June 2019 Palapa Society News
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Check out the extraordinary learning opportunities underway at The Palapa School, and extraordinary generosity from members of our community that help keep it all going.
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In order to better acknowledge our Donors and Volunteers, The Palapa Society is moving to a new database system called Donor Perfect, which will allow us to easily see how your contributions are making a difference.
We’ll be able to track your volunteer work and hours, in-kind and cash donations, and more. Help us get started by completing this survey about your profile.
Click here.
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Congratulations to
Teacher of the Year
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Last month, The Palapa School students voted Francisco Xavier Quiroz as their Teacher of the Year. Sr. Quiroz teaches mathematics, sciences and physical education.
He was born in the city of La Paz, BCS, and graduated from the Technological in La Paz with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He is currently studying for his Master’s degree in Education and Teaching, with over 12 years’ experience in teaching middle school and high school students.
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La Paz Science Fair – First Place
A group of our 8th and 9th grade Physics and Chemistry students participated in the annual Science Fair in La Paz in May, led by teachers Xavier Quiroz and Armando Vázquez. Congratulations to the 8th grade group who won First Place in their category. Special Thank You to Mario Becerril of Todos Santos Private Transportation, for giving a 50% discount to transport the kids to and from the event.
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Palapa Student Body
King and Queen 2019
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This year for Student's Day the Palapa School student body elected a King an Queen. The winners of this annual contest are Isabella and Joaquin. This special celebration was held at La Esquina. Thank you to all the parents and students and especially La Esquina for their dedication and support to make this a day to remember.
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As you know, The Palapa Society started over 15 years ago as a scholarship program, and thanks to your generosity, continues to be a primary focus for our fundraising efforts. The Beca scholarship program ensures every young person in our community has access to quality education, whether at public school, The Palapa School, or at University. With scholarships, students are given the opportunity to discover and maximize their full potential, as they prepare to become future pillars in our community.
Meet Oscar Parra Amador, an example of the success a young mind can achieve with a little help with the cost of tuition. Oscar was a Palapa Puente Bridge to English program student when he was 8 years old, back when Palapa classes were given at the Todos Santos Cultural Center. He became fluent in English, graduated from public high school, and received a Beca scholarship to attend Universidad Internacional de La Paz. He recently earned his Criminal Law certificate, and will graduate with Law degree later this year. In the meantime, he teaches law classes to students in La Paz. He has promised to visit The Palapa School to advise our students about the career options available with a Law degree. Fun fact: His Father was a Palapa Society Board member for several years.
If you would like to help donate to our Beca Program to help other students like Oscar,
please click here
to view our donation page.
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Earlier this year, Chloe Johnson and her husband Peter Buck of Grammy-award winning band R.E.M., donated 15 acoustic guitars to the Music class, led by teacher Armando Vázquez. It’s exciting to see the number of young women who are taking advantage of this opportunity to learn how to play guitar. This education will stay with them for life.
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Seeing Clearly Thanks to The Padrino Vision Clinic
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A heartfelt Thank You to The Padrino Children’s Foundation for their recent Todos Santos vision clinic that provided free eye exams and glasses to the community. We are especially appreciative of the pre-check evaluations at The Palapa School, where 11 of our Palapa students and 1 teacher were among the many who got the help they needed to improve their vision. We enjoyed partnering with this excellent organization and are proud of what they achieved.
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Book Reading A Great Success
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Last month, Irma Arana, the author of the celebrated children’s book,
Chico, Dolor y Felicidad
, the uplifting story of a local rescue dog here in Todos Santos, held a reading to over 60 people from our community, many of whom were seeing the library for the first time. The next day, Sra. Arana read to students at The Palapa School, and generously shared a signed copy of the book with everyone. Our students loved the story and were excited to meet Chico the dog in person. Did you miss the book reading?
Watch this wonderful video
(password: CHICOLECTURE) created by former Palapa student Frida Cota.
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New Books at The Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska
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When part-time Todos Santos resident and long-time major Palapa supporter Chloe Johnson brought her best friend Jamie LaBarge to tour The Palapa Learning Center, who would have thought that she’d be moved to donate 14 boxes of books in English and Spanish from Barnes & Noble bookstore, valued at over $5,000, to our community library.
Come check out numerous best sellers including
Becoming
, the autobiography of Michelle Obama, or classics like Cervantes’
Don Quixot
e
, and Harper Lee’s
To Kill a Mocking Bird
. Young Spanish-speaking adults can read
Animal Farm
,
Anne Frank,
The Diary of a Young Girl
, and
Selena, con Amor
the biography of one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. The children’s library also has a number of new titles including favorites like
The Story of Ferdinand
the Bull
,
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
, and
Chancho the Pug
.
Thank you to our Library Directors Donna Shultz and Joy O’Brien for their work on shelving the books the week they arrived. And Thank you to Jamie LaBarge for helping the Library to offer a wide selection of important works, in both English and Spanish.
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Summer hours as of June 1:
Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 10am to 1pm
Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska Infantil
10am to 1pm and Saturday
9:30a
m to 12:30pm
Saturday Story & Craft time will continue through the
summer from 11am to Noon.
Story & Craft time is for children 5-12 years old.
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Upcoming Palapa Learning Center Visits
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We are looking forward to hosting the Secretary of Education for Baja Sur, as well as The Los Cabos Children's Foundation, at The Palapa Learning Center this month to discuss school curriculum and student programs. If you would like to schedule a tour of the campus, email us at info@palapasociety.org
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Talk to Us about Legacy Giving
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Writing your will? Planned Legacy Giving is the best way to ensure your impact on the causes you care most about for years to come. Our 501(c)(3) partner The International Community Foundation (ICF) can provide guidance to help you set up your endowment or legacy gift to The Palapa Society, whether you’d like to donate stock, real estate, or another type of contribution. Through Legacy Giving, you can reduce the tax burden on your family, receive estate tax savings, and make a real difference in the lives of others here in our community. For details, email us at
i
nfo@PalapaSociety.org
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All of us from The Palapa Society of Todos Santos A.C., wish to thank each of our Donors for
May 2019
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Charlotte Johnson
Cheryl V. Meyers
Dennis & Nancy Naigle
Eleanor Andrews
Hal & Vickie Butler
John & April Ritchie
John Tyler
Kristin Rust
Karen Cuenin
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Marshall Laird
Max Horn
Paul Krough
Rina Hoatua
Sandra Sutphen
Susan Smith
Susan Willison
Virginia Gollery
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Special Thank You's
BajaSmart Real Estate
La Esquina
for hosting the King and Queen event
Mario Becerril of Todos Santos Private Transportation
, for giving a 50% discount to transport the kids to and from the event.
Jamie LaBarge and Chloe Johnson
for donating $5k worth of books in English and Spanish to the Elena Poniatowska community library
Irma Arana
for her generous book donation
and book reading of The Cuento de Chico
ICF/Fundo Unido
– Library/Literacy Training
Frida Cota
for creating the Chico book reading video
Brian Moonie, Cathy & Bill Nation
for donations in Memoriam of Tom Parrish
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Make A Difference in
a Young Life Today!
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Would you like to help our local youth and become a Palapa Society supporter? Click below to make your donation today.
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