Happy Holidays and thank you so much to everyone who has shown their love this season with a donation to the students of Caye Caulker Ocean Academy.  There are so many heart-warming stories to share with you about how your donations are making a difference in Belizean children's lives and we thank each and every one of you for your kindness. 

Family sponsors scholarships at Ocean Academy

Brenda and Rob Horn from Wisconsin have six children, and recently "adopted" two more at Caye Caulker Ocean Academy.  The family will be sponsoring a full four-year scholarship for one student, and partially assisting another.  Brenda and Rob emailed us after their school visit: "we had a long talk with all of our children last night. We told them the statistics that less than 40% of children go to high school, and less than 10% of Caye Caulker children graduate, and that made them very sad.  We told them that we were sure as OA grows, more children will attend high school and graduate.  We also explained to them the average salary of a Caye Caulker resident, and how much it costs to attend school.  They asked really good questions about the salary of the teachers, the cost of electricity, lights, supplies, water etc., when they saw a picture of the school. They all agreed they were very happy our family is sponsoring and wished we could help more.  This lead into another really good conversation about "wanting" something versus "needing" something.  Our children really want to come to Caye Caulker someday to see the school and meet [our student]... Our visit with your school and meeting the staff and children, is already making a difference in our own home in such a positive way so thank you again!".

Ocean Academy students entertain the community with Christmas Games and Show

Ocean Academy students, teachers and volunteers worked all week to set up this year's Christmas Extravaganza on Caye Caulker.  During the day, the high-schoolers ran games for the island children such as fishing pond, facepainting, bucket and dart throws, arts and crafts centre, photos with Santa and a dice and paddle game.  In the evening the Ocean Academy students entertained the community with guitar, choir, dance performances as well as skits and poems,  More photos can be seen on our school Facebook page (Caye Caulker Ocean Academy). 

Five Jr. Science students win trip to Planetarium and Mayan Museum in Mexico

The Mexican Embassy took 100 of the best Belizean students for a trip to visit the new Planetarium and the Museum of the Mayan Culture in Chetumal, Mexico. 5 Ocean Academy students and their science teacher were selected! The aim of the trip was to expand the knowledge in astronomy and Mayan culture among Belizean students.  More photos are on our school Facebook page (Caye Caulker Ocean Academy).

Links:

• Tour of Ocean Academy - guided by singer Danny Michel
• The Vancouver Province - article about Ocean Academy
• Students say thank you to donors

Ocean Academy is thankful for ...

Our environment and planet

The school motto is "Preserving our heritage, creating our future".To celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday, the entire student body spent the afternoon on the north side of our island to show our committment and appreciation for the environment.  62 students, 7 teachers, 1 co-founder and 3 volunteers planted zericote seedlings on the shore, mangrove seedlings in the sea, and cleared the Forest Reserve trails of dead brush.  A few photos are attached to this report and more are on our Facebook page for Caye Caulker Ocean Academy.

Our student leaders

Educating also means bringing out the very best qualities and gifts within our students such as leadership.  Ocean Academy students are active in a Student Leadership Council, an Interact Volunteer Club and a Girls Empowerment Club.  Students leaders of today will soon become the leaders of Belize!

You! Our volunteers, donors and supporters

Hear in the students' own words how your donations and goodwill have made a difference in their lives, and inspired them to continue with their educational dreams. 

• Watch a short video in which students share their thanks with all the donors: http://vimeo.com/270260
• Read letters written by the students: http://www.dannymichel.com/newsite/OAfund/Entries/2011/11/20_Letters_from_the_kids.html
• See more photos of all the activities and news on our Facebook Page "Caulker Ocean Academy" or school website: www.cayecaulkerschool.com

Links:

• Canadian singer Danny Michel is fundraising for scholarships
• Ocean Academy school blog
• Ocean Academy student video to say thank you to all donors