We have started our second week of classes at the English Summer Camp! We finally placed our 120 active students in the 6 groups we have and closed our lists of beneficiaries. All enrolled students have shown great commitment and willingness to learn English as a second language. This shows that these teenagers are enjoying the classes and this new experience. We committed to making this summer camp a different experience that connects with students and I think we are on a good path

Figure 1. Outdoor sessions inside the premises of Politecnico Municipal School

During this second week of classes, we familiarize students with the activities they do in their daily lives so they can learn new vocabulary and express themselves in English in a very natural way. The activities that students really enjoy are the outdoor sessions where they have the opportunity to practice everything they have learned in the classroom. We believe that the nature that surrounds Cali and especially the Politecnico Municipal School, where the classes are held, creates an appropriate environment for students to feel confident and learn new things in an easier way.

As part of the outdoor activities, the students played a very popular game called “Let’s Play in the Forest” (known in Spanish as “Juguemos en el Bosque”). In this game, they were able to talk about their daily routines in a very familiar way and with an activity that was very familiar to them as children. The only difference was that this time they had to speak and express themselves in English. A challenging experience for sure, but one that gave them a lot of fun at the same time!

Figure 2. Students playing “Let’s play in the forest”

The outdoor activities are accompanied by the indoor sessions, where in this opportunity, students worked in making some presentations about their daily routines and lifestyle habits, so they practice their grammar and speaking skills. In this sense, students can join the practical session with the theory they learned in the classrooms. Our English teachers and the method used for teaching are so fundamental and helpful in every stage of these sessions for sure.

(Figure 3: Presentations made by students of the English Summer Camp).

Also, in the Latin America region, we are very excited about the Copa America which is a soccer tournament that is celebrated every 4 years for Latin American countries. This year the location of the competition is in USA and some teams like USA and Canada soccer teams were invited to participate. Soccer, or Football, as we know this sport in Latin America is the most popular sport in Colombia as well as in many other countries of South America. For this reason, it is very common that on the day a national team plays, most of the population wears the national team t-shirt to show their support for the game. In fact, many companies and schools usually establish a special dress code in support of the Colombian soccer team on match days, so everyone should wear the team t-shirt to class or to work.

Figure 4. Students wearing the Colombian Football t-shirt in support of the National Soccer team.

Currently, the Colombian soccer team is doing a great job. Everyone is excited about the performance of the players and to show their support, people are wearing the national team t-shirts in the streets. Of course, it was not an exception in the English Summer Camp, where we can see some students wearing the traditional Colombian football t-shirt, considering that the Colombian team has made it to the final that will be played on July 14th in Miami.

All this Summer Camp is possible thanks to the generosity of multiple partners. In this week we thank one very important partner which is the Politecnico Municipal School and its Dean. Thanks to the Dean,  Ms. Ana Cecilia Alvarez,  and her commitment towards a more inclusive education, we are able to run our program in the school, one of the public schools with best infrastructure in Cali.  We appreciate all her support and are very glad to have access to the infrastructure of this school for the development of our first program.