By Cassie Bingham, Communications Specialist 

This month Guadalupe School was able to celebrate and raise funds through its annual luncheon - a traditional event that allows generous sponsors to support a great cause and highlights a few of the superstars who attest to how their lives have been benefited through Guadalupe's academic programs. The Workers Compensation Fund insurance company supported as the premier sponsor, in collaboration with several other corporate and individual sponsors who are listed here. All who attended enjoyed a lovely ambiance in the grand ballroom of The Little America Hotel downtown Salt Lake City, a delicious lunch, and the privilege of listening to the Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Kirby, along with some very inspiring Guadalupe students. 

Anthony Rodriguez, Elania Marquez, Francisco Flores, and Aubrey Lopez are Guadalupe sixth graders who have worked hard to earn good grades and success while attending - three of the four have been in Guadalupe School programs since infancy. They shared some of their favorite memories and stories after years of being Guadalupe kids. 

Anthony drew laughs when he related, "One of my favorite Guadalupe School memories was our fieldtrip in 5th grade to Junior Achievement Biztown at Discovery Gateway. We got to work like adults and had to pay bills and write checks. I worked at Workers Compensation Fund, an insurance company. I was a CEO, and I had to sign a lot of things."

Elania comes from an entire family of fans of Guadalupe - she happily told the crowd, "There are 8 kids in my family, and 5 of us have gone to Guadalupe School. My family loves Guadalupe School!"

Aubrey and Francisco opened up about the challenges they had overcome at Guadalupe. Aubrey shared, "It was difficult for me because I had barely gotten back from Mexico, where I had to learn Spanish...When I was about to go to third grade my mom put me...into Guadalupe School. It helped me continue to learn English and now I speak it well!" Similarly, Francisco told how, "In first grade I didn’t know how to read, even though a lot of kids did. When I looked at a book it looked very hard. My teacher Ms. Summer helped me progress more and more until I became one of the best readers in my class."

These amazing speeches were followed by the inspiring story of Fabian Mecalco, a student in the Adult Education program who has learned English with the help of his community volunteer tutors and Adult Ed instructors. He expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to learn, thus giving him the chance to find success in America with his lovely family, providing for them through his local carpentry business. 

All in all, the luncheon was a success. Old and new friends of Guadalupe socialized and enjoyed a display of the tremendous things being accomplished through our programs. We want to thank everyone who was involved in making the event such a great time! We look forward to many more years of positive results as the Guadalupe programs continue to run thanks to community support. 

By Cassie Bingham, Communications Specialist

Last week, fourth grade had the amazing opportunity to visit one of Utah's national treasures - Timpanogos Cave! It was a day full of hard work, adventure, and learning. A large proportion of the kids said they had never gone on a hike in the mountains, and even more had never been inside a cave, so this activity was something new and exciting. 

The kids started out with a ton of energy, but soon realized that hiking up multiple switchbacks for a mile and half can prove difficult for almost anyone. However, they encouraged each other, and were motivated by the accompanying Guadalupe staff and awesome parent volunteers who came along, and eventually each and every student made it to the top and were able to explore the cave. They loved listening to the park ranger tour guides, who not only shared scientific facts about cave formations, but also the history of the cave's discovery, and the old Native American legends associated with the cave. 

On the way back down I asked a fourth grader named Xavier what he thought about the hike. He answered that "It was really fun, and tiring!" When I asked how he had felt when he made it to the cave after the long hike he replied, "Very good about myself, that I did it." 

Fourth grade teacher Mr. Mulder was extremely proud of his students. He related the difficult hike and beautiful reward at the top to life in general. Before loading everyone up to head back to school, he gathered the kids around and explained, "Fourth grade is a lot of work, and I think you can all agree that going up that hill was a lot of work. Now the cool part about this is, a lot of you have never been here before, and you didn't know what to expect at the top of that hill. Someone asked me, 'Do stalagmites and stalactites form outside of caves?' No they don't. You had to go all the way up to that cave to be able to see something you would not see otherwise. It's the same thing as fourth grade. You would not know the sorts of things that you will learn this year unless you do it! You have to do it. Did anyone get dragged up there? No. Did anyone get magically flown up there? No. It took hard work. There was some team work as well. Life is this way, the harder you work at it, the better things are for you."

We are so happy to see our fourth graders thriving as they discover and learn more each day. Our Guadalupe teachers are helping their students not only learn the academic skills they need to pass tests, but the life skills they need to become happy and successful people. Check out some of the fun photos from the trip, below!  

By Cassie Bingham, Communications Specialist 

Last week Guadalupe School celebrated the beginning of a brand new school year in the best way possible - with a giant carnival filled with games, food, and excitement! Thanks to Morris Murdock Travel, who sponsored the event, several community organizations, including Subway, Gardner Village, Real Salt Lake, and Broadway Media, came together to provide Guadalupe families with a wonderful time. The students wore their parents out while running around to the petting zoo, climbing wall, popcorn and cotton candy machines, dress-up photo booth, and carnival games. There was also a radio DJ who kept the atmosphere lively with dance music, and Real Salt Lake sent their mascot Leo the Lion and some Real players to mingle with fans! Overall the evening was a huge success. 

One of the values Guadalupe School holds dear is the importance of quality family time. We know that kids perform better and ultimately achieve more when their parents are actively and lovingly involved in their lives, both academic and day-to-day. We take pride in providing opportunities and events where parents and children can bond, and hopefully both grow to appreciate their school and all it offers. It was a treat for staff to see families enjoying themselves and coming together as a Guadalupe community! 

If you would like to see the photo booth pictures, please click here and enter the password. 

​Otherwise, check out some pictures below from the event: