Im Auditorium Ventus Spei fand ein Workshop für die Lehrpersonen statt zum Thema Vorlesen. Die Referentin aus den USA brachte nicht nur viele Ideen mit, sondern auch eine Spenden von zahlreichen Büchern für die Schulbibliothek.
Das Labor als Schlüssel zur Matur
Dem Labor von Ventus Spei - seit einiger Zeit in Betrieb für die Maturaklassen - wurde noch der letzte Schliff verpasst :-)
Feliz Navidad!
Hoher Besuch
Die Nationale Bildungsministerin Maria Brown hat die Schule besucht und sich zusammen mit ihrem Team vor Ort ein Bild gemacht, wie die Lehrerschaft das Thema ‘Werte’ vermittelt. ‘Educacion en Valores’ ist an unserer Schule ein wichtiges Element des Lehrplanes und es freut uns, dass dies das Interesse auf nationaler Ebene weckt.
Im Einsatz für die Schule
Die neuen Mitglieder des Schülerrats für das Schuljahr 2022/23 werden vereidigt. Wir freuen uns über diese engagierten Schülerinnen und Schüler und wünschen ihnen viel Freude bei ihrer Arbeit.
5 Jahre Auditorium Ventus Spei
Die Schülerinnen und Schüler haben viel gebastelt und geübt für die Feierlichkeiten anlässlich des fünfjährigen Jubiläums des Auditoriums Ventus Spei. Wir sind sehr gerührt und danken herzlich!
Ein Tag der Freudentränen
Vor 21 Jahren hat eine Schule zum ersten Mal ihre Tore geöffnet für 60 Kindergartenkinder. Jahr für Jahr, wann immer es die Finanzen erlaubten, wurde ein Schulstufe hinzugefügt. Heute, 21 Jahre später, fand die Graduation der ersten Maturaklasse statt. Die Diplome wurden im Auditorium Ventus Spei überreicht. Wir danken von Herzen allen, die uns auf diesem Weg begleitet haben.
Die neue Realität
Es ist schön zu sehen, wie das Leben weitergeht. Die Kids haben ihre Flexibilität und Anpassungsfähigkeit einmal mehr bewiesen…bewundernswert.
Willkommen zurück!
Endlich wieder Präsenzunterricht! Es ist ein unglaubliches Gefühl, wieder volle Schulzimmer und Pausenplätze zu sehen… die Freude ist riesig. Wir wünschen von Herzen einen guten Start!
Die Ersten, aber bestimmt nicht die Letzten
Diese Woche wurden die Schüler:innen mit dem aktuell besten Notenschnitt geehrt. Es handelt sich dabei um den allerersten Jahrgang, der die Maturität an unserer Schule abschliessen wird. Wir freuen uns, sie auf diesem Weg begleiten zu können.
Kein Weg zu weit
Wir sind unendlich dankbar für den riesigen Einsatz, den die Lehrerinnen und Lehrer in unserer Schule über die vergangenen Monaten geleistet haben! Im Gegensatz zu den meisten Schulen in der Region wurde der Unterricht nicht einfach durch WhatsApp ersetzt, sonder Klassen fanden virtuell statt, sogar die Band probte auf diese Weise. Natürlich ist das in einem Land, wo Internet-Zugang längst nicht Standard ist, eine besondere Herausforderung. Familien, die weder Computer noch ein Smartphone besassen, wurde ein Gerät gespendet. Für Kinder in abgelegenen Gegenden ohne Internet-Verbindung liessen es sich die Lehrpersonen nicht nehmen, persönlich vorbeizugehen - natürlich unter Einhaltung aller Sicherheitsmassnahmen - und zu unterrichten. So wurde kein Kind zurückgelassen und alle Schülerinnen und Schüler wurden während dieser herausfordernder Zeit nicht nur schulisch sondern auch emotional begleitet.
Coping with Covid-19
As if life was not challenging enough for our kids after numerous earthquakes on the pacific coast, Covid-19 struck the country very hard. Our school in Bahia de Caraquez adapted remarkably fast since confinement began on March 14th. Teachers have been working even harder than before with three hours of virtual classes every day; preparation of videos on demand for the students; attending daily meetings with the Ministry of Education; staying in touch with the parents and attending conferences on general education and human values. Congratulations to all of them!
The presential classes are slowly beginning, by government order, in rural schools where one teacher serves the whole school. We expect our kids to be back in their classes in August, three times a week in small groups.
Fingers crossed.
Music to honour life
Remarkably, this small school has a music band with 105 schoolchildren! Enrique, the only music teacher, manages this lively bunch. From the age of 8 years, all students play an instrument, ranging from wind instruments such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones, saxhorns, flutes and melodicas to percussion instruments like drums, guiros, congas and xylophones. The musical repertoire including various Latin rhythms is considerable and the whole group in action sounds almost like a very energetic carnival band! Several times a year, the band marches through Bahía as part of a parade to honour life, peace, solidarity and tolerance. Everybody always gives their best and the cheerful music certainly manages to attract much attention across the city to this worthy cause!
The Kfouri Science Center is taking shape
We owe you an update on the progress of the new science center! Building the basic structures of the science center was the first step: a single large room, built on pillars about 2.5 meters above the ground, thereby providing a second work area underneath. Open yet sheltered, this additional space is currently used for chess classes, painting activities and storage of building materials. Inside the lab there are three large workbenches with six sinks each. The room is high and spacious and flooded with light from the large windows. Over the course of the past few weeks, the lab make excellent further progress: stone benchtops were put in place, electrical installations were fitted, floor tiles were laid, wooden doors were mounted and the whole building was painted ochre-red. When finished, this will be a fabulous facility for a big range of scientific activities at the school!
A new year and still growing
The school is not only growing flowers and fruits figuratively as an institution, but also quite literally around the school grounds. The other day a truck full of colourful plants arrived and the older students came to unload them into a shaded nursery, the “huerto amor” (the “orchard of love”), where they are cared for until being planted around the school. Each student will pick one plant and is then responsible for its care after planting it. Since the early days of this school in 2001, the steep, dusty block of land has thus been gradually transformed into a beautiful, flowering garden.
The impact of human values
The universal human values build the core element of “our” school and are reflected in its emblem, a flower containing the words verdad (truth), no violencia (nonviolence), accion correcta (right conduct), amor (love) and paz (peace). From Tuesday to Friday, the first lecture for all classes at 7:00 am is devoted to “valores”, with the aim of fostering character development and the active practice of human values in daily life.
The school also acts as a link to the community by holding regular workshops on related topics, for example nonviolent communication in the family. The loving school culture is also visible in many small details around the school, such as the colourful decorations in the classrooms and gardens. There’s so much kindness and laughter all around that it is easy to forget the hardships that many families face on a daily basis here in Bahia outside of the school gates.
A new Monday morning
Each Monday at the school starts with a special celebratory ritual. All teachers and students unite at the Auditorium Ventus Spei at 7am to greet the new week with different songs. Next, a group of students give a presentation about a topic that was prepared in the previous school week. Today, for instance, five children of 5th grade talked about Juan José Flores, the first President of the new Republic of Ecuador. After that, all children who had their birthdays in the preceding week walk to the stage to be celebrated with a candle, several rounds of “Happy Birthday to you…” in different languages and loud cheers of their classmates. Finally, all children settle down again for a peaceful meditation and prayer. With renewed energy and focus, everybody then quietly returns to their classroom for a new week of learning.
More than volunteering
For the first time, a volunteer has travelled to the school with her kids. We were not only blessed with Karin’s help in teaching English, but also new friendships were made as her sons (11 and 9) joined the regular classes with the local children. “It has been a wonderful and enriching experience and I am deeply impressed about how much is being achieved here with such a limited amount of resources!” Karin says. “The two resident English teachers, Mozhdeh from Iran and Eduardo from Ecuador, are doing a fantastic job. However, with over 340 students at the school, more permanent English teachers are urgently needed in order for all students to follow a solid curriculum throughout their primary education.” We couldn’t agree more and thank Karin for being part of Ventus Spei.
Building the Kfouri Science Center
We are very excited to share our newest project with you!
Thanks to the generosity of our late friend Dr Alex kfouri we will be able to build a science center for the school in Bahia. Now why is this so important? Up to now, our students had to finish their last three years of college in another school, because we did not have the resources for the mandatory science classes. This will change now and our students will be able to obtain their college degree in our school.
The construction has already started. We will keep you posted on the progress.
A new beginning
We celebrated this week the start of the school year 2019 - 2020 with the amazing number of over 340 students! Previously, workshops were held with the parents of the new students as their support is crucial for the success of their kids.
If you also would like to support with a scholarship, please contact us. There are many students who don’t have this important financial support yet.