HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Saturday afternoon was a productive one for Jose Rios Middle School students, teachers and staff who engaged the community by connecting them with resources needed in and out of the classroom.
The middle school hosted the first JRMS Community Awareness and Resources for Educational Success, or C.A.R.E.S., outreach event at the Tamuning Senior Citizens Center. It brought together a number of community partners.
“We wanted to reach out to our community, bring the resources to them, and we wanted it in a central location. As you know, Piti is far. Many of our parents have a difficult time traveling to Piti, so we wanted it at a central location that way it’s easier to access the resources out in the community,” Ann Marie Toves, an English as a second language coordinator, told The Guam Daily Post during the event.
The center buzzed with activity as attendees visited the various booths showcasing JRMS community partners.
“We have Guam Cancer Care, Guam Regional Medical City, we have Girl Scouts, probation services, … Department of Youth Affairs (and) Guam Behavioral Health. We also have our different divisions from (the Guam Department of Education),” Toves said.
GDOE divisions helped parents navigate student programs like Power School.
“Teaching our parents how to log into their Power School, how to access Google classrooms and such,” Toves said.
Elizabeth Tydingco, National Junior Honor Society president and eighth grader, was happy to be among the student volunteers at the event, helping and learning.
“It’s a great cause, and it’s fun. I am just glad to be here. I thought it was great that they had a booth on drug awareness. I didn’t know many of the things. I learned a lot,” Elizabeth said.
Georgina Cruz, Parent Administrator Student Teacher Association president, along with other PASTA members set up their booth to educate and invite more parent participation.
“We let parents know if they want to come to our meetings (and see) what we do and how we do it. A lot of the times, we understand that schedules are busy and it’s hard. We were really trying to get the community to come in and participate. So we do offer a lot of the things for the kids to enjoy. It’s really for the kids, everything goes back to them,” Cruz said.
Their booth was successful, according to Cruz. She said, “I’ve been approached in the last 10 minutes by three or four parents. So we’re talking, and they’re asking about what’s going on and how to stay connected.”
Bringing the community together is not just a goal of JRMS but GDOE districtwide.
“It’s part of our state strategic plan, bringing our community together,” said Mariann Lujan, JRMS principal. “The goal is to bring them together because it’s through community, families and schools together that we can help our students succeed.”
