Back to School for Belizean Students

“Free paper bun” for thousands of our nation’s students, most of whom returned to the classrooms on Monday for another year of classes. Parents paid the tuition fees, bought the books, pressed the uniforms and offered prayers for their children’s success, not to mention posted photos on Facebook and Instagram. But if one school News Five visited is any indication, our nation’s future is in safe hands. Aaron Humes canvassed neighborhood students on Monday.

Aaron Humes, Reporting

Across the nation, this first Monday of September was a mostly smooth transition for our nation’s youngest. It was especially so at the privately-run Belize Elementary and High School on Princess Margaret Drive, which together serve more than seven hundred students. Seven-year-old Anthony Leslie, a Standard One student, sounded especially eager when we caught him during lunch break.

Reporter

“How was your first day?”

Anthony Leslie

Anthony Leslie, Standard I Student, Belize Elementary School

“Good.”

Reporter

“You met your teachers?”

Anthony Leslie

“Uh-huh.”

Reporter

“And you like your teachers?”

Anthony Leslie

“Yeah, Ms. Garcia.”

Reporter

“Okay, Ms. Garcia and did you meet any friends?”

Anthony Leslie

“Yeah.”

These sixteen-year-olds are more familiar with the drill, but they are equally excited as they are going into their final year of high school.

Reporter

“What’s the first day of school normally like?”

Hirthik Bhojwani, Fourth Form, Belize High School

“Exciting; we want to know who our classmates are; want to know who our new teachers are, exciting.”

Caitlin Haylock & Hirthik Bhojwani

Caitlin Haylock, Fourth Form, Belize High School

“Yeah, getting to know your teachers, your schedule, just being able to come back and see your friends.”

Reporter

“Now, Belize High School has maybe a slightly different curriculum from most high schools; what are you most looking forward to this year?”

Hirthik Bhojwani

“Getting a good score on my SAT, number one; number two, getting accepted to a really good college.”

Caitlin Haylock

“Same right here – doing good on the SAT, getting accepted to a good college and doing good in all my subjects.”

It has been a busy vacation for teachers and administrators getting ready for school. Truth be told, teachers don’t really have free time. But Belize High School principal Jamie Usher told us that parents, at least at her school, are and should be equally involved in the drive for success.

Jamie Usher

Jamie Usher, Principal, Belize High School

“Here at B.H.S we stress on the parent-student-teacher connection so it’s not so much a dropping off and picking up – we ask for the interaction to be completely transparent – so the teachers help the parents and the parents help the teachers so we all have the same thing going on. We had our parent-teacher meeting last week and we asked all parents to come along with their student to get everybody on the same page from the beginning. The babies, the middle school and the high school – the parent involvement is so important because if they are coming to school in a mood or without their equipment or unprepared because of lack of sleep or whatever the case may be it affects what we do here; and if what happens here is not being complemented by the proper procedures and routines at home, then we will be just fighting against each other. So the routine that we ask everyone to get into, it is essential that all our parents know, so we spend the first two weeks of school getting everyone caught up on the same page.”

Aaron Humes reporting for News Five.