So a quick update we are now in our second week of school and attendance has increased from just a few students on the first day to around 115 students! The government has been working hard this year and has been able to provide textbooks for all students, grades 1 through 6, who were enrolled before the 1^st day of school. I have also been able to make my first trip into the city to start buying supplies for the school. Tomorrow I will be heading into the school to distribute notebooks, pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners for each student. The other day I purchased enough supplies for 200 students even though there are less students in the school, I figure better safe than sorry.

For the school itself I purchased 36 textbooks for 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade, 20 packs of modeling clay, clear tape, boxes of chalk, poster paper, markers, and plastic food storage bins for the food coming from the world food program. For the property maintenance I have purchased the first batch of fencing to keep out the animals, and did some double checking on prices for several expenses including a new aluminum roof for both the bathroom and the school which will get rid of the asbestos roof the school is currently using. The problem however is that is will cost a total of $3,535 just for the main school building. This cost includes 216 aluminum roofing panels and all necessary screws. As for the bathroom it seems that the original expenses were priced too high meaning the budget can be cut by almost half, which is exciting as it provides more money for the potential main roof project, or for the potential solar water purification project!

All in all the projects appear to have full community backing. The fencing for the school property will be put up by Maciel, her husband, and her children living directly across the street from the school. As for the roof project a committee of three have been formed to collect money from the community members in order to help pay for manual labor. Community members feel that it is very important that the lead carpenter of this roofing project feel compensated for their time and efforts. Therefore Nelson, Geronimo, and Alin will be working together on this collection, we will see if we are able to raise sufficient funds.

Next week we have another parents meeting, on the 16^th, to discuss more options and make sure we are all in agreement as to what the best plan for the school repairs are. On the 16^th we will also find out how much money the committee has been able to raise. Next week the teachers and I are hoping to have a chance to sit down and choose all the students which will be sponsored this year at the primary school. We have put if off this long so that we are able to see which students are actually interested in attending school and we have been double checking the necessity of all students. I am hoping for the best and will keep you all posted as to the progress.