You Raise Me Up….!

August ended with a BANG! and now September is off to a great start. “You Raise Me Up”, a popular song by Josh Groban just seems like the right theme for us at this time. The full verse reads;

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains; you raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders; you raise me up to more than I can be”.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2QHLkxe7jA

It is so amazing to have students at the Learning Center doing so well…being raised up!

In an update on the Spelling Bee; the second round of the Spelling Bee Contest took place September 3. Among the top three winners and an alternate are two students from the Learning Center. Learning Center student Dayana (shown in the middle below) is a fourth grade student and the youngest among the first and third place winners.

She won second place competing with seventeen other students. She was the third place winner last week in the first round.

Camil (not shown), also a Learning Center student, won the alternate spot after 20 rounds. Recall, Camil is not directly an AGB scholarship recipient but benefits indirectly since her family received a scholarship for her twin sister, Katrina. This speaks volumes for the Learning Center’s success as two of the four winners attend the Learning Center in Copey.

This contest level is known as “circuital” and is comparable to our county or state competition and obviously more competitive than the local level. The next round is in October at the regional level. We are proud of all of the students and will keep a close eye on the upcoming regional competition.

The ongoing Pen Pal Program continues. Our US teacher Lisa has received letters from the Learning Center and her students are preparing their letters to return to the Learning Center students. This will start the next round of letters. Lisa reports her class is so excited about their pen pal friends that they have also put a school supply package together to send to the Learning Center.

Lisa’s students are being introduced to new experiences, new friends, along with unique geography and social issues. There is no way to measure the benefits students on both ends are receiving from this form of international interaction. If you are in a position where you have students in class or groups under your guidance in schools, clubs, churches, scouts, or other organizations, please consider joining in on a similar Pen Pal Program. See the July 29 and May 17 Posts on Lisa and the Southern Style Pen Pal Program.

I will gladly assist you in working out the needed arrangements to make this work properly. Send me a note if you want more information.

Also, remember we have budding ballet stars on the horizon! These talented students are busy with night ballet classes and traveling to San Jose on weekends to rehearse for The Nutcracker.

I wish we all could book a flight and head off to San Jose to see them perform.

I am trying to generate some awareness among ballet enthusiasts or companies. “Friends”, do you have contacts in the Arts world? Can we find resources where we can have this story covered in a ballet newsletter or exposed to other young potential ballet students?  Let me know if we have any way of bringing this story into the US.

By the way, our “friend” Claudio, one of the earliest “Friends of Copey” from San Jose, Costa Rica is traveling to the US next week to attend his 50th Class Reunion at the US Naval Academy.  Claudio, you and Sheila have a great time and “Go Navy!”

In closing, you can see there is much on our plate and we are always looking for more ways to support and encourage the Learning Center and the Copey community. Thank you for your ongoing interest and support.