The Palapa Society Newsletter
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Since September 2022, The Palapa School has undertaken an intensive learning process to transform itself into a zero waste campus. Under the leadership of the school’s Co-Directors and CSU Zero Waste Coordinator, Antonio Diego, the school has made tremendous progress.
Tangible results include:
Creation and implementation of a waste separation strategy. The Palapa School now has designated bins for specific types of waste and information on proper separation techniques. A dedicated team of students drives this project.
The Palapa School is part of the waste separation program run by the municipality, which includes regular pickup of recyclables. All kitchen and garden waste are now composted on the school grounds.
The Zero Waste program at the school has been hands-on and dynamic. Students have been an integral part of the waste analysis and waste strategy development for the school and have created and implemented the school zero waste information campaign. In addition, Palapa students have gone outside the classroom to visit and help clean up illegal dump sites around town and lend a hand at Punto Verde where they prepared three tons of cardboard for transport. Supporting themes in the classroom have included “The Myth of Recycling,” learning how to create eco-bricks, understanding the history of compost in Mexico, and learning about sustainable industries.
CSU Zero Waste Coordinator Antonio Diego has brought in terrific local resources to inspire and inform the students and faculty alike. These include Alianza Cero Basura Program Director Juan Salvador Aceves, Punto Verde Recycling Center director Alex Miró, and Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve Director Victor Anguiano who discussed their efforts with respect to waste.
The Palapa School faculty and students have demonstrated tremendous resolve in transforming their facility and are strongly committed to staying the course. By the end of the school year, we expect to see Palapa School Zero Waste Ambassadors (Agent Zeros) with the knowledge and passion to share their hard-won expertise with other students throughout Todos Santos and Pescadero.
From November 13 – 17, the brightest students from all over the country met in Puebla for the XXXIII National Physics Olympiad. Two 5th semester students from The Palapa School, Sebastián C. and Adolfo L., were selected to represent Baja California Sur in this important event. The path was not easy since both students had to go through 3 prior local and state tests before they finally took their bags for what was a great experience that required effort, discipline and a lot of logical-mathematical ability.
Placing in the top 100 in all of Mexico, Sebastián and Adolfo are now continuing their studies in the STEM branches. The Palapa School is extremely proud to have great talents like Sebastián and Adolfo, and all the teachers who made these results possible. Congratulations!
By Palapa School Co-Directors Citlalli, Armando, and Diego
New trends in education highlight the importance of extracurricular activities in the comprehensive development of students. The most developed program includes clubs which take place during school hours and are designed from the principles dictated by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).
Leaders of The Palapa School embrace this aspect and offer an array of activities including art, music, crafts, leadership, chess, electrical, first aid, and photography. In addition to learning through academic growth and personal development, these activities bring joy, motivation, and enthusiasm to students.
But not everything stops there. As a newly inaugurated tradition, the year begins with the “School Start Bonfire” where students and teachers gather on the beach to enjoy an afternoon full of fun and sand. This year the event was in Las Playitas where laughter, challenging activities, teamwork, and chocolates were not lacking.
By F. Menendez
The Palapa Society recently allowed me a wonderful experience with a trip to Denver. The goal was to be a featured speaker at Baja Under the Stars.
While in Denver, we also visited the Museum of Science and Nature with four floors full of fascinating and interesting information.
What I liked the most was that at the top of the museum we were allowed to see towards the sun, of course with the necessary protection, which in this case was a telescope with a filter so as not to damage your eyesight.
In my opinion, it was incredible to be able to observe the largest star in our solar system, and it was great to see how small gas emissions came out.
I was also able to see the moon and all its craters. And the best thing is that it had a part dedicated only to space and all its mysteries. It was a great day!
Patricia (Paty) Baum was born in Lansing, Michigan, where her father taught literature at Michigan State University. In 1962, he ac
cepted a teaching position at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Books were the central focus of the Baum household; the family made frequent trips to the Multnomah County Library and area bookstores, including Powells. Baum attended Riverdale School, Metropolitan Learning Center and John Adams HS. She eventually pursued a BA in film production at San Francisco State and an MEA from University of Guadalajara. In 1995, a surfer friend told her about Todos Santos, and she and two friends spent a life-changing month in southern Baja. The visit inspired her to make a permanent move to Todos Santos in 1996. She inherited a surf shop from her business partner, then moved it to Los Cerritos, where she lived in a trailer on the beach for 13 years. She married Daniel Garcia Sosa; their son, Silvio Carlos Garcia Baum was born in 2000. He attended school in Pescadero and Todos Santos. In 1999, with 500 books from her father’s library, she founded what is now the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska.
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During her 26 years in Todos Santos and Pescadero, she inspired, facilitated and participated in many community-based social and environmental projects including: spay and neuter clinics and educational outreach, making Playa Los Cerritos car-free, beach and arroyo clean-ups, the first community recycling program, three sea turtle groups, two libraries, a bi-lingual school, four youth-in-video films with the Escuela de Cine Leonard Perel, a ten-year stint with her Future Biologist’s field learning, ocean safety program in Pescadero, and numerous collaborations with like-minded environmental educators. She co-authored two social science research papers about Baja, and authored, The Illustrated Guide to Sea Turtles in Baja California, which was distributed free-of-charge to Baja Sur middle schools. Her love of books and life-long learning has not waned over the years, so her full circle back to the Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska is a natural progression.
Make an ONLINE US tax deductible donation to The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C., thru the International Community Foundation (ICF)
