Interact issue 2

INTER ACT ISSUE II

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2013

PREVIOUS SACS EVALUATIONS WERE REVIEWED AND DISCUSSED

BY STAFF LEAD COMMITIES.

ONCE HERE, THE ADVANCED TEAM PRESENTED THEMSELVES TO OUR TEAM BEFORE GOING ON TO PERFORM INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS.

UPON REACCREDITATION, STAFF AND ADVANCED MEMBERS CELEBRATED THE SCHOOL'S IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENT

“On behalf of the External Review Team, we extend: • Our appreciation for your hospitality, support, and professionalism; • Our respect and acknowledgement of your efforts to improve quality; • Our congratulations for your achieving Accreditation as a quality institution.”

These are the parting words of the AdvancED Accreditation Review Team that visited our school in late September. I want to add my thanks and appreciation to all the students, teachers, administrators, board members, and parents who worked so diligently during the last year in getting the school ready for this review.

I am so extremely proud of everyone involved in the process, and of course I am proud of the fact that Colegio Interamericano is once again recognized as a fully accredited member of the AdvancED organization. There are other accrediting agencies, but AdvancEd has long been recognized as the absolute leader in the field. Through them it is much more difficult to get accreditation, and it is certainly harder to maintain accreditation, than it would be though any of the other “secondary” accrediting agencies.

The members of the accreditation review team were extremely impressed by many of the things they saw happening at our wonderful school. Here are just a couple of the statements they put in the review: • “The school provides a robust extra-curricular activity (ECA) program which supports the curricular program in multiple ways and provides opportunities for students to explore and develop interests, special skills, and lifelong learning attitudes.”

• “Colegio Interamericano has implemented hiring policies and procedures which involve multiple stakeholders to optimize processes to achieve the highest possible quality results.”

On another positive note, we had over 220 parents attend the Open House, an event designed to give them information about registering their children for the next school year. Yes, it is only October and yes we are talking about registering now for the school year that starts next August, but if they wait any longer, space will not be available. Now, we just have to figure out a new way to handle the increased traffic flow that naturally follows an increase in enrollment.

CARL WIEBURG GENERAL DIRECTOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COLEGIO INTERAMERICANO Boulevard la Montana, Finca el Socorro, zona 16.

Guatemala City, 01016 Guatemala City Central America PBX. 2200-2990

STUDENT ARCHER

ON THE COVER

How Andres started out with a bow and arrow and ended up in PAGE 21 Wuxi, China.

MNI ALU EX- HLIGHT HIG

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A SP ON L OTLIGHT ITER ACY

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2013 Book fair fall

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advanced sacs external review

How we did do and where do we go from here?

Wallace Ting

PAGE 9 EDITORS IN CHIEF

Deputy Director of Academics walace.ting@interamericano.edu.gt

Jose Fuentes

Public Relations and Communications Coordinator jose.fuentes@interamericano.edu.gt

Staff Highlight

Leo de braham “I’ve always taught classes, always. Ever since I lined my dolls up as a kid and tried to teach them the alphabet, it was my calling,” says Leonor de Braham, fifth grade elementary teacher at Colegio Interamericano. After thirty four years of working at this institution, Miss Leo, as she is lovingly called by her students, has had a firsthand view of how this school has progressed over the last few decades.

Her Brother-in-Law, José Rodolfo Pérez Lara, was one of the of the founding members of the 1976 school board and offered Miss Leo a temporary position at Interamericano. “There was some hesitation on my part and I didn’t have a degree in teaching,” she recalls, “so I decided to try it out for a month and I ended up staying for over thirty years.”

In her thirty four years of working at Interamericano, Miss Leo has become even more vested in the community. All of Miss Leo’s children graduated from Interamericano, making her as much an Inter Mom as well as an integral part of the academic staff. “I fell in love with the school, to be honest.There is warmth to this place that has never left me.”

She has since worked as a coordinator in High School, Elementary and even managed the school’s Extracurricular Activities Program. “My decade in administration taught me a lot about teaching. I figured out that what eachers need the most is a boss they could talk to.”

Mrs. Braham has recently shifted back to teaching. Her decision came at a time of great changes at InterameriFIFTH GRADE cano. “We had heard for TEACHER years that a technology-based change was upon us. Up until a couple years ago we saw it come into fruition in both lesson planning and classroom teaching.” The transformation included an extensive iPad program for Elementary and the interactive modules of Literacy by Design and Singapore Math.

Yet technology reaches only so far. Miss Leo considers Greg Bellemare, current Interamericano Elementary Principal, a key part of why the transition has been a success. “His experience is evident in each meeting. Our team meetings are more proactive brainstorming sessions rather than traditional sit-downs. We all benefit from his input and everyone’s individual academic background.”

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As a final note, Miss Leo had a message for Interamericano parents: Never do for a child what they can do for themselves. “I’ve recently learned this phrase from Miss Nancy, our remedial teacher,” says Miss Leo. If I’ve learned one thing in my years here, it is to trust a child to make a mistake and become a better person from it, even if it means allowing them to fail a bit.”

MARiA RENEE ANDREU

The nineteen year old volleyball trainer of Colegio Interamericano is something of a local celebrity.

Her devotion to the sport has led her to compete in several large-scale regional championships with the Guatemalan Volleyball National Selection, namely the Volleyball World Cup of 2011 and the Juegos Centroamericanos of 2010. Yet Andreu has never forgotten where she served her first ball.

Her work here was soon recognized and her involvement became a key component in the department’s constant improvement. “I’ve seen sports take a turn for the better at Inter,” says Andreu. The quantity and quality of Extracurricular Activities available is example enough.

Money is being invested in equipment, new spaces are being built, and even the level of competition has improved since I graduated.”

Andreu looks back at her time at Interamericano with a smile on her face. She remembers the time her team won the school’s first volleyball AASCA and how that brought notoriety to the sport. “My objective now is to keep VOLLEYBALL that feeling going and maybe winning TRAINER another major tournament with my students.

They’ve definitely got what it takes,” the trainer boasts.

Besides working at Colegio Interamericano, Maria Renee is currently enrolled at Universidad Rafael Landívar, where she studies International Relations and is a member of the institution’s official volleyball team. On Sunday, October 20th, Andreu left with the Landivar selection for Puebla, Mexico, to represent Guatemala at Intersuj 2013, a prestigious sports championship between Jesuit-run universities in Central and South America, where she led her team to a remarkable first place finish inthe tournament.

The athlete-coach encourages everybody to find a sport and start practicing. “No matter if it’s volleyball, soccer or tennis, what you get back from the sport is so much more than you give,” she explains. “Sports provides opportunities you can’t even imagine.”

Ex-alumni Highlight

“Who wouldn’t want to come back?” Those were the words Maria Renee Andreu said when asked why she decided to work at her former school. “I have a need in me to give back to the place and the people that motivated me to find one of my biggest passions and excel as a human being,” she explains. After graduating from Interamericano in 2012, Andreu started working at this institution immediately. “Teachers and staff welcomed me back with open arms. It felt cozy and really nice to be appreciated in such a loving place.”

IN THE PICS: Top Right: Vendors had stands where they spoke to interested buyers of all ages. Middle Left: Students were able to read and touch the books, before purchasing them.

Bottom Right: Kinder Teacher Mr. Farley helps kids read their new books.

FALL book fair 2013

One of the main goals of the school library is to instill an appreciation and love of reading through abudant resources and engaging activities. From October 9th to 11th, Interamericano hosted its first Book Fair of the academic year, which gave teachers, students, and parents an opportunity to further cultivate their love of reading.

We invited 11 different literary vendors to the second floor of the library for this exciting event. We set up for this activity and providers presented in their stands a variety of book titles in both English and Spanish. More than 5,000 titles were available representing a variety of book choices and genres. Students from all levels visited the fair to select and buy books. More than 800 people visited our book fair this year and more than 1,000 books were sold.

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by Luis masaya

The Book Fair was an excellent forum for community members to get excited about reading and discuss book preferences with friends and family. Additionally, a small portion of Book Fair sales have gone towards our school library, allowing us to purchase new titles for circulation and checkout.

Our next Book Fair will take place in March 2014. We are looking forward to getting even more books in the hands of our students and making this Book Fair even bigger and better!

ADVANCED SACS External a cc r e d i t a t i o n review b y W a ll a c e T i n g

From September 22nd to 25th, a team of educators from AdvancED/SACS visited Interamericano as part of our school reaccreditation process. This is an important aspect of our identify as an American school and allows our students to graduate with a High School diploma that is recognized in the United States and around the world. We are happy to report that Interamericano has once again received full accreditation status until 2018, at which point the school will go through another external accreditation visit.

In an intensive, on-site review process that spanned four days, the accreditation team reviewed evidence relating to school curriculum, financial documents, organizational charts, hiring policies, and much more. This evidence was further verified through interview sessions with teachers, parents, students, and support staff. At the conclusion of the accreditation visit, the school was presented with an exit report of the team's findings. Teachers, administrators, and school board members were present for this meeting.

The external review team first highlighted some of the school's "Powerful Practices," noteworthy aspects of the school that the review team felt merited acknowledgement. The diversity, scope, and participation of the ECA (extracurricular) program was presented as the first "Powerful Practice." They were was also impressed with the recent modification of the school’s hiring policy.

All staff members at Interamericano now go through a rigorous interview process and background check that is done in committee.

The accreditation team also left the school with several "Required Actions," steps that must be taken and reported upon.

First, they suggested to develop school-wide policies and norms for the collection and use of student data. While they were impressed with some of the programs and initiatives in different levels, these policies must be school-wide (across all three levels) and normalized. From these regular and multiple sources of student data, they then charged the school to horizontally and vertically align the school’s curriculum.

The accreditation review team also charged the school to engage stakeholders (teachers, administrators, parents, students) to have an active role in the regular review of the school's Mission and Vision statements. Finally, they asked the school to ensure and document safety and security norms throughout the school with regards to entrance/dismissal routines, maintenance requests, and safety walkthroughs.

The feedback given by the accreditation team has been extremely beneficial to affirm the positive things that are happening at Interamericano along with focusing our efforts to continually improve our institution, and we look forward to implementing the accreditation team's feedback with fervor and fidelity.

IN THE PICS Top Left- Evaluation commetee members gave a concise exit report, to school stakeholders.

TopRight - Staff members intently listen to the external team's feedback.

ON STUCOS’ MIND:

IN THE PICS: Bottom: School Spirit was high during the basketball game against Colegio Village as most levels came to the game and cheered on our team.

SCHOOL SPIRIT

by Andrew Degenhart High School Student Council President

School Spirit should be what defines Colegio Interamericano. This is what makes a school fun and fills it with people who take pride in being part of such a privileged community. Just as a country has patriots, a school too needs loyal “citizens” - students who think of their school as the best educational institution in the whole wide world, no matter what. However, these proud students are far too rare, and the lack of said devotion to this community is a price we all must pay. It’s as if students feel ashamed of Inter, choosing not come and cheer for our teams during big matches, keeping their love of Colegio Interamericano deep within themselves, where no one can see.

This year the High School Student Council has established an ambitious goal: to reach the highest level of School Spirit possible. With the help of a group of leaders, we have formed a committee of 21 members who are determined to accomplish this goal. Activities such as the Annual Rally, Spirit Week, Pep Rallies and more will soon offer several opportunities for students to rise to the challenge and take ownership of this institution. We are positive our School Spirit will soon see a rise and surpass the coy level we currently have.

This goal has become that much more paramount since Interamericano will soon be hosting the AASCA 2014 Soccer Tournament. We need a proud Student Body, one that will cheer and have fun during games, representing our school with pride, bearing their devotion for all to see and hear.

A community that will proudly say “I AM IN, I AM INTER!” As a member of the Student Council, I can tell you that we are honestly committed to accomplishing these goals, and creating a better school for generations to come.

ON STUCO'S MIND is

a space provided for Interamericano's Student Council members to express their views on school matters and advertise up comming events.

However, their views and opinions do not reflect those of this institution's administrative or academic staff.

MAP In the months of October and November, Interamericano students will be taking the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test, a standardized assessment that measures student achievement in Reading, Language Use, Science, and Mathematics. This exam is an Internet-based assessment that is given in many schools in both the United States and around the world.

The results of these exams used in a variety of different ways. First, teachers compare MAP data with other pieces of assessment data such as class grades, portfolios, and informal observation. By triangulating these pieces of information, a clearer picture of student learning can be ascertained and teachers can more appropriately adjust their daily instructional practice to meet the needs of individual students.

(Student growth reports will be provided to all parents at the end of this school year.)

BEYONd TESTING FOR GRADES

BY WALLACE TING Lexile level (reading ability) and specific concepts within a particular test that are strengths or areas to address. The MAP test also provides a rich source of information on specific learning indicators.

This information becomes even more valuable in the Spring semester when the test is taken for a second time and student growth from the Fall to Spring can be analyzed.

In addition to comparing student data internally, MAP test data is compared with schools in the United States and throughout the world.

This gives a very valuable perspective on how Interamericano students compare internationally.

In the diagram below, please find a sample MAP score report with explanations. A similar report with your child's results will be sent home with the second report card in January.

(The MAP test provides teachers with specific learning targets associated with different scores, which helps them refine their classroom instruction.)

ELEMENTARY

UPDATE PREKINDER & KINDER Preschoolers have been hard at work, learning about their local neighborhood, what it means to be be a good citizen and (in the picture) working as a community.

SECOND GRADE A student speaks at an interactive video conference was set up with former NASA astronaut Captain Thomas Jones, organized by second grade teacher Kimberly Turner and our LIteracy by Design Program.

FIRST GRADE

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Students prepared many special activities for our Independence Day Civic Assembly, led by our Spanish and Social Studies teachers. Many of them dressed up in traditional local clothing.

THIRD GRADE To learn about respect, students have been reading Squanto: Friends of the Pilgrims, an interesing book about the relation between the first English Settlements and Native Americans.

FOURTH GRADE Fourth graders have been busy studying about the great outdoors, writting personal narratives and learning to observe and differentiate betweeen various plant types (in the picture).

FIFTH GRADE Students are exploring 2-coordinate graphs by “swingers� experiments (in the picture), adding and substracting through learning to read yummy recipes, and studying the importance of the Declaration of Independence.

swat in charge

of MIDDLE

sCHOOL

by Jose Fuentes

There are many ways to help out in your school and contribute. However, few are as rewarding as participating in the Student Council (StuCo). “It’s about taking ownership of school projects, getting involved and learning through doing,” explains Victor Ramírez, Middle School Principal. This year there was a notable increase in political interest among our Middle School alumni. The level’s StuCo elections are usually contested by a couple of student parties, but this year, over five political groups campaigned for the council leadership.

“This increase marks an awesome progression in student awareness in citizenship and political participation,” comments Ani Mancilla, Middle School Student Council coordinator. “In the two years I’ve led StuCo elections, this year has been the best.” Student parties in Middle School were: DIG, CHILLA, CIA, DUCK and SWAT. Each party was made up of 12 outstanding students from grades 6th, 7th and 8th. To participate, groups need to offer a unique political platform, a well-developed campaign strategy and a vision for the future of Interamericano’s Middle School Student Council.

After getting established, student parties were asked to host a short debate in front of their fellow peers to discuss their

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SWAT- Middle School StuCo 2013-2014 Valeria Lombardi, Luis Aballi, Najwa Alloud, Paulina Moran, Fernanda Gonzalez, Estefano Passarelli, Javier Fahrner, Javier Quinteros, Sergio Martinez, Laura Rojas, Katia Castellanos, Valentina Rosenberg & Valeria Vandi.

IN THE PICS:

TOP & MIDDLE : Student campaign propaganda was hung all over the school. Lockers, walls even trashcans served as ideal spots to raise student awareness.

proposed campaign plans and activities timeline.

The 2012-2013 Middle School StuCo members (last year’s winners) helped out by organizing the get-together and planning a foreseeable future for the student-run endeavor. “This process makes them experiment what it’s like be a leader, to be proactive and creative when faced with a challenge,” says Mr. Ramirez.

llowing year?” and “What social projects do you plan to carry out?”

It’s also important students start experiencing the responsibility of being a voice for their peers and taking credit of said accomplishment,” Ramirez comments. During the debate, each group took turns in a previously raffled order: DIG went first, followed by SWAT, CHILA, DUCK and CIA.

Parties then had a week to campaign, hanging posters up all through the school for students to see. When Election Day came, students had solid knowledge about what every candidate offered.

Mancilla explains: “Duck’s ideas were really original; they wanted to do a Hunger Games themed rally, which went over really well. CIA also had this neat idea of dressing up each member as one of the activities they planned on carrying out if elected. They each had their own thing and they all did really well, answering questions honestly and directly.”

Middle School Stuco of 2012-2013 helped supervise the process, counting ballots and verifying participation of the whole student body.

Some of the questions asked were “why should we choose your party over other groups?”, “What is

your vision and mission for the fo-

IN THE PICS:

TOP: Middle school students cast their ballots during lunch to elect their new StuCo members.

BOTTOM: These sample ballots were used during the activity to instruct on the proper way to vote.

“In the end, SWAT won with 75 votes, followed closely by DUCK with 69. This marks the first time in two years that the winner didn’t take office by a landslide,” Mancilla recognizes.

To remain in power, the elected StuCo members must attend weekly meetings, maintain good school conduct and help plan the year’s activities, as well as being good at public speaking, having great character and trying to constantly become better citizens. Middle School Stuco will now be responsible for organizing Halloween activities, a schoolwide Talent Show in December and the Mother’s Day Breakfast of 2014. We would like to congratulate the SWAT team on their well-deserved victory and encourage them to constantly voice Middle School’s needs and accomplishments.

HIGH

SCHOOL Update

by jose fuentes

High School Students, with help from members of the National Honor Society and StuCo (in picture), organized this year’s Mac Día Feliz, an annual fundraiser in which all money from the Big Mac hamburgers bought during the day goes to a choice charity.

Interamericano students gladly helped out and in exchange for the purchase, they were allowed to attend school for one day without uniforms.

During the last few months, Colegio Interamericano has hosted a series of visits from a wide array of international colleges and universities. Their purpose here is to promote and educate our university-bound Seniors of career and university major choices.

Visiting educational institutions include: Trinity University, Purdue University, Vancouver Film School, Tampa University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (in picture), Loyola University, Rollings College, and more.

11th graders had a chance to get a guided visit to Guatemala’s National Newspaper Library (in picture) as part of their Desarrollo y Desempeño de Proyectos class.

This is the first part of a diagnostic assesment, to be done by students, of public institution in our nation’s capital.

The library holds newspapers from as far back as the 1920s, and it’s historical value offered students an interesinting approach to some of Guatemala’s most treasured relics.

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values at interamericano

For Interamericano parents, the cultivation of values, which build fortitude and a sense of character in students, is of the upmost importance. Because of this, the school’s Values program (Programa de Valores), is a well-structured academic-based endeavor that adapts to each of the school level’s versatile and demanding needs. Stakeholders can rest assured that the people in charge of student values are well aware of their concerns, and are doing their best to make life that much more gratifying for the whole Interamericano community.

In Elementary, teachers and parents work together in a instruction-driven values program that is taught in and outside the classroom.

Before starting on the Six Pillars of Character (citizenship, responsibility, respect, kindness, caring, and trustworthiness), educators designate an animal and color to embody a monthly value, strategically placed in visually appealing locations. This allows students from PK to Grade 5 to easily explore and discover the monthly value. Likewise, once every 7 weeks, a training seminar on several key value-related topics is set up for interested parents.

Upon reaching Middle School, the value program shifts towards closer teacher and counselor relationships with students. Collaborators main objective in this level is to solidify and internalize the principles and values that the school strives for, allowing to better

Fairness

Caring

Respect

Responsibility

Citizenship

Trustworthiness

by aura de mejia

approach the challenges of early adolescence. To this end, lessons taught in Middle School revolve around taking responsibility for one’s actions and trying to contribute back to society and finding their place in the world. In turn, Middle School is also the level Interamericano focuses the most on Bullying, working towards identifying, discouraging and quelling the behavior before it finds a place inside the classrooms.

High School, on the other hand, offers a unique oportunity to work with counselors and teachers in many activities and creative group dynamics in order to motivate involvement with the monthly value. Teaches are given seminars and workshops to better appreciate and practice the designated value with their students. This is done to better assimilate and internalize positive qualities, helping students develop their free will while keeping in mind their own belief system and lifestyle.

This is the day to day life at Colegio Interamericano. Students get the opportunity to fulfill themselves as integral human beings, fully capable of recognizing their role and responsibilities in the world. The end goal, as always, is develop students that see themselves as agents of positive change in the world and human beings that recognize their ability to build a better future.

SINGAPORE MATH UPDATE

BY WALLACE TING

One of the key and underlying teaching methodologies used in Singapore Math is the concept of “Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract” learning.

This concept outlines general strategies that students best assimilate new mathematical concepts.

When children learn new math strategies and concepts, Singapore Math encourages teachers and parents to begin with a concrete approach. In this approach, students are encouraged to act out the new skill with tangible, real-world objects. For example, when teaching a division problem such as 12 divided by 4, students would be given physical blocks or objects to manipulate. In this particular example, a teacher might ask students to work collaboratively to divide 12 apples into 4 equal groups by physically manipulating and reorganizing apples. This type of “handson” learning is essential in activating different senses in children and is a critical foundation for deeper understanding.

After students have successfully manipulated and acted out a new skill, they next move to the pictorial phase. In this phase, students are encouraged to draw pictures and diagrams that closely correspond to their previous physical manipulations. Following the example above with apples, students would be encouraged to draw on paper what they had done in the concrete phase.

An example of teaching 4+5 through the concrete -pictorial-abstract approach (Image taken from Math Teaching Strategies website)

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It is only after understanding a new concept through concrete and pictorial learning that students move to the final phase - abstract.

In this phase, students are introduced to the mathematical symbols and annotations that most adults are familiar with. The statement 12 4 is an example of abstract learning due to the mathematical symbol representation of the division operation, something that is common for most adults yet very abstract and difficult to understand for students. With a solid foundation of the division concept through concrete and pictorial learning, students typically find the abstract learning phase much smoother.

Although learning mathematics through the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach can sometimes take more time, we are convinced through numerous educational studies as well as our own empirical investigacion that students who learn through this methodology experience a deeper level of understanding that will serve them well in Middle School and High School. The results of this method and curriculum have been well-documented in schools not only in Singapore but around the world, and in our second year of Singapore Math at Interamericano we are beginning to see very positive results in student learning.

A spotlight on literacy By carol claypool Jenna DeLuca reports on the importance of children reading. She explains that a child’s reading success is strongly influenced by their parents’ attitude about reading. Reading with your child supports them in developing strong literacy skills that lead to success in and out of the classroom. It also encourages a strong emotional bond between the child and parent.

There is additional research advocating that a child should be read to twice a day at home and this should be when they are alert and actively engaged. Author and researcher Pam Allyn reports that reading to children, regardless of their age, at home and school is the number one indicator of literacy success.

Reading daily puts a child almost one year ahead academically. Parents can support their child’s reading comprehension by taking short breaks to discuss what is happening in the story. In addition, parents can also foster their child’s love of reading by modeling good reading behaviors such as reading the paper, magazine, novel or other fiction a on a regular basis.

All of our 1st-5th grade students have been assessed on their independent reading level as part of the new Literacy by Design program.

Teachers have this information available for you. You may log on to your child’s Thinkcentral site to locate the free leveled reading library book provided by Literacy by Design.

You may also try Reading A to Z to retrieve “just the right books” for your child.

There are multiple sites with read aloud stories but please do not let these sites take the place of you reading to your child. These sites should be used to supplement home reading time and are great for car trips. These sites include Tumble Books or Story line online.

Happy reading!!!

IN THE PICS Top right: Guided trips to the library are a key part of our Literacy Program. Bottom left: Through our Literacy by Design progam, second graders were able to interview former NASA astronaut Captain Thomas Jones.

family day up and ready by opai

The highly anticipated Family Day is finally upon us! On Saturday, November 16th, from 12:30 to 6:30pm, this important and extremely competitive event will take place. This celebration is a truly important part of the Colegio Interamericano community as it brings together parents, students and staff in a safe and festive environment to share and enjoy a day’s worth of activities.

Family Day 2013 will offer many new surprises for all ages. Among the main attractions are the Senior Seminario presentation, Middle School Clubs performances, High School dynamic activities, ECA presentations and School Sports matches between local teams.

Likewise, this year an ample selection of local and international cuisine will be available for visitors. More than seven foreign communities, from Germany, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Colombia, Israel, and México will offer delicious food from around the world along with other local restaurants.

OPAI has done its best to offer the upmost satisfaction for this event. From traditional celebrations of the Interamericano community, to the newly formed OPAI Raffle, which offers

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plenty of substantial prizes to our participants, we hope to have you come and enjoy this exciting time. For students from Prekinder to Grade 5, we offer a special unlimited gaming bracelet. This allows students to play in however many games they want and not have to buy a ticket for each activity. We suggest sending students with cash money so that tickets will be readily available for them. A Banco Industrial ATM will be available at your disposal.

To ensure the security of the whole Interamericano Community, the only parking space available during the Family day will be at UNIVERSIDAD RAFAEL LANDIVAR’s “Parqueo 5.”

Here, family and staff will be able to take a one of the many buses circulating to the school and back, while keeping their vehicle in a safe and trustoworhty location.

OPAI would like to thank the parcipation and enthusiasm everyone has shown for this year’s activities. We are sure this Family Day will be one of the most a memorable events of 2013.

IN THE PICS Top right: Andres Berthet making ready his bow and arrow. Middle: The archer practices constanly to better hone his skills.

STUDENTARCHER

BY JOSE FUENTES

On March 3, 2012 during “el Torneo Intercolegial de Arco 2012” Andres Berthet had his first opportunity to tryout his newly discovered passion. A compound bow in one hand and arrow in the other, he placed tension on the string before him, aimed at a target (a standard 10 meters away), compensated for any possible air fluctuation and in a second released his tense muscles, letting his arrow strike the objective. He didn’t know it yet, but he was hooked.

Berthet was part of Colegio Interamericano’s first archery team, alongside Edgar Archila and Christian Falla. During this time he found he had a knack for the highly demanding world of bow and arrow. Currently a student in Grade 9 at Interamericano, he finds time to juggle his busy life between academics and archery. He became the youngest archer in the national selection to ever compete in a World Ranking Tournament for Guatemala, winning three gold medals and a silver medal.

In June 2012 he participated in a far more

demanding tournament, the Olympic Tournament Cup Juan E. Venegas in Puerto Rico.

Andres stepped up to the challenge and won a gold medal and 5 silver medals, cemeting his reputation as an elite archer. Andres’ abilities became well-known and he was soon asked by the National Asociation of Archery to represent his country in Wuxy, China. The Guatemalan Olympic Cometee reviewed his participation and readily accepted the prodigious athlete.A few short months later, he was on his way to his biggest challenge yet. “I was as nervous as I was excited,” Andres recalls.

“I knew it wouldn’t be easy and it wasn’t, but that’s okay. I was there to give my best and get better.” Although Berthet got eliminated in the first couple of rounds by facing a Mexican archer a few years older than him, the experience has made him grow.

“Out of fifty participants, I was the youngest.

But I got the most out of the competition, learning a lot about how demanding these kinds of challenges are and how good I need to become.” The 15 year-old archer keeps a happy disposition towards his future in the sport. He will now set out to win a spot in the Central American Sports Tournament of 2014. With only 30 points remaining to qualify in this prestigious tournament, Berthet makes the most of each time he raises his bow. “Getting better is long road,” he says, “but I’ll be happy to give it a try.”

CHEERLEADER CHAMPIONSHIP 2013

BY KATRIN HUENEMOERDER

“The fact that we rented the gym mat this year contributed substantially to the quality of the event,” said Alex Peña, cheerleading coach of the Colegio Interamericano Grizzlies and co-organizer of the competition. “Cheerleading is quite a dangerous sport, especially when you see the complicated pyramids and stunts the teams are showing, so it helps to know that the conditions are perfect for the athletes not to get hurt.”

Inter Mini Juniors were on fire on Saturday, October 19 during the 3rd Interamericano Cheerleading Championship. They outperformed their competitors and took home the 1st place trophy.

The event was opened by our Baby Juniors (students from Kinder and grade 1), who performed a variety of pyramids and stunts in front of a crowd ready to get the cheerleading action started. The ”Fireflies” Junior Team from Juan Gerardi was so excited about performing on the professional 10 x 10 meters gymnastics mat that they actually exhibited twice. They, too, took home a 1st place trophy.

The “Fenix All Stars,” a team competing in the Senior Co-Ed category got up really early to come to Colegio Interamericano all the way from Escuintla in order to show some breathtaking stunts and high level acrobatics. It was worth it, as the Fenix All Stars won 2nd place and were only beaten by the Tigers from Colegio Mixto Belen, a team that has won a lot of competitions in the past.

The highlight of the cheerleading competition was the exhibition of the “Wizards,” one of the best teams that currently train in Guatemala and who are also successful in competitions internationally.

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Interamericano looks to build on its success of a positive cheerleading championship this time around by following it up with another cheerleading competition in April 2014, Copa Interamericano.Our cheerleaders are continuing to practice for their next performances during Family Day and other Interamericano events.

Congratulations Grizzlies on your first place trophy!

IN THE PICS Top right: Tigers showed off their skills in this tough competition.

Top left: Fireflies performe waved from the top of their piramid.

Botom: Grizzlies celebrate after winning first place.

Grizzlies in the Eagles’ Nest

by Katrin Huenemoerder This year´s AASCA basketball tournament was hosted by the American School of Tegucigalpa from October 23rd to the 27th. However, for Interamericano it started long before we got the invitation to participate in the prestigious international tournament.

It began with practices at 6 am, up to four times a week, and even on weekends. It began with our participation and first place win in the bi-cultural club this year. This kind of determination pays off in the end, but to succeed in the AASCA competition takes a lot more than practice.

but Interamericano prevailed,getttting us one step closer to the win. The semifinals were packed with high energy. The girls took-on Colegio Americano de Guatemala and classified for the semifinals for the second time since 2011.

The boys played the Marian Baker School from Costa Rica, a team that had just beaten the Buldogs (in picture above) from Sampedrana in the quarter finals. Even though MBS beat us in size and weight of the players, our team never gave up and always kept up. It was a very fair game of basketball and a full hour of maximum excitement and fast speed. At the end Marian Baker made a couple more baskets and won their spot in the quarter finals. The girls’ semi-finals game against the defending champions (AST), was also a tough challenge. They lost the game, but were able to score a total of 40.

Eleven boys and seven girls (in the picture below), all Interamerican athletes by their own right, took the challenge on. Teams from six different countries competed in Tegucigalpa for the win. AASCA 2013 was invitational, which means that teams from both larger and smaller schools contested in the tournaCongratulations to all players for your commitment ment. to the game, to your team and to your school.

The first game of the group phase was the toughest for both teams. The boys faced the defending champion from the past two years. Even though they lost the game, Interamericano held title of the the most points in a single game (with exception of the final) against the extremely well prepared Salvadorian team. The girls had to play the team from San Pedro, Honduras, for their first game and lost. This left motivation on high for the second games of the day.The boys played Lincoln school from Costa Rica in an intensely exciting game and took the win, while the girls faced off the American Nicaraguan School right after and won easily.

Friday morning was reserved for the last group games and defined the matchups for the quarter finals. The girls team faced the team from Colegio Internacional San Salvador and won their game comfortably. The boys played the American School of Nicaragua, a team that we lost to last year. Both teams gave a ferocious challenge

ATHLETE RECOGNITION Most Valuable Players

- NATALIA GIRON - CARLOS MENDEZ

All Star Team Girls

- SOFIA KIM - ESTEFANIA BETANCOURT

All Star Team Boys

- KEVIN LEE - KWUI JEONG PARK

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