November DPTO Monthly Meeting - NEW VENUE

The next monthly meeting of DPTO takes place on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:00PM. The location has CHANGED! We will meet at Ni Fu Ni Fa restaurant on Bulevar Morazan. Appetizers supplied by DPTO!

More UN Day Photos!

UN DAY showcases our international diversity!

UN Day was a huge success, with 18 countries represented: Australia, USA, Canada, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Sweden, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Chile, Taiwan, Japan, Kyrgystan, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil. Everything flowed smoothly, the weather was fine, and the food was fantastic! There were a variety of presentations, and the kids got into the Honduran beat!

And the election results are in from the US Table, Barack Obama won by a landslide! Of all 208 votes, Obama received 72%, and McCain 28%! However, when the voters are broken down by age group the results are slightly different - the Pre-K through First Graders chose Obama by 53% to McCain's 47%. McCain (or the Elephant) was somewhat more popular with the youngest crowd!

What about CLOWN SUITS FOR SCHOOL UNIFORMS? Sorry, but no clown suits this year. The initiative lost by 56% against to 38% in favor. Better luck next time!

General Assembly - what's new, and how can you help?

A pesar del terrible trafico el miercoles por la noche, muchos padres de familia llegaron a la Asamblea General para escuchar a la Junta Directiva, Director, El Consejo de Estudiantes , y el DPTO. Douglas Benning, Presidente del Consejo, presidio la reunion y presento los objetivos estrategicos de la escuela que son los siguientes.
Estabilidad Financiera
Excelencia Academica
Profesionalismo
Identidad de la Escuela
Debra Giles dio una actualizacion de algunos de los progresos que ha realizado hacia esos objetivos, incluida la tasa de las politicas de pago , analisis y revision de los contratos, el proceso de admision, manuales, informes financieros, etc.

Claves:
.La escuela recibio una donacion de $15,000 de los EEUU del Departamento de Estado, para actualizar la biblioteca de secundaria.
.Estamos aplicando por seguridad por parte de los EEUU del departamento de Estado para mejorar la pared exterior de la escuela
.La Escuela esta esperando iniciar un equipo de futbol de secundaria en noviembre proximo.
.2 cursos de AP planeados para 2009-2010.
.La escuela Discovery va verde! Los Estudiantes de High School y los profesores estan presentando practicas favorables para el medio ambiente de nuestra escuela.

Te necesitamos!
La Junta Directiva esta reclutando padres para servir en comites. Si tu estas interesado, pongase en contacto con Debra Giles o anotarse en la oficina principal.
Cada comite esta dirigido por miembros de la Junta.

Instalaciones-Ninoska Adam Glynn
Politica- Douglas Benning
Finanzas-Anke Afflerbach
Inter-Interinstitucional-Lorenza Duron de Agurcia
Planificacion Estrategica-Ninoska Adam Glynn

Involucrate y hagamos nuestra escuela aun mejor!
_____________________________________________
Despite the terrible traffic jam on Wednesday evening, many parents made it to the General Assembly meeting to hear from our School Board, Director, the Student Council and DPTO. Douglass Benning, Board President, chaired the meeting, and presented the school strategic goals, which are:
Financial Stability
Academic Excellence
Professionalism
and School Identity
Debra Giles gave an update of some of the progress she has made already towards these goals, including tightening up fee policies and collection, review and revision of contracts, the Admissions process, handbooks, financial reporting, etc.

Highlights:
-The school received a $15,000 grant from the US State Department Office of Overseas School to upgrade the secondary library
-We are applying for a security grant from the US State Department to upgrade the exterior wall
-The school is hoping to start a secondary soccer team as soon as November 2008
-At least 2 AP courses are on line to be introduced in 2009-2010
-Discovery School is going green! The High School students and faculty are introducing environmentally friendly practices in our school

WE NEED YOU! The School Board is recruiting parents to serve on committees. If you are interested please contact Debra Giles or sign up on the Board bulletin board in the main office. Each Committee is led by a Board member. They are:
FACILITIES - Ninoska Adam-Glynn
POLICY - Douglass Benning
FINANCE - Anke Afflerbach
INTER-INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS - Lorenza Duron de Agurcia
STRATEGIC PLANNING - Ninoska Adam-Glynn

Get involved and make our school great!

What is "Media"? Ask the 1st & 2nd graders...

Last week the 1st and second graders took a field trip to Multimedia. They learned all about books and media. And had fun!

Reminder- General Assembly this Wednesday 6:00 - 8:00PM

AGENDA
Discovery School General Assembly
October 22, 2008
18:00 – 20:00 hs.

1. Call to Order and Confirmation of Quorum
2. Discussion and approval of the Agenda
3. President’s Report
- Meet the new Board
- 2008-2009 Board Goals: Updated Mission Statement and Goals for
the school year
- Work Plan/Goals for Head of School
- Strategic Plan overview
- Committee Member Recruitment
- Update on Land Lawsuit
4. Head of School Report
5. Treasurer’s Report: Budget report, start of audit, Goals
6. New Business
7. Report from the Student Council
8. Close of Session


AGENDA
Asamblea General Escuela Discovery
22 de octubre 2008
18:00 – 20:00 hs.

1. Inicio de Sesión y Confirmación de Quorum
2. Discusión y aprobación de la Agenda
3. Informe del Presidente
i. Metas de la Junta Directiva 2008-2009
ii. Plan de Trabajo de la Directora
iii. Repaso del Plan Estratégico
4. Informe de la Directora
5. Informe de la Tesorera
6. Temas recientes
7. Informe de Student Council
8. Cierre de la Sesión

UN DAY UPDATE - New Times and Early Release!

"Celebracion del Día de las Naciones Unidas" ¡Nuevo Horario y salida temprano!
Favor tomar nota:
Nuestra Directora Debra Giles ha anunciado que la programación para la celebración del Día de las Naciones Unidas ha cambiado.
El Día de las Naciones Unidas (jueves 23 de Octubre).
La Escuela empezara como siempre ( 8:00 a.m) y la jornada terminara a las 12:30 p.m.
Los estudiantes se podrán ir a su casa con sus padres o en los autobuses de la Escuela a las 12:30 p.m.

El horario para ese día es el siguiente:
8:45 -9:00 Día de la Asamblea de las Naciones Unidas /Expositores.
9:00-11:00 Los estudiantes visitaran las mesas con sus maestros y su clase.
11:00- 12:30 Presentaciones Culturales (bailes, etc)
12:30 Los estudiantes se podrán marchar a sus casas.

Please note: Debra Giles has announced that the UN Day timing has been changed. On UN day (Thursday October 23) school will start as usual at 8:00 a.m. and the school day will finish at 12:30 PM. Students will either go home with their parents or on the school buses at 12:30 PM that day.

The schedule for the day is as follows:
8:45-9:00 - UN Day assembly/speaker
9:00-11:00 - Students will visit the various tables with their teacher and class
11:00-12:30 - Cultural presentations (dance, etc.)
12:30 - Students will be dismissed.

We look forward to all of the parents joining us to celebrate our international diversity!

Kindergarteners Take Their First Field Trip!

On Friday the proud members of Kinders A and B went with Miss Gigi, Miss Valencia, and several parents to visit Tegucigalpa's fire station! The kids learned all about how the fire station works, reviewed fire safety, and even got the chance to try out a firefighter's hose. What a great trip!

UN Day Oct 23, 9:00 - 1:00 - Call for Volunteers to set up tables!

Queridos padres de la Escuela Discovery,

Como ya saben, la Escuela esta planeando la celebración de el Día de las Naciones Unidas, el cual se va a llevar a cabo el Jueves 23 de Octubre de las 9:00AM hasta la 1:00 PM. Nos gustaría que todos esten presente en este evento! Nosotros necesitamos voluntarios para realizar una mesa de su pais; presentando aspectos culturales e históricos del país a través de mapas, libros, souvenirs, hoja de datos, juegos, comidas típicas o cualquier otra cosa que identifica su país. También podrían invitar la participación de algún grupo de música o danza tradicional. Por favor, entre en contacto con Yulia (yulialuk@yahoo.com) o Marcela (malaika1999@yahoo.com) antes del 14 de octubre.

Dear parents,
It has become a tradition to celebrate the United Nations Day at our school. In the true international spirit of the Discovery school, we would like to invite you all to participate in this grand cultural celebration on October 23, 2008 starting at 9:00 to 13:00. We hope that all nationalities represented in our diverse community will be able to display a table for the students to learn about cultural and historical aspects of their countries through various maps, books, souvenirs, games, fact sheets, samples of traditional food or anything else that would mark our visit to this country. As a part of the celebration, we would like to invite performers to represent various countries, so if you know of anyone who can offer our audience some traditional dances or songs, please send us their contact information. Please let us know if you are interested to help us celebrate the UN Day and educate our students about your country by setting up a table and we will send you more detailed information and put people from the same countries together so that you can combine your efforts. Please send us your contact information at yulialuk@yahoo.com (Yulia) or malaika1999@yahoo.com (Marcela) or contact us at 99678305 (Yulia) or 99075216 (Marcela) by October 14 to give us enough time to prepare for this important event for our school.


We are very grateful for your participation in this event,


UN Day Committee

General Assembly Oct 22, 6-8 PM

Everybody is encouraged to attend the Discovery School General Assembly Meeting, scheduled Wednesday, Oct 22 from 6-8PM at the Discovery cafeteria. DPTO is looking for volunteers to bring along a snack or drink. Please let us know what you can contribute, by posting a comment to this message, or emailing us at discoverypto@gmail.com.

Mark your calendars, more information will follow!

Jóvenes en Acción - An Opportunity for Middle and High School Student to Get Involved in Community Service!

The inter-school club called Jóvenes en Acción has started up again for the 2008-2009 school year. This is a private club for students of all international schools in Tegucigalpa. It was created in 2003 by teachers who wanted to teach young adults the value of volunteering and the importance of giving their time and talents to the community. Jóvenes en Acción brings middle and high school students together from various private schools once a month to create and carry out service projects and fundraising events for people in need throughout Tegucigalpa.

Jóvenes en Acción always welcomes new members. The only requirement is you must be at least 12 years old and live in Tegucigalpa. As a member of the group you will complete approximately one service project per month and attend regularly scheduled meetings. At the meetings, you and the group will decide what service projects to complete. Meetings are led by student officers which are elected each year.

Jóvenes en Acción is a great way to build leadership skills, meet students from other schools, and help others all at the same time. The next meeting times are:

Wednesday Oct 15th, Meeting. 4:00PM - 5:00PM in Las Lomas Guijarro Sur neighborhood
Saturday Oct 25th, Activity. 11:00AM - 1:00PM, in Nueva Suyapa neighborhood

Discovery School has participated in Jovenes en Accion for several years. This year our teacher contact is Ms. Christina Hurley at churley@discoveryschool.edu.hn. Please contact her if you have any questions, or you can contact Shannon Martinez, JEA Director at hondushannon@hotmail.com.