End of School

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Last Friday was Joel's and Kezia's last day of school. We were informed by the teachers that they should bring a shirt that can be painted on. I wondered what they needed it for, but we sent them along with a spare blank t-shirt.

That day, when Carl and I came to pick them up, we were astonished to see a number of older students completely covered in paint; in their hair, over their face, all over their clothes. It was quite the sight. And I was thinking, hmmm....I wonder what the deal will be with our kids and their spare t-shirt. Would that be enough?!

As we came into the courtyard, we saw that the younger kids weren't armed with bottles of paint, just markers and they were writing all over their shirts. Joel had every girl in his class sign his shirt, his school shirt....sigh, but thankfully we sent him in the shirt that already had a stain. What happened to the spare shirt I sent? As I thought more about it, I realized his signed shirt would be a great keepsake. Apparently it's school tradition here in Santa Cruz to have your school shirt signed on the last day, and it just escalates to paint as the kids get older.

In the evening was their school program. We had invited Nati, and Lynn and Laurie had invited Juana along. Since we have no family here, Nati and Juana were like the Tia's coming along to watch the kids.

I was expecting some kind of cheezy song and dance routine, but Joel and Kezia said something about being birds, so when we got there, I was kind of curious to see what there would be. When it started, it was a pleasant surprise.

The theme of the evening was "Mi Precioso Mundo" or My Precious World. There was no narration during the show, but it was a musical presentation of our earth, animals, how we pollute the earth, and then finally how we can clean, protect, and preserve it for generations to come. The music was beautiful, the costumes were very creative, and it sort of reminded me of a juvenile olympic closing ceremonies. I even got a little lump in my throat! It amazed me how the program included children from pre-kinder all the way up to 8th grade.

The following was the write up in the program: (I apologize for the mispellings of the words that need accents, but I'm not typing on a Spanish keyboard!)

Este acto esta dedicado a la proteccion y al cuidado de nuestro mundo evitando que las basura y contaminacion destruyan este hermoso obsequio de la naturaleza. Nuestro mundo es un preciado tesoro que no fue encomendado temporalmente, de cuyo estado somos responsables al momento de entregar a las nuevas generaciones.

Which means that this program/act is dedicated to the protection and care of our world, avoiding trash and contamination that destroy this beautiful gift of nature. Our world is a prized treasure that is not entrusted temporarily, of who's state we are responsible at the moment to deliver to the new generations.

It was a very good program and Joel and Kezia were excited to be a part of it. Kezia was thrilled that her teachers put glitter all over her and the other girls and hairsprayed their hair. It was a great way to end the year. The kids hugged and kissed their teachers good-bye. All the profesoras wanted to know if they were coming back next year. Of course!

(I had plans to upload a little video of the program, but after an all day attempt, I'm going to just paste a link to Lynn and Laurie's blog for you to see their great video of the program...sigh....internet these days!)

So for the amazing Closing Program, click HERE!