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10 April 2010
Escuela Proyecto La Esperanza is the name of EFTC's School.
It translates to The School of Hope.
It is dedicated to educating some of the poorest children in San Felipe, Jocotenango and the surrounding villages close to Antigua in Guatemala.
In January 2008 we moved into a new school building- a beautiful spacious school in nearby San Felipe. This could cater for 275 Primary Children- a big increase on our previous 150 students.
Since 2009 we have been fundraising so that we can build our own school. For more information on our New School Campaign please click here.
At Escuela Proyecto La Esperanza we believe that every child has the right to an education, and our aim is to be able to give the opportunity for a brighter future filled with possibilities reached through education. We offer completely free education to children that otherwise would not have the means due to their family’s economic situation.
We offer education from Kindergarten to sixth grade for children aged from 5 to 18 years old. The children also receive a nutritious vitamin enhanced mid morning snack and a two course lunch including meat, veg, and fruit. For some this is the only food they will eat that day.
As well as an academic education in the morning, we also have an afternoon programme with different activities and classes for the children that will help prepare them for secondary school and teach them to be more creative. Our afternoon activities include I.T, Sports, Music, Crafts, and Art.
In the morning each teacher works together with their class and in the afternoon each teacher takes on the responsibility of an afternoon activity, rotating the classes.
Staff
Guatemala Coordinator: Sophie McKee
Principal: Blanca Patricia Castillo Chivichon
Assistant Principal: Dolores Azucena Barrientos Xicay
Psychologist: Rosa Elena Giron Cano
Teachers
Prepa : Ana Luisa Herrera
1st Grade: Luis Mardoqueo Jimenez Morales
2nd Grade A: Luis Alfredo Castillo Reguan
2nd Grade B: Julio Rafael Arriola Gonzalez
3rd Grade A: Nancy Judith Azurdia Gomez
3rd Grade B: Karin Fabiola Lopez Gomez
4th Grade A: Neida Mercedes Garcia Sanchez
4th Grade B: Hugo Israel Reyes Sec
5th Grade A: Eslin Odeth Cruz Reyes
5th Grade B: Byron Vinicio Apen Santos
6th Grade: Carlos Josue Diaz Sajtic
Cooks: Flavia Concepcion Ramos, Reina Isabel Pichilla Flores, Maria Cristina Reguan
Routine
The school opens bright and early at 7.30am when children begin to arrive and play with their friends and prepare for another day at school. At 8am the bells rings and they line up to enter the classrooms with their teacher.
Morning classes are from 8am until 12.30pm. In these classes the children will be taught the national curriculum, Math, Science, Spanish, and Social Studies. Each Child is given a text book at the beginning of the year to work through for each of the subjects.
The children have a short break at 10am, where they each receive a snack and a drink to keep them going, for example, cereal, fruit, pancakes, biscuits or a sandwich.
For many children that attend the school, this will be the first thing that they have had to eat that day. After finishing their snack, the children are free to play with their friends for the rest of the break.
When classes end at 12.30pm, the children then receive a nutritious and balanced lunch. It is really important that they receive the vitamins and nutrients that they require as they may be lacking at home. We give them a variety of food from Chicken, rice and vegetables to pasta or soups. They also have various traditional dishes like Chile, Rellenos or Pepian and they will receive a small dessert afterwards, like fruit or Jello.
After lunch the youngest children from pre school head home as it has been a long day for them, the others return to their classrooms at 2pm. For the rest of the afternoon the students from first grade that have problems with their work have a reinforcement class, where the teacher and volunteers sit down and concentrate on the tudents that are behind or that may have learning disabilities.
The students from second grade to sixth grade have half an hour of reinforcement and then at 2.30pm begin a variety of classes and activities depending on the day of the week. The afternoon classes include I.T, Music, Sports, Crafts, and Art.
Classes end at 4pm and the students begin to clean up in their classrooms and get ready to go home!