The last few months at the School of Hope have been wonderful! Our 20th anniversary celebrations in July were an exciting time for all members of the school community. We were able to share in several celebrations with our students, their families, sponsors and visitors, and the memories that were created will last a lifetime.
In addition to our celebrations, we had the pleasure of once again welcoming the team from the "Sonrisas que Escuchan" Foundation, an organisation that has been coming for several years to evaluate student hearing and if necessary provide them with additional exams and the equipment to be able the hear better. They even took the time to evaluate our staff!
Furthermore, in the last half of the year we were able to recruit a talented professional to give physical therapy to students from our school. We also welcomed speech therapy university interns in order to reach more students with this crucial support. In the School of Hope we had the visit of several volunteers to work as teacher's assistants and with their help several activities were held, such as a fun spelling bee, which is a great opportunity for the students to practice what they have learned in their English classes and become more comfortable with the language.
We want our students to finish their studies and get a good job, but we also encourage them to believe that they can own their own business, so we have an entrepreneurship programme in our curriculum and an entrepreneurship fair was organized in September for the students to present their projects. Also in September, we celebrated Guatemala Independence Day in a unique way throughout the week. Teachers and students worked together to create art and talent shows that were full of creativity and ingenuity. We enjoyed parades, a running of the touch, and a talent show representing the culture.
In October Our students also enjoyed the Children's Day celebration where they were invited to the beautiful cultural center. Some students had the opportunity to visit their museum and others played many games in the beautiful fields. Everyone enjoyed a delicious meal and ice cream that was donated by generous local businesses.
Another important event that took place during the last few months was a community job fair. We hosted the fair on the school campus, which was organised in collaboration with the Labor Ministry of Sacatepequez. Companies, hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses were recruiting new staff and anyone living in the area looking for a job were welcomed to attend.
The end of the year was marked by the celebration of the 6th and 9th grade graduations. It was wonderful to see the students achieve their goals despite the difficulties they have faced. To celebrate, there was a graduation ceremony with dancing and dinner.
All of these amazing events and accomplishments are made possible by your support. Thank you for believing in and helping our students!
