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Classes resume for the new
school year in San Pedro The school
year is in full swing at campuses across the Belize, a sometimes
bittersweet shift for students and parents alike. Early Tuesday
morning, streets and schoolyards were filled with parents accompanying
their children on their first day back after a long summer holiday.
While it was clear that some of the students were excited to be back,
that definitely wasn’t the situation in every case, as some of the
smaller children entering pre-school did not want to let go of their
parents’ hands. The Sun caught up with School Nurse/Counselor, Glenda
Rancharan, for a tour of the newly expanded Holy Cross Anglican School
and got a glimpse of the fully equipped structure that will house over
450 kids in style. The smiling youngsters resplendent in new school
uniforms were looking forward to beginning their new term.
 Holy Cross kids learn about good hygiene At school, their first
day was spent learning the pathways to new
classes in their school, as over the summer the Holy Cross added nine
(9) extra classrooms to accommodate some 465 kids. The newly built
classrooms now house Standard Three, Four, Five and Six grade students.
This means that Standard Six students at Holy Cross will be eligible to
sit the Primary School Examination, (PSE) next year.
 Young RC Students line up for classes Holy Cross has now
transformed into a fully operational educational
facility including its own health outpost, a brand new cafeteria, nine
extra classes, and space for a dental outpost. Holy Cross currently
boasts 14 teachers in the primary division, a principal, assistant
principal, and two teachers in the Special Education unit, school
nurse/counselor, office manager and a book keeper.
 Amir Marin goes back for his second year of pre-school, while his cousin Sylvanie is too excited for her first year! A head count on the
overall elementary capacity across the island shows
the San Pedro Roman Catholic School carrying the highest population of
students (930 kids, 38 teachers), Holy Cross (463 kids, 14 teachers)
New Horizon’s Academy (200 kids, nine teachers), Isla Bonita Elementary
(101 kids, nine teachers), Ambergris Elementary (70 students, eight
teachers), St. Peter’s Elementary (60 kids, five teachers) Island
Academy (Private- 90- kids, eight teachers). That brings the student
population in primary schools on the island to over one thousand four
hundred. As the kids go back to bell schedules and homework
assignments, the school year for most is looking promising and a lot
less stressful due to the textbook program. Read More
Memories of Belize
by: Dan
Osborne
The
first time I went to Belize was in 1981 when friends read an
article in the Toronto Star newspaper about "The last unspoiled
paradise in the world". We decided that this was the ultimate vacation
so we proceeded to find all we could about this "unknown" Belize. The
search through travel agencies, brochures and finally libraries yielded
little information. If you are still not sure where Belize is, it was
originally British Honduras and is located just south of Mexico on the
Caribbean Sea.
We contacted the Don Quixote Hotel that was featured in the Star article and discovered that the resort was owned and operated by two brothers from Toronto. We reserved rooms at the resort and continued to make our arrangements. There were three couples going and one couple decided to drive the some three thousand miles to Belize, they had driven to Mexico for vacation several times so this was to be no special deal for them. The rest of us made arrangements to fly. This required flying to Miami then to Merida, Mexico and from there a smaller plane to Chetumal on the Mexico-Belize Border. Our friends would meet us there and drive to our resort near Corozal Town in Belize. Before we left we contacted the Belize Consulate in Ottawa to try to obtain as much information as possible. It was suggested that we get malaria shots as we would be in or close to dense jungle. Passports are required so we proceeded to acquire them. Deciding what to pack was a problem as this was a trip of mystery, so we brought along the usual things required in a tropical climate.The trip to Chetumal was certainly an eventful one, the landing in Merida was so hard that some of the molding over my head came crashing down and fortunately no one was injured. We emerged unscathed in the 90º afternoon heat. The trip to Chetumal was a short pleasant flight. Our friends met us at the airport as planned and we all six piled into the car and started our journey into Belize. The trip through Belize customs and immigration was to be our first taste of the culture I have come to love. The lone guard at the border instructed us to get out of the car and enter the immigration office, a small blue building with shutters and flaps that fold down to protect the place from the weather. Once inside he proceeded to ask the usual questions and with great flair and distinction stamped our passports and instructed us to go outside and bring our luggage into the customs building next door. We did as we were told and when we entered, we discovered we were in the other side of the same building where the immigration official turned around the other side of his big desk and commenced his officious inspection of our belongings. We proceeded on to our resort, which was by our standards a 4 star facility with nice rooms, pool and very upscale restaurant. A very exhausted crew, we had supper a few drinks and to bed for a wonderful peaceful sleep. Read More NOTICES/LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can John Wesley |
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