End of the School Year

Just like that, another school year has come and gone. The kids have been on vacation since mid-October, while us teachers and staff have just a few more days left of work. We spent the extra month in trainings and workshops, and preparing for the next school year. 

with some of my girls

It's been a great first year for me at this new school. The start of the school year was a rough adjustment period, but I gradually got used to the work and the environment. The highlight of the year though was definitely my students. I got to work with such a great and sweet group of kids, and I will miss them when they move up to fourth grade next year, as I'll be staying to teach third.

For our last big project of the year, we worked on a PBL (Project Based Learning) that consisted of the students coming up with and implementing solutions to a problem we posed, which was how to get the students to speak more English amongst themselves during English class. My kids came up with a rewards system in which aside from getting to go to recess a few minutes early, they would get prizes at the end of the year. For the major activity of the PBL, they worked on a puppet show. They did everything from scratch, and by themselves, and talking in English (most of the time). My only requirement was that the puppet show had to be about a value. They wrote the scripts themselves, divided work among themselves, planned out everything, brought the materials they needed, created their sets, etc.

After a week of creating their scripts and puppets, and another week of practicing, they were ready to present.

It was a fun affair, and they even took their own initiative of bringing snacks for their audience, preparing questions about their plays, and giving prizes to those who answered the questions correctly.

Then at the end of the year, I gave them their rewards. One section asked for little prizes:

And with the other section we held a picnic in class:

We all enjoyed it, and it was a really successful project to end the school year.

Another highlight for me and the kids was October 1st, Children's Day. In Guatemala, it's a pretty big deal, and to celebrate at school we had a "neon night" where the kids came in to school at 6pm dressed all in black and with neon accessories. It was a lot of chaos with the kids running around, but lots of fun as well.

It was a good bonding moment with my group, too. We had a series of games prepared for us (my group came in Third Place!) -- 

And then a snack -- 

And some free playing time and a football (in the dark) competition -- 

Our last week with the kids was crazy. We didn't have regular classes, just practices for our clausura (closing program), but we had bad rain and crazy weather the whole week which led to them suspending classes and postponing the clausura to the week after. Before they left, my co-teacher (the homeroom teacher of the other third grade section) and I got to plan a little despedida with our classes. The kids brought in some snacks and we shared them with each other.

For our clausura, the pre-primary and primary classes put on a short presentation of The Lion King. The English Theatre Class had been practicing short selected scenes from the Lion King, and in between those scenes, each grade level did a dance presentation. We were assigned and animal and a song, and us teachers had to choreograph it. At first my kids were not wanting to do it because we were monkeys, but in the end we came up with a really fun dance, which people were saying was the best.

And that was that with the kids. The week after they left, I spent some time cleaning my classroom, taking down all the classroom decorations I had up, including my little wall of artwork from my kids.

Teaching at a private school in Antigua was so different from my experience at UPAVIM in La Esperanza. Each had its pros and cons, and while I don't think I'd go back to teaching at a place like UPAVIM anytime soon, it holds a special special place in my heart. Some Saturdays ago I headed back to attend the graduating ceremony of this year's sixth graders. This group were my kiddos back when they were in fourth grade, and they were my very first group not just in Guatemala, but ever, so I decided to surprise them and show up at their graduating ceremony. Everybody was surprised to see me there, students, parents, and teachers alike, and it was lovely getting to share the morning with them.

Then, the principal of the school surprised me too by calling on me to put the medal of recognition on the top student. I was very touched; it was a sweet gesture that led to me crying as well.

For measure, here's a throwback photo of them two years ago! How they've grown. :)

I'll be heading back to the Philippines in about a week and a half to spend vacations at home, and then it'll be back in Antigua for another exciting school year. :)