Wednesday, May 11, 2016

School Day!


Today, the teachers prepared breakfast for the students at 7:50.  We grabbed some yogurt, fruit and snacks for the day, and headed to our tour bus.  We were traveling to visit the Santiago Iglesias Pantin High School in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.



It was about a 45-minute drive to the school.  On the way, we could see the El Yunque Rainforest in the distance.  Like much of the trip, we were greeted with beautiful scenery.  




When we arrived, the students of the Santiago Iglesias school were getting off of their buses.  You could tell they were excited and anxious to see students from a different school, and our students felt the same.


We were greeted by administrators, teachers and a couple of students when we arrived.  They escorted us to a lounge area to provide us with some information about the school and snacks.  We were told that the students wear different colored shirts, depending on their grade level.  However, much like us, it is near the end of their school year.  As such, there were many students who had dressed down.


We visited the library.  Inside, we saw their books and some student projects.  The projects were models of building in Puerto Rico!




As a matter of fact, the entire school had a relaxed atmosphere!  Many students had completed testing or final projects.  There were a lot of activities that reminded us of the end of the school year at FLA.  There were other similarities, too.  Like us, they have a 50 minute class period.  There is a similar curriculum to ours and the staff used Edmodo in their classrooms!

There were a lot of differences, of course, as well.  For one, the basketball court was outdoors, only it had a large, metal tent structure covering it.  The building itself was a lot more open, too, with courtyards and walkways outdoors.  Could you imagine having a palm tree in a courtyard in the middle of FLA?!



We visited several classrooms, including ELA, special education and business.  All of the classes were taught in Spanish, with the exception of ELA.  The students we encountered were very friendly.  One student even sang for us! 




The special education room was designed like an apartment, to help students with special needs learn how to complete tasks many of us take for granted.



We visited the basketball court and took a wonderful group picture on the bleachers.


 Then, the students played basketball with the Santiago Iglesias students.  They played much better than us!  Next to the court was the trailer for the engineering and mechanical classes.  We went inside, where a teacher spoke to us about what they do, the skills they learn, and how it can be useful later in life.  It was really cool to see an auto shop at a school!


We were invited for lunch in the cafeteria of the school. We had bean, rice, beef, milk and juice. Very typical lunch in Puerto Rico but a lot different than FLA!


The students continued to play sports and meet with Santiago Iglesias students.  They played soccer, basketball, volleyball, and socialized.  They had a lot of fun!  They keep asking to go back but it's not on our itinerary! Maybe next year!!




Finally we headed back for the hotel for some pool time!  The students changed and headed for the pool, where they played for a couple of hours.  Some of us wanted a break from water and relaxed in the sun, instead. 



In the evening, we changed, and headed to Mi Casita for dinner.  The food, as usual, was delicious!


After dinner we went back to the hotel and began working on our presentations and journal writing. We have done a lot and we stopped to reflect and write in our notebooks about everything we have done so far.



And tomorrow brings us a new adventure at Lujillo and Bio Bay (plus we get to sleep in!!)


2 comments:

  1. It sounds and looks like you all are having so much fun!! I am sharing your posts with all my classes. We love the pictures and comments. We especially have noted how you all LOVE your snacks!

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  2. So fun to see the photos and hear the stories- thank you!

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