IMPROVE SCHOOL FOR 700 DOMINICAN STUDENTS IN NEED

Dear donor, please accept our heartiest greeting.  Thank you for your donation, we are thrilled to have your support. Through your donation we have been able to accomplish many goals and continue working towards to offering an affordable and quality education that fosters the professional and personal development of the young beneficiaries. You truly make the difference for us, and we are extremely grateful!

 I am delighted to share with you these 3 pictures of the 15th Graduation Ceremony of the school which took place in the last October.  68 youth were graduated from high school and some students and teachers were awarded for their performance.

 The Principal of the school expressed his satisfaction for the achievements of the last school year and exhorted the graduates to never forget the human values that were instilled in them.

 Given the current circumstances, we decided to do a short and very simple ceremony. In fact, we had two ceremonies (one in the morning and the other in the afternoon), it is that to say that the graduates and their closest relatives were divided into two groups as part of the safety protocols. But it was still very meaningful and emotional, as always. 

In the other hand, the 2020-2021 school year has begun.  Nowadays the parents, students, teachers and the administrative staff are focused on it.

 The continuation of the suspension of face-to-face teaching in our country, due to the isolation measures imposed by the Government to counteract the spread of covid-19, gave way to the continuation of the virtual education, following the guidelines of the Ministry of Education. Students and teachers, through the virtual classroom are developing the educational curriculum from their homes. This new modality (distance learning) continue representing a great challenge to the educational community, but all is going well fortunately

 If it hadn't been for the technology training program that we have implemented for years, it would have been difficult for teachers and students to embrace the distance learning.  

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project. If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

These are hard times but “United we are Stronger”, better times will come ! 

 Thank you very much again for your support, we truly appreciate it ! 

Best wishes !

Dear donor, may you receive a warm greeting. We would like to start our report by expressing to you our sincere gratitude. Your donation is making a great impact in several vulnerable communities through the improvement of the educational quality and the infrastructure of the Ann & Ted Kheel Polytechnic School

This and all the reports to follow will update you periodically on our progress and how your donation work here in the community of Veron, eastern region of the Dominican Republic. 

We are delighted to inform to you about the recent achievements:   

• 20 recent graduates concluded on last December a two-month internship at Grupo Puntacana company (in the areas of Hospitality, Infrastructure Maintenance, Human Resources, Laundry, Electricity and Water Supply, Purchasing) in order to complement the technical skills training provided by the school through the direct contact with the work environment, in fact some of them have been hired by the aforementioned company. Please see the picture of the closing ceremony
• Counting on the company ETC-Iberoamerica as supplier, we have continued the second phase of the Microsoft certification program for the benefit of 45 fourth, fifth and sixth graders, who are being trained in Microsoft Office software
• The expansion of the cafeteria is already finished, the space added will be used to storage the snacks that are daily served to the students during the break time. Please the picture attached
• Through an alliance with the entity MUDE we are developing since the last January the project "Youth with future. Building Life Projects for Adolescents of Verón -Punta Cana’”:, which is conceived as a community intervention of an educational nature that aims to sensitize and train adolescents on the importance of developing social, personal and emotional skills as essential tools to protect them from risks that could affect their lives in the short and long term. It is aimed to make visible and reduce the risk factors to which the adolescents and young students of the Ann and Ted Kheel polytechnic are exposed, in three main axes: prevention of pregnancy in adolescents, prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections (ITS) and promotion of a culture of peace through playful techniques, reflections and creative actions that encourage healthy behaviors 
• Representatives of the Foundation, MUDE, the Ministry of Education, the Polytechnic (Director, school counselor, representatives of the parents association, a group of students) as well as some members of the community attended to the presentation act that took place on January 16^th, a few days later the implementation of the project began in the school. Please see the pictures attached
• We hope to develop in the upcoming months the Escolarte Project which has as one of its objectives the creation of a musical band at the school In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project.

If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

 Thank you very much again for your support, we really appreciate it ! 

Best wishes !

Dear donor, may you receive a warm greeting.  We at the Grupo Puntacana Foundation want to express our appreciation for your generosity in support of the Ann & Ted Kheel Polytechnic School.  

 Your generosity and commitment are making an immediate difference in the lives of hundreds of young people from vulnerable communities of the tourist destination of Punta Cana.

We are involved in the developing stages of our project.

 We are delighted to inform to you about the recent achievements:   

• Counting on the company ETC-Iberoamerica as supplier, we have started the second phase of the Microsoft certification program for the benefit of 30 third and fourth graders, who are being trained in Microsoft Office software
• Three students performed on the last September at the “Fourth Punta Cana Poetry Festival” (at Puntacana Village), reciting their own poems. Also forty students participated in a “Literary Workshop” at the facilities of the school, which was taught by a female Dominican poet
• We have continued the implementation of the Voluntary Military Service program together with the Security Department of Grupo Puntacana and the Ministry of National Defense (it consists on training programs in human values directed to the students to turn them into men and women at the service of the country and its development) so that in the last Saturday the 4th graduation ceremony took place in which 40 students were graduated.  
• 20 recent graduates are concluding a two-month internship at Grupo Puntacana company (in the areas of Hospitality, Infrastructure Maintenance, Human Resources, Laundry, Electricity and Water Supply, Purchasing) who were granted with the corresponding work benefits, in order to complement the technical skills training provided by the school through the direct contact with the work environment, which will influence their future profession and create job opportunities for them.
• In the last November 6 students and 1 teacher participated in the event TEDx Santo Domingo 2018, which presented innovator speakers, exposing global trends with the ability to transform the present and the future

Please see the 6 pictures attached to this report 

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project.

If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

 Thank you very much again for your support, we really appreciate it ! 

Best wishes !

Dear donor, may you receive a warm greeting. Without a doubt, your contribution to this project plays a key role in achieving the educational dreams of hundreds of young people from the vulnerable communities of the tourist destination of Punta Cana.

We remain focused on getting better life conditions for the students and all of the members of the Ann & Ted Kheel Polytechnic School in the community of Veron, through the improvement of this educational center.

Your support has made a great difference in this process !.

We are involved in the developing stages of our project.

We are delighted to inform to you about the recent achievements:   

• We have continued the implementation of the Voluntary Military Service program together with the Security Department of Grupo Puntacana company and the Ministry of National Defense (as we mentioned in the past, it consists on training programs in human values directed to the students to turn them into men and women at the service of the country and its development) so that in the last June the 3^rd graduation ceremony took place, in which 40 students were graduated.
•  In the last June we held the 13th graduation ceremony, in which 80 students were graduated. To date 866 young people belonging to low-income families have graduated (high school plus technical skills).
• The school staff took advantage of the summer vacation to elaborate the calendar of the training activities for the teachers and the co-curricular activities for the students, among others. After an evaluation of the technicians, the maintenance labors of the facilities were accomplished ( outdoor painting, land scape, among others). 
• 5 students participated for a month in the summer internship ”Veranitos” at Grupo Puntacana company, it is a wonderful vocational program that supports the future generation of professionals on their way to success.
• In the last August the Biology, Physics and Chemistry teacher participated for two days in the "Cientifica-Mente" training session in charge of the Vice-Presidency of the DR, in the capital city, which seeks to improve the skills of the teachers through the scientific thinking and experimentation.
• Counting on the company ETC-Iberoamerica as supplier, we are preparing the next phase of the Microsoft certification program for the benefit of the students, so that we have already purchased the 2016 Microsoft Office software to be installed in the computer lab of the school.
• 29 students out of 55 who took part in the National Evaluation Program run by the Ministry of Education ranked among the best 10% of the country. One of them was within the best 2%. We are very proud about it !

 Please see the 4 pictures attached to this report. In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project.

If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

 Thank you very much again for your support, we really appreciate it !

 Best wishes !

Dear donor, may you receive a warm greeting. We would like to reiterate our gratitude for your support, we consider you a key partner in this project and are grateful that you share our vision for the future of the students of the Ann & Ted Kheel Polytechnic School. 

You just like us believe that education is one of the strongest means that is capable of bringing about the desired change in society, it is helpful in developing a generation of virtuous individuals. Thus in this way, education helps in contributing to the development of good human beings. 

We are involved in the developing stages of our project. The details are the following:   

• We have already purchased 36 lockers to store the students' belongings in the classrooms. The orderly and comfortable class rooms promote the discipline, concentration and better performance of students and teachers. Please see the picture attached
• We are enthusiastically preparing the 13^th Graduation ceremony
• Counting on the company ETC-Iberoamerica as supplier, we have started to implement the Microsoft certification program, this offers to the students an internationally accredited certification granted by the Microsoft headquarters. The benefits are: More and much better employment opportunities, the validation of the national universities of the academic subjects impacted by the certification program, among others. The first stage, a sort of pilot program, is focused on Microsoft Office and 30 students are participating (second and third high school levels). Please see the picture attached.
  

If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project.

 Thank you very much again for your support !

 Best wishes !