Nov 17, 2013

Weekly Announcements

MIDTERM REPORTS – Midterm reports will be issued this Friday, November 22. Please make sure you ask your child for his/her report. If a conference was not requested by a teacher but you would like to have one, please contact the school to set up an appointment.
 
FROM THE COUNSELOR: We invite you to visit our teacher and administrator blogs and become a follower of the ones for which you wish to receive updates. There's always valuable information posted on them that you might find useful with your children. All you need to do is click on "Participar en este sitio" or "Follow this site" and provide your name and email information, and you will be notified of updates to that particular blog automatically. You can follow as many blogs as you would like to.
 
FROM THE SCHOOL’S CAFETERIA -  Please visit the Cafeteria blog http://discoverycafeteria.blogspot.com/ for information on the delicious Pecan, Apple and Pumpkin pies that can be ordered for your Thanksgiving celebrations. The cafeteria is also offering a meal for the classroom festivities at a very attractive price!
 
LAST WEEK FOR DONATIONS  FOR “YA TENGO DONDE ESCRIBIR”:  Don’t forget to send in cereal boxes. Wednesday, November 20 is the last day! The grade that brought the most boxes will be awarded a pizza party or ice cream party! Please help us help those in need!
 
CHRISTMAS GIVING TREE:  Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) is an international organization that takes in abandoned and orphaned children, providing a home and education.  Here in Honduras, the NPH organization provides for over 500 children in at large ranch near La Venta and home in Tegucigalpa for severely handicapped children.   While many children at the ranch have aunts, uncles, or grandparents that come to visit them and can provide some Christmas gifts, some children at a ranch have no family to visit.  It is these children whom we would like to provide for this Christmas.   On the second floor of the secondary building, a NPH Giving Tree will be set up.   Choose a paper tree that has a child’s information about his/her size for shoes or socks.  Purchase the new item and return it to Mrs. Agurcia’s Room (Rm. 7) by Tuesday, December 10th, with the tree tag taped to it.  As well, there are tree tags for basic food items that will be donated to the orphanage.  Cash donations will also be accepted to provide shoes and socks for children whose tags were not selected.  Thank you for giving this Christmas!  For more information about NPH’s work in Honduras, please visit http://www.nph-honduras.org/. 


COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB:  There will be a meeting of the Community Service Club on Tuesday, November 19th in Mrs. Agurcia's Room (Rm.7) at lunch.  All secondary students are welcome.
 
SCIENCE FAIR:  Please remember that Science Fair will be held on Friday, December 6th.  That day, all 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10A students will be involved in the fair during 3rd and 4th periods. First period will proceed as normal and 1/2 of 2nd period will be used to set up the fair on the second floor of the secondary building.  As well, students with top projects will be asked to present their project to a visiting judge that afternoon in the library (meaning the library will not be available for classes that afternoon).  Students from other classes will be invited to visit the fair in the following schedule:  6A, 6B, 10B, 11, and 12 during 3rd period, and elementary classes during 4th period (10:53-11:43).  More details about the schedule will be given closer to the fair.

Nov 3, 2013

Weekly Annoucments

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THIS WEEK -  Missi Love is returning for a follow-up training at the end of this week. She will work with all of our teachers on the Four Blocks Literacy Program, Literature Circles, and 6+1 Traits of Writing, and guide teachers’ discussions of how they grade written work, and why. This will take place on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9. These two days will be full working days for teachers.  There will be no school for students on Friday, November 8 as stated in the school calendar.
 
DONATIONS NEEDED:  Please remember to send in cereal boxes for Ya Tengo Donde Escribir” between now and November 20. The grade that brought the most boxes will be awarded a pizza party or ice cream party! Please help us help those in need!

 
GOOD NEWS! THE SECONDARY SCHOOL (grades 6 -11) IS NOW USING IXL FOR MATH – This is a comprehensive math site with an unlimited number of practice questions in hundreds of skills. One of the best things about IXL is that your child can access it from home, so you have a chance to see your child's progress! IXL assesses our students' understanding as they practice.
 
In addition to making math practice exciting, IXL is designed to help your child learn at his or her own pace. The website is adaptive and will adjust to your child's demonstrated ability level. The site also saves all of your child's results, so you can monitor your child's progress anytime by clicking on Reports at the top of the page. Please encourage your son or daughter to use IXL daily. Here's to a year of working together to make math fun for your child!
 
Check your child’s math teacher blog to find out what skills they are practicing every week.
 
PASSING GRADE ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION - We would like to remind parents that the passing grade for the Ministry is 70%. Therefore, your child needs to score at least 70% in each subject in order to avoid coming to recuperation exam/s, which are now required at the end of every quarter. The final grade for the quarter is an average of the failing grade and the recup grade. We encourage you to check blogs and ENGRADE on a weekly basis, and to keep in close communication with teachers.
 
STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOPS - To help improve students' overall academic performance we are offering the following mandatory Study Skills Workshops in the Library:
 
    • Middle School (grades 6-8): Wednesday, November 13, from 8:00-9:40 a.m.
    • High School (grades 9-12): Wednesday, November, 13 from 10:00-11:40 a.m.
 
These workshops are geared to students in particular. On a later date we will offer workshops that are more focused on parental support at home.
 
 

Oct 26, 2013

Weekly Annoucments

U.N. DAY CELEBRATION-  The DPTO is organizing our annual U.N. Day celebration for this Wednesday, October 30. We hope our parents can join us this day. The celebration will begin at 9:00 a.m. to allow parents time to set up their tables. Students will be dismissed from school at 11:45 a.m. The DPTO has planned an International Fashion Show for the UN Day, and they need your help! If you want to participate by modeling or by lending any typical costume that you may have, please contact Marielos or Alexanderia at the following email addresses:  mmm9487@yahoo.com  or   amhaidara05@yahoo.com
 
DONATIONS NEEDED:  Don’t forget to send in cereal boxes for Ya Tengo Donde Escribir” between now and November 20. The grade that brought the most boxes will be awarded a pizza party or ice cream party! Please help us help those in need!


COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB-  We will have a meeting on Tuesday, October 29, at lunchtime in Mrs. Christina Agurcia's room.  We will discuss our visit to Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos on Sunday, November 3rd and preparation for the annual Christmas party.  All secondary students are invited to attend.
 
OPERATION WALLACEA- Operation Wallacea is an international organization that joins high school and university students with field research scientists to aid in gathering data for biodiversity conservation, here in Honduras and in other locations throughout the world.  Representatives from this organization will present information on Tuesday, October 29, at 3:15 PM in the Discovery School library.  Students from Grades 8-12 and their parents are invited to attend and learn about this amazing opportunity.
 

Oct 6, 2013

Weekly Annoucements

 
MAP FALL TESTING SESSION – This is the third week of our Map testing session. Parent cooperation in making sure our students are in school on time is greatly appreciated. 
 
NO ELECTRICITY ON TUESDAY – The ENEE has published that there will be no electricity in our school on Tuesday, October 8. We encourage parents to pack snack and lunch for students that does NOT require refrigeration or heating.
 
DONATIONS NEEDED: “Ya Tengo Donde Escribir” is an organization aiming to help children from public schools that cannot afford notebooks. In order to help, the organization makes notebooks out of cereal boxes and pages from used notebooks. They are now collecting cereal boxes until November 20, and we encourage our students and teachers to bring cereal boxes from their homes. At the end of the contest, the grade that brought the most boxes will be awarded a pizza party or ice cream party! Please help us help those in need!


CATS - On Thursday October 24th, grades 6 through 12 will be going to the Hotel Honduras Maya for the presentation of the play "CATS". The cost to attend this event is 150 lempiras. This includes the entrance ticket and transportation. Permission slips will be sent home on Monday, October 7, and the due date to turn the money and signed permission slip in to the homeroom teacher isWednesday October 9.

Sep 22, 2013

Weekly Announcments

MAP FALL TESTING SESSION – Our Map testing session begins on Monday, September 23. Parent cooperation in making sure our students are in school on time is greatly appreciated. 
 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEDNESDAY IN SEPTEMBER – There will be no school for students on Wednesday, September 25. Teachers will receive in-service sessions with Ms. Judi Fenton.
 
DONATIONS NEEDED: “Ya Tengo Donde Escribir” is an organization aiming to help children from public schools that cannot afford notebooks. In order to help, the organization makes notebooks out of cereal boxes and pages from used notebooks. They are now collecting cereal boxes until November 20th, and we encourage our students and teachers to bring cereal boxes from their homes. At the end of the contest, the grade that brought the most boxes will be awarded a pizza party or ice cream party! Please help us help those in need!
 
BAKE SALE - The Community Service Club will be hosting a bake sale on Thursday, September 26 to raise funds for the annual Christmas party for the orphans from Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos.  Many delicious treats will be available at break and lunch time!  Thanks, in advance, for your support!
 
FLU SEASON: The flu season has arrived, and we feel it is important that parents be aware and on the lookout for flu symptoms. We want to give you some suggestions and guidelines for keeping your child and your family healthy.
 
1.    One of the first ways of controlling exposure to the flu is to avoid crowds and close contact with others.
2.    If your child is sick with flu symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing), please keep your child home until s/he is symptom free for 24 hours.
3.    We have placed antiseptic handwash and Lysol disinfecting spray in each classroom and office. It is advisable for students to also have their own antiseptic handwash and to use it frequently.
4.    Teachers are reminding their students to wash their hands frequently, cover coughs or sneezes, not share drinking bottles, food, straws, etc., and to use the antiseptic handwash.
 
Flu Symptoms:  Fever, body aches including headache, fatigue, runny nose, cough and congestion.
 
What to do if your child has these symptoms:  Contact your doctor; keep your child home until s/he has been symptom free (including having no fever) for at least 24 hours.
 
By following the above precautions, we are hopeful that we can contain and prevent widespread cases of the flu.
 

 

Sep 15, 2013

Weekly Announcements

MIDTERM REPORTS were issued last Thursday, September 12. We encourage parents to go over them and discuss them with your child(ren), sign them and send them back to school. If you would like a conference, and one was not requested, please call the school to set up an appointment.
 
DPTO – The Discovery Parent-Teacher Organization (DPTO) works to help the school fundraiser for projects and provide fun activities for our students, parents, and teachers! Anyone interested in joining and help to organize events is more than welcome to join us, as we meet every Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. in the school Cafeteria. We would like to remind all parents of the agreement made by the General Assembly in May 2013, to have all parents donate L. 200 per child to help finance the events and activities organized during the year. You can pay the fee in the Finance Office to Ms. Belgica Varela, or your homeroom teacher. You will receive a receipt from the school. Parents who still have not done so, please fill out our survey athttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q6QY2VF
 
MAP FALL TESTING SESSION – Our Map testing session will begin on Monday, September 23. The specific times and dates for our grades will be published in our blogs. Parent cooperation in making sure our students are in school on time is greatly appreciated. 
 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEDNESDAY IN SEPTEMBER – There will be no school for students on Wednesday, September 25. Teachers will receive in-service sessions with Ms. Judi Fenton.
 
(Only for Grades 9-11INFORMATIVE MEETING WITH PARENTS GRADES 9 – 11: We are inviting grades 9-11 parents to attend a meeting with the school’s Counselor, Ms. Marilis Zambrana, and Ms. Gloria Palacios, Secondary Assistant Principal to discuss college admissions and other pertinent information. The meeting will take place Thursday, September 19 @ 8:15 (school Library).
 
 

Sep 8, 2013

Weekly Announcements

DPTO - Parents, please take a minute and fill out the short survey for the Discovery School Parent-Teacher Organization.  As you are part of the DPTO, the executive team wants your feedback and ideas on events and focus for the year.  Both parents are encouraged to fill out the survey. The link to fill out the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q6QY2VF
FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE – Parents who are not using an automatic debit system with a credit card to pay tution are asked to stop by the Finance Office to obtain their payment cards as soon as posible.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPEMENT IN SEPTEMBER – On September 23, Ms. Judi Fenton is returning to Discovery to follow up on her visit and Professional Development sessions with teachers last year. A schedule will be provided once it is finalized with her. There will be no school on Wednesday, September 25, so teachers can participate in an all-day training.

INFORMATIVE MEETING WITH PARENTS GRADES 9 – 11: We are inviting grades 9-11 parents to attend a meeting with the school’s Counselor, Ms. Marilis Zambrana, and Ms. Gloria Palacios, Secondary Assistant Principal to discuss college admissions and other pertinent information. The meeting will take place Thursday, September 19 @ 8:15 (school Library).