Be Kind Belize Holy Cross Anglican School Graduates

Thank you to the Community!

On Thursday the 15th of June 2011, Be Kind Belize was proud to celebrate the graduation of 24 children from Mr. Zetina’s Standard 2 at Holy Cross Anglican School. All of the students had successfully completed the Be Kind Belize programme.

Two students won additional accolades for being voted as the kindest kids in their class or by demonstrating generosity of spirit with their participation in the programme. Those children are Alhusaan Martin and Jennifer Neal.

Be Kind Belize was started in 2007 to offer humane education to primary schools in San Pedro and it is now being taught in the Cayo district as well. Humane education teaches children the meaning of kindness and empathy, gives them an understanding of responsibility and consequences and helps them to develop reverence and respect for all living things and the planet that we live on.

All of the Be Kind Belize, Kind Kid Winners received a fantastic selection of prizes, which were donated or sponsored. Many businesses and individuals deserve a huge thank you for supporting the programme and putting smiles on the faces of some very wonderful young people. The most exciting prize of all this year was full scholarships to San Pedro Summer Camp with a value of $600. San Pedro Summer Camp gives children the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of activities throughout the month of July. Be Kind Belize will be running a camp programme in association with San Pedro Summer Camp so there will be more fun with kindness this summer.

In particular, Be Kind Belize would like to thank Tammy Peterson from San Pedro Summer Camp, Marty Casado & AmbergrisCaye.com and Paradise Theatre. There were a number of other donors who contributed greatly to the prize packs that the children received and Be Kind Belize could not provide such wonderful motivators and rewards without their ongoing support. Be Kind Belize is very grateful.

If you would like to volunteer as a Be Kind Belize Humane Educator or if you would like to sponsor the programme in some way, please contact Colette Kase on 226 4366 or write to BeKindBelize@gmail.com.

Stephanie Chi wins Be Kind Belize Speech Contest at Holy Cross

Be Kind Belize hosted a speech competition at Holy Cross Anglican School on Friday, June 10th.
Students from Standard II and III (Grade 4 & 5) filled the cafeteria hall to capacity and were on hand to witness the performance of four students. Each student had prepared a speech based on kindness, defining it, using examples of kindness, asking their peers what kind acts they’ve done, and as well, suggesting kind acts that the community can adapt as part of its daily routine.

Students sat and behaved marvelously while the speech contest was going on.

Lion Judges Enes Ramirez-Anderson, Miguel Perez and Tamara Sniffin

After two invited guests spoke to the gathered students (Barracuda Bikini's Celeste Pederson and Mary Gonzalez [Tia Chocolate]), was time for the prepared speeches. A very brave Jaaphet Castillo was called up first. After explaining the meaning of kindness, he pointed out the various examples of kindness as defined in the Bible, and while he stumbled a little, he remained calm and finished his speech to rousing applause. Following him was Aaliyah Roches, who recited a very sweet definition of kindness. Similarly, Rodell Mendez expounded on the issue of discrimination, threading his essay with a few touches of a poem on kindness.

Jaaphet Castillo

Aaliyah Roches

Rodell Mendez

However, it was Stephanie Chi who took the prize, as she gave an electric performance, asking her peers to be kind, giving examples and simply blowing the judges (Lion Members) away with her impassioned speech. After a few moments of deliberation, she was declared the winner of the grand prize: a brand new bicycle! Jaaphat, Aaliyah and Rodell did not go back to class empty-handed however, as they also each took $25 gift certificates. The bicycle was donated by a very generous Janice Feldman, while the gift certificates were donated by Marty Casado of www.ambergriscaye.com.

Stephanie Chi

Congratulations to the students, and a big thank you to Colette Kase of Be Kind Belize, Janice Feldman and Marty Casado.

Be Kind Belize and the San Pedro Lions Club encourage kids to speak out about kindness

Press Release – Be Kind Belize – April 28, 2011 – Be Kind Belize, the humane education programme, is working with the Lions Club to give children the opportunity to speak out about ‘Kindness in Our Community’.

On the 10th of May at 7pm, children from standards 2, 3 & 4 at Holy Cross Anglican School will have the honour of presenting their own speeches to members of the San Pedro Lions Club.
The speech topic is ‘Kindness in Our Community’. Lions Club members will vote for the best speech and the winner will receive a brand new bicycle.
The children will be required to include answers to several important questions in their speech including: Why is kindness important? Why do some people or animals not receive much kindness? How can kindness change lives? And – What could be done to make San Pedro a kinder place? They will be judged on their presentation skills and creativity.
Be Kind Belize provides training and Educators’ Resource packs, free of charge to any school, humane society, community or individual who wishes to introduce the programme locally.
For more information about Be Kind Belize contact BeKindBelize@gmail.com or call 501-226-4366.

Skydivers donate to San Pedro Town Library and Be Kind Belize

The Boogie in Belize skydivers are back on the island for the seventh time. As per usual, the organizers of the annual excursion to Belize encourage participants to contribute to the education process on the island. Each participant is encouraged to gather educational and fun items which would later be donated to different organizations on the Island.

This year, the recipients of these goodies were the San Pedro Town Public Library and Be Kind Belize, both institutions that cater to children and furthering education.

The first donation was presented to Colette Kase of Be Kind Belize at the Sun Breeze hotel on Tuesday February 15^th. Items donated included dozens of cuddly stuffed teddy bears, note pads, markers, pens and crayons among others. Colette graciously accepted the gifts and expressed that some of the donation will travel to the country in the villages where the children do not readily have access to donations of the sort.
The donation to the San Pedro Town Library was a result of the REAPER annual Sky Divers Poker Tournament held at Pedro’s Inn on Sunday February 13^th. Starting at 7:00pm, there were a total of 39 players who bought into the game at $200.00 each, leading to a bucket of $7,800.00. At the end of the game, Mad John took first place, Mike B took second, Kerry and Nick took third and fourth respectively. The payout was $1,800.00 to 1^st place, $1,000.00 to 2^nd place, $700.00 to 3^rd place and $400.00 went to 4^th place. The remaining 3900 went to the San Pedro Public Library. There was an additional $225.00 collected in the form of donations from patrons at Pedro’s Bar that night.
On February 15^th, a check in the amount of $4,100.00 and $25.00 cash was presented to Ms. Ira Acosta of the San Pedro Town Public Library, along with a huge variety of donated items brought by the visiting skydivers and supporters.

Among the items donated were notepads, pens, markers, crayons, stick glues, a digital camera, one laptop and a huge variety of other school supplies. Ira accepted the donation and explained that some of the moneys will go towards much needed Air Conditioners for the library, help out with the daily up keeping of the library as well as with programs that will benefit the children that make use of the library.

As part of the donation, the San Pedro Town Library has agreed to produce monthly reports showing how the funds are being used.

Kind Kids Write 2010 - Essay Writing Contest - Winners Announced

Press Release – Be Kind Belize – December 20th, 2010 – Be Kind Belize, in cooperation with The San Pedro Sun and AmbergrisCaye.com is delighted to announce the winners of the Kind Kids Write 2010 Essay writing contest.

The theme of the essay writing contest was ‘Kindness’ and it was open to all students in Standards 4, 5 & 6 at schools in San Pedro.

All essays were judged blind by our three independent judges, Mary Gonzalez – writer, Chris Emmanuel – writer and Katia Marin – pet expert. None of the judges knew the identity of the writers or the school they represented. The judges were unanimous in saying that the essays were very impressive and even brought some of them to tears. It was a hard decision but here are the winners:
1st Prize Girls – Kendice Armstrong, Holy Cross Anglican School
1st Prize Boys – Ruben Francois, Island Academy
1st Prize for most enthusiastic participation from a school – Holy Cross Anglican School

Runners Up: Allessandra Gutierrez, R. C. School, Jamie Valentin, R. C. School, Deschana Lewis, H. C. School, Aliyah Elliott, H. C. School, Ada Cordova, H. C. School, Joseline Vasquez, H. C. School.
Many thanks to S.P. Hardware for giving us a great discount on the two 1st Prize Awards. Kendice Armstrong and Ruben Francois will both be receiving a bicycle as their first prize. All of the Runners Up will receive prize packs containing scholastic items and other goodies all donated by generous Be Kind Belize supporters. The winning essays will be published in The San Pedro Sun and online with AmbergrisCaye.com. Prize winners may arrange to collect their winner’s certificates and prizes by calling Be Kind Belize at 226-4366 or 624-8251.

Be Kind Belize is a free programme, designed to complement the Belize National Curriculum. It is available to any school that would like to introduce the concept of kindness to their pupils. Volunteers are always welcome. If you would like more information about how you or your school could participate in Be Kind Belize or if you would like to volunteer, please contact Be Kind Belize at 226-4366 or 624-8251.

Kind Kids Write 2010

Kind Kids Write 2010

Be Kind Belize, in cooperation with The San Pedro Sun and AmbergrisCaye.com is delighted to announce ‘Kind Kids Write’, an essay writing contest open to all children living in San Pedro and in Standards 4, 5 & 6.

Be Kind Belize is a humane education programme that has been working with schools in the San Pedro community for two years. Humane education is based on the concept that all life is precious and is practiced by teaching young people the value and importance of treating other living creatures with kindness. The programme includes units on Belizean wildlife, responsibility, empathy and dog bite prevention.

In an effort to include more children in the conversations about kindness, empathy and personal responsibility, Be Kind Belize has joined up with The San Pedro Sun and AmbergrisCaye.com to launch ‘Kind Kids Write’. This will give children from all over San Pedro an opportunity to express themselves about the importance of kindness in our everyday lives and why it is important to our society. Amongst some, kindness is seen as a weakness, so children are encouraged to emphasise kindness as a strength in their essays.

Three judges will review all of the entries to announce a winner on the 20th of December. There will be First Prizes for the best girl’s and best boy’s essays. First prizes will be brand new bicycles. There will also be six Runners Up, who will receive a package of scholastic gifts. The two First Prize winners will have their entries published by the San Pedro Sun and AmbergrisCaye.com.

Kind Kids Write – Guidelines

• Essay to be written on the theme of KINDNESS.
• Only children in Standards 4, 5 & 6 attending a school in San Pedro are eligible.
• 350 words or less.
• Entries written in legible handwriting or typed are acceptable.
• Spelling and grammar will be taken into consideration by judges.
• Name, age, contact details and name of school must be included on all entries.
• Closing date is the 10th of December 2010.

Entries may be submitted by email to BeKindBelize@gmail.com or delivered in person to The San Pedro Sun offices on Front Street.

For more information on Kind Kids Write, contact Be Kind Belize on 226 4366/624 8251 or send an email to BeKindBelize@gmail.com .

Be Kind Belize kids at Caribbean Villas

Be Kind Belize kids Delvorene Zuniga, Julian Trapp, Dioni Moh and Faith Edgar all won prizes sponsored by Sail Sports. Caribbean Villas were kind enough to provide cold drinks. The children learned to sail a Hobie Catamaran and then were given the opportunity to sail one themselves. It was a great adventure and the children were able to see marine life from a different perspective.

SAGA Puppies visit San Pedro Summer Camp

The fun activities at the San Pedro Summer Camp are in full swing, and this past week, campers have been enjoying the presence of Colette Kase of Be Kind Belize. With fun activities, which included a skit presentation, and a game of “Poachers”, plus the presence of SAGA puppies (brought in by Kathy Marin of Pampered Paws), campers learned the value of kindness and conservation, caring for animals and responsibility. Kudos on these fun events!!

From 10am through 3pm, Monday through Thursday, children ages seven to 18 play both on land and at sea, thanks to the generosity of the following: Reef Village, Brad of Xtreme Water Sports, Amigos del Mar (Changa, Eddie and Ishmael), Coco Locos, Rebecca from Seaduced, all the counselors, Colette from Be Kind Belize, Dave Hauptli and Alexandra Nicholson for use of property, Marcie and Ken, JoVan Ayuso, Zack Pierce, Pam and Jeff Pierce for Swimming lessons, Doug Maxwell for teaching guitar, Jean Allred for teaching Baton, Dave King and Ken (archery), Mary Mooney for her unending support through the program with her help from the United States, Libby Mooney counselor, Mundy Nuñez,, Gaylna Heitzig and Gillian Miller (swimming), Mike Song (Creative Writing), Luis Torres and Magdalena Wendling.

Thanks to everyone, Summer Camp has been a great success!!

SPSUN helps relocate a wild boa constrictor!

You never know what to expect on delivery day!

ABC Pre-School students welcome visitors!

A doctor (Dr. Zuniga), a dentist (Dr. Cima) and Be Kind Belize director (Colette Kase) were present early Wednesday morning at ABC Pre-School to talk about their profession.

Dr. Zuniga had a show-and-tell with the tools of his trade, as did Dr. Cima. A stethoscope, pressure cuff, gloves, face masks, and lighted instruments kept the kids entertained, and they had many questions.

Colette showed up with Scruff the dog (a puppet) and proceeded to regale students with a story about Scruff. Be Kind Belize promotes kindness, and educates children on ways to show kindness to people, animals and the environment.

The month-long activities continue for child stimulation month...