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.