Holy Cross Goes 'State-of-the-Art'

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 7:51 AM

Dear Friends, Belize recently joined most of the world in observing Earth Day #40. Guess I'm really getting old since I remember Earth Day #1 - smile. Of course, the students and staff at Holy Cross were engaged in many Earth friendly activities which included a community clean-up, preparing educational posters, planting trees and becoming more aware of the fragile home we all share. (please see the attached photos)

And what better time to highlight the construction progress being made on our very green, environmentally sound, ecologically beneficial bathroom facility! Please take a moment to read the following article which recently appeared in Ambergris Today. We continue to be grateful to the Episcopal Church Women for their generous grant and to the volunteer teams for their hard work.

Holy Cross is very proud of the wonderful things happening at the school and in the neighborhood of San Mateo. With your help and support we will continue to improve and be able to offer a sound education, feeding program, dental care, school supplies, tennis shoes and tons of love to many disadvantaged children in San Pedro. Please celebrate Spring and another Earth Day by sending your contribution to: Holy Cross Anglican School; San Pedro Town; Ambergris Caye, Belize. Many thanks and blessings! Francis

Holy Cross Goes "State-of-the-Art' With a little help from our friends.

The Holy Cross Anglican School is building a state of the art composting toilet system and water garden. The equipment room of this system will be incorporating the most advanced state of the arts Green building system in the world. The SABS building system is 100% recyclable and the finished product produces a category 5 hurricane resistant building, it is also earthquake resistant and water proof.

Richard Hess and Marcel Goneau, of Goneau-Hess Architectural design and construction here in San Pedro, have donated their time and expertise to make this happen for the school. They have also allowed the school to purchase all the materials to build this building at their cost.

This system is less expensive and quicker to build than a concrete building of the same size, which makes it very affordable. All future construction at Holy Cross Anglican School will be done using the SABS eco-friendly building system. For further information on this system please call Richard or Marcel at 667-7083.

Along with the actual building and the Aquatron Composting Toilet System, we are going to be building a state of the art water garden using UV lights to kill all bacteria and viruses as well as plants and limestone to purify the gray water from the school and toilets. This water then will be recycled and used to flush the toilets. The system has been designed by a volunteer in Minnesota who specializes in designing and installing water garden systems for the state of Minnesota.
This will make our septic system the most advanced state of the art system in Central America. Holy Cross will keep the public updated on the building progress.
Ambergris Today

Holy Cross Anglican School
San Pedro Town
Ambergris Caye, Belize








 

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Easter vacation

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:01 AM

Dear Friends, I hope you had a blessed and holy Easter and that now you're enjoying a beautiful Spring!. The students and staff here at Holy Cross definitely appreciated their two week Easter vacation. Many thanks to the volunteer team from St. Michael's, Raleigh, NC who provided a terrific Holy Week VBS to over 60 of our little ones and a Good Friday service for us all.

As always things are very busy at Holy Cross. To mention just a few....

* Our Standard VI students have taken the first part of their Primary School Exam (PSE) - Language Arts and Science. On May 4th they will take the second part - Math and Social Studies. Please send a few extra prayers their way. I hope Holy Cross will soon lead the nation of Belize in passing rate - a lofty goal but I pray for 100%!

* A class from Holy Cross recently won the Hol Chal Marine Reserve Slogan and Poster contest! Their slogan, "Save the Reef Today; Tomorrow Might be too Late!" will be the official theme of Reef Week and earned the students a free trip to the Reserve.

* Construction is proceeding on the new, state-of-the-art composting toilet system (please see the attached photos). We are all counting the days until it is finished!!! It will be the greenest school toilet system in the nation with 24 toilets, 10 urinals, 4 teacher bathrooms and 8 sinks - yea! Many thanks to the Episcopal Church Women and their United Thank Offering grant.

* We continue to be blessed with the presence of Deacon Jan Lamb from St. Luke's, Durham, NC. Deacon Jan has been such a wonderful addition to the staff assisting with Chapel, teaching Religious Education, preparing our FIRST Confirmation class(!!), counseling students and teaching math - wow! We will certainly miss her when she leaves in June.

* And speaking of Confirmation...Bishop Wright will be with us on Sunday, May 30th for Baptisms and Confirmation. We are soooooo excited!

* We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a volunteer team from Vancouver Island University. These folks will be working with the teachers on classroom management, lesson preparation and presentation.

Holy Cross is definitely an exciting place to be! Thanks to your continuing support we hope it always will be - smile. Please take a few moments today to send your prayers and a financial contribution to the school. We are committed to providing the Feeding Program (costs $500US per day!), maintaining the Computer Center (electricity for the air conditioning costs $2,000US per month!), staffing the Library (salary of $400US per month!) and the thousand and one other things that seem to cost tons of money. Please, please, please, the students of Holy Cross need YOUR help!

Checks payable to "Holy Cross Anglican School" should be sent to:
Holy Cross Anglican School
San Pedro Town
Ambergris Caye, Belize

OR, you may make your donation through "Click and Pay" on the school web site: www.holycrossbelize.org

OR, through the Holy Cross Education Foundation; 7550 Corporate Way; Eden Prarie, MN 55344

Many thanks and blessings, Francis



 

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Happy Valentine's Day

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:18 AM

March 11, 2010

Dear Friends of Holy Cross, I know I'm a little behind the calendar but Vernon and I were in the States when the 'Happy Valentine's Day to Holy Cross' bulletin board was put up. (thank you Deacon Jan!) I just took it down and finally had a chance to see what the Standard IV, V and VI classes had to say. Needless to say there were tears in my eyes as I read those little red hearts. I narrowed down the ones I'm sharing even tho I wanted to send them all. Spelling and grammar may occasionally look strange as I copied each card verbatim - smile. The children wrote these Valentines to Holy Cross but you are truly the heart of this school - the real reason these cards could be written. Your love, support and generosity have made Holy Cross the incredibly special place it is. Many thanks and Blessings, Francis

I Love Holy Cross because.....

they are there when we need them. Indira
it is so awesome and they give us food to eat. Nachor
they give you disipline. The teachers try their best to let you learn and you are feeden and you are given medical
care when needed. Most of all I love Holy Cross Anglicans because God sent me their. Isolene
they give me attention. Deson
it's beautiful. Rosit
they give me food. Michael
they always help me when I need help!! thank you. Aviel
they treat me good. Heidy
the teachers have patience for the children. Ashley
it has a computer lab. C.E.
it is realy nice and it is the only place in San Pedro that has a nice principal and an cafitirea. Jose
they give us food and the teachers are nice to the students. Jissel
it is fun.
I have a lot of friends and at my old school I had none. Christian
their kind to us and it is the best school in Belize.
I learn a lot and disiplen.
they are always there for us!! Kendesha
it is a kind hearted and generous school that takes care of its children. Kendice

So Happy Valentine's Day to Holy Cross! May God grant us the patience, love, kindness, perseverance and financial ability to continue being there for the children of San Pedro.

Please send donations to: Holy Cross Anglican School; San Pedro Town; Ambergris Caye, Belize
Support Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro www.holycrossbelize.org



 

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Our Church at Work

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:23 AM

March 5,2010

Dear Friends of Holy Cross Anglican School, I am happy to share the following article written by recent volunteer Dr. Eric Fee. Holy Cross is so thankful for the many volunteers and mission teams who share their time, talents and treasure with the children of Holy Cross. We are also incredibly thankful for each of you! Your prayers, financial contributions, gifts of school supplies, shoes, back packs, teaching aids and books are a blessing to all of us. With your continuing support Holy Cross will continue to be a beacon of light, love and learning to the disadvantaged little ones of San Mateo. Many thanks and Blessings, Francis

Our Church at Work

In January 2010, Cindy Lee Hall and I traveled to Belize, Central America. We boarded a ferry for a bumpy 2 hour ride across the beautiful Caribbean Sea from Belize City to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. Our final destination was the tiny village of San Mateo that had been built upon unwanted government swamp land by the hearty people of this welcoming country.

The purpose of our visit was to work with the students and teachers of the Holy Cross Anglican School (www.holycrossbelize.org). Literally, this school has been created like a seed sprouting from the ground! And, it continues to grow with the support of the San Mateo community and the worldwide parishioners of the Anglican/Episcopal church. For those of you who have contributed to this ministry (www.hcefoundation.org) I assure you your monies are being put to great use.

In addition as a family physician, I explored the health care needs of the school and surrounding community. Despite the lack of abundant health care that we are accustomed to in the USA, the Belizean healthcare providers and people make excellent use of their limited resources.

This island does not have a hospital or emergency room or urgent care. The ability to transfuse blood, provide intravenous fluids, perform surgery or obtain a CT scan does not exist. We sadly learned of 2 children who had recently died from infections stemming from simple cuts due to the lack of appropriate antibiotics. In the face of this harsh reality, you quickly learn to appreciate the gifts bestowed upon us at home.

Belizeans and those serving the church's ministry are working feverishly to overcome these challenges. Holy Cross Anglican School is growing both in its physical plant and student population. A community health center with a domestic violence safe house and student health center is moving from the planning stages to the groundbreaking ceremony.

We plan to return to Belize on an ongoing basis as part of the Episcopal church's ministry throughout the world. And, we thank God for giving us the ability to do so.

Eric C. Fee





 

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Greetings from Holy Cross

1 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:29 AM



Greetings from Holy Cross and Happy New Year.

Life has been very busy at Holy Cross since school resumed after the Christmas vacation. A team of volunteers from Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, began construction of a walkway around the back of the classroom building, shoveled loads of sand to increase the land space around the workshop, further organized the books in the library, and tutored numerous children in reading and math.

They were followed by back-to-back teams from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham, NC. These teams shoveled more sand, tutored more children, worked on the library project, finished the walkway and painted the backside of the classroom building. The second team from St. Luke’s included two doctors and two nurses. This group measured the height and weight of all the children, did vision and medical screenings, treated many sick children and entered past and current medical information for all the children into a database.

We had dentists in the Smile Clinic for two weeks seeing children. Teeth were filled and pulled, and many smiles were brightened. Thanks to Dr. Mark for coordinating the dentists and their helpers from NC, Florida and Minnesota.

During the same two week period, other volunteers from Boston and Minnesota worked on the various projects including moving sand and vision screening. So much valuable work was done in only a few days.

Other volunteers and friends have brought wonderful donations of school supplies, shoes, uniforms, prizes and money for the feeding program.

Joanne O’Brien, founder of Direct Abundance, has been back with us. She and her daughter Erin, who is enrolled in Standard VI, are in Belize for two months. Joanne has been conducting workshops and community meetings on the topic of domestic violence. She presented a very informative workshop to the Holy Cross teachers as well as ones in Belize City and in the Belize prison. She is working with a number of agencies spearheading a movement to establish a women’s and children’s shelter here in San Pedro.

Representatives from Defiance College in Ohio, Vancouver Island University, and Gainesville State University, Georgia have visited Holy Cross to finalize plans for partnerships for student teachers and other teacher resource programs. We are very excited about these relationships and how they will enhance teaching at Holy Cross.

Holy Cross held three fundraisers and donation collections, raising over $800 that was sent to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

The Valentine’s Day Fair was a huge success with games, food, prizes and face painting. Over $3000Bz was raised for the school.

Another exciting and generous contribution came from the Kelly McGuire Foundation. Texas musician Kelly McGuire was recently on Ambergris Caye for several concerts. He established a foundation, held a benefit auction and donated the proceeds to the school.

The Holy Cross football (soccer) team has played 4 games and boasts a record of 1-1-1. Through generous donations from volunteer teams, the team is sporting new uniforms in Holy Cross colors. In order to participate, Standard IV, V and VI students must maintain their grades and exhibit good behavior in class.

Two children from Holy Cross participated in the Ambergris Caye Spelling Bee. While they did not win this year, they represented the school well as they competed against children from four other island schools.

The needs continue to be great at Holy Cross. In an effort to enlarge the land area around the construction shed, more sand has been brought in, but many more loads are needed. The feeding program continues to fill many empty tummies each day but the groceries are expensive.

Francis and Vernon Wilson are in the US for the month of February for some much needed “R&R” and medical appointments. We look forward to their return. Trying to fill their very big shoes in their absence is Deacon Jan Lamb from North Carolina who is volunteering at Holy Cross for the remainder of the school year. Deacon Jan is a teacher of students with learning disabilities and a teacher trainer. She will be working with both students and teachers as well as serving as Chaplain for Holy Cross. Deacon Jan led chapel services at the school on Ash Wednesday and will soon begin meeting with children who are preparing for Confirmation.

A PS from Francis: Being away from Holy Cross is always difficult for Vernon and me but is made much easier knowing there are so many wonderful folks in charge. Principal Grace Williams, Vice-Principal Olivia Tasher, Office Manager/Bookkeeper Linda Carter, our dedicated teachers, Mr. Freddy, Mr. Jason, Mr. Cruz, our incredible cooks, school warden, Kath and Cullen Walker and our unbelievably dedicated VOLUNTEERS ensure that everything runs smoothly. We are especially blessed to have Deacon Jan Lamb at the School until June - many, many thanks to her for all her hard work!

I am happy to report that Vernon has gotten good reports from all his doctors and medical tests. A few medications have been added to his daily routine (to lower blood pressure and cholesterol) until he can lose about 20 pounds and allow his body to 're-set'. Seems like losing weight is the new cure all - ugh!

I continue to ask your prayers for the students and staff of Holy Cross Anglican School. I also continue to plead for your financial support. Vital services like the School Feeding Program, maintenance of the Computer Center, salaries for day and night time security, electricity, water and dozens of other things depend on you. I pray that you will help ensure that the good work begun at Holy Cross will continue long into the future. Many, many thanks and blessings, Francis

 

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Donations for Haiti

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:31 AM

Responding to the urgent needs in Haiti, the students and staff of Holy Cross Anglican School have been working hard to raise money. On Friday, January 22, two fund raisers were held at the school. The first, a Rags Day, raised $512.05BZ. Later that same day a Cheap Sale of donated items generated $155.00BZ. On Sunday at the Family Worship Service, the offering of $199.80BZ was also earmarked for Earthquake Relief. In total, Holy Cross will be donating $866.85BZto the nation of Haiti.


 

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Christmas Greetings 2009

0 comments Posted by Holy Cross Anglican School at 8:47 AM

Dear Friends, The students and staff of Holy Cross Anglican School join me in wishing you a Blessed and Joyous Christmas Season and a Happy New Year! Your prayers, donations of school supplies and financial contributions have created Holy Cross and will help ensure that this ministry continues to grow and nurture the children of San Pedro throughout all of 2010. We often pray the words of St. Paul found in Philippians 1:6, “That the God who started this great work in you (Holy Cross Anglican School) would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.”

And speaking of 'great work', I wish each of you could have been with us for the Holy Cross Christmas Pageant held yesterday at the high school. Please enjoy the attached photos (thanks Cullen!) and try to imagine the excitement as hundreds of children sang like angels, danced with joy and joined in thanking their Heavenly Father for the precious gift of Jesus.

I'd like to share just one of the offerings - an original poem by Standard V sung to the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and dedicated to Holy Cross.....

On the first day of Christmas, Holy Cross gave to me, a scholarship to high school;

On the second day of Christmas, Holy Cross gave to me 2 glasses of milk;

........ 3 johnny cakes;

.........4 powder buns

Five plates of food!

........6 slices of melon;

........7 dentists drilling;

........8 volunteers;

........9 computer lessons;

........10 doctors helping;

........11 teachers teaching;

........12 Christmas gifts!

I think their words say it all - I just wish you could have heard their sweet voices and seen their smiling faces!!

In this season of miracles we thank God for each of you, for the many blessings He has showered upon us all and for the ability he has given us to share with those in need. May your lives be filled to overflowing with God's love, peace and joy - this Sacred Season and throughout the coming year. In Christ, Francis

Please visit the School web site at www.holycrossbelize.org and the new Holy Cross Education Foundation site at www.hcefoundation.org

Tax deductable donations to Holy Cross may be made through:
Holy Cross Education Foundation
755 Corporate Way
Eden Prarie, Mn 55344



 

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