by Lural Ramirez | May 9, 2019
Over the course of this year I will be sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in March explored the first of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: Always connected, forever evolving”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our second core school value.
Futuro Verde: Feeling safe and comfortable to be ourselves helps our learning to thrive
Student well-being is an essential component to the educational experience. When a student feels safe and comfortable throughout their day at school they are more able to access their learning and acquire and internalize new concepts and enduring understandings. School safety includes being free from physical, social and emotional harm and it is an integral aspect to school leadership and design. Student comfort should include the ability by all students to feel accepted and understood by their teachers and peers and to also have an internalization of the school procedures, traditions and routines and to come to expect consistently how the school environment will be. When these conditions are in place, students not only learn and grow, but they thrive!
At Futuro Verde we are fortunate to be situated in the middle of the countryside and jungle. We have secure campus infrastructure and because our students are encouraged to take risks and explore their natural environment they are well-equipped to keep themselves physically safe. Our commitment to active staff supervision during all structured and unstructured times of the day ensures that adults are present to guide, correct and encourage. Our strong social-emotional structure at school includes whole school commitment to mindfulness, reinforcement of our learner profile throughout all aspects of student life, democratic and reciprocal processes of student-teacher engagement, and restorative justice approaches to behavior management. Through our Peace Practices and multi-age learning with Buddy Classes, our students feel connected to one another, they come to deeply know each other and they learn to interact and engage with one another under a pretext of respect and understanding. Our staff are highly qualified and then are trained and supported regularly in their ongoing professional development needs. This school-wide, professional focus on calibration and collaboration among all Futuro Verde staff leads to the consistency and coordination that allows for a predictable and stable learning environment for all students.
This is why students who learn at Futuro Verde can be described as thriving in their learning environment and we are proud of our structures, the articulated support systems we have in place, and our prioritization of student well-being throughout all ages and stages of the educational process!
by Lural Ramirez | May 9, 2019
En el transcurso del año compartiré unas reflexiones con ustedes sobre los valores fundamentales de nuestra escuela. Mi artículo en marzo centró la atención en el primero de los cinco valores principales de la escuela, “Futuro Verde: siempre conectados, constantemente evolucionando”. Hoy voy a compartir una reflexion sobre nuestro segundo valor escolar básico:
“Futuro Verde: Al sentirnos seguros y cómodos de ser nosotros mismos, nuestro aprendizaje prospera.”
El bienestar de los estudiantes es un componente esencial de la experiencia educativa. Cuando un estudiante se siente seguro y cómodo a lo largo del día en la escuela, puede acceder más a su aprendizaje y adquirir e interiorizar nuevos conceptos y entendimientos duraderos. La seguridad escolar incluye el derecho a no sufrir daños físicos, sociales y emocionales, lo cual es un aspecto integral del liderazgo y diseño de la escuela. La comodidad de los estudiantes debe incluir el derecho de todos los estudiantes a sentirse aceptados y comprendidos por sus maestros y compañeros y, ademas, la capacidad de interiorizar los procedimientos, las tradiciones y las rutinas de la escuela en un ambiente escolar consistente. Cuando se dan estas condiciones, los estudiantes no solo aprenden y crecen, sino que también prosperan.
En Futuro Verde tenemos la suerte de estar ubicados en medio del campo y la selva. Nuestra infraestructura es segura y ya que se alienta a nuestros estudiantes a tomar riesgos y explorar su entorno natural, están bien equipados como para mantenerse físicamente seguros. Nuestro compromiso con la supervisión activa del personal durante todos los momentos estructurados y no estructurados de la jornada garantiza que los adultos estén presentes para guiar, corregir y animar. Nuestra sólida estructura socioemocional incluye el compromiso de parte de toda la escuela con la atención plena, el refuerzo de nuestro perfil de aprendizaje en todos los aspectos de la vida estudiantil, los procesos democráticos y recíprocos de involucramiento de estudiantes y maestros, y los enfoques de justicia restaurativa con respecto al manejo del comportamiento. A través de nuestras Prácticas de paz y el aprendizaje de edades variadas con los grupos de compañerismo, nuestros estudiantes se sienten conectados entre sí, llegan a conocerse profundamente y aprenden a interactuar y relacionarse con respeto y comprensión. Nuestro personal está altamente calificado y recibe capacitación y apoyo regular en sus continuas necesidades de desarrollo profesional. Este enfoque profesional a nivel escolar en la calibración y colaboración entre todo el personal de Futuro Verde conduce a la consistencia y coordinación que permite un ambiente de aprendizaje predecible y estable para todos los estudiantes.
Esta es la razón por la cual los estudiantes que aprenden en Futuro Verde pueden describirse como prósperos en su entorno de aprendizaje. En síntesis, ¡Nos sentimos orgullosos de nuestras estructuras, los sistemas de apoyo articulados que tenemos establecidos y nuestra priorización del bienestar de los estudiantes en todas las edades y etapas del proceso educativo!
by Lural Ramirez | May 7, 2019
¿Has oído hablar de la conferencia anual de educación de Futuro Verde que se celebra en nuestro campus cada año, el último jueves y viernes de junio? Los participantes de años anteriores pueden dar fe de que la conferencia une a educadores, miembros de la comunidad, padres y estudiantes de toda la península, Costa Rica y el mundo entero.
¡La conferencia de este año promete ser otra gran experiencia! Haz clic en el enlace a continuación para registrarte y leer el folleto con los detalles sobre los conceptos básicos de inscripción y participación en la conferencia de este año. Cabe mencionar que puedes enviarnos tu propuesta ahora mismo. Si eres un(a) educador(a) o miembro de la comunidad con un tema a compartir en el área de la educación bilingüe, holística o sostenible, envía tu propuesta hoy mismo.
Registration Form
Call for Proposal
by Lural Ramirez | May 7, 2019
Have you heard about Futuro Verde’s annual education conference held on our campus on the last Thursday and Friday of June each year? Attendees from years past can attest to how unifying the conference is with attendance by educators, community members, parents and students from around the peninsula, Costa Rica and the world.
This year’s conference is gearing up to be another great experience! Click on the link below to register and read the flyer below for details on the basics of registering and getting involved in this year’s conference! And, don’t forget! Our Call for Proposals is currently open for submissions. If you are an educator or community member with something to share in the area of bilingual, holistic or sustainable education, submit your proposal today!
Registration Form
Call for Proposal
by Lural Ramirez | Mar 29, 2019
Preface and Context
As a part of my role as Head of School for our International Baccalaureate (IB) authorization at Futuro Verde, I had the pleasure of participating in a Leadership and Governance Webinar Series offered to Heads of School over the long holiday. The learning and inspiration from the series covered four topics: consistency of mission and vision, growth and accreditations, research-informed models of teacher evaluation and school finance. On the basis of the mission and vision webinar, our teachers engaged in a series of reflective activities during their professional development prior to the start of the school year with the goal of articulating our school values. Throughout this school year, we will be sharing the articulation of these values across our social media platforms and our communications channels. When you come and visit us next, please also read our teachers’ Six Word Memoirs which are posted on a bulletin board in the main office. These amazing Six Word Memoirs are a further extension of the articulation of Futuro Verde’s values.
Futuro Verde: Always Connected, Forever Evolving
In 2018, the IB celebrated its 50th anniversary and, that same year, Futuro Verde celebrated its 10th anniversary. Over the course of our 10 years, much like the path taken by the IB in its anniversary book, “The International Baccalaureate: 50 Years of Education for a Better World” which was sent to all IB Heads of School, we have seen an evolution of our school and the benefits to our students of a coherent, connected educational experience. The Futuro Verde community continues to grow in size, but our evolution in numbers, in quality of teaching and learning and in scope and breadth of servicing for students has not led to a disconnection from our original mission as a school and our main goal of connecting our diverse communities.
For our staff and our board of directors, it is essential that our school community know that we will continue to grow and evolve and, as we do so, we will continue to prioritize our connections and support of each other! The heart of our school is the connections we have with one another, the multilingualism, the diversity in national origin, religion and beliefs and the unity we all share as we progress forward and evolve as a school.
Thank you for your connection to our school and for joining us on our journey of ongoing evolution!
