A message from our General Director
Dear Parents,
It is our honor to host our traditional Camino University Fair on Friday, November 6th 2015. This is our 12th Annual Fair and this is the largest and most recognized in the region. Local, National and International Universities attend this fair to share information on post high school studies for students from all around Baja California Sur. Various divisions of the media and press along with government representatives will also attend. Please inform your friends and family for this unique opportunity for any and all High School students from around Baja California to attend the fair free of charge.
During the month of October Colegio El Camino was invited to participate in a special project and “Name the turtle” contest with the Colonos of Pedregal and the Organization for Sustainability and Environmental Conservation, AC (SyCOMA Organization) for studying and conserving sea turtles with technology that will allow tracking satellites to monitor the life of an adult turtle. The data obtained from this information will serve to deepen the knowledge of this species and to help establish standards and objectives that promote conservation and the environment around them. It was an amazing experience for those who participated!
Kindergarten
Hello everyone and Welcome to the Kindergarten section!
Values are very important to us at Colegio El Camino and we have been working very hard to reinforce their importance to our preschoolers on a daily basis. We have a monthly value theme, and also highlight opportunities where children can showcase their values. Our current focus is on “respect and tolerance” Let’s take a quick look at exactly what respect and tolerance really are.
Respect is one of the most important moral values of the human being. Respect is believed to be the fundamental cornerstone needed in order to have peaceful interaction with those around us. Not only must we value respect, but also learn how to better respect and understand others, and to assess their interests and needs. It is important to note that respect must be mutual, and born of a sense of reciprocity.
To have respect for others means being tolerant of those who may not think like you, who might not share your preferences and interests. It may also mean giving respect to someone who is different or has decided to be different than we are. We must hold a high respect for the diversity of ideas, opinions and ways of being is a supreme value in modern societies that aspire to be fair and to ensure a healthy coexistence.
Respect also relates to obedience and following rules: law and authority, for example. It is also important to speak about diverse subjects with respect, such as differences in religion, beliefs and behaviors of human beings. Speaking in a sensitive, thoughtful and reflective manner about these subjects, with caution to not incur contempt or ill feelings is very respectful. Conversely, “disrespect” is to disregard or not give consideration and respect to a person. You can disrespect a person by being rude, implying inappropriate things, or gestures. In the end, we are all human beings and deserve respect to be given to us, no matter our status, belief system, color of skin, or gender. In order to earn respect from others, we must give respect first ourselves.
We can live these important values no matter where we are: at home, at school and throughout all of our lives. It is very important that our children, from a very early age, are shown and taught what respect, tolerance and kindness truly mean. Let us teach our children by example, so they can live in a healthier and more peaceful community.
While Miss Bere was teaching the “About Us” curriculum she took the initiative to introduce several interesting activities. In one activity, children “traveled” through many different cities around the world, learning about the different cultures and traditions from each country.
During October we also received a visit from Sivan Bonitah, Alaya´s mother from Kinder3. She shared information about her native country of Israel. Everyone found Israel’s culture, religion and writing very interesting! Sivan also shared delicious traditional homemade bread as we talked about the big, upcoming celebration of Hanukkah. She also danced and sang along with the children- something they enjoyed greatly! We want to extend a very large ‘Thank You’ to Sivan for sharing a bit of your homeland with us. We truly appreciated it!
October Birthdays:
October 11th, Silvana Arce
October 23rd, Nicolas Villagomez
October 27th, Fernando Santino
Elementary
Dear Parents,
- LEXIUM evaluations begin November 9th and run through November 13th. We kindly ask that your children are present during these dates as it is extremely important that we understand the development and skills of each student. By doing this, we are able to identify diverse strategies that support the learning process and that help to strengthen each and every student’s opportunity to excel.
- On Tuesday, October 20th, Miss Cecilia Vázques and Miss Carmen Alicia Torres led a field trip to the Wirikuta Natural Reserve in San José del Cabo. During the field trip, students were able to see an array of different living organisms adapting to diverse living conditions. The trip reinforced, with real-life examples, the student´s learning process in the Inquiry unit. It was an amazing day for all!
- I’m also very happy to receive the opportunity to attend the upcoming “Transdisciplinary Learning” workshop. These IB Programs encourage students across the world to adopt a lifelong active learning attitude. This teaches them to be compassionate and understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
The workshop taught me many valuable lessons and provided the foundation needed to address challenges we have been faced with. Resolving these matters has been one of my many goals this year. One step in the right direction is always a step toward progress! - We would like to invite all parents and students to our traditional Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) Altar exhibition. Our celebration of this colorful Mexican tradition will take place Monday, November 2nd, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. We look forward to seeing everyone in attendance!
IB Primary Years Programme
Parents Workshop: What is the IB Education?
Bold, balanced thinkers. These are the attributes that define the parents who participated in the IB Workshop: What is the IB Education?
For the pedagogical leadership team at Colegio El Camino, providing a space for reflection on the importance of an IB education is essential for our parents to understand the core that defines the program’s philosophy. Our first collaborative workshop for parents was held October 8th and 9th.
We started our morning with the saying, “Learning is a social activity. You learn a lot from the experiences and perspectives of others.” This saying highlights the importance of the social and emotional relationships our students have within their family and educational environment. After thoughts were shared on the subject, we took on the task of formulating work agreements from the perspective of transdisciplinary themes. There are six transdisciplinary themes in total, which form the framework for learning. For this workshop, we focused on “About Us” and “How We Organize Ourselves” in order to understand the role of students, and leader, better. We also used this as an opportunity to outline ways we can all work to develop our skills further.
Since one of the program objectives is that all who participate have an opportunity to share knowledge and learning, we read the IB document “Through the Strategy: Generate, Sort, Connect and Develop.” The purpose of this strategy is to make very participant´s way of thinking “visible” to others. Work groups were created to discuss four different subjects, including:
1. The IB programme’s international thinking
2. What does a student participating in the IB programme do?
3. Teaching and learning the IB programme
4. Inquiry´s role within the programme
During the workshop parents enjoyed teamwork, regardless of the conditions and the present space. The inquiring spirit was evident through dialogue and discussion of significant ideas discovered in the document, once everyone agreed how to translate their findings, they were given the task of developing and sharing finished products to all attendees.
The conclusions presented were:
– IB Programmes explore daily life situations, like any other place.
– It’s a Programme that includes and considers each and every student.
– It is an opportunity for students to learn while playing.
– It breaks the stereotypes of a traditional education where memorization is pressed.
– Learning is made enjoyable.
With these in mind we concluded our deliberation and collaboration task. We hope to see everyone in one of our next workshops!
IB DP Middle and High School
Ready for the Big Challenge!
On November 15th our High School students will be registered for the May 2016 call as candidates to the IB Diploma Programme. They are all working diligently to create professional Internal Evaluation projects, and adhering to the IB’s submission deadlines.
Our Middle School and High School students are preparing for the start of the second bimester 2015-2016. We are looking forward to building upon our first-bimester results, which were made possible by developing student capabilities and community learning profile. We thank parents in advance for their continued support in helping both students and teachers aim higher during this upcoming bimester.
Both Middle and High School students worked persistently to progress in English literature. Additionally, students studied Maternal Language and developed their communication skills.
Middle and High School groups will be decorating commemorative altars for the Day of the Dead (Día
de los Muertos) celebration. TOK students from 12th grade researched the Day of the Dead and were excited to learn that these celebrations originated from the Aztecs. We hope you enjoy this Mexican culture tradition and that everyone feels a strong appreciation for the traditions and folklore of our beautiful country.
LEXIUM-MAP Exams
During the end of October and first week of November students will be taking the first annual Academic Progress Evaluation (MAP) tests. MAP is an external indicator test that allows us to adjust our study plans and redirect short and long term academic targets. We kindly ask that you do not plan any holiday or family trips during this time, and encourage your children to attend school every day to take these tests.
Vocational Fair and Universities at El Camino
This month we will be hosting our annual Vocational Fair. More than thirty universities from all over México will attend, including schools from Cabo San Lucas and San José. Students will have the opportunity to request information from top universities nationwide and make decisions towards their academic future.
Professional Development of the Diploma Programme
Teachers from the Diploma Programme, Ricardo Fumachi and Fredy Toledo, took part of the training workshops in México City. During the rest of the school year, other teachers will be attending these workshops to better understand the study programme and its respective subjects.
Teacher Workshop
During October’s workshop, teachers from Middle and High School developed a “reflection journey” regarding the evaluation processes used in the Diploma Programme. Through these workshops and studies, we are confident we’ll be able to serve our students even better.
Library
The Christmas spirit can be a bit wilted when it is sweltering in the heat. But the wonderful celebration embellished with families and the spirit of giving is almost upon us. As you are making out your lists, consider a book as the perfect gift.
There are a number of online bookstores servicing Mexico. Amazon now sells and ships in all of Mexico. Casa de Libro, Gandhi, and Gonvill also offer a huge offering of Spanish and English language books. Even the aisle at Walmart now has a selection of the newest novels as well as some of the classics.
Finding the right book, especially for children and young adults, can require some advice. But there are
many resources available to guide you. Use your favorite search engine to ask “best children’s books” and it will yield pages of results. A few of the many are mentioned here. Time magazine recently published a list of the 100 Best YA (Young Adult) novels. The BBC lists 11 of the most important books, based on a world-wide survey. And lists can be found in Spanish as well. You might look at Papel en Blanco or Banco del Libro (which publishes a yearly list). Or you can just choose that favorite book from your childhood as pass it on to a new generation.
However you choose, a book is a wonderful gift for Christmas, for Hanukkah, or for no particular reason.
Sports
DIG PINK
We hosted our annual DIG PINK event in October to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, where all in attendance were encouraged to wear pink. Two volleyball games were hosted at the event showcasing Amaranto and the IP teams, and we had a soccer match against Club Deportivo La Roca. At the end of the event students gave their mothers roses. It was overwhelming to see their reactions, as they were so surprised and deeply touched.
Dylan Atkerson: The Pride of Colegio El Camino!
Dylan Atkerson was invited by the US Soccer Team to participate in the Milan Junior American Cup celebrated in Barranquilla, Colombia late September! Dylan was able to showcase his skills during the game and made us all incredibly proud when he scored a goal! Congratulations Dylan, we’re honored to have you as our student.
Sport Academies
October was full of friendly flag football (Tocho), soccer, basketball and volleyball scrimmages. These games are always the first step in preparing for upcoming tournaments. We want to wish the best of luck to our basketball team for the Middle and High School division in their tournaments. GO HAWKS!