Newsletter – May 2016
School Year Begins With New Directory and Sub Director
The 2016 school year began in early February at Chacocente Christian School with 156 students eager to learn, play and grow. Fourteen of them are from Project Chacocente and 142 are from the surrounding neighborhood. The school also provides employment for 19 Nicaraguans. Our teachers, too, were eager to see their students again.
Karen Gómez Hernandez & Jacqueline Hernandez Roa
We are delighted to introduce Jacqueline Hernandez Roa as the new Chacocente Christian School director and Karen Gómez Hernandez as the new sub-director.
Many of you know Jacqueline as she has taught at Chacocente for ten years. In 2006, she attended the Normal School for Teachers and also began studying English at the University of Central America. She holds a degree in Communicative English from the Estarway to Inglés Program and studied School Counseling and hopes to complete the final year of that program soon.
Her first several years at Chacocente were spent teaching pre-school and she says that she loved every minute of it. Those students are now in Grade 7 and Jacqueline is proud of how hard each of them works to stay in school and do well in their classes.
Most recently, Jacqueline served as sub-director and was the obvious choice for school director when that position became available. Her prayer is that each child will be able to achieve his or her dream of becoming a doctor, teacher, nurse or other professional. She believes that teachers should motivate students to realize their potential in all areas of their lives and believes that the teachers at Chacocente Christian School share a sincere concern for each student’s well-being.
Jacqueline is grateful to everyone who supports Chacocente Christian School. She feels that God has placed her at the school to fulfill His purpose for the children of Nicaragua.
The new school sub-director, Karen, began teaching at Chacocente three years ago. She has taught grades 6 and 11, and high school mathematics. In 2004, she won a scholarship at the University of the Americas, where she earned a degree in accounting and auditing. In 2010, she had the opportunity to pursue a Diploma in Teaching Techniques for Children at the Popular University (UPONIC). She also studied English at the Academy of Languages of Nicaragua. Currently, she is studying business administration at the University of Central America.
Karen says her dream is that each child will grow up to become a professional who can serve Nicaragua. She believes the coordinated teamwork of the staff is providing the students with moral, spiritual and civic values so they can grow into adults who honor their country and Project Chacocente. She feels the children are educated in an environment of love and she looks forward to the day when she sees them as adults who have achieved their goals.
Matching Grant Nets $10,000 In School Lunches
If you’ve ever been to Chacocente you may have heard the humbling words from a parent, “Thank you for giving my child the one hot meal today!”
Thanks to many of you and a special gift, donations of $5,000 were matched with $5,000 for a total of $10,000. That will provide the school with the funds to pay for lunches for the students and teachers for 5 months.
With grateful hearts, we pass that thanks on to all who made this possible.
Why Have Internet At The Chacocente Christian School
Here in the United States, we cannot imagine a school, public or private, without access to the In- ternet. In Nicaragua, ac- cess to the Internet at any school is nearly non- existent. In fact, most people, especially those living in rural areas like Chacocente, have zero or very limited experience with the web.
The teachers and students at Chacocente Christian School are blessed to have the Internet at their school. It’s one of the many ways our school differs from others. Teachers rely on the Internet daily for planning lessons and communicating with other professionals in their field. The students are learning about the world around them and the opportunities the world has to offer.
Thanks to José Luis, our computer science teacher, students in pre-school through Grade 11 learn how to navigate the web safely.
We believe the availability of the Internet aids our students and staff to set high personal goals and offers them the academic and social resources to help them fulfill those goals. The monthly cost of having the Internet is $173. Please donate now to support the Internet at Chacocente Christian School.
What’s Happening At The Project
Several delegations have already made their 2016 trips and begun work on new projects. Each work team makes a difference at the project, the school, and with the families. Together, we continue to offer hope for the future.
The First UMC (Troy, OH) paved the walkway from the school campus to the Big House.
Genesee Valley District (Upper, NY) sent a delegation in February. Their team continued the work on the fence between the school campus and the road, and distributed shoes to every child at the Chacocente Christian school. The shoes were a gift from West Unity UMC (West Unity, OH.) Thanks to Jim Hutchison for organizing the shoe collection.
Valencia UMC (Valencia, CA) began work on a new chain-link fence separating the school campus from the road; dug a trench so that water for irrigation could be run to the area between the elementary school and the road; facilitated a 2-day medical and dental clinic for the Chacocente families, the families from the school and surrounding neighborhood. All school classes got a visit from the dentist who gave them good dental hygiene instructions.
A group of students from Troy Christian School (Troy, OH) worked on the multi-purpose court, and planted new trees at the school.