Maya Connections Issue 21 November

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Service Learning

SPORTS

SECONDARY

Drama

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Art

MUSICAL

Elementary

ISSUE 21

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What an amazing learning filled month it has been at Maya, whether it is grade 3 adaptations inquiries, grade 8 passion projects unfolding, or High School service projects taking shape to really make an impact on Maya and Guatemala. Grade 5 students have been digging into deep questions surrounding child labor and educational opportunities for all in Guatemala.

ECC students are hitting their stride, building their confidence, resilience and self management through inquiry and exploration.

Grade 6 is digging into the complex situation surrounding turtles in Guatemala and beyond.

Music, art and drama continue to build amazing competencies and character in students as they collaborate together in many ways like the musical, visual and dramatic monologues in High School. PE is collaborating through inquiry units and explorations in health to help students make connections across all ages. Spanish classes are digging into the use of language to be change agents in our own school and beyond as they interview our cleaners and maintenance for positive wellbeing and community. Our basketball team showed amazing resilience in the ASSCA tournament and all other sports and activities continue to provide holistic experiences for all ages.

For all those I cannot mention, I apologize,

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but there are just to many important and meaningful learning experiences to write about in one page.

The point is we continue to drive everything we do from one question. “What is most important to learn?�. Whether we are focussing on conceptual learning, building competencies, fostering character traits or all three simultaneously we are focussed on providing learning experiences that matter.

Communicating this important learning is our biggest challenge and continues to be the biggest challenge globally for Pk-12 schools.

High school is the most difficult as higher education requirements dictate certain protocols of communication. Regardless of all that surrounds questions around the communication of learning we at Colegio Maya will never let up on our drive to provide connected, meaningful, personalized learning experiences for all community members. We learn together, we struggle together, we celebrate together and most of all we focus on what matters most for our children, together.

I continue to be honored to be a part of such a robust learning community and thank you for your engagement and the role you play in supporting learning that matters for all ages.

Into November we go!

Michael Johnston PhD. Director - Colegio Maya

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Designed by Mohamed Louajri Inspired by David Carson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Front Cover

designed by Sang Eon Park

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Director's Message + Contents designed by Mohamed Louajri

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Calendar

designed by Nicholas Lester

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Cafeteria

designed by Kevin Julius Zhou

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Fall Festival

designed by Song Eui Lee Kim

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It’s elementary

designed by You Min Cho

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Elementary Library

designed by Rachel Sophia Fernando

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Grade 4 Intervie

designed by Song Eui Lee Kim

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Guided Inquiry

designed by Song Eui Lee Kim

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It’s secondary

designed by Luis Benatuil

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Secondary library

designed by Rachel Sophia Fernando

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Middle-School Dance

designed by Beatriz Shanti Pallas Alvarez

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Tech at Maya

designed by Sang Jun Lee

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Service Learning

designed by Kirja Alicia Gordon

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Looking for Learning

designed by Kirja Alicia Gordon

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Sports

designed by Kevin Lee

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Back Cover

designed by Sang Eon Park

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Designed by Mohamed Louajri Inspired by David Carson

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W 1 Holiday - No School / All Saint Day

MUN, Rhode Island and Boston, anfitriรณn Brown University, USA 8-13 noviembre.

AASCA Knowledge Bowl, anfitriรณn American Nicaraguan School, en Managua, Nicaragua 16-19 noviembre AASCA Cross Country, anfitriรณn Colegio Maya en Guatemala, fecha pendiente

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6 Drama AASCA rehearsals PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

12 MUN Boston

AASCA Knowledge Bowl, ANS

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AASCA Knowledge Bowl, ANS

Drama AASCA rehearsals

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27 Drama AASCA rehearsals

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Drama AASCA rehearsals PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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MUN Boston Drama AASCA rehearsals

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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MUN Boston Teacher PD and collaboration early release

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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Drama AASCA rehearsals

Drama AASCA rehearsals

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

Board Meeting

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Drama AASCA rehearsals

Teacher PD and collaboration early release

7th grade Utopia Overnight

7th grade Utopia Overnight

International Potluck

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Field trip to Antigua (9th grade Spanish Literature)

Drama AASCA rehearsals

Drama AASCA rehearsals

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Drama AASCA rehearsals

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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MUN Boston Drama AASCA rehearsals

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

16 Drama AASCA rehearsals PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

23 Holiday - No School / Thanksgiving

Drama AASCA rehearsals

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Drama AASCA rehearsals PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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MUN Boston

Drama AASCA rehearsals

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MUN Boston

PAFA Fifth Grade Play Rehearsal

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Mini Olympics

AASCA Knowledge Bowl, ANS Drama AASCA rehearsals PAFA Fifth Grade Play Performance

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AASCA Knowledge Bowl, ANS

HS STUCO Community Service

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Holiday - No School / Thanksgiving

Field Trip to Sophos Library at Fontabella 5th graders

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November All Star Student Assembly AASCA CC and Track & Field, Colegio Maya

Designed By: Nicholas Lester

Inspired By; Artiva Design

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Designed by Kevin Zhou

Inspired By Jessica Hische

Designed by Kevin Zhou

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Inspired By Jessica Hische

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Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

FESTIVAL Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

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Designed by You Min

Resilience!

Value of the Month for November is Resilience.

Just exactly what is resilience, anyway? “Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”

As parents, our natural instinct is to protect our child from everything we can. But, short of placing our child in a plastic bubble, there is no way to shelter our children from everything unpleasant that occurs in the world. From the time our children start learning to walk, it is those little tumbles that help them learn their own capacity and limitations, how to pull up or hold onto the nearest adult pant leg, which items in the house are strong enough to hold their weight, etc. (This is so fresh in my mind because my two youngest grandchildren are just now learning to walk! It is a scary, yet joyful experience!) Also, as children grow and start to branch out from only family to include friends, life finds a way of being slightly more difficult: from learning to share with friends, not always being “first” or the “only” child lining up for an activity, and many other natural learning opportunities. Here at Colegio Maya Elementary, we try to help our students solve their own problems so they can build that confidence and mental toughness so necessary to navigate the world. The students also add to these resiliency skills when they play games in school or ASA, learning how teams operate, encouraging others, etc.

I have included an article from Edutopia for more information.

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Inspired by Oded Ezer

Designed by You Min

Inspired by Oded Ezer

Thanks to all parents as you have made time to meet with teachers for conferences in October. Consistent communication is so vital in making a functioning team! We encourage you all to contact the teacher, myself, or Mr. Johnston with any questions or concerns you may have. We are all here for the continued success of all of our students!

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Designed by You Min

Inspired by Oded Ezer

C. STUDENT ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCES 1. Absences: Colegio Maya abides by our accrediting agencies’ standards in relation to our ability to promote students (in secondary school grant credits.)

We believe there is a direct correlation between class attendance and academic performance. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that students attend school on a regular basis. Students who frequently miss class time jeopardize th eir learning and consequently the ability of the school to evaluate their work and/or grant credit for work done.

The student will be required to make up missed work and assignments for credit within a reasonable amount of time arranged between the teacher and the student.

Parents are expected to contact the school by telephone or e-mail on the day of their son or daughter’s absence from school. Students who anticipate a prolonged absence from school must make arrangements with their teachers and fill out an pre arranged absence form to be signed by the principal at least two weeks in advance in order to receive the assignments and work schedule for the time he/she will be absent.

Students returning to school after an absence must bring a note from their parents to the appropriate school office in order to obtain an admission slip before proceeding to class.

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Design By Rachel Fernando

Inspired By Alex Trochut

Elementary Students loved our Banned books week. We had meaningful conversations and they feel grateful to have the freedom to choose all kinds of books. Controversy was at its highest when they learned Harry Potter, by JK Rowling was banned in some libraries because it contains witchcraft and magic.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was banned in 2010 and 2013 by several schools in the United States because it was “too depressing”.

Kids are also very engaged in writing Halloween stories, while they write them they like to listen to Halloween music to get inspired. However for students that do not celebrate this we had some other options.

To the right is a copy of our graphic organizer to brainstorm spooky ideas.

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Getting to Know our Maintenance Workers Ruth Anne Rasmusson, Grade 4 Teacher As part of Guatemalan Heritage Week, students in Class 4B interviewed members of the Colegio Maya Maintenance Staff. Each student took the information gained through the conversation, as well as photos, and made a draft of a newsletter article. Then, the members of the high school Journalism Class spent a class period paired up with the fourth graders to give guidance and editing help. The fourth graders now have two new friends, an upper class member and a worker, and have gained an understanding of the importance and dedication of those who maintain our school. Please read on to meet these people.

My First Interview in 4B By: Oscar, Grade 4 and Fabian, Grade 10

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Hi, I’ll tell you about the amazing worker, Charlie. In an interview that Charlie and I had, he told me his story.

Charlie’s full name is Carlos Enrique Vicente Perez, but everyone calls him “Charlie.” That is his nickname. He started working at Colegio Maya in 1980. Charlie said, “That was when Colegio Maya was in Zona 13.” He works close to the reception desk and works from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. He even works when students are on vacations.

He takes one hour and a half to come to school and two hours and a half to go to his house. In his job he prints copies and delivers them to the teachers that ask him for copies. He delivers the copies to grades 1-12, basically the entire school.

He is a grandpa of seven grandchildren. He has two little grandkids that stay home for the entire day and four big kids that go to school and come at noon.I’ll tell you about Charlie's interests. He likes to run and exercise. He plays soccer and watches it on TV. He said, “I likes these teams: Guatemala and Real Madrid.” (I also like Real Madrid.) He likes to do those thing when he is not working.

Charlie is really important. Without him there would be a big difference in this school

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Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

Interviews David by: Adriana Vega 4B

I am going to tell you about the elementary classrooms…. Wait, why is it so dirty in here? David to the rescue! I got to interview David the maintenance worker at Colegio Maya.

David said, “I live 34 kilometers away.” He has worked here for 22 years. He works here nine-and-a half hours every day. David works on Saturday only if there is an activity, like the fall fair. But the activity usually involves people at Colegio Maya like kids, parents, and teachers. He has so many friends in our school, just like the kids do.

David has a busy day. I’ll tell you about it. In the morning he makes sure there is drinking water in the dispensers.

Then, he starts sweeping the floors. After that, he starts cleaning the restrooms in elementary. An hour later, he starts cleaning secondary.

Then, it’s lunch time for him and kind of his free time for about three hours. After school, at 3:00 he takes the trash to the dumpster and cleans all the elementary .classrooms and secondary classrooms. Last, he goes home David sometimes gets hurt. I feel sad for David because in 2007 he got an electric shock. This is the reason it happened. He was cleaning around an electrical switch with a wet towel. All of the electricity went through the water, to his arm, to his back, and into his skull. He almost died from that. At least he is safe and alive now.

I'm going to tell you about David’s family. When David is not at work and he is with his family, he has fun. He said, “I have six people

Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

in my family.” He has nine siblings, and if you count him in it is ten. That is a lot of siblings, don’t you think?

Now, I will tell you about his interests. He likes to watch sports as well as playing them. He goes on his bike a lot and plays soccer. He likes watching basketball and American football. He likes to do art sometimes.

David is a really nice and helpful guy. He should be recognized in our school.

Please say hi to him every time you see him.

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Interviews About a Colegio Maya Worker

By Marcelo Marti, Grade 4

“Hello, don Santos,” I say.

“Hello, how are you, Marcelo,” don Santos answers with a smile on his face.

“I want to ask you some questions because I want to know more about you. I want the whole community to know how important you are at Maya,” I said.

Don Santos likes his job at Colegio Maya very much. His job is to clean the kindergarten area all the way to the library. He also cleans the Music, the ESOL, and the LRC classrooms.

He has to keep 4 water stations filled up too. He told me that what he likes most about his work is the school community!

Don Santos said, “Las personas me dicen hola cuando me ven . He says that Colegio Maya is a friendly place.

Don Santos works 8 hours each day. He starts at eight O’clock in the morning, and he finishes at five O’clock in the afternoon. He likes to start his day early. He is an early bird!

He leaves his house at 5:15 A.M. He gets on the bus at 5:20,

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and he arrives at school at 6:00 A.M. But when there's a lot of traffic, he comes at 6:30.

“Why did you come to Maya?” I asked him.

He told me that he came with a family he was working with. They said that he could come to Maya, so he came to ask for a job. That was 15 years ago! He feels lucky for the opportunity to come to Maya.

Don Santos Antonio Alay lives in aldea San Luis in San Jose Pinula on the way to Placencia. He has three children. He has a 29 year old daughter, and she is married. Don Santos is a grandpa. He has two sons. One is in the university, and the other is still in high school.

When Don Santos is not at school, he likes to help his wife sell clothes in their town. He also likes to travel in Guatemala. He has never been outside of Guatemala.

Don Santos is a great Colegio Maya worker. I am so glad he's here.

Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

Interviews Vero the Wonderful Worker

By Ricky Obregon Grade 4 What do you think the school would look like without the workers? It would look very messy, super messy. The school would be covered in vines, and the trash cans would overflow. But don’t worry because the Colegio Maya super workers will save you.

I want you to meet one of the super workers …….Veronica Rustian, also known as Vero.

Let me tell you her story and some facts about her. Vero lives in San Jose Pinula. It takes her about one hour to get to Colegio Maya when there's no traffic, but when there is traffic, it takes her two hours, 8 to 5 on weekdays.

Vero works in Kindergarten and PK. She takes good care of the little kids. She helps them heat their food in the microwave, and she keeps their classroom clean.

Vero lives with her dad, her 2 boys, and one daughter. The oldest son is 23 years old. Her daughter is sixteen, and her youngest son is 7. Vero has a female dog named Goody.

When Vero is not at work, she likes to walk and exercise. She enjoys walking on the trails near her house.

Colegio Maya is lucky to have such a wonderful worker. Vero is helpful and loving! I really enjoyed interviewing her and getting to know her better.

Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

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Guided Inquiry in Fifth Grade: Equality!

Fifth-graders by nature are concerned with fairness. As part of the process of growing up, they question the reasoning behind rules and notice when individuals are treated differently. On their way to middle school and adolescence, fifth-grade students can begin to debate issues of fairness, justice and equality from multiple points of view. Equality is so often confused with being treated the same. It’s important to realize at an early age that in a diverse society, different groups will have different needs and that equality is about equal opportunities for success and happiness. It is also important to begin to recognize the many ways equality in a society is strengthened and compromised in various domains such as economy, civil rights, education, etc. We have explored different areas in relation to equality in Ancient Greece, such as education, slaves vs citizens, and gender equality. Students also explored these topics in relationship to today.

Service Learning Projects Students in fifth grade have been investigating these issues through research, surveys, observations and interviews with community experts and community members: - Girls Being Treated Differently Than Boys and Gender Equality - Exclusion During Recess - Child Labor in Guatemala - Racial Bias After investigation, they made a plan for social action. Students have made advocacy videos and presentations, designed posters, organized a book drive and even started a “Recess Buddy” service for upper elementary students who want someone to play with at recess.

We’re very proud of the Fifth Graders and their community service!

Guided Inquiry Cycle In this unit we have had the opportunity to explore key Social Studies standards, literacy and some numeracy skills! It’s been a very exciting learning process. We have followed a process of guided inquiry with the goal of developing conceptual, competency and character learning in specific areas.

In the last stage of the inquiry process, it’s time to test and demonstrate our learning!

Students have led the way through their questions, research and personal connections to the concepts. Our unit has taken an exciting turn towards service learning. Since equality is such a key social issue, students have been making personal connections and identifying problems they want to solve in the community.

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Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

Everyone deserves an education!

We fifth graders are helping an organization that stops child labor - Integral Heart Foundation. They support families in sending their children to school. We want to help them by collecting books to make a library for the kids.

Your donations are very important!

We need books!

- Easy English books - Spanish books for 10-12 year olds Put books you don't use inside the donation baskets. The baskets are in Elementary, High School, and Middle School. Remember, every book counts! #childrenfreefromlabor If you have questions, please contact: mzink@cm.edu.gt or dmetzler@cm.edu.gt

Design by: Song eui lee Inspired by: Alex Trochut

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Designed By: Luis Benatuil

Inspired by: Neville Brody

Interim Reports and Parent Teacher Conference Thanks to all parents who shared their feedback on the interim reports. These were reports included for the first time, teacher and student comments on the concepts, competencies and character aspects of their learning, as part of an effort to increase feedback and identify areas of strength, growth and improvement. There was some useful feedback from parents, with appreciation for the more detailed feedback on performance and the chance to read what their children thought about their own learning, as well as requests for clearer explanation of the levels in each subject, more of consistency in terms of the detail comments and from some a desire to see a grade.

The new report aims to put the student at the centre of the process while also offering more qualitative feedback at the midpoint in the semester. We appreciate all the feedback and are working on seeing how we can make improvements for the future.

AASCA BASKETBALL Congratulations to our AASCA Boys Basketball team who secured 2nd place in the Silver Division last Saturday after losing out in the final to American School of Tegucigalpa. The boys played with spirit and performed well in their group with victories over International School of Panama 42 - 39 and Colegio Discovery (Honduras) 40-26. They then faced tough opposition in the Gold group stage against former champions EIS (Honduras) who showed their class with a comfortable victory. This put the boys into the Silver group playing Country Day school for a place in the Silver final. The boys played with spirit and while shooting sometimes let them down, some strong defence and inspired periods of play saw them through against the Costa Ricans and put them into the final against American School of Tegucigalpa.

This was another tough game where we played well in patches, but in the end were just not quite the match for the Hondurans.

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It has been a tough season but the boys have a young team and the experience will should serve them well for the coming seasons. They should be proud of their third place in the Copa Bicultural, and their performance in AASCA. Congratulations and thanks to all the boys and also to their coaches David Goddard and Marvin Franco as well as the faithful Maya supporters who have cheered them on.

Absences

Designed By: Luis Benatuil

Finally, just a quick reminder to parents, that if your child is going to be absent from school, they should complete a pre-arranged Absence Form one week in advance of their leaving school. The aim of the sheet is to inform teachers and allow them to establish a plan to catch up on work missed.

Teachers Working With Data Grade 6-8 students completed their MAP tests earlier this month and we will be reviewing results and working with teachers to see how we can use the data to improve student learning. These tests offer one more window into student’s learning and feedback on areas of strength, growth and improvement.

Teachers will be working with Jennifer Sikes on November 8 looking at how to use this and other data to inform instruction and improve student learning. Jennifer, an educator for 15 years in Washington State, Turkey, and Mexico, has led local, regional, national, and international workshops on topics including questioning in the classroom, writing across the curriculum, differentiated instruction, and Data Teams.

Fall Festival

This year’s fall festival took place on Friday October 27 and yet again, did not disappoint.

The MS STUCO outdid themselves this year with their haunted house and it was good to see the Middle and High students joining in the festivities. Many thanks to the PTSA for all their work in organizing this event and for making it such a success. Thanks also to the Middle and High school STUCO and Service Learning groups who ran booths to promote their projects for turtles, coding, Long Way Home and others.

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Design By Rachel Fernando Inspired By Alex Trochut

Every October our Secondary Library is filled with many exciting surprises. Your first stop is to grab any book from our “Spooky Table Display”. Your next stop is to take pictures with our spooky and scary friends. Then you can enjoy your lunch with our Scary Halloween Movies, enjoying fresh popcorn. Coraline and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children were the winners. Towards the end of October you can slowly watch how the “Back of the Library” turns into a “Creepy Cemetery”.

And your last stop is to come and listen to our special guests from Guatespantos (Professional Ghost Experts). October is a month filled with many exciting activities.

We hope you enjoyed it!

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Design By Rachel Fernando Inspired By Alex Trochut

FALL

into a good book

Did you know most Halloween Movies are based on books? Stop by the library and grab a super scary story for this Halloween.

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Middle School STUCO is so thrilled about the outcome of the Middle School Dance! It was a complete success! Most Middle School students came to contribute, and we all had a great time. Students were dancing, eating, socializing, and overall enjoying an exceptional experience in this lovely community. Students from all grades got to share in an authentic way with each other and dance together making it a memorable day in their Middle School career.

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Happy Thankgiving!

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Tech

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Maya THINK 26

At Elementary Tech class we use project based learning to develop a wide range of skills, such as research skills, analytical, and critical thinking skills. The students begin by researching the topic of the project and gather information by answering research questions. They present a range of examples of successful products and based on their analysis if these and interest, they develop ideas to create their own successful product. The process is recorded and presented in an individual report that also helps students work on their commutation and writing skills, as well as their referencing and sourcing skills. Take a look at some examples of learning at Tech!

27 Designed by Sang Jun and Typography and Layout Inspired by Steven Heller

Service Service Learning Learning

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s some of you may know, NJHS recently held a fundraising stand at Parent Teacher Conferences where tortillas with cheese, cream, and refried beans were sold. We decided to sell tortillas because we could use and demonstrate one of the estufas in action, which would raise more attention and interest. It would also help to explain the purpose of the project and give a real-life example. The purpose of this was to raise funds and awareness for the organisation Aldeas Libres de Humo (Estufas Chapinas Bonitas). This organization aims to install clean-burning stoves in various communities in Guatemala to create more sanitary and economically positive environments. In conclusion, our aim was to raise awareness and funds for the organization Aldeas Libres de Humo (Estufas Chapinas Bonitas) by selling tortillas with cream, cheese, and refried beans during parent-teacher conferences. For more information about the project, you can contact one of the NJHS officers/advisor: Daniel Lee 9th (President), Eugene Kim - 9th (Vice President), Gustavo Silva - 9th (Secretary), Maria Corina Silva (Ina) - 9th (Treasurer), Brunella Effio - 9th (Historian), or Tita Haeussler (Advisor).

28 Design Inspired by Bartosz Kwiecien

P A G E B Y K I R J A G

Looking Looking for for Learning Learning Students in ECC have been exploring the theme of colour by mixing coloured icing and making coloured pancakes. They will also be experiencing the importance of colour in Hindu festivals including Holi and Diwali.

The driving question for their projects is “How can science and engineering processes lead us to make meaningful changes?” which should give them plenty of scope as they explore options for their independent investigations.

The Grade 1’s culminating activity for the “community” unit saw them involved in a bit of community planning! Students build various community services and then placed them in “Sunny Safe Community” in places that made sense.

Grade 11 AP Seminar students are beginning their group research projects stemming from a unit on economy, aid and development. Each group has chosen their topic and each member of the group will explore the issue from a different perspective. Some example investigations relate to celebrity involvement in disaster relief fundraising; the impact of NAFTA on Mexican workers; and the promotion of start-up businesses in Guatemala.

Grade 2 students have been writing to inform; a key competency of which is the appropriate sequencing of events. The students wrote the steps needed to make a pizza then celebrated their final writing outcome by creating their own mini-cracker pizzas.

5th Grade students are learning about equivalent fractions and how to add, subtract and multiply fractions by creating maps of a hiking trail and calculating distances between landmarks. They are connecting fractions, number lines and distance!

High School Scientists are in the planning phase of their projects for the AASCA Invitational Science and Engineering Fair Think Possible”.

Grade 12 students have started their AP research projects by identifying potential areas of interest. They have studied existing literature and are looking for the gap in the research that they can exploit.

Some examples of students’ initial thoughts relate to: using running to bridge the gap between people of different socio-economic situations; internet addiction; differences in beliefs between different generations of Korean families living in Guatemala; and equine therapy for children with Autism.

By Nikki Ellwood Director of Teaching and Learning

29 Page by Kirja Gordon

D e s i g n I n s p i r e d b y B a r t o s z K w i e c i e n

Colegio Maya

VS Christian Academy of Guatemala

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Inspired by Neville Brody

Designed by Yun Sang Lee

-AASCA Send-Off

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Designed by Yun Sang  Lee