After months of wrestling with everything from use of the property to transportation from the Oñate Center, La Tierra Montessori School finally made it to Historic Los Luceros last week.
“It went so well. It was beautiful,” school founder Roger Montoya said. “Both days were quite magical.”
The school was allowed to make use of the property Dec. 18 and 20, before they went on winter break.
While there, they used the complex’s multipurpose room for dancing, the kitchen for cooking biscochitos and apple-filled empanadas, and went on hikes around the property’s historic buildings and sites. The students were even able to see some of the animals that call the property home.
The younger half of the school visited Dec. 18, while the older students went Dec. 20.
“It was a really great Christmas treat and practice for us for next semester,” Montoya said.
He said the practice they had with using the property for Moving Arts Española’s “Art of Science” summer program helped because they knew how best to rotate the children through different activities.
Upper elementary students Malaya Peixinho and Isaiah Sanchez both said they had fun with the projects and activities they were able to participate in.
Peixinho said they got to see a pregnant goat and feel its belly, and she could feel the baby goat inside move. She said the food they cooked in the property’s kitchen “tasted pretty good.”
La Tierra was initially granted use of the facility for two days a week starting on Nov. 27. However, the problem of transporting students between the school and Los Luceros turned out to be a tough hurdle to jump.
“Because everything we seem to do is so unorthodox, be it the wellness center or whatever, we get tripped up, and it’s just taking us more time,” Roger said.
While the school made a deal with the city of Española in late November to use two of their small Senior Center buses, insuring a bus driver held up the trip. They finally decided on a solution they used earlier in the year and hired a County bus, which came with its own driver, for $100 a day.
“With their license and their insurance and their bus and their gasoline, it made it a lot easier to do it,” Montoya said. “We probably should have just spent the money all along.”
The New Mexico State Legislature will be deciding in the upcoming session what to ultimately do with Los Luceros, which has been lying mostly dormant. La Tierra hopes to be allowed to use the property for educational purposes.
Sal Ruiz, an administrative assistant and arts contractor for the school, said photos and comments from the students who participated will be sent to the legislators to help them make their decision.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping they let us use it next year,” he said.