Ecofriendly Lunch Day Games

On Thursday, our students celebrated Ecofriendly Lunch Day by packing waste-free lunches.  The environmental science also hosted games at snack and lunch to help our students remember to reduce their waste.  Here are some pictures of the fun we had!

Ecofriendly Lunch Day

Ecofriendly Lunch Day

Thursday, August 29th

Pack a waste free lunch!

Join in the fun activities to help us learn ways to reduce waste!

Activities will be held during elementary snack and lunch recess!
For more information on waste free lunches, visit http://www.wastefreelunches.org/,

To help our students learn more about waste free lunches and overall waste reduction at school, our 10th grade environmental science students visited the elementary classes on Tuesday, August 27th with fun lesson and activities.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB

 For more than 10 years, Discovery teachers and parents have been visiting a group of children from Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos' orphanage.  Now, we would like to open this opportunity for our secondary students to be involved.   To celebrate Children's Day, we will visit the orphanage on Sunday, September 1st.  The club will then continue with monthly visits to the orphanage throughout the school year.  The first organizational meeting for the club will be held at lunch on Thursday, August 29th in Mrs. Agurcia's classroom.  Any interested secondary student is invited to attend.  Parents may email Mrs. Agurcia (cagurcia@discoveryschool.edu.hn) for more information.

Week of August 19-23

GENERAL ASSEMBLY – Discovery School parents are invited to attend the General Assembly that will take place this Saturday, August 24 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the School Cafeteria. Important matters such as a suggested revision to our school calendar, budget information, an update on the status of the Concrete Plant, Board committees and school-wide implications of MAP data will be addressed. YOUR ATTENDANCE IS CRUCIAL—we need a quorum of 1/3 of our parents (55 parents) for the meeting to be considered a legal meeting of our school Association. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending.  **Believe and Achieve Sports will be at the school to work with the children while the parents are attending the meeting. **Coffee and juice will be provided.

CHOIR AUDITIONS – The Choir auditions will take place on Wednesday, August 21 and Thursday, August 22 during Snack Recess (9:45-10:10) in the music room.   Students from grades 1-12 who did not audition last year are invited to audition. The students may sing a song of their preference acapella. Students and parents are asked to commit to the whole year’s participation in Choir. Our Choir has been invited and has accepted the invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City next summer, and practices will be geared to prepare the students for that prestigious event. A schedule of practices will be provided this week. If you have questions, you can contact either Ms. Pamela (pcruz@discoveryschool.edu.hn) or Ms. Norma (nlopez@discoveryschool.edu.hn) for more information.

MATH REINFORCEMENT:  IXL ACCOUNTS (for grades Kinder through 5 only) – Last year our teachers piloted the IXL Math enrichment with our students. Because it was so successful and well received by parents and students, the school has acquired a

subscription to IXL for all students in Grades KG-5. This is an individualized on-line program that reinforces math skills across the curriculum and is aligned to our Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment that we administer to all students in Grades KG-10 three times during the school year. Teachers will post information in their weekly blogs indicating what areas and how much time students should work on IXL during the week. Parents are encouraged to support their children by checking the weekly blogs and having their child complete the practices assigned by each teacher. If you are unclear about any aspect of the IXL, please contact your child’s teacher or the Area Administrator (Nora for KG – Grade 1 nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn and Cristiana for Grades 2-5 cbanegas@discoveryschool.edu.hn.

SCHOOL CAFETERIA – for information on the school cafeteria menu and services please visit discoverycafeteria.blogspot.com 

AFTER-SCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAM – Our first session of After-School Activities with Believe and Achieve Sports starts Monday. The sessions will run from 3:15 - 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon on Saturday for students from Kindergarten up. During the sessions, students will rotate through different sports, including soccer, basketball, frisbies, golf, American football, and others. Focus is on helping students learn skills, practice teamwork, and have fun, regardless of their current knowledge or skills!

·         TRANSPORTATION:  The school will follow the practice we have followed over the past several years and provide transportation for the students at the end of the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions in the main part of Tegucigalpa. We will not provide transportation to the outlying areas, such as El Hatillo, Santa Lucia, and the airport. As in the past, there will not be a nanny on the bus; however, the driver will make sure all students are buckled up. We will not provide transportation to any area on Saturday.

·         TRANSPORTATION FEE:  Parents are asked to pay Lmp.100 per month for the bus services if their children are planning to use it on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Lmp.60 per month if they are planning to use it for only one of those days. That can be given to Carolina (Receptionist) or anyone in the Finance Office.

·         SIGN-UP FOR SPORTS PROGRAM:  Sign-up for the sports program is with Mr. Eric Hamm directly. His phone number is 9599-2959. As this is a new program, we may need to make adjustments as we go along, and we will keep you informed of any changes. One thing that we will be considering is the traffic at 5:00 p.m. and how long it takes us to get the students home after the activities.

The school welcomes any suggestions parents may have. If you have not had a chance to sign up yet, please contact Ms. Paola Mena, Administrative Assistant, atdsoffice@discoveryschool.edu.hn, 2231-7790 or 9950-66924 to let us know of your interest.

·         At the current time we are not planning to offer other activities during the first quarter, with the exception of Choir. After we have assessed the Sports program, we will make a decision if we will offer other activities starting in the second quarter. Choir teachers will provide parents with a schedule of practices this week, but we will attempt to schedule the Choir practices so they don’t interfere with the Sports.

WELCOME!

                Welcome to a great year of learning about the beautiful world that surrounds us!  I am excited for a new school year to begin and to join with you in educating your student about the wonders of the world.

                My name is Christina Agurcia, and I am originally from Illinois.  I graduated from Lincoln Christian College with a BS in Bible and from Illinois State University with a BS in Biology.  I am certified by the State of Illinois to teach a wide range of science subjects, including biology, chemistry, and physics.  As well, I have taken graduate education courses in zoology, botany, chemistry, physics, and AP Environmental Science.  To continue gaining knowledge about pedagogical technique, I also have participated in teacher workshop events, such as the ones offered by Discovery School and Escuela International Sampedrana in San Pedro Sula, and most recently, a workshop on environmental education hosted by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

I have over 10 years of teaching experience in the secondary science classroom, and this will be my seventh year at Discovery School.  Previously, I taught one year at a private school here in Tegucigalpa and three years at a public school in the United States of America. 

                This year our secondary students, from 7^th-10^th grade, will be participating in science fair.  This is a long term project that will span all of first semester and will involve components in language arts and science.   While this is a student-directed project, parents are asked to provide the necessary supplies (as directed by the student’s individual project) and to help their student keep on track with due dates.  A list of science fair due dates is provided on the science fair page of thus blog-  see the link in the right hand column.  

I am looking forward to developing an excellent working relationship with you.  Each week I will be updating the blog, which will have information about the material being covered in class, student activities and homework, as well, as upcoming dates for projects and tests.   From this home page, you will find a link specifically related to your course- see the right hand .  Students and parents should check the blog weekly.               As well, you can follow your student’s progress through checking the online grading program, Engrade.  This program creates a personal, secure account by which you can access your student’s grade and list of outstanding work.  Personal access codes will be given to each student.  From that code, parents can create an account to review student’s scores.

Students will be given homework, as listed in class and on the blog.  Students are responsible for turning this homework into my classroom by 8:00 AM on the day the assignment is due.  Any work submitted after 8:00 AM will be considered late.  Only excused tardies (for medical appointments or late bus) will be accepted as a reason for turning in work after 8:00 AM.

Classtime is valuable, and therefore, a student should attempt be at school as much as possible.  However, if a student is absent, he/she is responsible to complete all make-up work.  Make-up work can be found in the “make-up” folder for his or her class.  Any missed notes can be copied from a fellow student.  If a student missed a test/quiz/lab, she/he will need make an appointment to complete the work.  For excused absences, students are given one day to make-up work per each absent day.  For one or two day excused absences, the students should be prepared to take any pre-scheduled test or quiz and submit any large project upon returning to school. For a longer absence, the student will not be required to take a test or quiz on the first two days after returning to school.  For preplanned absences, a student is to notify the teacher in writing previous to the absence (at least 3 days).  The teacher will assign work, giving a schedule for work to be complete.  No credit will be given for unexcused absences or absences due to suspension. 

If you need to contact me individually, the best way is through email.  My email address is cagurcia@discoveryschool.edu.hn.  The office will also take messages for me.  If you would like to meet with me, I would be happy to schedule an appointment with you. 

If your student has any concerns or does not understand a topic, please encourage him/her to see me.  I am available most days before school, during snack, and during lunch.

Thank you for entrusting me in joining you in the education of your student!

                                                 Sincerely,

                                               Mrs. Agurcia