Page 8 - Quintile_37 web

8 • • • Issue 37 • QSI Quintile

beliZe

QSI International School of Belize

QSI International School of Belize is in its seventh
year in Belmopan, the capital of Belize. The school
opened in the interest of providing embassy and
expatriate families with an educational institute that
would assist students who expect to matriculate to
schools in the United States or other international
locations with ease. Since its inception, the school
has served the needs of 49 students and is currently
serving the educational needs of 24 students.
QSI International School of Belize has preschool,
elementary, and secondary programs. Its teachers
create a positive class environment, apply academic
rigor to their courses, and take students out of the
classroom with activities and trips that promote fun
in learning and group interaction. Students come
from five different nations, and we hope to have more
nations join us soon. The school is poised for growth,
expanding its enrollment to the families of Belmopan
and beyond—especially now as a candidate school for
accreditation with Middle States Association, and as a
school of Belize and the world.

As a candidate school for accreditation, QSI
Belize is moving forward with its self-study.
The school is vested locally, and will expand its
role through a school goal directed at service
learning. The school will also create student
growth measures in mathematics and writing.
Activities for younger students take place twice
a week, and a sports program is offered twice a
week as well. Each year, an International Brunch
is held in September, a movie night in October,
and a Fall Festival in November; in December,
the students of QSI Belize sing in Belmopan’s
Tree Lighting Ceremony and participate in an
original school play. After the new year, students
work on a month long Independent Endeavor
Project, train for a 3-mile Fun Run, participate in
a spring recital, and will continue its traditions of
participating in local events and field trips as well
as in international competitions.

The school is expanding beyond its
walls, and students from QSI Belize are
making friends in the community and
around the world.

As a school of Belize, students explore the beauty
of its host country’s ecological and cultural wonders,
from canoeing the Mopan River to climbing the
steps of the Maya Ruins at Xunantunich. Belize
offers international school students an experience
that is unique in Central America. There are 28
Maya sites to explore, numerous botanical and
zoological reserves to investigate, and a myriad
of agricultural production facilities that promote
sustainable use of agrarian resources. Though
regionally Central American, the country’s culture
is Caribbean, offering cultural experiences that
are Creole, Garifuna, and Mestizo. The country’s
broader representation holds communities that
are Mennonite, Chinese, and East Indian as
well. Though an impoverished country by some
standards, the natural and cultural resources of
Belize and its peoples are vast and diverse.

As a school of the world, QSI Belize has participated
in Model United Nations debates in Monterrey, Mexico
and Shenzhen, China. Students who participated
in the China MUN simulation also visited Beijing QSI International School of Belize promotes The school’s program, though young in
and Hong Kong. Middle-school students have also the QSI mission and philosophy, its pedagogy Belize, is becoming more accepted as part of
participated in a Math Counts Competition in El of mastery learning, and its methodology of the community’s tapestry in Belmopan. Home-
Salvador, the first Belizean school to do so. The school performance-based education. A cornerstone of schooled students attend the after-school program;
is committed to representing Belize on the world stage. the program is its success orientations: a list of many families from outside of the school attend
The school is working on expanding its connections seven behaviors that promote success in a child’s its monthly community events. The school is
in Central America, the Caribbean Community, with future, responsibility, trustworthiness, concern for expanding beyond its walls, and students from QSI
International Schools around the world, as well as with others, kindness and politeness, group interaction, Belize are making friends in the community and
other QSI schools around the world. independent endeavor, and aesthetic appreciation. around the world.