This year, five more students from San Pedro High School (Jaqueline Caliz, Brittany Cornejo, Eddie Jackson, Elina Palma and Yasir Roberts), along with the school counselor (Ms. Alexis Guerrero) were once again invited to participate in the one-week exchange program with Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC). The students were in Los Angeles from May 23 to May 30, 2015.
Mr. Juan Baez, present Chairman of the Theatre Department at LAHC sent the school an official invitation letter early in the school year. The selected students, and a few staff members began the planning and preparation of this trip, which would not have been possible without the assistance of individuals and businesses in the community. For this reason, the school and participants of the program express their gratitude and would also like to inform the sponsors of the amazing experiences they had during this exchange program.
The purpose of this exchange program was to connect students from San Pedro High School with students from other countries in an effort to work together on a project called “Our World”. This project was created by Professor Larry Heimgartner and it helps spread awareness on different social ills affecting young people around the world.
“The project that three of our students worked on was from the “Our World V: Zanzibar Edition” which focuses on the environment, and specifically looks at food, water and shelter shortage,” commented School Counselor Ms. Alexis Guerrero. “Because this is a global project, the piece written can be applied to any country in the world. As such, Professor Heimgartner will be working along with certain individuals to modify this piece to make it specific for Belize and San Pedro. Afterwards, our goal is to have our students learn the piece and present it to the school and to the community.”
The other students worked on pieces referring to “Drugs” and “Divorce” which will be performed in November, 2015 when the Heimgartners return to the island with other presentations from the “Our World” project.
“I must say that all the “Our World” pieces that Professor Larry has written are exceptional,” continued Ms. Guerrero. “We were able to see some of them performed, like the piece on “Women’s Rights” which has been performed a couple times on the island by the amazingly talented U.K. actress, Sarah Mackenzie. What was particularly exciting for us, was that we got the opportunity to get a glimpse of his new pieces which address “Depression”, “Suicide”, “Sex Trafficking”, and “Animal Conservation”, and of course, his newest piece on “Inspiration” which was performed by three dancers from the London Ballet Company.”
This project is a form of edutainment (education and entertainment) that can incite deep and thoughtful discussions among the young people. The “Our World” project has toured high schools, colleges and universities in countries such as Mexico, Belize, U.S.A., Zanzibar, and many countries in the U.K. At San Pedro High School, the entire student body has been fortunate to have seen many of these performances!
Ms. Guerrero continued by saying, “Some of the highlights on our trip were: meeting the lead singer of “The Emotions” whose song “Best of My Love” not only won a Grammy, and the group also won Billboard’s title of “The Number One Girl Group All Time”. Another highlight was the time spent at Disney Land, where students experienced one of the most amazing shows that Disney has displayed, since they were celebrating their Diamond Anniversary. Students also enjoyed visiting Hollywood and touring “The Walk of Fame”. Surely, the biggest highlight of this trip was meeting wonderful people from different parts of the world who embraced us wholeheartedly and made sure that we felt at home during the entire week.”
All these experiences, though not all directly linked to the project are beneficial to the students’ growth, because they inspire our students to dream bigger and it widens their horizons to see the endless possibilities, indicated Ms. Guerrero. A particular student expressed that “it was the most amazing thing that could ever happen to a student”. The school counselor and staff hope to continue with this program for as long as possible, as they have seen how invaluable this experience has been to the students!
“We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to everyone who helped make this trip for our students a possibility,” concluded Ms. Guerrero. “No matter how big or how small your contribution was, please know that you have helped change the life of at least one of our students who participated in the exchange.”
San Pedro High School would like to thank the following sponsors that helped in making the students’ exchange program possible:
Platinum- $1000.00 UP
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
San Pedro High School
Gold – $500 UP
Holiday Hotel
Silver- 250.00 UP
Belize Bank Limited
Blue Water Grill – Mrs. Kelly Kanabar
Bronze Sponsors- 100.00 UP
Captain Sharks
Elvi’s Kitchen
Gaby’s Construction
La Sirene Resort and Spa
Nellie Gomez
San Pedro Town Council
Seaduced
Searious Adventures
Victoria House
Wayo’s Beach Bar
Generous Sponsors- $50.00 UP
Akbol Resort- Milio
Blue Tang Inn
Castillo’s Hardware
Caye Bank International
Coral Bay Villas
El Fogon
Isabel Salazar
Maria Hernandez
Marion Mejia
Mike Catzim
PWAS
Remax (Jeff Bella)
Sandy Toes
Suya Tours
Supporting Sponsors $5.00 UP
A & R
Andrew Rodriguez
Ariel Rivero
Banana Beach
Banyan Bay Villas
Belize Chocolate Company
Bob Hamilton
Carlo Rivero
Carlos Barrientos
Chris Nunez
Cindy Staines
Daisy
Daniel Gonzales
Danny Chi
Divas and Dudes Boutique
Dymra Vasquez
Edgar Corado
El Divino Restaurant
El Fogon
Elida Rivera
Ervin Torres
Estel’s
Extreme Geeks
Ezra Gongora
Felipa Aldana
Feliz Bar
G. Herrera
Gecko Graphics
Graniel’s Dreamland
Graphic Designs and Pet Shop
Greenhouse
Hardy Chan
Harmouch’s Center
Havana Cigars
Hidden Treasure Restaurant
Hugo Meyer
Iris Riverol
Isabella Hernandez
Jamal
Janine Salgado
Jaqueline Caliz
Julio Cowo
Letty Garcia
Lino’s Meats
Liz
Luian Rubio
Marciela Ramos
Maria Hernandez
Marisela Marin
Master Lee
Mihael Hancock
Nancy Henkis
Nathalie
Patricia Valerio
Pedro
Rapidito Loans
Raul Delgado
Raymundo Nunez
Rene Reyes Jr.
Rick’s Custom Carts
Roxsany Blades
S.P. Hardware
Sandra Perez
Sandy and Logan Betz
Saul Nunez
Serious Adventures
Shane Villanueva
Steve
Students and Staff of S.P.H.S.
Susana Flores
Sylvia Norales
Talai
Tatiana Lopez
Thalia
Tony Aranda
Vanessa Oliva
Varela’s
Vivianna Morales
Wendy Garcia
Xanadu Resort
Yansi Maldonado
Yara Alamilla
Yasmira Villanueva
Yolanda Rivero
