by Angie Briceño | Feb 20, 2018
This year, the Futuro Verde community has grown thanks to the different families that have joined us from different parts of the world:the United States, Belgium, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Italy, England, France and Spain, as well as families from Costa Rica who come from Paquera, Santa Teresa, Cabuya, Montezuma and surroundings. Futuro Verde has a visitor program for all those families who want their children to take part in an enriching academic, cultural and linguistic experience. Through this program, families visit us from Italy, Canada and the United States (New York, Los Angeles, Nebraska and Wisconsin).
We extend a warm welcome to all the families that will be accompanying us throughout or during part of the 2018 school year. We hope your year will be filled with learning and fun and cultural experiences!
by Hileyn | Feb 20, 2018
We are pleased to inform the entire educational community that our library is evolving!
During the past months we have seen our educational center grow by leaps and bounds and our library is not far behind. Great efforts have been made to update and extend our service: the hiring of a librarian, the expansion and remodeling of the reading spaces, the new shelves, the labeling, classification and respective decoration, the acquisition of software to carry out the transactions digitally, new strategies to stimulate reading (library classes and future book fairs), in addition to the purchase and reception of new books. They offer our readers an increasingly interesting and captivating atmosphere.
We currently have more than 4800 books for the enjoyment and benefit of our users, which has been achieved thanks to the great efforts of our staff and the generous donations that were continuous throughout the previous school year.
It is gratifying for us witness the evolution that this school area has undergone and we hope to continue on the path of progress and innovation. Hence, we wish to remind our Futuro Verde family that our Library is open to all (parents, students and staff of the institution) and request you to make donations of both new and used books that will be of great benefit to the institution.
Library Check Out and Return Policy
- Users look for the book(s) they wish to read in an orderly manner.
- They turn to the person in charge of the Library (Daniela), to make their registration in the M3 system by means of user’s name and book code.
- Users will be given a library page separator (reusable) so they can record the date on which the book should be returned and their user’s name.
- Users have a period of 14 days to return the books. When returning, users must return the book directly to the person in charge, so the return process can be completed. The page separator of the school must also be returned. If the person in charge is not present, users will leave the book on the desk along with a note specifying the title of the book, the user’s name and the bar code.
- Each month a report of late returns informs the librarian which books are late. The librarian will notify the users involved. Next, a reminder is sent home via the planner. If a third reminder has been delivered, and the book is not returned, it will be registered as lost, and a letter will be sent home requiring it to be replaced (purchase a replacement or send in the amount to cover the cost).
- In the event that a book is damaged or lost, the librarian will deliver a letter to the parents informing them and clarifying the steps to be taken (replace the book by purchasing a new one or send in the amount to cover the cost).
* As part of our commitment to reading, students who read more than 4 books will be given a personalized page separator. *
by Lural Ramirez | Dec 28, 2017
As an international school, teacher retention is a tricky subject. Part of what makes learning at an international school so rich is the diversity of staff: different experiences, different teacher training, different perspectives and the unique approaches our diverse educators bring to the classroom. At Futuro Verde, we seek to hire and retain diverse and highly qualified staff each year. For the 2018 school year, we boast staff members from 11 different countries from across North, Central and South America and Europe. When new staff join Futuro Verde, they do so committing to a minimum two to three year contract (pending positive review and a renewal offer from FV). However, the diversity we seek is not only geographic, and we are proud to continue to hire with diversity of age, race and ethnicity, gender, life experience and personality. Our students are a diverse group and we strive to reflect that diversity among our staff.
The question is, what is the profile of an educator who will stay at Futuro Verde for an extended period of time? Is it important for all our staff to commit to the school for multiple years? In my experience, I would encourage the following mindset and considerations when committing to support teacher retention at our jungle, international, IB school:
- As a community, assure we support existing staff- send them a positive note, maintain open communication, invite them to form a meaningful part of our extended community and encourage support for school policies that retain our amazing teachers.
- For parents and students it is important to accept natural patterns of attrition. Some staff will come to FV, plant roots and stay for years and years. Others will choose FV for a set period of time and then move on to new adventures and experiences. Both types of teachers offer us enrichment as a school community and it is helpful to accept that these cycles of retention and attrition are typical in any international school.
As I enter into my fifth year here at Futuro Verde and as we come into our 10th anniversary as a school, I am most grateful for the amazing rate of retention of our committed Futuro Verde families! Thank you all for your ongoing support of our school, our progress and our future!
by Angie Briceño | Dec 20, 2017
These vacations can be exploited to the maximum with the different recreational activities around the area, some of these activities:
- CIRENAS summer camp, information in www.cirenas.org
- Art classes in murals with Manuel Gessele in Montezuma, contact number 8561-5847. Come and help Montezuma to look prettier!
- Art classes in El Sano Banano, contact number 2642-0368
Do not miss these opportunities and reserve your space!
Happy New Year!
by Katie Chiaverini | Nov 30, 2017
The big day is almost here…the first annual Sustainable Solutions Fair hosted by Futuro Verde students on Saturday, December 2nd from 9am to 2pm! All of our students, grades pre-K through 11th, have been working very hard on developing innovative projects and they are ready to educate their families, friends, and community members on sustainable solutions to local issues.
Our school community will gather together on this day to share ideas about how we can protect our environment and lead a healthy life; making sustainability a part of our everyday lives with each action we take.
Over the last few months, the students have been asking questions, researching, interviewing, planning, discussing, designing, creating, building, improving, and developing their chosen topics based around one shared theme: sustainability. The level of engagement and direct involvement the students have had with teachers, volunteers, parents, peers, specialists, and nature itself is impressive. The Sustainable Solutions Fair is definitely a joint project from start to finish. From little hands squishing recycled paper into water to large hands shoveling clay-ridden earth to mix with compost, it is evident that searching for sustainable solutions not only requires critical thinking, but hard work and a lot of grit!
The beauty of sustainability is that it can be applied to anything. It is all encompassing. From a small, local problem to a large, global issue shared amongst many, sustainable solutions are always a possibility. While many students have focused locally, their ideas can be applied globally. From methods of organic pest control to plastic pollution, from over fishing to domestic animal overbreeding, from excess waste to red tide…our student projects truly embody the term “think globally, act locally.”
On this day, our children will be our teachers. Get ready to be inspired!
by Javier Sánchez Cáceres | Nov 1, 2017
This day and age, we hear a lot of talk about environmental problems, climate change, exploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources. Honestly, the panorama can be so overwhelming that we feel frustrated and fail to understand that many of these problems go hand in hand with their solutions. Many of these solutions are presented to us as impossible tasks because we view them from an individualistic perspective. However, when we take a moment and breathe deeply, we soon realize that by working as a team, sharing ideas and resources, these solutions begin to flow and appear very possible.
The initiative of the Sustainable Solutions Fair emerged based on the need to provide a space where different environmental, social and economic problems that affect us both, directly and indirectly, can be openly discussed. The FSS is Science Fair meets Christmas Bazaar, with the idea of enjoying projects on sustainability carried out by our students, artistic and musical presentations, taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase locally handcrafted products and expanding your horizons with forums and workshops in a sustainable development setting.
We cordially invite you to join us on December 2nd, a special day dedicated to nature and creating awareness of the need for a human development system that allows us to use Mother Earth’s natural resources in a responsible way with respect for both nature and the next generations.
We’re expecting you!
