Gregorio Torres Quintero Elementary, Grades 4, 5, and 6
Gregorio Torres Quintero Elementary is located in the “Hervidero y Plancha” community, Ejido Cuahutémoc.
For a few years now, visiting the schools surrounding the “Sierra Chincua” Sanctuary is very important, since the families of children in this región do only a minor living from agriculture and cattle raising. The rest of their income comes from their fathers’ getting small Jobs in construction either local or in big cities for their families’ support. Others living permanently in the village rely on the forest for extra income, which implies logging, unfortunately. Most mothers of children in our región stay at home. Possibilities for optional choices for a living are scarce for our communities, since 50-75 percent of their Grandparents may have hardly finished Elementary school. Most Parents should have completed Elementary school studies but only a half could have completed Middle school, and a real minority of parents could hardly have ended High school. The average possibilities that our children will reach and complete university level in the future in our small villages and towns is 20-30 percent.
This school and their teacher have welcomed the Journey North program very wamly, both the teacher and the students find it as an important part of their essential education. As soon as they saw me, no time for welcoming photos! They were very anxious to get started!
Their teacher asked, “Am I allowed to hold the Monarchs’ life-cycle life-time line?”
Children marvelled as stage after stage in the life-cycle of Monarchs was explained. “How amazing a Monarch’s life is!” they all exclaimed. Many questions and responses were exchanged. Indeed, again the phase of metamorphosis taking place in the pupae stage stunes them.
Chidren were highly interested at knowing that our regional ecosystem has taken hundreds of millions of years to be formed, and how important caring for our natural resouces willprovide for Monarchs’ overwintering. We discussed how important it is for the rest of the animal and plant species survival as well.
We discussed all of the trees in our forests, including the magnificent “Oyamel” trees and how it is ideal for Monarchs to overwinter. It was important to share how many different species of animals have declined in numbers, including pedators to Monarchs and those rare species --abundant in former times--, like the “Ajolote”, the “Armadillo”, etc. Estela tells them how different it is now from when she was a child, around 35-40 years ago--.
Children highly enjoy writing their letters to their counterparts in the North, reflecting as they write and share with them about our ecosystem, proud to show and speak about many things, but somewhat concerned about what has been diminished and by that, re-stating their desire for preservation of our region’s hábitat. The book that was donated: “Quien Soy?’” game.
The school, located at the bottom valley to the Sierra Chincua Sanctuarie’s forest mountains.
These children have a really peaceful life in the community. In the afternoon families gather together to rest; most mothers do knitting and embroidery (after enclosing back-yard animals --chicken, ducks, turkeys, rosters—together) as an ancestral practice and tradition, while children play. All go to rest early after watching some tv, nowadays very popular at every family’s home.
Butterflies Received
This school received Ambassador Butterflies from the following U.S. and Canadian Schools:
Haine Middle School, Cranberry Township, PA
Haine Middle School, Cranberry Township, PA
International School of Texas, Austin, TX
Blackshear Elementary, Austin, TX
Blackshear Elementary, Austin, TX
Barrington Elementary, Austin, TX
Mathews Elementary, Austin, TX
Barrington Elementary, Austin, TX
Mathews Elementary, Austin, TX
Mathews Elementary, Austin, TX
Mathews Elementary, Austin, TX
Mathews Elementary, Austin, TX
Bill Wright Elementary, Weatherford, TX
Bill Wright Elementary, Weatherford, TX
Bill Wright Elementary, Weatherford, TX
Bill Wright Elementary, Weatherford, TX
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