by Lural Ramirez | Dec 3, 2016
Those familiar with Futuro Verde know that we are a community of professionals committed to on-going self-reflection and with a strong desire for continual school improvement. As we look toward the 2017 school year, I am excited to announce some incredible curricular improvements to come:
- Our whole-school 50-50 Spanish/English immersion program’s additional language component (currently French) makes a groundbreaking transition! Following the advice of current research and experts in the field of language acquisition, Futuro Verde will now provide a new course to all preschool and primary students called “Comparative Language Study”. This class will replace the current French lesson students receive in the primary grades. The reason for this change is responsiveness by Futuro Verde to new research that shows that one of the highest leverage investments in our young language learners is direct instruction and support “bridging” across all of their languages. Students will work with Futuro Verde’s language specialist and polygot, Debbie Bruylant, as the main teacher and will receive additional input and support from Futuro Verde’s new classical languages teacher, Futuro Verde’s new secondary French teacher, FV classroom specialists and even from me, the school director! The focus of the class will be students exploring all their languages within a context of: communication, culture, connections, comparisons and community. The goal is to foster young learners with strong metacognitive and metalinguistic skills, irrespective of their home language(s) and current proficiency in Spanish or English. This is a very exciting and innovative addition to our curricular offerings!
- Speaking of Classical Languages, I am proud to announce that Futuro Verde secondary students in 7th-9th grade will now have the option of choosing between French or Classical Languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic) as their additional language! Did you know that Futuro Verde’s music teacher, Oscar Leal Mendez, is also an accomplished scholar of classical languages? Students can now learn all about these classical languages by choosing to take the Classical Languages tract, starting this coming 2017 school year. French or Classical Languages- what will your middle years student choose?
- Speaking of our music teacher, Oscar Leal Mendez, Futuro Verde is proud to announce that we are finally able to increase music instruction at all grade levels in 2017! More music is music to our ears here at Futuro Verde!
- We are also proud to announce that next school year our primary students will have 2 arts classes a week from our new full time Arts teacher! So exciting, so inspiring- so much to learn and explore!
These are only a snapshot of the curricular improvements to come! Please make sure to schedule our end of the year whole-school celebration- Respect, hArmony, Peace (RAP), to be held on December 13th, into your personal calendar. Beautiful student presentations are not to be missed from 3:00-5:00 pm. Potluck dinner to follow! We hope to see you there!
by Lural Ramirez | Dec 3, 2016
Los que conocen Futuro Verde saben que somos una comunidad de expertos dedicados a la auto-reflexión continua, motivados por el afán de seguir mejorando la escuela. Al aproximarse el año lectivo 2017, me complace anunciar unas mejoras curriculares impresionantes:
- ¡El componente de lenguaje adicional (actualmente el francés) de nuestro programa institucional de inmersión bilingüe español/inglés arranca con una transición innovadora! Acorde a la investigación actual y el asesoramiento de expertos en el campo de la adquisición lingüística, en Futuro Verde se impartirá una materia nueva, llamada “Estudio Comparativo de Idiomas” a todos los estudiantes de preescolar y primaria. Esta clase remplazará las clases actuales de francés en primaria. Con este cambio Futuro Verde responde a nuevas investigaciones que indican que respecto a los aprendices de idioma en la edad temprana, la inversión con mayor rendimiento son la instrucción y el apoyo directos para que se establezcan “puentes” entre sus distintos idiomas. Los estudiantes trabajarán con la especialista de lenguaje y políglota de Futuro Verde, Debbie Bruylant, como maestra principal, además de recibir apoyo adicional del nuevo profesor de lenguas clásicas, del nuevo profesor de francés de secundaria, otros especialistas y hasta de mi persona, la directora. El foco principal de la clase será la exploración de los idiomas de los estudiantes en un contexto de comunicación, cultura, conexiones, comparaciones y comunidad. El objetivo es de promover aptitudes metacognitivas y lingüísticas fuertes, sea cual sea su idioma nativo o dominio del español o inglés. ¡Sin duda una adición innovadora y emocionante a nuestra oferta curricular!
- Con respecto a las lenguas clásicas, me siento orgullosa poder informarles que los estudiantes de séptimo, octavo y noveno años tendrán la opción de elegir entre Francés o Lenguas Clásicas (latín, griego, hebreo y arameo) como idioma adicional. ¿Sabían ustedes que nuestro profesor de música, Oscar Leal Mendez, es un erudito consumado en lenguas clásicas? Los estudiantes que optan por esa materia podrán estudiar las lenguas clásicas a partir de inicios del año 2017. ¿Francés o Lenguas Clásicas, qué elegirá su estudiante en los años intermedios?
- Hablando de nuestro profesor de música, Oscar Leal Mendez, nos agrada anunciar que la instrucción musical se aumentará en todos los niveles en el año 2017. ¡Más música en Futuro Verde nos suena a música celestial!
- Es con mucho orgullo que anunciamos que el próximo año los estudiantes de primaria tendrán 2 clases de arte semanales impartidas por nuestra nueva maestra de artes que trabajará a tiempo completo para Futuro Verde. ¡Qué emoción, tanto que aprender y explorar!
Estos cambios representan solo una visión instantánea de las futuras mejoras curriculares. Para más información, aseguren acudir el 13 de diciembre a nuestras celebraciones “Respeto, Armonía y Paz”. Habrá hermosas presentaciones de parte de los estudiantes desde las 15 hs hasta las 17 hs. Luego, terminaremos una cena para compartir. ¡Nos vemos el 13 de diciembre!
by Lural Ramirez | Oct 28, 2016
Living here on the peninsula, we all know how fortunate we are to have Futuro Verde as a high-quality educational solution for our children. But, did you know that Futuro Verde’s reputation as an innovative two-way immersion school is growing internationally as well?
During the second week of November, Futuro Verde’s special programs coordinator, Stuart Millar, and former Futuro Verde teacher and retired University Professor and Researcher, Eileen Waldschmidt, will join me, Futuro Verde’s director, in leading a presentation at the prestigious La Cosecha conference in the United States. Our presentation will target interested universities and researchers, encouraging them to come to Futuro Verde and study our educational program while encouraging qualified pre-service teachers to choose Futuro Verde for their practicum schooling requirements.
But, how will these opportunities benefit your child? In so many ways! For example:
- Futuro Verde’s collaboration with university researchers and experts in the field of bilingual and international education gives us immediate feedback and access to high-quality professional growth opportunities for FV administration and staff.
- On-going inclusion of diverse student teachers, in complement to our highly qualified FV staff, allows for more opportunities for small group instruction and learning enrichment.
You can also become a part of Futuro Verde’s development as a flagship school in the world of bilingual education by signing up now to attend our 3rd annual Conference on Bilingual, Holistic and Sustainable Education, to be held on June 29th and 30th, 2017 at the Futuro Verde campus. We are thrilled to be welcoming, as a keynote speaker to our conference, Dr. Kathy Escamilla, one of the most prolific and respected researchers in the field of bilingual education. Join the movement and become an informed advocate for the high-quality learning environment Futuro Verde provides!
by Lural Ramirez | Oct 28, 2016
Viviendo aquí, en la Península, todos sabemos cuán afortunados somos al tener a Futuro Verde como una solución educativa de alta calidad para nuestros hijos. Sin embargo, ¿sabías que la reputación de Futuro Verde como centro educativo innovador de inmersión doble va creciendo internacionalmente también?
Durante la segunda semana de noviembre, el coordinador de programas especiales Stuart Millar y la antigua profesora de Futuro Verde e investigadora universitaria jubilada Eileen Waldschmidt me acompañarán a mí, la directora de Futuro Verde, a dar una charla ante la prestigiosa conferencia La Cosecha en Estados Unidos. Como objetivo principal, aspiramos atraer a universitarios e investigadores a estudiar nuestro programa educativo y alentar a profesores practicantes cualificados a elegir Futuro Verde para su periodo requerido de prácticas.
Ahora bien, ¿cómo se beneficiará su hijo(a) de esta oportunidad? En realidad, ¡de muchas maneras! He aquí algunas:
- Además de retroalimentación instantánea, la colaboración de Futuro Verde con investigadores universitarios y expertos en el campo de la educación bilingüe e internacional brinda oportunidades de crecimiento profesional de primera calidad a los empleados de Futuro Verde.
- La incorporación continua de maestros en formación diversos, como complemento a nuestros empleados cualificados, ofrece más oportunidades de instrucción en grupos pequeños y enriquecimiento educativo.
También puedes aportar tu granito de arena para que Futuro Verde se desarrolle como escuela insignia en el mundo de la educación bilingüe al inscribirte hoy para nuestra tercera Conferencia anual sobre la Educación Bilingüe, Holística y Sostenible, que tendrá lugar el 29 y 30 de junio 2017. Nos complace dar la bienvenida a la doctora Kathy Escamilla, una de las investigadoras más prolíficas y respetadas en el campo de la educación bilingüe. Únete al movimiento y conviértete en partidario informado de la gran calidad de enseñanza que ofrece Futuro Verde.
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 31, 2016
Dear families and Futuro Verde supporters,
As I come into the final trimester in my third year at Futuro Verde I am rejuvenated and positively looking ahead to the coming years! Every time that our school community comes together to work through difficult decisions like those made at our assembly meeting in August, I am reminded of what an incredible honor it is to lead this educational project through so many transitions and improvements. I thank you for your commitment to Futuro Verde, your support as we continue to invest in quality infrastructure and programming for all of our students and your thoughtfulness and care as we continue to nurture our incredible teachers, of which we will have only 7% attrition from this school year to the next! These are celebratory days at Futuro Verde!
I remind you of some of our current projects and plans for the coming year:
- Continued fundraising toward our capital campaign to build our new campus in Las Delicias: this includes events like the Media and Construction Forum in San Jose on the 31st of August which highlighted the “Future of Construction through Light and Sustainable Building”. The plans for our new Futuro Verde campus were featured and all proceeds from the event will benefit our school’s capital campaign!
- If you take a Nature Air flight in the next few months, make sure to check page 9 of their in-flight magazine, Landings, for a full-page spread donated to Futuro Verde’s efforts to fund our new campus!
With the assembly approval of our funding needs for a financially healthy school and an improved educational experience for all students in 2017, we are also pleased to announce the addition to our current campus of:
- A science laboratory to be used by all Futuro Verde students and designed to meet IB* standards
- A remodeled multimedia center with a dedicated space for technology classes and another for library browsing and study space. This will come accompanied next year by a fully barcoded, inventoried and searchable database for Futuro Verde library resources!
- Dedicated classrooms spaces for all Futuro Verde subject areas!
We are also thrilled to announce that the parents of one of our preschoolers have generously offered to donate substantial improvements to our preschool facilities! Thank you Thoren and Silvia!
With further projected curricular improvements in 2017, a decisive year for us with our accreditation visit as a candidate school for IB*, and all but two of our current employees committing to another year at Futuro Verde, we are looking forward to an even brighter future at Futuro Verde!
And so, I appreciate you, the families, for your continued trust and commitment to Futuro Verde and for your belief in the high quality bilingual education our non-profit school provides to all of its students. I am so pleased to serve you on this journey!
Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation.
Lural Ramirez
Director
*Centro Educativo Futuro Verde is a candidate school* for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy- a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Centro Educativo Futuro Verde believes is important for our students. Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
