Fifth graders carried on an annual tradition this month by attending the Junior Achievement BizTown Program! BizTown, "combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to [JA City], a fully-interactive simulated learning facility." In preparation for the event, volunteers from American Express visited Guadalupe School to run mock interviews with students. The children dressed up in their professional best, and blew interviewers away with their wonderful answers. Some of the follow-up comments from adult volunteers included, "These students were prepared, enthusiastic and had a high energy level when they came to interview;" "I was impressed with how honest and open they were about sharing life experiences;" "I am so proud of this group of students!  They were so brave and I never could have done what they did today when I was 11 years old."
   A couple of days after interviews, the two classes traveled to JA City at Gateway. They enjoyed a speech from a student mayor, then become employees and managers of various real-life Salt Lake City businesses for a day. Adult volunteers helped teach the kids about workplace practices, management skills, and the day-to-day tasks of running a business! 
   Guadalupe School is so proud of all of our grade school students. They work hard and learn quickly in order to best prepare for future success. Students loved this hands-on experience, and learned a lot about how a community works, and what types of professions they can aspire to fulfill. 

This month Guadalupe School's Executive Director, Richard Pater, had the pleasure of meeting with the Mexican Consul of Utah, José Borjón, and giving him a tour of the Guadalupe School campus. Consul Borjón expressed the seriousness with which the Consulate of Mexico takes education and community initiatives, especially for local Hispanic and Latino families. He relayed his hope of partnering with various elements of Guadalupe programs to provide value, whether by speaking at the 6th grade graduation ceremony, or providing resources and speakers to parent involvement committee meetings or Adult Education gatherings. Mr. Pater was proud to tour the Consul around the school, telling him how each program is represented and what it achieves. Consul Borjón generously gave Guadalupe School a parting gift: a full set of Mexican textbooks for the Adult Education portion of our library. Guadalupe School is proud to have hosted such a distinguished guest, and we cannot wait to see the good things we will accomplish together. 

Last month Guadalupe School students and parents were able to enjoy some fun written correspondence with staff and board members. Many Adult Education students, Charter School parent volunteers, and one full class of fourth graders took the time to write letters to board members detailing why they like being a part of the Guadalupe School community. 

One Adult Education student wrote, "I have been 1.5 years coming to English classes. It is good for me. I need English for my work and life. English helps me to communicate better. I like coming to the school and listening to the teacher and learning." One parent of a Charter School student said, "I want to thank you for all you do for this wonderful school. I am very proud of how my kids are doing academically. I really hope my kids all graduate from this school." A fourth grader explained, "Math is one of my favorite things to do at school. You can learn how to do it different ways, and it is fun to me." 

When board members and staff leadership met for a Board Retreat in January, they took the time to respond to the letters written. They expressed their admiration for adults learning English, their gratitude to parents in the Charter School who care so much about the education of their children, and told fourth graders about their favorite school subjects and hobbies. Students received these responses, and were very excited to read through them. 
This activity allowed for those benefiting from Guadalupe School's programs, and those who work hard to gather the support needed for them to continue, to connect on a more personal level. All involved felt it was a positive interaction, and emphasized the community effort that occurs at Guadalupe School in order to transform lives through education.