As Guaruma El Pital develops, the staff and students work hard to build a stronger sense of community through the educational opportunities and programs Guaruma has to offer.
The student’s started this year’s classes with gusto, by doing a week of exciting teambuilding skills and problem solving activities. We have developed the program around the idea of “the five finger contract,” which encompasses the values and expectations we encourage in the class, at home, and in social situations. Each finger represents a word such as security, commitment, respect, inclusion, and fun. Working to develop these values in students, we are taking a holistic approach to include the families and community. Our goal is to make the program a part of the student’s lives and help them develop life skills that will aid them in the future.
Beginning in February, the students in El Pital are now participating in classes in four disciplines; English, Computers, Photography and Environmental Science. In January the program received a generous donation of $1000 from Robert and Marlene Smith of Bridgman, MI, to purchase 9 digital cameras. For the last couple months the student’s have been exploring their community and natural world through the lens, while learning the basic ideas of photography. Also as a program and community project, the students are in the process of building their own garden, in which they will be responsible for the construction, care and maintenance.
Along with our community approach, this year is very interactive for us as well. We have added one night each week where the entire community is invited to participate in a specific activity so far we have had a guitar jam session, movie nights, an English conversation hour and a parents’ night.
No comments:
Post a Comment