SHUMLA Drumbeat

By Kathleen Burgess
info@shumla.org

Reprinted from the Del Rio News-Herald
Published January 13, 2006

Happy New Year from the folks at Shumla School — and what a year it promises to be!

The start of the New Year at Shumla School is an exciting one.  Building campaigns, new educational programs, and visiting international scholars are just a few of the activities for 2006.

With the ringing in of the New Year, Shumla launched a building campaign to raise funds necessary to complete the School's campus.  The much needed additions will include twelve 200-square-foot bungalows — at least two of which will be fully handicap accessible, and an 1800-square-foot multi-service center.

The bungalows will be used to house program participants and students attending Pecos Adventure Camps.  Thanks to a generous gift of handicap equipment from Del Rio Home Oxygen, at least two of these bungalows will be outfitted to house guests that are physically challenged.

The multi-service center, or "Bookhouse", will include two bungalows for visiting scholars, library, classrooms, and a multi-purpose room that can be used as dormitory, dining hall, or conference room.  Construction of the Bookhouse is expected to begin within the next few months.

These new facilities will allow Shumla to serve more students on a year-round basis and to provide safer accommodations during inclement weather.

Shumla also is proud to announce the launch of the K.E.Y. Program (Knowledge Enriching Youth) during 2006.  Working in partnership with Amistad National Recreation Area and Seminole Canyon State Park, the School has expanded its programs beyond the Shumla campus.  This innovative partnership project is designed to provide students with educational field trips to heritage sites in the region over the course of three years, targeting 4th–6th graders in the San Felipe-Del Rio CISD.

Fourth grade students participating in the K.E.Y. Program will attend a Day Camp at the Shumla campus.  Fifth-graders will join NPS Education Specialist Lisa Evans for an instructive Houseboat Tour of Lake Amistad.  Sixth-grade students will visit Seminole Canyon State Park to view the paintings produced by Indians that lived in the region thousands of years ago.  This three-year program is designed to connect students with their land and cultural heritage, as well as meet an identified need of school administrators by providing hands-on instruction in the sciences.

Last, but certainly not least in the Shumla 2006 line-up, are programs for the general public.  Educational programs exploring the food and medicinal plants of the region, flint-knapping and lithic analysis, tours to rock art sites, and much more will be offered throughout the year.  Famed rock art scholar, Dr. Jean Clottes, will be traveling from France to Del Rio in October to serve as the Pecos Experience instructor.  Dr. Clottes is best known for his research into the origins and meaning of European Paleolithic rock art found in the caves of France and Spain.