Recently, with the help and coordination of all grade teachers, the students photoshoot took place. We took an image for each of the groups as well as one with all the students and staff of Escuela Caracol.
We are thrilled to see how, year after year, Caracol family keeps growing.
We want to share with you the final shots.
Everything is ready…
The time to reunite has come. From the entrance to the classrooms, the stone trail leads them, smiles and laughter walk by their steps.
Those that come for the first time might be shy while grabbing the hands of their parents, some might have lost a tooth or two, and the blank space on their smile that tells us that the time to elementary school has come; among the older students, some tall and thin young ladies, some smiling and looking gorgeous. Boys always jumping, climbing, screaming…
It’s a pure expression of happiness what is always experimented when coming back to school.
Teachers and staff gratefully celebrate the reunion achieved despite all difficulties.
Welcome to a new cicle at Escuela Caracol.
Gloria Elena y Teresa en el reencuentro luego del período vacacional.
Gloria Elena Londoño
Pedagogical Advisor.
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During the last few weeks we had as a guest an incredible person, Travis Whitfield; an American aerospace engineer, who paused his trip across the American continent to share with us his charisma and knowledge. He worked as a volunteer doing endless tasks such as translations, helping Chico in the garden and making video recordings with his incredible drone; He also shared with the students of a great workshop in which our boys and girls learned about the work of an engineer and much about physics, in this same workshop the students built some “rockets” propelled with a kind of slingshot. We had an amazing time. Thank you very much for everything Travis! Have an incredible trip, we hope to see you soon back here.
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On Waldorf Schools around the globe, one of the many artistic disciplines integrated on a different way to each class is theatre.
Starting from kindergarten, as a part of the weekly rhythm during specific moments, children have the experience of participating together with their teachers using puppets; and of playing different roles from the fairy tales listened during class.
And altho the kindergarten experience is quite different from the one with elementary and high school, it is a small step to what will be, in the future, the staging of stories related to the curricula studied at the time. These theatre plays variate depending on the age and come as a result of the development of our students.
These theatre plays are picked to complement the stories told during school year; so, they go hand to hand with the curricula and with the nurturing needs of each of the students need according the development stage he or she might be at the time.
I can clearly remember the first play I staged at Escuela Caracol, it was an amazing experience to adapt a play about Nordic Mythology that had been narrated in fourth grade class. And so, during elementary years we’ll begin by staging small plays about fairy tales; after that, the Fables, Hebrew stories, Saints and Heroes, Nordic Mythology, Local Mythology; until reaching fifth grade, where the plays are meant to represent an historical stage of one of the main civilizations studied in the classroom (India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Etc.), but the traditionally picked is Greece; on sixth grade, it should be a play related with Rome or the Medieval period. At Escuela Caracol, we have seen staged many theater plays, where the most important part has always been the teamwork, the joy of doing something as a team and individually; and, of course, the cheers of the audience is always well received.
Working with theatre on the classroom brings many advantages, among them: emotional security, diction, focus, memory, team work and imagination. During the preparation of a play there are a lot of aspects of each of the students temperament that can be worked on; when children perform a part they are also playing, and this is the funniest part of the whole experience, they get the courage to do things that, because of their shyness, they wouldn’t do other way.
Teachers should be really aware when picking the parts, to get a sanguine, for example, acting as a melancholic. Socially this is really important, because, even when it is not done in a conscious way, in a future it will help comprehend and feel in a better way the other person in front of him.
Theatre becomes a perfect tool when working a second language, once again, interpreting the part of someone else, will help lose the fear of speaking in another language.
Differentiating between theatre plays produced in a more professional way, on huge sceneries, theater rooms, where the most important part is the final presentation and the applause of the audience; and Waldorf theatre, these are not the most important, it is the experience of teachers and students, the teamwork, the enjoying and complementing what was received in the classroom, beside all we have mentioned. While setting the costumes and scenery, parents integrate, and make of these tasks more complete and fulfilled.
During Escuela Caracol History, theatre has been really important; considering the place where we are, perhaps, this will be the only opportunity students and their families will have to experience this tradition that fills the community with joy and excitement each and every time we see what our different groups have done.
Andrea Arrivillaga Hurtado
The most valuable inheritance from our mayan ancestors is the culture that has developed surrounding our language. At Escuela Caracol we look to promote it to strengthen the communication process with the local kaqchikel population in San Marcos la Laguna.
At Escuela Caracol, action and exchange has build up based on respect an appreciation of cultural diversity, thats why the study of mayan languages is taken as an educational process within the life of children with the idea of strengthen our cultural roots with the purpose of achieving common wealth end the growth of our people.
On each grade or level the pedagogical approach used to teach kaqchikel depends specifically of the age and phase the students are passing through.
During the first three grades of primary school, students enter the classroom listening, singing and playing; they develop creative crafts among other activities through which the learning of the language is socialized in a very special and natural way.
As from the fourth grade, children write and read the language, understand and communicate in Kaqchikel; they learn through the development of a more complex creative process that involves thinking, feeling and wanting, both in social activities inside and outside of school.
Ervin Quiacain Sajbin
Maestro titular de segundo primaria
During October, we had the visit of one of the greatest Waldorf mentors, german teacher Thomas Wildgruber, an expert on Waldorf pedagogy and arts.
On each visit, teacher Thomas shares with students and our team, leaving a trace of light and knowledge that translates into general growth of all of us at Escuela Caracol.
Teacher Thomas is author of one of the most popular art books in the Waldorf community around the world, “Painting and Drawing in Waldorf Schools, Classes 1 to 8”.
Danke für alles liebe Lehrer Thomas!
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Another memorable “Festival del Jocote y Barriletes” is added to the history of our school.
Every year, during the season of Jocotes and season change, we celebrate this wonderful festival.
Students, teachers, local community and friends from all over the world gathered in the facilities of our school to share and enjoy our wonderful festival as a family.
This year we met on Saturday, October 27, and had the pleasant visit of our friends from the Trinus school community and had the participation of great artists like the very popular singer-songwriter “Wacha” (Quetzaltenango), Karla and Jorge Herrera, the Hip Hop group Juun Ajpú Koj, and our very own and always impressive “Flor de Jocote segunda generación”. We played, sang, flew kites, ate and learned a lot.
Thanks to all the Caracol family for accompanying us and being always present!
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Today was the role distribution for one of the theatre plays to be presented by the fourth grade students within the 2018 theater season of Escuela Caracol.
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It was amazing to see the faces of illusion in all the students when they saw the roles assigned. The learning experience at Escuela Caracol is full of love and happiness.
The play “Stories of Yggdrasil” tells two stories inspired by Nordic mythology and will be presented on November the 7th at 3pm in “La Palapa” at Escuela Caracol.
After a few days struggling, the second number of our monthly bulletin is finally here, it brings a lot of news from what have been happening at Escuela Caracol.
We hope from the bottom of our hearts you enjoy reading it and watching the pictures as much as we enjoyed watching the kids growing and having such good times.
