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San Pedro High School is a private/government aided secondary school on the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize. Ambergris Caye is 36 miles north of Belize City on the mainland and only 15 minutes away by airplane, 1 hour by speed boat.

Click here for wish list after Hurricane Keith

San Pedro High is the only high school on this island (29 total in country) and it offers quality education to the natives (the San Pedranos) and to students from all over the country whose parents come to live in San Pedro mostly to work on tourism or construction.

San Pedro High was founded in 1971 at a time when only 2 students from he island were attending high school in the city on the mainland. San Pedro High was established to break away from this pattern and provide the opportunity for a wider sector of the community. It started with 30 students and graduated 9 in its first graduation. Today the enrollment is of 200 with an average graduating class of 30.

The island is growing rapidly in tourism and job opportunities are being opened at a rapid pace.

San Pedro High has been training young people to join the work force mostly in the business sector. Students who wish to specialize, move on to tertiary level of education in a program known in Belize as sixth form (junior college). Thereafter there is a fledging university known as UCB - Universtiy College of Belize.

San Pedro High now own its own campus and building. It is run in a 2 storey ferro-concrete building with 2 offices, a teachers offices, 6 classrooms, a music room, a science laboratory, typing room, computer laboratory, library, lobby and even a teachers' quarters.

The first two years of high school grades 9 and 10 offer general courses including: English Language, English grammar and Literature, Spanish, Mathematics, Social Studies, Religion, History, General Science and Music and or band. The next 2 years (grades 11 and 12) are specialized in Commercial or Academic courses. Commercial students take Principles of Business, Accounting, Office Procedures, and Typewriting. The Academics take Chemistry, Biology and all take Mathematics, English, Literature, Religion, Spanish, Principles of Business, plus Computer studies (mostly applications of word processing, spreadsheets, and database.)

Students attend 40 minute classes of which there are 8 periods each day, 5 times a week. The school year begins late August and runs for 36 weeks. Students can sign up for 1 or 2 extra curricular subjects such as band, music, choir, yearbook, newspaper, drama, and environmental club. In the night, adults may take computers, and beginning Spanish.

In sports students may participate in basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. An average of 78 percent is required for students to participate in the school's teams.

Students are promoted by passing most of their subjects and obtaining a composite average of 70%. Mathematics and English are compulsory subjects and passes required.

Discipline at San Pedro High is not a big problem. Childish behavior, some irresponsibility and minor offences are punishable with a demerit system and punishments after school hours. At 30 demerits, a student may be suspended and parents called in . A second suspension may be an expulsion. San Pedro High has an emphasis in preparing students for the job world. Others are prepared for external examinations for tertiary level education and are equivalent to Cambridge University level in England. Students pay about 50 US dollars monthly for tuition and other activity fees. For Belizeans, the government covers 30 dollars of these fees. Our day is divided into 2 sessions - Monday 8-12 and afternoon 1-3. Most students walk or ride home for lunch break. There are many vendors who provide lunches near the school.


Wish List from the High School after Hurricane Keith

Greetings from SPHS! Here is a wish list of items that we could use after Keith gave us a little trouble...

1. Any cash for building repairs.
2. Small generator for lighting.
3. Sporting equipment - volleyball, soccer, softball, basketball, tennis balls, and ping pong.
4. Brother typewriters ribbon (ML 100 typewriters) and daisy wheel.
5. Bubble jet cartridege for Canon 2000 - BJC21 and BJC21e
6. Panasonic KX - FA136 - ink film for fax machine
7. used ecycloepedia set
8. art supplies, brushes, acrylic inks
9. musical keyboards, guitars (electric), small amplifiers, power amplifiers, small mixing board amplifier.
10. Computers preferably pentium 111
11. Software - Windows 98, print artist, print shop, Microsoft Office 2000, Yearbook Kit, etc.
12. regular typing paper 8 1/2" x 11", staples, notebooks, pens, pencil, liquid paper, etc.
13. over-head projector with extra bulbs.
14. water - based overhead projector markers
15. small-scale chemistry laboratory kit
16. First aid kit
17. lithium batteries 6v for computers
18. printers
19. clocks

New record at San Pedro High
Freshman's Day is a day to welcome all first form students and new students at San Pedro High. On the first Friday of classes, a field day is organized for Freshman's Day.

Classes get to show team spirit, class unity, discipline in sports, and learning to give the best of themselves. The stress is not to win only, but to give one's best.

There were over 50 activities held which kept the seven classes busy from 8 to 2 p.m. Activities included running races, egg toss, coke drinking contest, skin the snake, duck walk, frog leap, alligator race, fiuit loop relay, dancing contest, knot the cherry stem, wheelbarrow, hold your breath, three-legged race, dress your baby, wrap your mummy, and many others. Excitement always builds up for the banana eating contest and yes, tug o' war. A new record was set by Raul Gonzalez who broke his own record of 15 bananas to 21 bananas this year. That is about four to five pounds of bananas and he becomes the King Kong champ.

Freshman's Day was won by form four but everyone had one whale of a time.


New field for San Pedro High
It has been officially declared "Mitch Field" by the students and teachers of SPH. Hurricane Mitch and its eight foot waves completely filled and leveled the field in front of the school. Some areas received as much as three feet of sand. All our coconut trees were laid flat and the high mound of sand, which we haVe protected for so long, was also washed away. On Monday morning 80 students and eight teachers showed up for a clean up of the entire school yard. The front lawn, our soccer and softball field, was compietely cove-red with debris - light posts, parts of piers, entire decks of dive shops, logs, sea- weed, conch shells, bottles and piles of sand. After three hours, Mitch Field was a lovely stretch of white sand.

As soon as the salt has been washed away by rain, the process of replant- ing grass will commence. The town board has offered to re-plant the fallen coconut trees and our plan of action includes rebuilding the mound by the sea using the same seaweed that drifts upon the beach. Hopefully we can stop the traffic on the beach so that we can do our own landscaping. Our Environ- mental Club now has a giant yet noble task in its hands. It will take a while but soon Mitch Field will be the place for more goals and more home runs. Any help will be appreciated. We will need grass seed or patches of grass. Flowers of any type and plants includ- ing coconuts are also welcome.

Email us at [email protected]

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