Gazette December 2016

General Director

Christmas Festival Friday December 9th 2016

This year´s Christmas Festival will be on Friday December 9th. Each section is preparing beautiful entertainment for you the parents and friends in Camino. Students will be singing Christmas Carols, performing small Theatrical Performances and dances as well as our school band and school orchestra playing Christmas numbers. During the festival the Christmas Bazaar will have sales of food, drink and gifts.

Please check the schedule for each section below. 
Kinder 5:00 to 5:45pm
Elementary 6:00 to 6:45pm
Middle School/High School 7:00 to 7:45 pm
Christmas Bazaar Sale 1:00 to 2:30 pm for Students  5:00pm to 8:30 pm for parents and the public

Christmas Bazaar Friday December 9th 2016 

We would like to inform you that on Friday December 9th, we will have our Christmas Festival and Bazaar. We would like to invite you to participate with a sales stand in the Bazaar. This event will be held in the elementary area from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The cost is $ 300.00 pesos in cash, paid at the cashier in the Administration Offices. This payment includes your place, table and chair (you need to bring your tablecloth, decoration and publicity). You are allowed to sell different types of products or gifts except food items. 

If you are interested, please come to de Administration Offices before December 5th in order to secure your space.

For more information please contact Miss Cecilia Montes, our Events Coordinator [email protected]

Our Administration Offices are open:  Monday to Friday, from 7:30 to 4:00

If your children would like to purchase any items at the Bazaar please send money with them. Kindergarten will visit the Bazaar from 1:00 to 1:30pm, Elementary 1:30 to 2:00pm and Middle/High School 2:00 to 2:30pm

Secret Santa Gift sale by the Camino Student Council

The Student council is organising a Secret Santa Gift sale, which will be available for students to purchase small gifts for their classmates or friends anonymously or by name as a way to say Happy Holidays!

Sale: Friday December 2nd – Friday December 9th
Hour: During recess hours

Articles:

1. Gift boots with sweets: $ 35.00 pesos
2. Gift boxes with sweets: $ 30.00 pesos
3. Balloons – With helium – Holiday messages: $ 50.00 pesos
4. Brownies: $ 20.00 pesos
5. Cookies: 15.00 pesos
6. Kisses: $ 5.00 pesos
7. Murdagos: $ 5.00 pesos
   8. Letter Boxes: $ 5.00 pesos

Join the Toy Drive

As we all know the spirit of giving during this time of the year is at hand and the act of giving, no matter how small can mean so much to an underprivileged child. As we celebrate this season with our families we would like to invite you to support the annual toy drive for the children from “Niños en Acción” from the marginalised community of Leonardo Gastelum in Cabo San Lucas. ´Niños en Acción´ is an organised by mothers from the aforementioned colonia that seek to maintain a clean, healthy and educated community. They work together cleaning up garbage in the community and around beaches in Los Cabos. These children maintain good grade point averages in school and their mission is to show other children the importance of sport, education and a dignified lifestyle through positive work in their community. Every Saturday these children get together to do sports, take english classes and handicrafts. They truly are active. This year the goal is to get together a minimum 180 toys for the children between the ages of 2 and 14 years old.

The presents can be new or used but in very good condition. Preferably they should be toys without the need for batteries but if you donate one that requires them please include the batteries. You can deliver them unwrapped or wrapped (if they are wrapped please indicate the age/gender and toy name on a tag)

They can be delivered at the Pedregal Offices behind the Romeo and Julieta Restaurant or in the administration offices of Colegio El Camino up to December 20th. The school hours are 7:30am to 4:00pm Monday through Friday.

The toys will be given to the children on December 23rd from 4:00pm to 6:00pm in the Leonardo Gastelum school. If you would like to join us with your family and friends during the gift giving that day you are more than welcome. Please contact Biby Flores [email protected] if you wish to join us.

Thanks for your support in this charity event!

Administration

We are very pleased to announce some of the more recent achievements and recognition our school has received. 

DID YOU KNOW…

We are consistently in the top 5 schools in the state and part of an exclusive group of national schools.

• CEC has achieved the lofty status of only one of 30 schools in Mexico accredited with SACS AdvancED advanc-ed.org as a quality school based on international standards.

• CEC has been accredited as an IB World School for the Diploma Program in High School through the International Baccalaureate Organization ibo.org . We are one of 109 schools accredited in Mexico and the only one in Baja California Sur. Last year our first generation of IB students received the benefits of this rigorous program and graduated prepared for University life. We are also ready to receive our authorization visit for the IB PYP program in January of 2017.

• We have been able to finalize various new building projects in the student union space. (Cafeteria, Library, Playground, and Roofing project over the soccer field) during the last four years.

• We are currently expanding the library with a second floor and multimedia room as well as creating a virtual library on the website to support the IB programs and their inquiry based approach.

• During these continuous improvement projects, we have been able to maintain the same tuition and re enrollment fees during the last two years.

• We have sought to maintain and even lower book costs while we have improved the technology during the last 3 years. We have implemented new programs and services in this period including MAP and Lexium assessments, the launch of interactive learning management systems like Schoology and Turnitin as well as digital school identification and new MAC computers in the computer lab.

As we all know, inflation and the dollar exchange rate have impacted Los Cabos economically. We are conscious that the cost of living has increased for everyone and it is for this reason our school is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of quality that you all expect while we offer the necessary economic stability to our educators and support staff.

The School Board and the school administration have agreed not to expand any further than the current capacity while increasing the quality of our programs and existing infrastructure. We are dedicated to offering the best quality education to our students so they may continue as life long learners and prepare them to participate at the highest academic levels both nationally and internationally.

Note: Our school will continue to offer the early enrollment discounts for the 2017/2018 school year of 20% during December 2016, 10% in January of 2017 and 5% in February 2017. Open enrollment begins March 1^st 2017. We invite you to take advantage of these early enrollment discount rates and ensure your child has his or her place reserved in the most innovative educational institution in Los Cabos.

Please consult the following tables for the new costs for tuition, enrollment/reenrollment for the 2017-2018 school year.

(NEW STUDENTS) Enrollment fees for the  2017-2018 school year ( mxp )

Re enrollment  fees for the 2017-2018 school year ( mxp )

Tuition for the 2017-2018 school year(mxp )

We are currently experiencing waiting lists at several grade levels, but rest assured that our current Camino families have preference until March 1^st 2017 to cover the total re enrollment fee for the 2017-2018 school year. No student will have a guaranteed place if the re enrollment fee is not paid in full.

You can also receive additional discounts on your re enrollment fees if you recommend our school to a non Camino family and they enroll with us. Please contact our administrator Alma Diaz [email protected] for more details regarding our Camino Rewards Program. You can also take advantage of a 10% savings in tuition by paying the complete 2017-2018 school year before September 10^th 2017.

Forms of Payment:

• Cheque in the name of: El Camino Cabo San Lucas, A.C.
• Cash payment in the school cashier.
• Wire Transfer:

Bank: Banorte
Beneficiary: El Camino Cabo San Lucas, A.C.
Clabe No: 072041002734550604

Alfanumeric Reference Number: Student Name.

• In cash or cheque at the bank:

Bank: Banorte
Account No.: 0273455060
Beneficiary: El Camino Cabo San Lucas, A.C.

We would like to inform you that we will be closed for the holiday season from December 22nd to January 4th but if you wish to make a payment in the school during this period please contact our administrator Alma Diaz by email [email protected]

Kindergarten

Do you know what self-esteem is?

Self-esteem is the awareness of a person´s self worth that includes aspects such as the highest perception of who we are, the responsibilities we have, the characteristics we reflect, as well as areas of improvement we need that contribute to loving and accepting ourselves as we are. It is our real mirror, which teaches us how we are, what skills we have and how we develop through our experiences and expectations.
Children are sensitive, sociable, loving, and at times do not know how to measure danger. They believe they are capable of doing everything they want. They are beings with a unique firmness and trust so it is our duty as parents to support a healthy upbringing.

Here are 10 tips to better self-esteem for children from kindergarten to elementary school:
– Give unconditional love, through kissing, hugging and saying “I love you” frequently
– Pay attention. Quality and not quantity of time
– Make eye contact when talking to him / her
– Establish reasonable limits and rules
– Offering choices, letting them decide for themselves and trusting in their decisions will increase their self-confidence 
– Provide support in the daily challenges they face 
– Allow them to make mistakes as this will develop trust
– Celebrate the positive
– Listen to them without judgment
– Use phrases such as: I believe in you, go ahead, you can do it

It is very important to give them support without restricting their freedom of expression, action and learning and if they make mistakes be there for them with a hug, active listening, love,  or by simply stating “Can I help you? All of this will make a difference.

Altars, November 2nd

Our Altar presentation was a big success, a lot of parents attended and it was a fun cultural night. Our theme was Cantinflas.

click here to see our photo gallery

Thanksgiving, November 24th

We had our Thanksgiving celebration where our little ones had the opportunity to learn about this tradition. They shared typical meals of this day and also presented a play and a dance.

click here to see our photo gallery

Laughter Festival, November 25th

Within the framework of the 3rd. National Festival of Urban Performing Arts, we had a visit from the “Feast of laughter” and the children had a lot of fun.

Birthdays
Ana Victoria Maternal
Mariel K2
Maria José K2
Thiago k3
Payton K3

Elementary

Dear Parents,
Our traditional Christmas Festival in the elementary section will take place on December 9th from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. December 21st will be the last day of school before the holiday break and will be a normal day for students. The Colegio El Camino uniform is not required on this day as students will be celebrating in their classrooms. Regular school schedule resumes on January 5th, 2017.

Students from third grade Math class are observed using cereal and learning how to process data to then create graphics.

Birthdays
Oliver Meilahn Grahn Snider
Einar Arturo Bernal Lomelín
Sara Nicole Thoma Alvarado
María Paula García Carrizales
Joshua Arturo Sparrow Zaldívar
Natalia Peña Gutiérrez
Jacobo Cota Muñoz
Itatí Azcona Ruelas
Kristine Catharina Laclé
Valentina Centeno Vega
Keira Soleil Durán Martínez
Fátima Abigail Victoria Méndez

IB Diploma Programme

Halloween in Middle and High School

On October 31st we celebrated Costume Day in Middle and High School; our students had a great time sharing with each other the theme of their costumes. Congratulations!

Día de Muertos

Day of the Dead is the most colorful celebration of the year. Middle and High school students celebrated Día de Muertos along with teachers. As usual, the spirit of sharing and collaborating were the characteristic of this event.

Colegio El Camino Science Participation

High School students Elihja Galbraith-Anggelo Ortíz-Francisco Perpuli-Zayetzi García-Bareño-María Inés Berrojo-Benjamin Gastelum represented Colegio El Camino in the yearly event presented by the ITES in San José which seeks to promote the studies of subjects like Math and Science. We love to aim for our students to be part of these academic challenges. Congratulations!

Bimester and Semester Exams

From December 1st to 9th we will have evaluations for Middle and High School. Evaluations will take place in the 5th and 6th hours of class.

Library

Library Expansion

We are proud to announce the project to expand the school library is already underway. Each of the books has been carefully stored in boxes waiting to be read again by students. The children of elementary school, seeing that their library and their books were closed, experienced sadness, but at the same time they were overjoyed to imagine how this center of reading and inquiry will be in the near future because at this moment it is empty. Of course the students follow the readings and investigations inside the classrooms, using their circulating library with books in both English and Spanish.

As parents you have an important task in teaching your children to read and this next article will be of assistance to you.

How to encourage reading for children at a young age

All parents love to see our children with a book in their hands because we know that reading means learning. While some children read many books in a short period of time, others do not seem interested. Why? What can we do as parents to encourage reading?

Reading is a fundamental activity to acquire knowledge. Children who read well achieve more success and better grades in their studies. All teachers and profesors agree that having a habit of reading is a necessary condition for learning with ease. In the classrooms we find two groups of students: those who read well and like to read and those who have difficulty reading and do not like it and therefore read very little or never. Parents of these students who are reluctant to read tend to ask for help: What can I do to get my child to read more?

As you can understand, no one can provide you with a perfect remedy for these characteristics because in education there are no one miracle cure. With that said, there are reading scholars who have observed the reading process of children and reflect on these behaviors to better know what happens with good readers and what happens in those who read little.

Why won´t our children read?

You often hear that the main cause that young people do not read today is television. It may be that the home theater does not help promote reading since it is a more passive activity than reading a book. It demands less mental effort and can be more attractive to the little ones. Two reflections to consider are: Rousseau, in the eighteenth century, called reading “the scourge of youth”, which indicated that, when there was no television, reading was also an unattractive activity for many young people.

Secondly, despite the fact that it is always said that so little reading is being done, there has never been a period where we are reading as much as we do now. Sometimes, though it may seem to be a lie, used rationally, television can help promote reading. Frequently television series with a large audience raise the sale of books on which the series or movie is based. When we practice activities we do it for two reasons. The first is imitation, in other words we do it because we see it done by others and the other is because we simply have the ability to do it. As the psychologist Bandura has studied, the imitation of a good model is one of the main forms of human learning. So when you talk to someone who has read since childhood, he or she usually says that his or her father, mother, grandfather was a great reader and observing the example taught them to love reading. The child who does not have a good role model is less likely to be a reading enthusiast. In the same way, someone who has difficulty understanding written language because he or she does not have a high reading velocity or does not understand is less likely to be an avid reader. Children who, not being good readers and require great effort to read do not like or want to read.

What can we do to make them read?

1.- Let them see you read. In education leading by example is the most convincing argument because it enables imitation, so the child can do that of whom her or she admires like a father or mother.
2.- Read it out loud. It is a fundamental practice and perhaps the most important and effective. Above all, children who have difficulty reading and use repetition of words or syllables and substitution of letters for others, prevents them from understanding the message and communicating with the book. Reading like this becomes boring. It is like reading in a language you do not understand, and there is no human who can read more than two minutes in a language he does not understand. As we read to them, they understand the message, so they enjoy what they hear, they are attentive and realize that there are funny stories that are worthwhile found in those pages. Constant reading is a free gift we can give without asking for anything in return. With adult love we will always arouse interest and the desire to read in the short and long term.
3. Tell them stories. It is another activity that charms children of all ages. It increases vocabulary and develops the imagination as well as increasing the affective bonds between parents and children. Telling stories is not easy and sometimes we feel a little awkward, but you can learn with a little effort. There are great books that give very good ideas and have both traditional and modern stories Two excellent articles on this subject are Children Only: The Power of Stories and How to Tell Stories.
4.- Read with them. When the tutor tells us that our child has difficulty reading and should “practice” at home, it does not mean leave him alone with the book in his room. They need our help and support to practice for 10 minutes each day. Reading with them means, for example, arriving at an agreement: “I read the first paragraph and you the second, okay?. Reading with them requires our attitude to be positive, and to never be critical of their mistakes because they have to feel comfortable and, most importantly want to read again the next day.
5.- Subscribe to children’s and youth magazines. Few people come home and pass the mailbox, without looking to see if they have something for them. Receiving correspondence to one’s name is welcome.
6.- Explain to them some passage that seems appropriate to the book that we are reading.
7.- Accompany them to the bookstores to see books. Fortunately, there are more and more attractive books for children and more specialized bookstores for them or sections of children’s literature. Respect their rights and take them from time to time to see books, even if they do not always buy.
8.- Encourage them to write. Whenever we write, we read. That’s why children who find it difficult to read should write to their friends in the summer, make notes, make signs in their room. They are reading and developing their ability to read faster and with less effort.
9.- Moving your child’s will towards reading requires technique that you can invent and apply using common sense and love. Common sense includes choosing the most appropriate time to carry them out and respecting their rights as a reader. Try to understand their interests, and demonstrate love and solidarity with their difficulties.

CAS Program

Cabo Consciente – Cabo Mil Radio

Cabo Consciente which translates to Conscious Cabo is a CAS project seeking to create consciousness among Cabo San Lucas residents in worldwide matters such as social, cultural and environmental issues.

Using social media, short clips and interviews with Cabo locals, we aim to reach out to the community to talk about these issues.

“This project seems like a great opportunity to take action in worldwide matters. I am giving my best to contribute and create consciousness about the damage that we are generating as a species and to make a change for the better.”

Rafael Rivera, 12^th Grade.

“This project promotes ideas to keep Cabo San Lucas clean; after all it is one of the most exclusive cities in México. We can keep it pollution-free by watching out for the environment, through separating organic and inorganic waste. We also conduct interviews and observe people and their reactions to these problems.”

Benjamín Gastelum, 11^th Grade.

“Thanks to this project my mind has expanded, because not only do we go out and interview residents, but we also hold meetings afterwards and discuss with the people from Cabo Consciente. They teach us about the planet and what we need to do to take care of it. So I have learned a lot about the planet and Cabo San Lucas in particular.”

Aritzi Baños, 11^th Grade

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world…” Anonymous

“This has been one of my favorite projects because it has given me the opportunity to develop human abilities, responsibility, and has helped me to open up to express myself.”

Louise Hartman, 11^th Grade.

“This project is both ambitious and important, because it makes you realize that a few people can make a difference. The first videos will be about waste and recycling and we hope to make people reflect before disposing waste because this creates both a visual and health endangerment. This campaign is a great way to change people´s perspectives and I feel great being a part of it and helping Cabo. I hope this can extend to other cities and we can achieve a cleaner and healthier México.”

Andrea Ortiz, 12^th Grade.