All About Northridge

     I've decided today to tell you a little bit about the school that I teach at- Northridge School Mexico, home of the Roosters (elementary school) and the Knights (middle school). We are a bilingual all-boys school situated in Cuajimalpa, D.F. The current enrollment is a little over two hundred fifty students in grades one through eight. A Catholic school founded in the Opus Dei tradition, Northridge (or NSM) provides formation and enrichment of spirit through the sanctification of daily life. We guide our students in living their lives as conscientious and mindful Christians. Although the kids do come from affluent families, the virtue of charity is paramount in our education system.
   

     Most likely many of you have heard of Opus Dei, but perhaps you aren't quite sure what it stands for. Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that believes every person is called to sainthood, and it is through our ordinary life that we may move closer to this eventual goal. As such, the target audience is neither monks nor priests but rather laymen. Its members live the Christian faith in their professional, and social lives, and the majority of people have families and secular careers.  Founded in Spain in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivá, the organization is particularly well-known and popular with the Spanish speaking community. To find more information, you might be inclined to grab Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, an engaging but nevertheless inaccurate story that features a villain from Opus Dei. But...why not go to the source? Read about "the Work" as it was meant to be practiced by reading Escrivá's The Way.

     I digress; let's return to everyday life at Northridge. The school day is divided up into nine forty-minute blocks, with the addition of ten minutes for morning snack and thirty minutes for lunch/recess. In elementary school, the subjects of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies are taught in English, while Knowing Your Environment, Music, Physical Education, Religion,Technology, and Visual Arts are taught in Spanish. This means that each day, the students move between their native tongue and second language fluidly, and are free to use whichever language they'd like during their breaks. As a musician, I'm proud to say that the school boasts a very successful music program. Each week, the kids attend three consecutive blocks of music, with first graders learning in the style of "general music" and the other grades in lesson groups depending on their instrument of choice. This year, the NSM ensembles will be touring China in May.

Above is our beloved elementary school mascot; his is one of the Northridge roosters. I can tell you from experience that he always crows at the same time each morning- precisely at 6:50 am. Other than his daily morning wake-up call, he leads a very simple life, just pacing around in his cage behind the administrative buildings. No doubt deep in thought about the mysteries of life in his off hours,  the rooster is but one part of our rich and close-knit school community.

Below you can see the soccer field and basketball court, used for recess and physical education.     Regarding P.E., the students are given a choice between basketball, football, soccer, and taekwondo.

The soccer field is also used for the Monday flag ceremony, bi-weekly mass, open house, and sports rallies. Each day at recess, the field is divided into two smaller soccer fields to make the most of the space. Below you can see my second grade bulletin board, complete with the best family trees made by my class.

 Lastly, I have included some of the scenery that surround the school, the pictures taken from the third  floor of the elementary school. Realize that Mexico City is even higher above sea level than Denver, CO.
     At the same time, however, the capital of Mexico is also in a valley, surrounded on all sides by tall                mountain peaks.

     That's all I've got for now. Expect the next post to be throwbacks to this year's staff retreat,                          in which I describe our enrichment courses and social time with other teachers.

     Until next time,

    Trevor