The Hills are Alive in Stann Creek!

This past week finished with great success as Alex and Kathleen taught all their lessons to the older Standards at Zion school. The Standard 6s were busily preparing for their national test on Monday, but we taught a quick stress management lesson which will hopefully be of use.Erica and Emily were able to teach in the Special Education class at Sacred Heart school all week. They taught topics such as puberty, substance abuse, and self esteem. The children were a variety of ages and had a spectrum of disabilities. Teaching this class was a new experience, and we felt that the kids were receptive and enthusiastic about what we were teaching.Throughout the week we all taught sexual responsibility and HIV/AIDS lessons to the older classes at both Sacred Heart and Epworth schools. We all felt the sessions were filled with challenging questions and were a great success with lots of support from teachers.On Friday night, the primary project went to the local football match to cheer on the Dangriga team as they played against a local town called Silvercreek. We saw many children we had taught the previous week, and were welcomed by friendly members of the community. We also were able to try a few traditional Garifuna foods at the game such as coconut crusts.The hotel we are staying at has been very secure and supportive. One night on the rooftop balcony we were able to experience an authentic performance by a live Garifuna drumming band. We also welcomed the secondary project on Sunday, and were taken for a tour of Dangriga by the Stann Creek District Coordinator Marshall Mejia.The primary project are teaching in schools a little further out of town this week. We have early mornings at the bus stop but arrive at schools embedded in the beautiful hills. Alex and Kat are excited to be at St. Matthews school this coming week. Our first day was filled with lots of fun teaching about stress and bullying with an analogy using the uniqueness of snowflakes in Canada. Alex had a good time on break keeping up on the football field and Kayla and Kat tried their hand at baseball. This week, Erica and Emily are at St. Augustine school in Middlesex village about 45 minutes outside of Dangriga. The school has a beautiful playground that overlooks a luscious Belizean countryside. Today they primarily taught puberty and enjoyed playing Stella Ella Olla and football with the kids on break. The teachers and principals at both schools were very welcoming and supportive and the students were again very respectful. We all look forward to being able to teach all of our lessons to the older classes this week!We are also excited to watch the kids perform at the Arts Festival in town during the evenings this week. The children at our schools have been practicing skits, songs and dances to perform in front of the community. The standard 5s at St. Augustine will appropriately be performing "The Hills are Alive" from the Sound of Music.Until next week,The Primary CrewCa, Kay, Kat, Em, and Ex