Saint Michael is celebrated near the autumnal equinox in Waldorf schools. We call the festival ‘Michaelmas’ and we celebrate the strong will and courage of the human being. In many parts of the world it is a time to prepare for the coming darkness which is a reminder for us to seek the light from within ourselves. At our school assembly there was singing and flute playing from both the teachers and the students.
On September 10 we celebrated in Escuela Caracol our first K’iyb’äl (market) Caracol, which from now on will be held every Wednesday from 12:30 to 3:00 pm. The idea of this market is not only the purchase and sale of local products and services, it is also a way to create a space for social interaction for families and visitors in our school community.
Since we proposed this idea to the families, all were excited and began looking for ways to participate. When the day came, our school was full of products to the delight of the audience and the pupils and students, who also came to participate during recess and after school. Among the products, we saw food from different cultural backgrounds (focaccia, tamales, tiramisu, beans, quiche, pastries, breads, crackers, kombucha …) as well as crafts, natural products and other handmade items, some with clear Waldorf orientation.
The activity was a success of participation and marked the beginning of a new form of support for schools and families. Many thanks to all the families who have made this market possible. And please do not forget to participate every Wednesday!
Like every year, Escuela Caracol participated in the parade of September 15th, Guatemala’s national day.
Our group met at the meeting point with other local schools and from there we began the parade. The event ended on the sports field where each school participated in various events and our children sang the beautiful song Lake Atitlan.
Check out the pictures. As you can see, they really enjoyed!
The 4th/5th grade students were thrilled to trade in their crayons and pencils for ink. In Waldorf education, we make an effort to present new concepts within a context. As such, before the students received their fountain pens, we talked about the history of writing. Students were asked to think about how it all began: from making cave paintings using fingers and natural pigment, to selecting specific feathers for quills. This exercise tied into our current Ancient History block where we have been looking at the development of human civilization and the different advances which accompanied each period.
We first experimented with feathers which the students collected from outside. As it coincided with our studies on Ancient India, we wrote our names in the Hindi script with the feathers and ink.
Then, with some help from our handwork teacher, we selected bamboo from the school grounds, took knives and sandpaper, and created our own pens from bamboo. During the process, the children were asking, “Are we actually going to be able to write with this?” They were surprised when they saw how the ink first flowed up the tip and then how smoothly it went down on the paper. They couldn’t wait to take their work home to show it to their families.
Finally, the parents were invited to come into our class to take part in handing out each student his or her fountain pen. Students were reminded of the importance of caring for their pens and using a proper grip when using them. The students couldn’t wait to start writing!!
The past seven years have been a remarkable time of growth for Escuela Caracol. In this time Escuela Caracol has grown from a small playgroup to a full Waldorf primary school with two kindergartens — the first Waldorf school in Guatemala and the most established in Central America. The dream of bringing renewal to education in a region that has long suffered from violence lives and continues to grow and inspire others, bringing hope, confidence and capability to a new generation.
Escuela Caracol now has a strong team of 11 dedicated teachers. The first Guatemalan Waldorf class teacher, Andrea Arrivillaga, completed her training last year, and the first indigenous Maya kindergarten teacher, Marilily Mendoza, is finishing her training this year. Six other teachers are currently working on their Waldorf training. We have beautiful new classrooms, a base of over 50 sponsors, and a strong administration.
After seven years of intensive work, I am excited to announce that I am taking a sabbatical. For the next year, I will be living in Sacramento, California with my family. During this time I will be completing teacher training coursework at Rudolf Steiner College, taking care of my health, and dedicating myself to my family. We are expecting a baby in December, so this is an important time for us. This is also an important time for Escuela Caracol. The school is transitioning from the early pioneering phase into a period of organizational stabilizing. Like a 7 year old who begins first grade and breaks away a bit more from her parents, so too Escuela Caracol needs to walk on her own without her “parents” holding her hand.
This is a critical moment for Escuela Caracol, and your support is more important than ever. Stability is crucial in transitions like this. If you’re already donating, please continue your support. If you can give more, even better. If you are not currently participating in our community of support, please consider how you can help. It has been three years since Escuela Caracol raised the price of tuition, and our costs continue to grow along with inflation. The school still needs $50,000 to complete the academic year in November 2014. Plans for ensuring long-term financial stability are in the works, and details will be announced in the months to come.
The faculty and staff of Escuela Caracol fully support my decision to take a sabbatical year, and they are excited about what this new phase of development holds in store. Escuela Caracol continues to be a magical place that inspires people in both Guatemala and around the world. The work of our educational community is planting a small seed of hope for the children of Guatemala. Thank you for being a part of it.
In gratitude,
Joshua Wilson
August 2014
Escuela Caracol´s Development Director Neah Bay Douglas has been a supporter of the Waldorf movement for more than ten years beginning with the enrollment in parent-child classes (at Chicago Waldorf school) with her oldest son Jackson who is now 13. Recently her experience culminated in the founding and directing of a Waldorf-methods charter school in Colorado. She joined the Caracol community this past June and works most of the year from the United States but travels to San Marcos intermittently. Currently she is spending three weeks here with her two children, Jackson (13) and Artic (10). See more from their recent explorations in Guatemala on their travel blog: http://acordeoro.wordpress.com/
Neah, what job did you have before coming to Escuela Caracol?
I have worked in nonprofit leadership for many years with a focus on serving children at risk. Most recently I founded and directed a school in the United States (Colorado), a K-8 Waldorf-methods public charter school called Mountain Song Community School.
Why did you choose to work for Escuela Caracol?
Waldorf education is a powerful social movement that facilitates the development of communities fully in areas of the intellect, the heart and the body. It engenders from a full capacity the ability to authentically know and respect oneself and others. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, said that “love is the greatest power of knowledge” and true education is formed through this power. The intention at Escuela Caracol comes from love and compassion. This is felt fully from the staff who have come from all over the world and are working together with local people who are both indigenous Maya and non-indigenous. Creative expression, practical work, the natural environment and social harmony are part of each day at Caracol. Also, there is an honest intention to celebrate and honor the traditional Maya culture while recognizing ways to integrate and emerge together as a new culture. It is a place of renewal, a place of beauty and a genuine representation of Waldorf education. There was also a lovely synchronicity in this opportunity for me because before I was born my father, who was a professor for a Native American college in the United States, spent a summer teaching an indigenous native american tribe, the Makah. This was in Neah Bay, Washington and that is where my name is from.
Can you share some of the highlights of your work on Escuela Caracol?
When I am able to work in San Marcos at the school there is a continuous expression of joy that is felt in abundance. The melody of the children’s laughter and singing drifts continuously through the buildings and gardens, and the beauty of each child is seen in their smiles, their art and handwork. A cherished moment that I will always remember is when Andrea, the grade 2-3 teacher was showing examples of her students’ main lesson books during a staff meeting. Her pride and love were fully expressed as she turned the pages of these beautiful hand-made books of language arts and mathematics. There was one particular student who had made extreme progress with his academics and emotional wellbeing. As everyone looked at his accomplishments it felt like the whole staff had one giant heart beating in perfect rhythm. The success of this student can largely be attributed to Andrea’s care and intention and to that of the entire staff. My experiences with all of the staff confirm their deep love and commitment to this wonderful school.
You have a lot of experience in Waldorf education. How do you think this pedagogy would benefit the community and Guatemala?
The pedagogy provides and maintains a pulse for regeneration and Escuela Caracol can be a model for Guatemala, a country still recovering from a 36 yearlong civil war. This comprehensive educational community can serve as a model of how to remove the residue of conflict, build intercultural solidarity and empower people to move out of a cycle of poverty. Three fundamental principles of Waldorf education provide strength for this community: freedom, equality and solidarity.
How do you imagine Escuela Caracol in the future?
I imagine Escuela Caracol flourishing and continuing to engage many students in multiple capacities preparing them for great opportunities in their lives. I see a thriving school that is fully enrolled and has equal representation of girl and boy students. I would also like to see the efforts of the school widening out through Guatemala through the offering of teacher training to many Guatemalan educators. And lastly I am hoping for ways to engage in social-impact initiatives that will put the needs and challenges of the community at its center and benefit not only the school but the whole Lake Atitlán region economically.
Last week we had the honor of welcoming a group of high school students from the Emerson Waldorf School, located in North Carolina. A group of 17 students came accompanied by three group leaders and volunteered all week, sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with the whole community of Escuela Caracol.
In addition to teaching daily workshops on juggling, clay modeling, and charcoal drawings, the visiting students taught our students to make their own balls and stilts. The students from Emerson donated many useful materials so that our students can continue with the dynamic practices that began during this visit.
To the delight of all at Escuela Caracol the Emerson students also made a garden of culinary plants for use in our kitchen, built a wall cane area in Kindergarten and repaired and painted the walls of three classrooms.
On their last day they offered a small show for our parents and extended educational community to share the results of their visit. Emerson Waldof School students showed they are experts (some of them are geniuses!) in such diverse areas as chiaroscuro drawing, writing stories, illustration, juggling, singing, skipping (one of the students competes nationally in the United States)… and our children of Escuela Caracol also showed they acquired knowledge and skills from this week. In addition, Kim, the teacher who accompanied this great group, explained in perfect Spanish all the advantages that these activities offer the children and the reasons why these activities are part of the Waldorf pedagogy. Valuable lessons such as overcoming fear through facing it, how knowledge and coordination are acquired through games, and most importantly that we all carry within us everything we need to successfully develop our gifts and natural abilities.
The students and Emerson Waldorf School served as models for our school. They are the representation of the true potential that every human being harbors within himself/herself and that Waldorf education encourages them creatively by promoting their full development. Students, through this rewarding week, learned that they carry a gem inside of them and our educational community will do everything possible to make it shine. Thank you very, very much to each and everyone for your visit, we are immensely grateful for your efforts and dedication. See you next year!
Recently students of grade two and three made a visit to the Atitlán Natural Reserve and Mariposario (butterfly sanctuary). Our day began with a short walk from the school down to the lake. We had the good fortune to be accompanied by some of the student’s mothers. We took a boat 20 minutes across lake Atitlán to an idyllic enclave in the town Panajachel. The boat trip itself it was a unique and unforgettable experience for some of the children who had never taken a boat before.
The Reserva Natural Atitlán has nature trails surrounded by breathtakingly beauty. The roads have hanging bridges over ravines and waterfalls. One such path runs along the area where spider monkeys and coatis (members of the raccoon family) live in freedom. We had the great fortune to visit them during lunch, their caregivers provided us with bananas to feed them. This moment was very special for everyone, we had lots of fun and learned about the nature and behavior of these animals.
Everyone was captivated while visiting the beautiful dome full of water, plants and flowers where butterflies live and reproduce. The students learned about the species living in the dome, especially about the Pan Ajachel butterfly, native of this geographic area and amazingly beautiful.
Before returning to school, everyone enjoyed a snack in the playground area. The mothers enjoyed playing and laughing with the children. As you can see in the pictures, beauty, learning and fun were at every moment part of the activity! Opportunities like this reinforce the value of experiential education, and the memories will certainly enliven their minds and hearts as they journey further into their education and development. We are looking forward to finding our next destination!
The 4th and 5th grade class recently completed the block on Zoology, the study of animals. After studying a variety of animals such as the octopus, the elephant and the beaver, the students had a first-hand experience with an animal they all love: the horse.
We took the boat to the neighbouring village of San Pedro, where each student had the unforgettable experience of riding a horse. The students anticipated the trip for weeks, and when they finally faced the horses for the first time, some commented “We didn’t think they’d be so big!”. The two girls were the first to get on! After a little bit of hesitation and nervousness from the boys, they also got on their saddles. Before long, they wanted to know how to get the horse to really gallop!
We steered through the narrow streets of San Pedro and got out to a more rural road on the shore of the lake. When it was time to turn around, one student exclaimed, “Time is up? It can’t be! We need to do this every week!”
Horseback riding has been noted to have a therapeutic effect on children, helping them with self-confidence, trust and learning boundaries, among other things. The teacher agrees with her students…. We should go horseback riding more often! We were thrilled to have three mothers from the class accompany us, and we hope to see them on the saddles next time!
The 20th of June was a very special day for Escuela Caracol, It was our 7th anniversary! Celebrating another birthday is truly magical for us. Escuela Caracol is a dream come true for our entire school community, seeing it fulfilled every new year reflects the enormous effort and devotion in our daily work. Offering San Marcos La Laguna this excellent educational opportunity fulfills a community need for nurturing, arts-integrated, multi-sensory, intercultural education. It is with great joy and satisfaction that we continue to work towards increasing access to this education.
Our celebration brought together students, teachers, members of the school team, families and many other people who accompanied us on this fantastic celebration. We started the day with a meeting in our palapa, where students delighted the audience with their art. The palapa was filled with music and dance, as you can see in the gallery we share at the end of this article.
After that we held a raffle. Members of our community donated prizes, and this year they really surprised us! A few of the prizes were accommodations in some of Lake Atitlán’s most beautiful hotels, breakfasts and lunches in local restaurants, handicraft materials, honey, clothing, cakes, hours of internet, massages. The money raised through the raffle will support our important daily work. The continued success of Escuela Caracol depends almost entirely on the contributions of our donors and sponsors. We deeply thank all of the people who contributed, for they made possible this amazing activity.
Students in grade six participated in an exercise of courage and valor by jumping over the bonfire, a symbolic annual tradition offered to the graduating class. As they jump they ask for desires to be fulfilled in their future. This moment is a very special one and marks a farewell to our grade six students.
Students and their families also shared game time in front of our new classroom building, newly built with the support of donors and sponsors who strongly believe in our educational project. The students especially loved seeing their families and teachers laugh and play with them enjoying the party as if they had themselves returned to childhood.
Following game time everyone enjoyed a feast that was made possible through the contributions of all of the families. Each family brought food and helped serve and clean. Escuela Caracol is a team that involves families in the educational process of their children and conveys values that enrich the development of the students, the families and the San Marcos community.
Many thanks to all who joined us, which made it possible to enjoy together as a community!
