Holy Cross Anglican School

January

153 children are now enrolled at Holy Cross many for the first time ever. 15 special needs children are receiving care and guidance in our Special Education Unit that would otherwise be at home due to their disability.

Three additional buildings are under construction, a lunchroom / chapel / multipurpose building, the school kitchen and caretakers home and an additional Standard I classroom. Seven more classrooms and a school office/health clinic will be built, prior to the opening of school in September 2007.

As it stands, we project a student enrollment of 350 by then. We will offer three Infant I kindergarten classes, two Infant II first grade, two Standard I second grade, and one class each for Standard II, III, IV, V, and VI. Our goal is to provide an education to all children unable to attend other schools due to lack of space or financial constraints.

Needless to say, none of this would have been or will be possible without the generosity of folks like you. Every nail, every desk, every pencil, every piece of food - literally everything at Holy Cross - has been donated or bought with contributions from our caring friends. Thank you so very much for helping grow the school.

A special thank you goes to all those who responded to the Vitamin Drive. Ms. Francis thrilled to say we have at least a two year supply of vitamins on hand - that’s a LOT of vitamins. She is removing vitamins from the Holy Cross Wish List until further notice.

February

February - 1 Electricity arrived at Holy Cross yesterday It only took 7 months to get connected but that's pretty fast in Belize

February 5th - The first volunteer mission team arrived at Holy Cross. Under the capable leadership of John Willard, an energetic group of folks from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham, North Carolina contributed their time, talents and treasure to students, staff and the local community. By Friday the 9th they had completed our sixth classroom, and watched (with tears in their eyes) as students carried their desks over the brand new threshold. Our huge Standard I class was finally able to divide into two more manageable and teachable groups, teachers Miss Laura and Miss Diane were overjoyed.

February 12th - the second volunteer mission team arrived, once again from St. Luke’s in Durham - same leader but a totally different group of folks. They began work on the school Chapel/cafeteria and made great progress. They, like the group before, spent hours helping in the classrooms, assisting with breakfast, snack and lunch and washing tons of dishes.

February - 14 Valentine’s Day party was a big hit with the kids complete with an aerial show by Boogie in Belize skydivers, donated Valentine cards, fancy pencils, candy and homemade scones for each student. We also had sack races and an inflatable trampoline fun house. For many of out students it was a first ever Valentine’s celebration. Big shout out to all who had a hand in making it happen. Thanks to all the skydivers for bringing down supplies for the school.

February - 16th Students from Holy Cross joined the ‘March Against Child Abuse’. The day focused on helping children understand what abuse is and what to do if they are being abused. The most exciting part for the children was a parade through downtown San Pedro. They carried handmade signs, chanted ‘no more abuse’ and brought their message to the adults of the community.

February 21st - Ash Wednesday services were held in our almost completed School Chapel. Many thanks to Fr. Lloyd Neal from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Belize City for leading our students and staff in worship as we observed the beginning of the Lenten Season.

February 25th - Family Sunday Service was held in our ‘even more completed since Wednesday thanks to the efforts of our volunteer team from Christ Church, Easton Maryland,‘ School Chapel. Fr. Neal once again generously shared his time and talents.

February 26th - Teacher Miss Elsy joined the staff at Holy Cross. Miss Elsy is assisting in the Special Education classroom and with Infant II.

Feb 27 - Miss Rosita Miguel, from Belize City spent the day at Holy Cross and provided ‘hands on’ training for our teachers. Only one of our teacher has post secondary school training specifically in education so we need lots of guidance!

February 28th - Pizza day at Holy Cross courtesy Pedro’s and Boogie in Belize skydivers. Coordinator Richard Grimm and his family handed out mouth-watering slices of pizza to students and staff. In addition, the skydivers held a poker tournament at Pedro’s and raised $1000, which was donated in school supplies.

February came to a close at Holy Cross Anglican School. As our teachers were busy with lesson plans, classroom projects and the task of educating and our students were about the important work of learning… friends and volunteers from San Pedro and the world beyond made many of our memorable moments possible. Thank you one and all.

Read more about the faces of the Future at the links below.

http://sanpedrosun.net/old/07-033.html

http://www.sanpedrodaily.com/1-20-07.html

http://sanpedrosun.net/old/07-082.html

Special Ed

Special Ed

Valentines party

Bouncy tent

Sky divers were ambushed by kids when they landed