October updates

October 2013

 

            We have had a successful and enjoyable first two months of classes. We have our highest enrollment of students this year with 130!

 

Spreading the Word

 

            In August Maria and Gilbert were able to travel to churches and other locations to speak about the work at Colegio Ganley. They spoke in Albuquerque, NM, Hutchinson, KS, Smithson, KS and Highlands Ranch, CO.

 

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!

 

            In September we had some excitement with unusual amounts of rain falling. For a city that receives very little rain, having so much water around can really disrupt the normal routines of life! We had to close down for two days because the roads to the school were flooded. Thankfully a team had recently reinforced our drainage systems, so none of our classrooms got flooded. The basement was flooded and we’re still working on cleanup.

Running Club

 

            Some of our fifth and sixth grade students have joined our sixth grade teacher in a running club. Maestra Marta coaches students after school in running as a part of the after-school program. Nine students participate. Students run in the neighborhood near the school for an hour after school. Students participate in races on Sundays and usually come in first or second in competitions against other schools. Running club will continue all school year.

 

Flag Football

            Sixteen of our students played intramural flag football this fall and did an amazing job! We found out about the program only a week and a half before our first game. Students practiced after school with the P.E. teacher, Elijah, and Jeremiah coaching. The students played against other schools that had been practicing for two months.

            Students played three games the first Saturday. They played for three more consecutive Saturdays. On the day of finals, our students played two games and the 3^rd and 4^th grades got third place, and the 5^th and 6^th grades got fourth place. Our students showed outstanding Christian character and sportsmanship.

 

Help From Teams

 

Praise God for the help of teams at our school. A team from New Jersey worked on reinforcing our drainage system in July. A team from Colorado helped build walls for our new playground in October.

August 2013 updates

August 2013

It has been an eventful summer! Read about all the activities the Lord has blessed us with.

Alumni Reunion

In June of this year, we welcomed many of our former students back to Colegio Ganley for an alumni reunion. About forty students, roughly half of all our graduates, showed up for the event. It was a joyous time of fellowship for us as well as the kids, many of whom go to different secondary schools and don’t see each other often.

We spent the evening playing games (even musical chairs!), eating (of course!) and reminiscing. Students stood up and talked about what their years at Colegio Ganley had meant to them. They also shared with one another what they were doing currently and what schools they were going to. At that time, the alumni students were in grades 7-10.

We ended the evening playing soccer. As the reunion was coming to an end, many kids complained, “We don’t want to go home!” and asked to do reunions more often. We pray this was the first reunion of many!

Graduation

On June 29 we held ceremonies for our fifth graduating class from Colegio Ganley. Eleven students graduated from elementary school and are poised to go to junior high with an excellent foundation of education and, most importantly, Jesus Christ.

Students and parents enjoyed an evening graduation in our multi-purpose room on the third story. The color guard handed off the flag to next year’s sixth graders in preparation for being the leaders of the school. The school principal, Maestra Anita, gave a speech, as did two students. The graduating class performed a worship dance to end the ceremony. The evening closed out with a nice dinner for students and guests. What a blessing to celebrate all the hard work of these students over the years! God has been so faithful to these little ones and their families.

Summer Mission Trip

In July Gilbert took several students on a mission trip to a southern area of Mexico. While there, we worked with and supported a missionary couple who are reaching out to indigenous people with the Gospel.

Gilbert and the kids experienced a wet week! It rained every day and they had nighttime adventures in a leaky tent! Thankfully, we were able to stay in the missionaries’ home the rest of the week.

Some of the work we did involved reaching out the members of the local church the missionaries began. We showed the movie Faith like Potatoes to the people. The Ganley students presented a puppet show which had the people there laughing and singing along to praise songs. Our group also cleaned trash and brush around the church to help clear our areas where snakes sometimes live and hide.

It is truly a blessing to be used by God to BLESS others!

Beginning of a new school year

The 2013-2014 school year began on Monday, August 19. Praise God for our ninth school year! What a marvelous work He has done! This year we have an enrollment of 127. This is our largest student body so far. Pray for God’s hand to be on all students, teachers, and families this school year.

Once a year during March the school hosts a Locks of Love program. Many of the girls that attend the school grow their hair out all year for the event. The program is put on by Heidi Treibel who teaches at Jim Elliot Christian School in Denver. Heidi brought a small team of 5 adults and 15 students for a week this year. The following had their hair cut: 9 kids (ages 5 to 10), 1 mom from the neighborhood, 1 teenager from the visiting team, and Maria Garcia, the co-director. 6 students tried to grow their hair out but didn't make it.
This program draws the attention of the local media, including Televisia - Channel 2, Channel 44, and Televisia Azteca.

Locks of Love collects hair for low-income kids with cancer. Hair needs to be longer than 10 inches to be cut. Once cut, the hair is boxed up and shipped to Florida.

The school's program got started 6 years ago after Heidi had been teaching at the school for one year. After she started the tradition, it has continued every year (and sometimes twice a year). Originally only Heidi did it, but then one of the students wanted to do it, then that student's aunt, then other kids followed.

Tidbits:

• Often the girls cry when they don't get to cut their hair because it's too short.
  



• The Jim Elliot Christian School has a buddy program with Colegio Ganley in which kids have buddies between the schools. They send one another notes throughout the year.

News and Events

This is the first post on the Colegio Ganley.org site. In the future more regular posts will occur. These will be bi-lingual as well.