A New School Year!

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Andrea Arrivillaga teaches Norse mythology to her class of 4th and 5th graders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week, on 25 January 2016, Escuela Caracol began its 9th school year with 80 children between kindergarten and sixth grade. The campus is buzzing with lively activity once again! This is a special year because all of our teachers and teaching assistants have been at Escuela Caracol for at least three years, which brings an important sense of stability to school life. This year we want to celebrate the loving and dedicated team of teachers and staff at Escuela Caracol that continues to bless our community. Keep an eye out for special profiles on these wonderful people.

Below are a few images taken during the first day of classes by Eric Mencher, professional photographer, supporter and friend of Escuela Caracol. Included among these photos are images from the first grade induction ceremony, where the first graders with their parents pass through a «rainbow tunnel» made by the rest of the primary school to receive a rose from their new teacher, who guides them to the classroom. Thanks, Eric, for accompanying us on this special day! Please check out Eric’s site to see some of his amazing photos from around the world: www.ericmencher.com

 

Café Caracol

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For several months, our colleague Karla Olmedo has undertaken several activities to systematize the intercultural educational experience of Escuela Caracol. Through this process, our educational community is creating a collective voice (La Voz) in which all members participate in communicating the most relevant aspects of the experiences they have lived and live in relation to Escuela Caracol.

This systematization of experiences is a process of self-knowledge, reflection and critical interpretation from and about the practice. It is based on the identification and analysis of themes that arise from the objective and subjective factors involved in that experience.

This week we extended our systematization with a community event based on the ‘World Café’ format and we called it Café Caracol. We had 6 café tables set up in different areas of the school where members of our students’ families sat with members of our staff to address issues based on the requests of our community. Each table had a specific topic, a diverse selection including: Waldorf education, intercultural education, the participation of families at our school, languages, and other general issues at Escuela Caracol. Each table had a host or hostess, who recorded everything that was shared. Every 20 minutes the participants changed tables, and all participants had the opportunity to offer their point of view on each of the selected topics. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed; the serving of hot coffee and delicious bread carried out the café theme. It was a very effective and fun way to participate in the creation of our collective voice and enrich our systematization of experiences.

This event extends our positive momentum, informed by the entire community, to authentically represent the voice of our community. A voice that is meeting specific needs and modeling positive impact for Guatemala in the context of the intercultural education.