So what exactly happens at these monthly meetings?

Each month, Jenn meets with the Starfish Scholars (every three months, the parents come too).  Let's do a little agenda, to see what life might be like at a monthly meeting:

12:00pm: Jenn arrives to set up, complete with drinks and snacks for the attendees.

1 pm: Meeting is supposed to begin.

1:25 pm: Meeting finally begins. Icebreaker (dinamica) to get to know each other, like picking a few jellybeans and having to tell certain facts based on what jellybean you chose (red- embarrassing moment, yellow- fun fact, etc.). The human knot is now a favorite!

Scholars untangling the Human Knot in Flor de Bastion (left) and Guasmo.

1:45pm: Catch up on any necessary paperwork or action needed from / for Starfish.

1:50pm: Begin chat on theme of the month. Themes and workshops include Youth Leadership, Family Relations, Study Techniques, Good Health, Intercultural Awareness, Community Development and more!

Scholars brainstormed the definition of leadership.

2:15pm: The students do some "valor agregado" - community service! We at Starfish really believe in the importance of community service, and we love to see our students give back. One month, the Flor de Bastion students organized their own "minga" (cleanup) to continue fixing up the space where they meet!

Community service has ranged from making Mother's Day cards in Guasmo (left) to clearing weeds from the yard in Flor de Bastion (right)!

2:45pm: Fun activity :) Soccer is usually a hit here, or some other type of game. Jenn always makes sure to celebrate the birthdays of the Scholars that month, too! What a special celebration :)

 The May birthday Scholars in Guasmo.