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Notes from the Glorieta
BECA Teachers Attend T3 Conference
Alumni Notes
Curriculum Development Progress
2010-2011 Recruitment Nearly Finished
Washington DC World Cup Event in Early May
Board of Directors Notes
Enma the Licuado Lady: Livin' Large
How Can I Get Involved with BECA?
Read all BECA Briefs
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Vino Y Chocolate Recap
Despite an epic snow storm the day before, which dumped record amounts of snow on much of the mid-Atlantic, BECA's annual gala event, Vino Y Chocolate, was a smashing success. The event, held at Jacques Lieberman's gallery in Soho, featured wine and chocolate pairings by MarieBelle and Wine & Spirits Magazine, as well as a silent auction and a fantastic spread of food provided by Grandaisy Bakery and Murray's Cheese Shop. Our 115 guests helped raise nearly $20,000 to support BECA's mission of providing affordable bilingual education to disadvantaged Hondurans.
"When you hold an event like this, you hope to raise money, but you also aim to raise awareness, steward donors, cultivate new supporters, and most importantly, have fun. I think Vino Y Chocolate accomplished all of the above and then some," said Board Member Erika Sturm. MarieBelle manager Rodolfo Espinal and Wine & Sprits Tasting Director Chris Hallowell provided some of that fun, leading a 20-minute class, which featured pairings such as saffron-infused chocolate with nebbiolo wine. Another favorite was the cardamom chocolate paired with Hennessy XO Cognac. Read More.
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Davidson College Students Visit SJBS
They could have just headed to the closest beach for their Spring Break in early March, but instead 14 intrepid Davidson College students opted to visit BECA's site in Cofradia. Trip participants spent their week working at San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS) where they split their time between assisting SJBS teachers in their classrooms and painting the computer lab and library. The Davidson students also made two day trips: one to visit Students Helping Honduras' (SHH) site in El Progreso and another to tour the Mayan ruins at Copan. As one student remarked, "I learned more in a week in Honduras than I could have learned in any semester-long college course." Continue Reading.
Improvements to the SJBS Library and Computer Lab
by David Whitaker, lower elementary Resource Teacher at SJBS.
During the 2009 - 2010 school year, SJBS has seen considerable improvements in the management of its physical resources, particularly in the library and computer lab. The generosity of Rebecca Bush's father's law firm (Bush & Ramirez) as well as Jon-Bentley Wiggins and his wife Sherr Lo have combined successfully with the dedication and motivation of and Rebecca Bush and me to create visible and structural improvements in both areas. The library and computer lab are also now beautifully painted thanks to the Davidson college group who came for their alternative spring break trip at the beginning of March. Read more.
DIBELS Testing Makes its Debut
Thanks to the work of BECA Board Member Bridget Kelly, BECA has taken its first important step towards more formally assessing our students' individual and collective academic progress - an important means of ensuring that we hold ourselves accountable for supporting our teachers in providing excellent instruction and ensuring that our students achieve at high levels. After reviewing a number of different assessments, we selected DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), a periodic assessment that provides data on student's phonemic awareness, understanding of alphabetic principle and phonics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Continue Reading.
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Every dollar helps, so contribute today! When you donate $100 or more, you will be included in the appropriate giving level below. You will also receive thank you notes from SJBS students in the Fall! All contributions will be acknowledged in our 2010 Annual Report.