July 2020 Palapa Society News
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Nuestro Boletín mensual ahora esta disponible en Español. Si quieres recibir nuestros correos en este formato, por favor inscríbete a través de nuestra
página de internet
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Tuition Forgiveness for Palapa School Students
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It would be an understatement to say that COVID-19 has created hardships for our local community. Many people from all over the world are rising to the occasion to help provide support to Todos Santos, this small town they love to visit year after year. The Palapa’s spirit of generosity has driven our Board of Directors to rise to this occasion by providing much needed support to our Palapa families.
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We are pleased to share with you that we are forgiving all tuition payments for the Palapa School. We came to this decision after grasping the reality that 1,500 families are receiving help with food, diapers, baby formula and medical needs. Now parents of our students do not have to make a choice between paying bills or paying for their child’s education. Our Board of Directors has waived all student tuitions from August – December 2020. This means our organization will be paying 100% of tuitions costs for every student in The Palapa School.
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A Message from Our Parents Group:
Response to Tuition Forgiveness
"Through this channel, we want to express our deep appreciation for the unconditional and widespread support to all the parents of The Palapa School. Concerning the cancellation of tuition from August to December 2020. Once again, The Palapa Society is demonstrating the desire to support young people from Todos Santos to receive a quality education."
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"For our part, we want to express our gratitude for this generous gesture, while at the same time committing ourselves to support activities for the school. The Palapa Society, once again confirms that they desire future well-being for our sons and daughters, likewise, we commit ourselves in the same way to take advantage of all the benefits they provide us. In times like these, it is pleasant to receive encouraging news that we will soon emerge stronger from this Contingency."
"In these difficult times, you are one more support to get ahead of this contingency. This is also one more valuable lesson for our children, and one more motivation for everyone to participate and contribute our action in support of others. Many thanks!”
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Our Foundational Donors Help to
Reactivate the Local Economy
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In 2015 the vision to build a central campus for learning began with our foundational donors. In 2016, The Palapa Society broke ground on what is now known as The Palapa Learning Center. Now five years later we have been gifted the opportunity to grow again! This special gift comes at a time when we need to complete The Palapa School by adding a second floor. In order to stay compliant with SEP requirements we have to have 2 separate locations for the secundaria (Jr. High) and preparatoria (High School).
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This construction project not only benefits our students, but it also will help to reactivate the local economy by providing jobs for construction workers and stimulating local businesses. Our dedicated builders, AF Design & Construction, have promised to hire local workers and order materials needed for the project from local sources.
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“Building a school isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity.” –
Palapa Foundational Donors
We are fortunate that this building project comes at no operational expense to The Palapa Society, but rather from the generosity of our Foundational Donors.
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Back to School: What School May Look Like in BCS
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The new normal of living has been an adjustment for all of us. It seems like day to day we are learning more information about the spread of COVID-19. Many of our supporters want to know what our 2020/21 school year will look like. Currently we have no official information from SEP in order to plan. However, this hasn’t stopped us from working on measures to ensure our students will be able to learn either on campus or at a distance.
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Our Education staff is actively working on setting up classes online. Unlike the U.S. many of our students do not have access to computers and internet in their homes. Our team is communicating with the families of our students in order to calculate how many do not have computers or access to the internet. The team is also seeking an application license to online learning platforms such as Canvas or Black Board. This will enable the teachers to post curriculums, to grade student assignments and will allow parents to see grades. Even though times are awkward, our excellent team is ensuring that no student is left behind. Watch for our August newsletter to learn more.
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The
Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska
remains closed however our Little Free Libraries, located at La Esquina, Parque los Piños and Padrino Clinic, remain the lifeline to summer reading. Our limited summer staff continues to stock the LFL but we encourage patrons to "read a book, leave a book, clean the book" We remind patrons with checked out books to please keep them safe until the library reopens.
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The Adult English program
is slowly starting back up, with some teachers working with students by Zoom, others working one on one over the phone, and a couple of teachers have been giving small, in person classes with 2 or 3 students, outside, while socially distancing. As with the children’s program, classes normally finish in June and begin again in October. Fortunately, many of our current teachers are now full-time residents and are volunteering to teach over the summer to make up for time lost. Since it is so important that we keep class sizes small, if there is anyone that would like to work with our students in either a simple conversational setting, or following a more structured outline, please contact our program director at
adultenglish@palapasociety.org
. All materials will be provided.
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The Children’s Art Program’s
Director Jill Mollenhauer is cultivating some fresh new ideas to get her students creating art again. Stay tuned for updates!
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The Palapa Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Jamie Sechrist to Director of Fund Development & Marketing
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Jamie has been with The Palapa Society for several years, during which time she has been responsible for the success of numerous campaigns and events. Examples of her activities include on-going donor communication, bi-annual fundraising campaigns and the Todos Santos Open Studio Tour.
Her passion for event planning has helped to create one-of-a-kind events such as; Baja Under the Stars in Denver 2017, An Evening of Music with John Paul Jones, Miguel Ochoa and Friends as well as the current Todos Unidos Online Concert series.
Her commitment to The Palapa Society and to Todos Santos is evident in all that she does. With her new title as Director of Fund Development & Marketing, Jamie will continue to be a valuable asset to The Palapa Society as she plays an even more vital role in the future of the organization.
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In addition, The Palapa Society has hired
Jimena Garcia
to be the Marketing Assistant. Like Jamie, Jimena has also contributed to a number of Palapa events and brings her organizational skills and expertise in event planning to the team. The Palapa Society is excited to have fully bilingual publicity in an effort to be more inclusive.
As our organization and programs continue to grow, we are thrilled to promote and add such talented and committed individuals to the marketing staff.
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Ricardo Madrazo
for his countless hours of graphic design, video editing and streaming the live shows for Todos Unidos. You are a true value to our community and we are grateful for your continued support.
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Thank You Donors
You Make a Difference!
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Bill David
Bonnie & AJ Johnston
Charley & Karen Haley
Cheri Myers
Cheryl Benware
Connie & Andy Mical
Dennis & Nancy Naigle
Doug West
Dr. Bill & Cathy Nation
Gail & Scott Bosch
Grace Tuttle
Hal and Vickie Butler
Heather Bauer
Jane Gehring
Janna Kinkade
Jamie Sechrist & Ricardo Madrazo
Karin & Judd Cuenin
Ken & Susan Churchill
Laurel D'Angelo & Kerrie Gable
Lee Purser
Liane Collins
Marjolein Brugman
Marshall Laird
John Tyler
Peter Buck
Paul & Pam Bumann
Rick & Suzanne Arnold
Serena Saltzman
Susan Arnold
Stephen Nicholas
Tori Sepulveda & Oscar Rosales
Virginia Gollery
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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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MISSION
The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C. exists to make a positive difference in people’s lives through inspirational quality education and timely support through community service and programs.
VISION
It is the vision of The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C. to be a sustainable, accessible community focused organization in which quality educational programs empower choice filled lives and create positive transformational change.
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