I headed out to the patio and found all the classes gathered for a birthday party. This was the 4th party in Montessori that I attended this year; celebrated birthdays seem to fall on a Thursday! Not all students celebrate their birthdays at school, either for financial (these parties can get expensive!) or other reasons, but there are a few that do, and they usually consist of a game or two, a piñata, cake, and gift giving. I stayed down to be with the kids, talking to them in English, and just hanging around.

The cute little kiddos of Montessori 1 (2-3 years old)

Pictures below are of one of the two games (musical chairs) and a piñata, with the birthday celebrant attempting to knock it open (it was so hard by the way, even I couldn't do it, and that was with me hitting forcibly). 

 

I love hanging out with the cuties of the Pre-K classes (they are taught in 3 batches: 2-3 years old, 4-5, and 5-6). Here I am with some of the 3 year olds practicing our emotions vocabulary (that's them showing me "happy!").

After games and the piñata outside, it was cake time inside. These kids love cake as much as they love smiling for the camera. :)

 

Gearing up for Independence Day (September 15th) and our Cultural Week (the week preceding), we had a mini parade by our school. It was small and quick, with just us and doing a 15 minute walk around the campo nearby. Nevertheless it was cute as usual to see the kids dressed up in the four cultures of Guatemala: Mayans:

 

Xincas:

 

Garifunas:

 

and Ladinos:

Us foreigners dressed up too, donning some huipiles (traditional blouses).

Our band has been hard at work practicing, and for this parade we had four of our boy drummers lead the way. It will be really nice to see the whole marching band, including the baton twirlers, come September.

After the parade we gathered back up in the school for an acto cívico where selected students from each grade did a short presentation on their assigned culture.

 

On one day we celebrated “Día Internacional del Maíz” (International Day of Corn), which seemed a little random to me (out of all the events to celebrate), but was a very fun day. First we had a short acto cívico were some of the teachers spoke about the importance of corn in Guatemala’s culture and history, then we all headed up to the roof for some elotes locos!

 

Elotes locos — which can translate to crazy corn — are a traditional snack consisting of corn on the cob slathered with ketchup, mayonnaise, and cheese. The condiments vary according to preference and country; the ones we had at that time was the most simple, but still delicious.

Just the other Monday, one of the English teachers had an idea to do a first aid class with 6th Grade. The coordinator wrote to the bomberos (firemen) to see if we could do some simple first aid with them, and we were invited to go to the fire station for a lecture. It was a nice treat for the students to take a small excursion, and I hope they learned a little bit too.

Then today we had the election and coronation of this year's Mr. and Ms. Independence, a pair who will represent the school during all the activities related to Independence Day. Like last year, the pageant had four rounds. In the first, the candidates donned the typical dress of Guatemala and spoke about what they were wearing.

In the second round they did a demonstration of a chosen sport (for most it was their favorite). There were a lot of football presenters, but some of the unique ones were judo and cheerleading.

Next up was the talent round. Aside from singing and dancing, these two were my favorites: one kid who played some sort of horn -- they even asked the judges to try it, and they couldn't do it -- and another girl who liked to bake, and decorated some cupcakes on the spot.

Last was the question and answer section with the candidates in their formal wear. One by one, they answered questions about Guatemala (the meaning of the national symbols, having to recite one verse of the national anthem, mentioning important dates, and so on).

Then it was a waiting game for the four judges to decide the winners. We had to wait a long while because there wasn't a clear winner somehow (I have no idea how the scoring worked), so the kids worked up their cheering game while waiting.

Then finally, the winners were announced. Everyone won a little something (Mr./Ms. Values, Talent, Sport, etc.), and then the second place was crowned Mr. and Ms. UPAVIM, while the winner was crowned Mr. and Ms. Independence. The winners both turned out to be from First Grade! The boy from First was definitely more than surprised to be crowned Mr. Independence.

The last two remaining girls were the ones I thought would win, but I expected the other way around.

Last year's winners passing on the crown to the new winners.

Mr. and Ms. Independence 2018-2019.

These two did really well, and it was so nice to see them win. :)

Amidst all the events we’ve been having, we also decided to host one Friday afternoon back a dinner for all the school teachers up on the roof. We spent a few weeks planning, and the couple of days before preparing, and it was a simple but fun gathering we had. The food was delicious (if I may so so myself), and we enjoyed the company of the teachers, getting to bond with them a little bit more.

Guatemalan teachers and English teachers

With the two teachers of Montessori-II

I'll be taking a week off from work next week as my dad and my sister are coming to visit, and then the week I get back will be our Cultural Week. I have no doubt that the upcoming weeks will get busier and busier, but I'm looking forward to them, and savoring every moment in this wonderful place. :)