Open House
The first activity of each school year is to invite parents to an open house. At this time, teachers have the opportunity to meet the parents and share their experiences and expectations, spend time explaining what topics will be covered during the school year and how their students will be assessed.
The night starts with a general assembly where the principal welcomes the family members and introduces new and returning faculty. This is followed by presentations by our Specials Teachers (Music, Art, Physical Education and Spanish). The guests attend sessions with the grade level teachers of their children. Two half-hour sessions are scheduled back-to-back so that parents with more than one child at the school can attend both grade level sessions.
The family members are also encouraged to ask any questions regarding general school rules, classroom routines and procedures, behavior expectations and homework policy.
Children’s Day Celebration
Children’s Day is celebrated during the month of September and is a national holiday in Honduras. Children attend one-half day of school culminating with a party at the end of the day sponsored by the Alison Bixby Stone School Parent Association. Each class celebrates in their classroom with cake, ice-cream and a piñata. This activity is totally organized by the parents for their children.
Independence Day Celebration
The Honduran Independence Day Celebration is celebrated the entire month of September. Our Spanish classroom instructors focus on Honduran history and heroes. Our bulletin boards provide visitors with information regarding Honduran independence and the Honduran National Flag waves grandly over the entrance to our institution. On the 15th of September, Honduras Independence day, the students march through the university campus proudly demonstrating their loyalty and respect for their country.
International Fair
The International Fair, sponsored by the Alison Bixby Stone School Parent Association takes place the last Saturday in the month of October. Parents and family members are organized in groups by nationality or region of Honduras. The idea is to celebrate the diversity within the ABSS educational community. Booths display artifacts and history of the various regions of Honduras or of other countries. National food and drink are sold to raise funds for the parent association. Our music teacher organizes students to sing, play instruments and perform traditional dances. Many students come dressed in traditional clothing.
Reading Month
The staff and administration of the Alison Bixby Stone School strongly believe that reading, whether in Spanish or English, is the cornerstone to a child’s successful education. With this in mind we focus on reading activities throughout the school year with a special emphasis on reading during the entire month of November. Reading Under the Stars or the pajama party invites children to come back to school one evening during the month to read. Children and their families are encouraged to come back to school in their pajamas emphasizing the importance of reading prior to turning out the lights and going to bed. Well known celebrities along with student’s family members are invited to come to our school and read to our children at any time during the month. Reading competitions are held in both the lower an upper school with prizes going to individual students and grade level classes for logging the greatest number of reading hours. One school day is set aside for children to come to school dressed as their favorite author or book character. Fun is had by everyone but most importantly students learn the importance and how gratifying reading can be.
Holiday Celebration
The Holiday Celebration is held on the last school day prior to starting the holiday break in December of each school year. Our Christmas Celebration is attended by the largest group of parents and family members of any of our activities. We either fill the Zamorano Auditorium or we have standing room only in our Multi-Use building. Each class does an act or song for the celebration. Classes are highlighted as well as individuals with their talents. Costumes are designed and made by the classroom instructors and their students. The celebration is enjoyed by the entire educational community. The celebration ends before mid-day with parents and family members taking their children home for the holidays.
Science Fair
The Science Fair is held in March. In the upper grades each student researches an area of interest using the scientific method of inquiry. The lower school does a research project by class being guided by their teacher. The day of the fair students are encouraged to explain, in both Spanish and English, their initial question and the research that proved or disproved their hypothesis. Research projects are set-up outside the classrooms and in the multi-purpose room.
Art Fair
The Art Fair is a relatively new annual activity. Throughout the school year students work on art projects including drawings, sketches, paintings, mosaics, collages and thematic three dimensional art. Last year the theme of the fair was recycling. The art fair is an opportunity for his students to show their art work. Parents are invited to come to school on this day to see what beautiful and intriguing art their sons and daughters have created.
Family Fun Day
Oh what a day to enjoy just being with our children. The family fun day brings parents and their children together as our learning community celebrates how important our families are to the education of our students. Games are set-up by both parents and teachers. The parent association sells food and drinks to raise funds which are used to purchase those extras that a school so much needs but might not have allocated in the budget! Our physical education instructor organizes traditional Honduran games which are played by the moms and dads as well as the children. This day is truly one of the most enjoyable of the year.
100 Days Celebration
The week leading up to the 100 days of school celebration is full of educational student activities that use the number 100. The lower school students learn to count to a hundred in a variety of activities and the older children concentrate on such activities as multiples of 100. The final activity for the day is when our entire student body lines up on the athletic field and runs 100 yards. It’s amazing how many different ways students learn to use the number.
Graduation
Whew! We’ve completed 183 days of school. Graduation is a time to celebrate our successes and say good-bye to our sixth graders. The activity starts out with the Honduran National Anthem. Our principal welcomes all the family members and thanks the school board members for supporting our school activities and helping make the school year a success. The fifth grade class says good-bye to the graduating sixth graders as the first grade class welcomes the graduating kindergarteners to the grade school. The sixth grade teacher gives out certificates of achievement to students that have performed above and beyond expectations. Finally, the school principal hands out diplomas and congratulates each individual graduate.
