Project Design
- Canadian literacy experts in the Literacy Alive Rotary sponsored project initiative are returning to Cayo to assist with strengthening literacy teaching and learning.
- Five literacy lead Alberta teachers will provide in-school consultation, support for teachers, assessment of student reading programs, sharing of resources and modeling of effective student reading intervention teaching approaches in specific village schools for four days: November 9, 10, 11, 12, 2015.
- March 29, 30, 31, 2016 will be a hosted three day camp for students where resources and teaching strategies to support reading improvement will be modeled by Canadian leaders co-presenting with Belize educators who are interested in literacy.
- Students will learn about becoming better readers in a three day camp that integrates adventure and fun activities around a Rainforest theme.
- Follow up Professional Development for Cayo teachers and public librarians will be held on April 4 and 5, 2016 with a focus on reading comprehension and basic literacy teaching approaches.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
- Up to 400 students in Standard Two, who could benefit from reading support activities, will be selected by school principals to participate in the program.
- Up to 60 Belize educators and community volunteers interested in literacy improvement will be identified to help in facilitating the camp
- Educators from across Belize are invited to participate
- Public librarians are invited to participate
- Student teachers from Sacred Heart College are encouraged to participate.
- Community members in any profession, career or business are invited to participate in the Career Fair on Thursday, March 31.
WHAT ACTIVITIES?
- Canadian Literacy Alive team will provide all resources and leadership
- Students will proceed through learning stations focused on: Phonics, Reading, Writing and Comprehension
- Daily Rainforest adventure activities including sports, games and field trips for students.
- Follow up professional development for educators (April 4,5) with the intent that a Belize leadership team can replicate the camp during future school vacation times.
WHY A READING AND ADVENTURE CAMP?
- Evidence of success with the concept in other countries
- Provides students with a quality reading intervention support system
- Provides teachers the opportunity to use resources and strategies that can be also used when they return to their home schools
- Method to share quality teaching and learning resources to many teachers in many schools.
- Belize educators learn about effective literacy support strategies at the same time that they can practice using them with student campers.
- The three day camp is a condensed model of a much larger camp that can be hosted by Belize communities during summer vacation blocks.
- Community members, including local public libraries, clubs/organizations engage in the literacy support process by transferring ideas, resources, and activities to Belize led initiatives.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
- The Cayo Ministry of Education office will direct the registration process through contact with school principals.
- Student participants must be children presently in Standard 2 who are struggling with reading/writing success and could benefit from focused literacy intervention approaches
- Community volunteers interested in participating please contact your local Rotary Club representatives.
HOW WILL THE CAMP OPERATE?
- All activities will take place at Sacred Heart College in San Ignacio.
- Busses will provide daily transportation to and from the camp for students who do not live in San Ignacio
- Camp operates from 9:00 – 3:30 for three consecutive days.
- Each Canadian leader will provide mentorship and coaching to a team of Belize educators and volunteers (referred to as Literacy Teaching Cohorts).
- Daily de-briefings for Camp Leaders will follow dismissal of students
- Students will circulate between a series of learning stations
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Students receive reading support materials
- Snacks and lunch are provided by local community volunteers
- CAREER FAIR featuring local employers, professionals, and entrepreneurs will share information about their work and the value in having strong reading and writing skills.
- Website development to house all literacy support materials for friendly access by camp participants.
WHO SPONSORS THE CAMP?
- Rotary Club of San Ignacio works with the Rotary Club of Red Deer, Alberta Canada in a collaborative Literacy Alive project where both clubs provide source funding which is matched by Rotary International to support costs of the project (over $50,000 US).
- Funding goes toward development of materials, camp costs, professional development costs and support for Canadian literacy leaders to travel to Belize.
- Sacred Heart College in San Ignacio has partnered with the project to generously provide the facility to operate the camp.
- The Cayo Ministry of Education Office, is providing support in communication, promotion and co-facilitation of the project activities.
WHAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LITERACY PROVIDERS IS AVAILABLE?
- Educators in the areas of literacy are invited to two days of professional development on Monday, April 4 and Tuesday, April 5. These events will take place in San Ignacio.
- Both days will be focused on teaching strategies, resource development, assessment of reading levels of students, and effective reading and writing teaching strategies.
- April 4 will be focused on literacy for Infant 1, 2 and Standard 1.
- April 5 will be feature literacy practices for Standard 2 and 3 and 4.
HOW DOES THIS PROJECT SUPPORT LITERACY IMPROVEMENT IN BELIZE?
- Augments existing training and experience of local educators
- Assists in developing strategies to engage local communities (individuals,parents, community organizations, public libraries) in literacy support
- Provides many reading/writing teaching and learning resources for local schools
- Sets up a model that can be duplicated anywhere in Belize at reasonable cost
- Provides support materials to host camps and provide professional development to teachers and community volunteers in the areas of literacy learning
HOW CAN OTHERS HELP?
- Funding to support purchase of camp t-shirts for students
- Funding to support guided reading level books for students and local schools
- Sponsorship for a teacher(s) to join in camp activities and training
- Donations for water, food and snacks during camp
- Volunteer to participate in the CAREER FAIR activities
- Contacts for donations: Canadians contact Lynne Paradis, Belizeans contact Sheree Fukai or Aki Fukai (President of the Rotary Club of San Ignacio).
LITERACY ALIVE PROGRAM CONTACTS:
- Mr. Luis Carballo, Director, Ministry of Education, Cayo District office
- Mrs. Isaura Williams, Literacy Director, Ministry of Education, Cayo District Office
- Dr. Lynne Paradis, Literacy Alive Project Director: Rotary Club of Red Deer, Canada
- Sheree Fukai, San Ignacio Rotary Club Project Director:
- Aki Fukai, President, Rotary Club of San Ignacio.
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