Red Bank Teachers

 

Our CEHD students teaching in Red Bank

 

Hello blog followers, friends, and family! It’s crazy to think we’ve already been here in Belize for five days! We’ve had the chance to pet jaguars, swim with sea turtles, nurse sharks, and stingrays, hold a snake, and listen to cultural music and dancing. Today we finally went to the classrooms, met the students, taught lessons, and did our diagnostic interviews. I taught a mini lesson on volume using water in different sized cylinders at Red Bank in a standard 6 classroom (8^th grade in U.S.). The students were very excited to meet us all and loved using the manipulatives we brought. I already feel that I’ve bonded with many of the students, and they really love getting their picture taken! I’m eager to show the students and teachers how to incorporate manipulatives into the math curriculum and I’m also eager to learn from the teachers here. I’m beyond grateful to be given this opportunity. These past few days have been a great experience and there’s plenty more to come!

-Rebecca Carroll

 

 

Greetings from Belize to all of our supporters as well as family! Today was the first day of teaching in the schools and overall it was a success. In my lesson today I taught the concept of volume to my Infant 2 students (which is equivalent to second grade.) I used both beakers filled with water as well as paper that they formed into cylinders in order help with their understanding of volume. In all the lesson went well, and the students really enjoyed playing with the cylinders and cotton balls.  My experiences today taught me that teaching isn’t simply a job it is a passion. Our UofL students are here because we have a passion for learning as well as a passion for students. We go above and beyond to ensure that our students will gain a conceptual understanding in addition to providing a fun activity. I am so thankful for this opportunity and appreciate all the support we are receiving on this blog. Thanks for keeping up with our blog and continue to read our posts. Much love from Belize!

-Brittany Farrell

 

 

 

Monday

Happy Benefactor's Day!  Today Belize celebrates one of their great benefactors, Baron Bliss.  It is a national holiday.  Since there was no school scheduled for today, we spent a good portion of our day visiting the school and village in Red Bank, sorting and organizing materials, meeting the teachers and administrators that we will be working with this week.  It was an excellent professional development day and introduction for the teaching experience in the villages.

 

Hello Everyone!

Today was an amazing day, and I can’t believe the experiences we were able to begin! Today we had an opportunity to see the village, teachers, and school buildings we would be working in. We started by organizing and preparing the materials that we were leaving for the school, and then we all had a chance to talk to our teachers individually. It is so interesting to see the different curriculum maps that are used here and how their manipulatives compare to ours in the U.S. It is an overwhelming and exciting time when we started to prepare for teaching these kiddos! The absolute highlight of the day was playing “football” with some of the village children. They are so energetic and ecstatic that we were wanting to play with them.   The children even followed our vans we when left. I’m so excited to go back and embrace this culture throughout this week.
See everyone soon!
Kara Hart

Good Evening!

Today was an amazing day in Belize! The day started bright and early at 7am for breakfast at Cardie’s. Travelling to Red Bank where the village the majority of us will be teaching followed breakfast. I was beyond excited to meet the school administration and teachers in the village. When we got to the village, we helped Dr. Pentecost separate the boxes of books, toys, and other teaching materials. With all 20 of us teaming up, we finished this in no time! The village was incredible, but also a culture shock.

One of the most amazing activities of my day was playing soccer with some of the kids in the village. This was a time to have fun and bond with the children. I loved it!!

After Red Bank we headed to Plancenia, Belize which has some amazing gift shops. I should also mention the killer view and ice cream. I am really looking forward to Tuesday as it will be our first day teaching!

 Keep following for more updates!

Shannon O’Daniel

 

 

Hello friends and family!
So far our trip to Belize has been such a beautiful experience. After arriving at our motel, we have already visited an island for snorkeling, danced with natives, adventured through a zoo, and spent valuable time bonding with our teammates. I have already learned so much about this culture. Throughout this weekend, we were able to relax and prepare for our week in the school. I am looking forward to implementing our math lessons and collaborating with the teachers of San Pablo and Red Bank. Although I am a little nervous, I also feel confident after much planning and preparation for this week. Our trip leaders are taking great care of us, and we are having so much fun getting to know one another. I feel blessed to be a part of this experience!
Rachel Woodrow

 

Hello wonderful blog followers,

What a fantastic three days we have been having! I have to say it has been non-stop, but I am making so many memories in this amazing country. We have a great group of girls and the leaders are definitely make the trip well worth it. We are in such good hands. The best is still yet to come! I am very excited for this upcoming week in the schools and I am so blessed to have this opportunity. I am most looking forward to getting in my classroom and meeting all my students. I am anxious to see how their schools are because I know they are nothing like ours in the United States. At the end of this trip, I will go home realizing how grateful I should be for the things I have. In this country, even though many people have so little, they are the happy people and family is everything to them. These people will impact my life and being here makes me realize why I want to be a teacher one day…to help the children. Let the school week begin! Relaxing time is over and we are here to make an impression on these people and represent the University of Louisville!
GO CARDS!
Leah Hackert

 

Cultural Excursions

It was a beautiful day in Belize for our cultural excursions.  We started the day with a ride on the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi to Placencia.  After getting fitted for fins and goggles, we took an hour long boat ride to Silk Water Caye to snorkel.  We spent several hours swimming with the fishes, turtles, rays, and other sea life on the barrier reef. 

The Garifuna drummers and dancers performed the music and dances of their culture.  We all had an opportunity to join in on he fun. 

Everyone is doing great.  The student posts begin later today, so stay tuned.  They are excited to share their experiences so far!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ITE team arrived safely at Cardie's Motel tonight (our home for the week).  We had a delicious Belizean meal of stew chicken, rice and beans, potato salad, and carrot cake for dessert. 

Trip to the Belize Zoo

 

 

We have arrived safely with all of our luggage.  Lunch at Cheers then off to the Belize Zoo.

March 6 - Travel Preparation

All the bags are packed, and we are ready to go!  After much preparation, several class meetings, collecting a mountain of mathematics supplies, and packing them all up to take with us; our team of faculty, staff and students are finally packed and ready for the ITE 2014. 

The March team members are:
Erin Black
Rebecca Carroll
Casey Cochran
Brittany Farrell
Miranda Geyer
Angela Gitschier
Leah Hackert
Emily Harned
Kara Hart
Olivia Martin
Casey Muncy
Shannon O'Daniel
Sarah Richard
Ashley Vinton
Rachel Woodrow

Faculty and Trip Leaders:
Nina Beck
Elizabeth Todd Brown
Kristin Harbour
Julie Stout
Margaret Pentecost