Category: Uncategorized

posted September 24, 2013

Jose Fuentes, Public Relations and Communications Coordinator

Our highly anticipated state-of-the-art soccer field is here! After several months of constant work and unforgiving rain, Colegio Interamericano is proud to present the first school-owned synthetic sports field in Guatemala. This accomplishment marks the culmination of the first phase of large construction projects scheduled for 2013. To commemorate, on Saturday September 21, Interamericano, in collaboration with the School Board and OPAI (Organizacion para Padres de Alumnos del Colegio Interamericano), offered a unique celebration, filled with professional level soccer, great music, delicious food and loads of fun.

Activities started at 8 AM, with a short presentation from the marching band from Colegio los Infantes. Their reveting performance echoed through the new soccer field, where hundreds of visitors and athletes eagerly stood and tried out our new Argentine synthetic grass turf.

Carl Wieburg, our General Director, gave a few words on the importance of this date. He then proceeded to display some of the large scale constructions done in the last year  and allowed the different level  principals to unveil the completed buildings from their respective areas.

Gregory Bellemare, our Elementary Principal, revealed pictures of the second floor addition to the primary area and the new child-safe floor matting at our Pre-Kinder section. Harvey Cohen, High School Principal, exhibited images from the new High School building addition and the six groundbreaking Art Classrooms, which will offer our ECA (Extra Curricular Activities) program much needed place for music and recreation.

Professional Guatemalan Soccer Player and International Sports Ambassador Dwight Pezzarossi dropped in to congratulate our school on the marvelous work being done in both academics and sports related endeavors. He insisted on the importance of a balance between a solid bilingual education and a healthy sports program to achieve greater level of success in years to come.

His words led way to the first pass and goal shot, executed majestically  by two members from the school board and Foundation board, Mauricio Mishaan and José Augusto Toledo.

With all formalities out of the way, the first soccer match took place: Colegio Interamericano vs the sub 17 division of Club Social y Deportivo Comunicaciones. The challange offered a interesting mixture of high level soccer and fierce competition. The end result was a crushing two point win for Colegio Interamericano.

During intermission, our Sport’s department issued short sports challenges for visiting parents and athletes alike. These were redeemable for surprise soccer-related  gifts, such as jerseys and training balls. Students and parents took to the games readily and made each challenge that much more enjoyable and fun.

Our female soccer team faced-off against Colegio Virgen de la Asunción. Both teams gave it their all and were evenly matched during most of the game. The final score was another solid win for our school, this time with a 3 point lead.

We encourage our athletes keep the same level of sportsmanship and perseverance they demonstrated on Saturday, in upcoming matches. This was not a bad start for our school’s teams, which will soon host the prestigious AASCA 2014 soccer tournament. The aforementioned championship will be played on our new field and will demand the very best from us. If we maintain the current level of training and devotion to sports, we will rise to meet that challenge as well.

posted September 19, 2012

Jose Fuentes, Public Relations and Communications Coordinator

References:

• Independence Day Activities (Photo Album).

The Interamericano community was swept up last week in the Independence Day spirit as students, staff and parents worked tirelessly to give our Guatemala’s birthday a much deserved celebration. The entire Interamericano community came together for a series of celebrations and festivities from September 9-13.

Middle School hosted a unique competition in which students were encouraged to decorate their homeroom doors with Guatemalan culture motifs. The challenge was well met, as alumni worked around the clock to get their doors looking great. Some Middle School grade level moms happily helped out with the decorations as others participated as judges.

The winners of this competition (Section C, grade 6; Section C, grade 7, and Section B, grade 8) won a pizza party during their lunch break on Thursday, September 19. Congratulations to all Middle School students on their beautiful homeroom doors!

Our main Independence Day events started early Friday morning, with our annual “Mercadito.” On September 13, a parent-managed marketplace was installed on our plazoleta. The theme kept with Guatemalan culture, offering several traditional food options for all our student body.

Some of our most distinguished athletes and staff volunteered to carry the customary torch from el Obelisco, in zone 10, and back to our school. This tradition is a remembrance from a time when Central America was united under one government and torches were light at a designated country and carried back to each town. Our representatives ran through the city early in the morning and arrived to the cheering crowds of our entire alumni already waiting for them at Interamericano’s new synthetic soccer field.

Once there, a designated representative of our athletes lit the school’s independence pillar. The High School Student Council then preceded a series of activities, dedicated to honoring this important date.  Their lead gave way to each of the day’s events.

The national anthem was sung in unison by the whole student body and staff, in what was an intense and intimate moment with our great country. Grade 11 students reenacted the signing of the Guatemalan Independence through a short theatrical performance.  The act merited a long round of applause, especially when the forefathers signed the act of independence and proclaimed it to the towns’ people.

Once these activities were done, alumni and staff were free to drift into the Mercadito, where several of our students played marimba for all our visitors.

The last of the day’s events was a civic assembly for the Elementary School. Here, our younger students had a chance to get in closer contact with Guatemalan traditions, learning about our history, customary marketplaces and local dance ceremonies.

Several Guatemalan teachers dressed up in regional clothing and helped out in the assembly’s diverse cultural activities. Students were even given a chance to interview visitors on what independence meant to them, via a fake Interamericano television channel performance. To conclude the day’s activities, a traditional Torito was light in the covered-court and was cheered on by all the students and staff present.

This was a great week for celebrating Guatemala’s birthday. Not only did students have a chance to dive into the school’s civic activities, but they took to it with pride and pleasure. Our staff gave their best, reinforcing the importance of the implicit values of this relevant date. And, parents collaborated in making this one of the most successful and fun Independence Day celebrations we’ve ever had.

 

posted September 13, 2013

Astrid Ramirez, Admissions Coordinator

 

Dear Interamericano Community,

We start off this year with the first 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!