Production of The Jungle Book Electrifies Cofradia


Article by Nathan Greene ('10-'11 MS Science Teacher), photo by Norah Tahiri

Pending approval from the board, SJBS will now be changing its name to SJBSPA (The San Jeronimo Bilingual School of Performing Arts). This year, we have taken on a new role as the premier performing arts school in the greater Cofradia region. Okay,  we might be the only “performing arts school” in the greater Cofradia region,  but still, lets get real about this: “The Jungle Book” was awesome.
 
This full-length musical-theatrical extravaganza put on by 18 SJBS students was quite possibly the most spectacular thing that Cofradia has seen, except for maybe Profe Matt riding the mechanical bull in the Feria…the people loved that. But really, it was amazing what these kids were able to accomplish. They learned an entire play in a second language and performed it like stars. They dedicated afterschool time and countless recesses and lunches to the production. They lived and breathed this thing. The play was a 35 minute marathon of song and dance and it ran like a well-oiled machine. For half an hour, we were transported from Honduras to the Indian jungle.
 
Complete with costumes, a beautiful set, and free of any major catastrophes, this play exceeded all expectations. “Watchyman” Don Ramon was quoted as saying “Nothing like this has ever happened here!” It’s definitely worth a visit to YouTube to experience the magic. Thanks to Miss Andrea and to Miss Amy Marie for all their help.

Mike Buttram to Become Executive Director in August
  
After three years under Laurence Birdsey's leadership, BECA will soon be led by Mike Buttram, who served as 2009-2010 Administrator and who has worked as BECA's Director of Program Development since August 2010.  Mike says, "For the past two years I have been inspired by those around me at BECA.  From our volunteer teams, to our Board of Directors, and especially in working with our departing Executive Director, Laurence Birdsey I don't think it possible to find a more highly motivated and passionate group of people."

Mike will be leading BECA into its next developmental stage as the organization moves into new communities: "As we expand our outreach to include our newest partner school, Santa Monica Bilingual, we'll be  doing our all to ensure that these children receive the same high-quality, bilingual instruction and the same level of dedication that the students at our flagship SJBS have received for the past 7 years."  Laurence adds, "BECA could not be in more capable hands than Mike's.  He understands the underlying philosophy of what we're trying to do, and he has the work ethic and leadership skills to implement it."

Laurence will be stepping down on July 31 to begin an MBA program at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, but he will remain on the BECA Board.  The organization looks to hire a Development Director later this Fall.    Mike and Laurence climb to the Coca-Cola sign in San Pedro Sula on Mike's b-day.

Santa Monica Expansion School Update

As you can see in the various references sprinkled throughout this newsletter, BECA is extremely proud to see our newest partnership with Santa Monica Bilingual School finally come to fruition!  Located in the small and desperately underserved community of Vida Nueva, which was created by the Honduran government in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, SMBS provides the perfect opportunity for us to partner with an eager and involved community of parents who desire more for their children’s future.  

This past year was a time of intense preparation between BECA and SMBS.  Paperwork and permits for bilingual school standing were filed with the Honduran Ministry of Education, housing and teacher resource decisions were made, and most importantly, these 75 Kindergarten-through-2nd-grade students received their first exposure to English, their new language of instruction.

BECA was extremely lucky to see short-term volunteers Carey and Jennifer Harmon join our intrepid SJBS Librarian, Oscar Rodriguez, to provide SMBS students with 2 hours of English instruction daily.  Oscar was later joined by our interim BECA Administrator, Ben Kowalski (a/k/a "Ben 10"), whose background and experience in the classroom played a huge role in preparing these kids for their upcoming school year.  In addition, SMBS students received English tutoring from the SJBS 6th and 9th grade students once a week throughout the Spring.  As you may well imagine, this opportunity provided a tremendous learning experience for both parties!
 
Teaching at SMBS will certainly provide a challenge to BECA team members Kimberly Murray, Renee Johnston, Jessica Barrett, and Adam Wozniak.  Jessica says, “I feel honored to have been chosen to work with these children and hope we can make a strong beginning  together.”  We are certain that in providing them with the BECA training and support we deem so important to our program’s success, SMBS will reach the high caliber of instruction we have set as our standard at SJBS.

Ongoing Professional Development for SJBS Team

BECA brought professional development to the team in Cofradia this year in the form of a free workshop from Cal State University Long Beach professor in Education, Dr. Gary Greene.  Coming from an extensive background in Special Education, Dr. Greene shared research-validated teaching techniques with the SJBS team.  The workshop, entitled “All Students Can Learn,” focused on specific strategies that could be implemented by SJBS teachers to reach all different types of learners. Dr. Greene encouraged the teachers to have clear, measurable objectives that were shared with the students of the beginning of each lesson and introduced them to the concept of tiering objectives for lessons with their students. Dr. Greene shared strategies regarding the use of mnemonic devices and the importance of using visuals throughout the lesson.  We were fortunate to have this workshop and the teachers brought many of these techniques into the classroom this year.  Thanks Dr. Greene!

On May 15th families and students gathered at SJBS for a celebration called Libros y Familias.  This has become an annual tradition where SJBS students and families come together to celebrate literature.  Each family that comes receives a free bilingual book to take home and enjoy with their family.  For many families, this is the only book or one of very few they have in their home.  The parents are led in small group discussions by SJBS teachers where they read the book together. They discuss some of the characters and themes, and learn some strategies of how to read at home with their students and instill a passion for literature in their homes.  While the parents are discussing the children participate in an art project that correlates to the story.

This year we had over 40 families come to Libros y Familias.  The book of choice for this year was titled Juan Verdades; The Man Who Couldn’t Tell a Lie retold by Joe Hayes and illustrated by Joseph Daniel Fiedler.  It is a beautiful story about a Mexican hacienda owner who has faith in his trusty employee, who is known for his honesty.  This employee is tempted to lie in order to win the love of a young woman. In the end Juan Verdades cannot tell a lie.

The theme of this story brought about a lot of rich discussion in the adult small groups and came alive in the craft room.  Students made character puppets on popsicle sticks that they took home with them to use to help tell the story with their families.  Everyone who attended agreed that this was an excellent reason to bring the community together.