At the End of the Year

The academic year is now over for Guatemala’s first and only legally accredited Waldorf school! We finished an amazing year during which the kids at Escuela Caracol grew and flourished so much. We are currently waist-deep into the “summer” vacation here, which means rowdy kids playing in the street at night with firecrackers -- good times. I’m saddened to say, however, that the kids won’t be waist-deep in the waters of Lake Atitlán during this vacation. Unfortunately our lake is in a dire state right now. In October, a harmful algal bloom emerged that is the result of a high level of phosphates in the lake. These phosphates, which come from fertilizer runoff as well as untreated sewage, feed the algae which in turn makes the water toxic and threatens the ecosystem. People around the lake are coming together to confront this problem, and there are many encouraging and exciting developments taking place. Even though this current bloom will likely pass, it will inevitably come back, and we will have to struggle for the health of our lake for years to come.

Our Response the Lake Atitlán Crisis

Escuela Caracol’s initial response to this crisis has been to promote greater awareness and education about the causes of the problem -- the overuse and misuse of agrochemicals for farming, untreated grey and black water, and soil erosion from deforestation. With the help of a Norwegian organization, Change the World, we have already held workshops on permaculture and eco-villages. Additionally we have decided to place a much stronger emphasis on organic farming and sustainability within our curriculum. In 2010, each of our primary grades will have an organic gardening class once a week, as well as 10 minutes each day to visit the garden and check on their plants. We are also hiring a consultant who will work with the school on implementing principals of biodynamic farming and permaculture. In these ways we hope to start addressing the long-term goal of a cultural renewal here at Lake Atitlán, whereby responsibility and creativity can bring us back into a healthier and more harmonious relationship with our surroundings.

Year-End Round-Up

So much has happened since we last wrote! In order to keep this update readable, we will leave a lot unsaid and trust in the old adage that a picture is worth thousand words (see pictures at bottom). Here, however, are some of the highlights that demand words.

Miss Yelena’s Class Play: El Gran Tesoro

The last block of the year for Miss Yelena’s class was centered on a play called, El Gran Tesoro, in which a boy who lives in a very dry village sets off in search of “the great treasure” which is hidden in a faraway land. Along the way, the boy has many different encounters and adventures with mountain dwarfs, a wizard, a condor and a quetzal, and a couple of mysterious water fairies, to name a few. It is a tale of bravery and the unique power of the human heart to triumph over the obstacles that confront us. It also celebrates the incomparable treasure of water with an almost haunting timeliness, given the current state of our lake. In the words of the play, “If we lack that which gives us life / Gold is worthless.” The play was written in Spanish verse by Miss Yelena and Martín Canessa, an itinerant writer who passed through San Marcos. The costumes were made by the Duncan family who visited us from the Washington Waldorf School (see more below). The kids were all a part of the narrating chorus, and each child also had an individual part. It was performed in the dance studio of our neighbors, La Cambalacha, and over 60 people attended. Quite a memorable experience! Click here for more pictures.

Doll-making: an Intercultural Experience

As our academic year was moving toward a close, Angélica, our kindergarten teacher, was looking for a way to honor her children who were graduating from kindergarten and moving on to first grade. She wanted these students’ parents to be involved in

it somehow, but not just as passive observers at a ceremony. She wanted them to be an active part of the experience and to feel the mounting anticipation of their children. Then she hit upon gnomes. Earlier in the year, she had knit a small gnome named Ko’oj Achí, and he had become an important and beloved member of the classroom. So Angélica decided that the rising first graders’ parents could each knit their own gnome as a gift to their children. The only problem was that most of these parents did not know how to knit. Angélica, however, saw this as a unique opportunity for the Mayan and international parents to come together for their children, united by a common purpose -- k

nitting classes! Over the course of about five weeks, the parents met with Angélica for weekly knitting classes, where both mothers and fathers attended to work on their child’s gnome while recounting stories of their own childhoods and getting to know each other better. Then Angélica took it one step further and, as a way of presenting their gifts, had these parents organize a puppet play featuring the gnomes. It was both fascinating and heartwarming to see parents of such diverse backgrounds come together to make gifts for their children with their own hands. The kids loved the gnomes, and it seemed that they could feel their parents’ love inside each doll. Click here for more pictures.

Odds and Ends

The Oven Project: In Waldorf schools around the world, it is typical for third-graders to engage in a building project of some sort. In July and August we had two students in third grade, and the project that they undertook (with help from some of our dads) was an earthen oven. The students were involved in every stage of the construction, from clearing the area to mixing cement and laying rocks (for the base) to digging clay out of nearby riverbed. Once we got to the stage of forming the oven, the whole primary class helped to mix the clay and sand and straw with their feet! It was a lot of fun and also quite therapeutic. We celebrated the completion of the oven with a pizza party. Click here for more pictures.

Visit to the Farm: One of the last weeks of class we went to a nearby farm along the shore of the lake. The kids got to see a newborn calf, many cows, pigs, geese, ducks and of course chickens. They also got to milk a cow for themselves and drink the milk afterwards!

Click here for more pictures.

Year-end Ceremony: On the last day of classes, in the evening, we held a small ceremony underneath our jocote trees. The kindergarten sang a song and did a small dance with their farolitos (paper lanterns), and the primary class recited a couple of poems and performed several songs, including one on the pentatonic flute. After the performances, each child walked a small path around a jocote tree until they came to several of our teachers who then lifted silks into the air to form a small tunnel for each child to pass through. On the other side each child was greeted by his or her main teacher, who presented a small gift and a hug.

After the ceremony, we enjoyed our now customary end-of-the-year chili feast, prepared again this year by San Marcos chef, Balam.

Farewell to Miss Yelena: At the beginning of October, we received sad news from our primary grades teacher, Miss Yelena. She has decided to leave San Marcos and will not continue as a teacher at Escuela Caracol. She is not leaving because of any problems -- she simply feels called to move on. We shared many unforgettable experiences with Yelena this year, and we will miss her deeply. Please think of us (and her class especially) as we search for a new teacher to fill her place.

New Developments

Construction: We have begun construction on a space that will provide two new classrooms in 2010 (see left), and will likely serve as a general meeting space and movement classroom in years to come. It will be a large palapa-styled structure with a palm roof. The posts are going up this week, which is exciting.

New Kindergarten Teacher: This week we are also welcoming a new kindergarten teacher to San Marcos. Her name is Sabina, and she is coming to us from Switzerland, where she also completed her Waldorf training. Go to Our Faculty to read a bit more about her. We are excited about Sabina joining our team!

Waldorf Training for our Music Teacher: We are hoping to send Diego, our music and Kaqchikel teacher, to start Waldorf music training in Mexico City at the beginning of January. The training is provided by the Centro Educativo Goethe in Coyoacán. The funding for this is provided by the Delta Omicron chapter at the College of William & Mary. Now we are only waiting to receive confirmation of Diego’s visa to travel to Mexico. This is not so easy, so we’ve got our fingers crossed.

Asociación Caracol: Escuela Caracol now has a formal non-profit association in Guatemala called Asociación Caracol. Its mission is to support Waldorf education in Guatemala, and the association board will be responsible for the management of Escuela Caracol. The first board meeting will be held this December. This is a big step in our small school’s development!

Thanks to Our Community of Support

It is a widespread and varied community of support that is making Escuela Caracol possible. Below we would like to thank those who have provided support over the past several months.

•Our Recent Volunteers:
•The Duncan Family: Shelby, Paige, Alex and Julian (and mom, Teresa) from the Washington Waldorf School in Maryland volunteered here in August. Teresa, Shelby and Paige made our costumes for El Gran Tesoro (see right), and Alex and Julian worked on the installation of our water tower project (and made us a new compost bin). B
ig thanks go out to these guys! Click here to see more photos.
•Siene & Joke: In August we received a special surprise in the form of two Belgian university students, Joke and Siene (at left). The are studying pedagogy and helped us in innumerable ways, including a proposal for a program of faculty assessment. Siene and Joke are now helping us to establish a relationship with the Waldorf network in Belgium (with the help of Siene’s step-father, who is a Waldorf school director). Joke and Siene won our hearts over during their stay with us, and we hope they will be able to return for a visit in 2010!
•Maite: In October, Maite (at right) arrived to volunteer with our primary grades class. She is a biochemist from Spain who was working at the University of California in San Francisco until she decided to change the course of her career and become a Waldorf teacher. She has completed the first year of her Waldorf studies, and she may continue with us in 2010. Maite was an invaluable part of the production of El Gran Tesoro -- we couldn’t have done it without her!
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Suzanne Wilson: In October we were also fortunate to receive another visit from Suzanne Wilson (at left), who has recently retired from teaching at Chesterbrook Elementary in McLean, Virginia. While she was here, she offered her wealth of expertise through classroom observations, teacher conferences, student evaluations as well as some work with the primary class related to creating community in the classroom. We hope to welcome her again in January, when she can provide further teacher mentoring.
•Christopherus Homeschool Resources: Many thanks to Donna Simmons at Christopherus who generously donated her 2nd & 3rd grade curriculum materials for our use at Escuela Caracol.
•Change the World: Thanks to Claudio Madaune from the Norwegian Change the Wolrd organization who visited us twice in November and generously offered his expertise in workshops about eco-villages and permaculture.
•The Starbucks Coffee Company & Jeremiah Wilson: Thanks to Starbucks for their $1000 donation which was made through their Partner Giving Programs on behalf of Jeremiah Wilson in recognition of his volunteer work in Virginia.
•A US Family: Many thanks to a US family that prefers to remain anonymous for their pledge of three kindergarten sponsorships!

Our Immediate Needs

•3 Kindergarten Sponsorships (each sponsorship is $1020/year or $85/month for 12 months)
•4 Grades Sponsorships (each sponsorship is $2040/year or $170/month for 12 months)
•$1500 for New Classroom Furniture
•Class supplies (Stockmar watercolor paints, Stockmar block & stick crayons, quality colored pencils, main lesson books, watercolor paper, etc.)
•15 Wooden Recorders