Welcome, Juanita!

JuanitaWe are very excited to be welcoming Juanita Chiviliu, from La Puerta Abierta in Guatemala, to Boston this month! The connection began with Sara Yablon–Smith, one of our parents and also the longtime friend of La Puerta Abierta’s founder, Amanda Flayer. Since our introduction back in June, we have been working on ways to collaborate and create more active connections between our schools. Juanita, a teacher and co-director at La Puerta Abierta, will be here through December 23rd and will be visiting all of the Pine Village locations during that time. We hope that this first endeavor is the beginning of a wonderful partnership of collaboration between our schools.

Juanita was one of Amanda’s students in the 5th grade at La Puerta Abierta, and after completing high school, she came back to volunteer at her alma mater, where she has been working for the past five years. Juanita has worked in three different classrooms there (preschool-1st grade), as well as working with their weekly early stimulation classes.

The purpose of her trip will be to gain exposure to a variety of creative teaching practices, observe/shadow teachers, and collaborate with cultural exchanges. Juanita, an indigenous Maya from the Guatemalan Highlands, will also have the opportunity to share her culture and traditions with Pine Village staff and children. And she hopes to collaborate with our teachers and model creative teaching practices which are used at La Puerta Abierta.

Both Pine Village and La Puerta Abierta are committed to cultivating a long-term cultural exchange between the two schools. We have many wonderful ideas that we have shared with each other, including visiting their school, Skyping in classrooms and corresponding with their students, and creating a treasure chest to share.

To learn more about La Puerta Abierta you can visit their website at http://atitlanabierta.com.

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