Category: Articles

 

 

Dear Interamericano Community,

We would like to invite you to the second Open House for potencial students and parents. Come along and get to know our wide array of academic programs, our diverse Extra Curricular Activities platform, and meet our friendly staff in an morning specially planned for newcomers.

Tell all your friends! The invitation is open for interested locals and foreigners.

We hope to see you all there!

As part of the art activities of the year, Interamericano is celebrating the traditional “Artist Week”, covering different areas in art such as painting, sculpture, and photography.

For the opening ceremony, a tribute to Guatemalan painter César Fortuny was offered for his successful career and because Guatemala is the Ibero American Capital of Culture this year.

We would like to share a little bit about the artists that will be visiting Interamericano with you:

• Mr. César Fortuny is a painter who emphasizes on quetzals and Guatemalan birds. He hosted a watercolor painting workshop called “Nature birds” for the Pre-K kids.

• Guatemalan sculptor Sebastián Barrientos will be sharing a workshop with kindergarten students using plasticine.
• The creator of the “Festival de Escultura Guatemala Inmortal”, Max Leiva, will host a clay workshop with Grade 1 students.
• Juan Carlos Calderón, watercolor painter who emphasizes on city paintings, will share about this technique with Grade 2 students.
• Grade 3 students will hear from Erwin Guillermo, who paints portraits, human figures, fruit compositions, and colorful animals.
• In 4^th grade students will get into the photography world with National Geographic photographer José Carlos Flores. He created the book “Nazarenos de Guatemala” and “María en Guatemala”.
• Painter Jonathan Ardón will be sharing with Grade 5 about painting with ink, pencil, and fine markers. Jonathan draws birds, feathers, and details that make him very special.

It will be a very enriching week with the visit of great contemporaneous Guatemalan artists. The teachers and students will enjoy this experience greatly. More photos will be posted soon.

Written by:
Claudia Vásquez & Walter Flores
Art Teachers

With the objective of promoting learning about technology, along with the curricular integration of scientific areas, such as engineering, mathematical concepts, science (STEM) and programming, Colegio Interamericano has started the Educational Robotics Pilot Project.

One grade of each level will be participating by using the robots and dynamic construction models with the K’nex and NXT robots. The pilot project will last 2 months and the expectation during this time is that the students will receive the benefits of an active learning process, develop their social and motor skills, experiment, solve problems, follow instructions, think critically, and practice programming among others.

 

By the end of the project, the technology teachers of each level along with the Manager of Educational Technology will evaluate the impact, reach, and benefits that the program had. The progress of the students will also be evaluated with the objective of continuing and growing the robotics program in our school.

This project is happening thanks to the general director, school principals, as well as the technology teachers, who shared their thoughts on the program:

 – Lisbeth de Álvarez, PK to Grade 3 Technology teacher:

“We hope that our children are not only users of technology, but also that they become technology developers. Robotics is a learning method in which we facilitate the learning of different concepts in a fun way to our students. Educational Robotics develops creativity, collaboration, provides the opportunity to work with others and make decisions as a team by listening, discussing, and respecting everyone’s ideas. I am confident that our kids will enjoy this new experience in the classroom.”

– Gerald Schaeffer, Grade 4 to Grade 8 Technology teacher:

“Technology has developed with giant steps in our society and it demands our students to have more abilities, not only as users or digital citizens, but as creators and developers of technology. Educational robotics allows us to increase those skills in our students, starting with assembling the pieces, going through the design process, and finally using a specific coding language to program a specific task the robot has to execute. The educational robotics program we are implementing in the school is also allowing us to develop personal abilities in the students, such as teamwork, setting goals, and the integration of abilities with subjects like math and physics.” 

– Rafael Murga, Grade 9 to Grade 12 Technology teacher:

“An integrated, new, and dynamic learning environment is created with educational robotics. Theory knowledge of math, mechanics, electronics, physics, and programming are applied when the robot is assembled and when it is programmed to execute basic and complex tasks.” 

Written by: Luis Masaya
Manager of Educational Technology/LMC Coordinator
luis.masaya@interamericano.edu.gt