by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Mar 28, 2019
One way we can tell is that the first mid-trimester report of the year already made its way home. The mid-trimester report is just one way that Futuro Verde communicates your child’s progress with you.
As stated in the Futuro Verde Assessment Policy: Teachers determine midterm report grades and final grades for each trimester and academic year by combining grading done on daily class work and participation, projects, rubric-based evaluations, teacher observations, portfolio development, written exams (when appropriate), among other assessment tools.
After just six or seven weeks of school, the mid-trimester can be a litmus test for your child’s end of trimester report, giving you a heads up and an indication if your child might need support or just encouragement to keep on achieving! Having received the report, if you are at all worried about your child’s progress at school, now would be a great time to get in touch via email or make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher(s). We are always here and keen to work with you to ensure your child can be as successful as possible!
by Lural Ramirez | Feb 28, 2019
Excellent news welcomed FV students to the 2019 school year with the announcement of a new scholarship available to all FV grads who achieve an IB diploma!
Futuro Verde presents: John Dolan University Launch Scholarship
John J. Dolan valued the power of a high quality education and he showed this commitment through direct student sponsorship at Futuro Verde and, following his untimely passing, the establishment of a scholarship fund in his name.
John’s legacy at Futuro Verde continues to grow with our high school students now having a new motivator to strive for! They say that education is the gift that lasts a lifetime and, in John’s name and to promote his legacy of giving and generosity, eligible FV high school graduates will now have a leg up as they head off to university via our new John Dolan University Launch Scholarship! An entirely merit based award, the John Dolan University Launch Scholarship is available to all FV high school graduates who earn the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. Each year a $1,000 John Dolan University Launch Scholarship will be awarded to every 12th grade student who meets eligibility requirements. Scholarships are non-repayable and are awarded on the basis of a student’s academic success while a student at Futuro Verde and during the final IB exams.
A Futuro Verde education, and respective IB diploma, just became that more valuable! We can’t wait to see what our first group of 12th graders do with their new scholarship funds as they pursue their university dreams!
by Vidhi Gada | Feb 27, 2019
Futuro Verde has always valued learning from varied, practical, real-life experiences more than only learning from books. This is amply reflected in the number of innovative teaching and learning strategies used by all the teachers in the school as well as the extra-curricular after school clubs offered for students. We also believe that exposure to culture is one of the best lessons we can give our students.
To bring this philosophy further to life, we have undertaken a new endeavour – to host Open Mic nights on a regular basis! So many of our students are highly creative and talented. These Open Mic nights would be the perfect avenue for them to showcase their talents, and to hone them. Students are welcome to perform singing songs, slam poetry, performance poetry instrumental performances, stand-up comedy, Karaoke – the possibilities are endless!
In anticipation of this exciting event, we are pleased to announce the commencement of a new club – the Slam Poetry Club, held every Tuesday from 3:15-4:15, starting from 5th March. Please email vidhi@futuro-verde.org for more details.
To end, I’ll borrow the famous lines from Dead Poet’s Society, “ We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
Our first Open Mic night will be held in at the end of March. Start preparing your pieces, and keep watching this space for more updates!
by Katie Chiaverini | Feb 25, 2019
Permaculture, sustainability, regenerative practices…all synonyms for a holistic approach defined by Bill Mollison as “a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.”
Thanks to the non-profit, Green Wave Enterprise, this will be Futuro Verde’s second year of implementing permaculture concepts, in hopes to one day create a functioning permaculture campus. This year, we will have an experienced permaculturist provide hands-on workshops to students at each grade level, focusing on different environmental topics related to sustainable practices. A long term plan is already in the works to keep the program flourishing throughout the years.
A few sample permaculture workshops offered across the grade levels include:
1st Grade – Happy Chickens: An introduction to basic chicken needs, including sustainable feeding practices, and the maintenance of a chicken coop.
2nd Grade – Biointensive Gardening 1: An introduction to sowing seeds and planting with the moon.
3rd Grade – Lasagna Compost: Creation of layered compost by gathering materials and ingredients, measuring contents and maintaining compost pile to later be used in our garden.
6th Grade – Biofermentos and Foliar Sprays: An introduction into the creation and use of different fermented foliar sprays made from fruits and plants
8th Grade – Biointensive Gardening 2: An introduction into biointensive gardening techniques: transplanting, companion planting, succession, maintaining a garden, planting with the moon, natural pest and disease control.
Hopefully as you walk throughout our campus, you will see the slow transformation and are always welcome to go visit the chicken coop and new covered garden area at the back of the school. We are very excited for the addition of permaculture-based workshops to our comprehensive environmental education program.
by Katie Chiaverini | Feb 24, 2019
This year Futuro Verde is excited to offer a new course for students 7th to 12th grade – College Counseling! Each year students will focus on different aspects of learning and reflection to help them be better equipped for life after high school. We will focus on developing skills as well as providing enrichment opportunities which will help set students up for success. The program is meant to build upon skills and knowledge obtained in each grade level as the focus changes throughout the program.
7th grade focus: My grades are important.
As students transition from primary school to middle school, we will support their academic success by focusing on self management skills. We will focus on the importance of time management and prioritizing learning by creating positive habits.
8th grade focus: I am a well rounded student.
In their second year of middle school, students will receive more support in leading a balanced life. Exploring creativity, academic areas, physical well-being and service are all aspects of becoming well-rounded students. The College Counseling class will encourage participation in school events like sports teams, art and music festivals, and academic competitions and the creation of a digital portfolio.
9th grade focus: I am identifying who I am and what I like.
In 9th grade, the course will guide students to consider areas of particular personal interest and to focus their energies on those areas with more purpose as they identify their own unique qualities and interests that they would like to explore further. Resume building, test-taking strategies, Grade Point Average importance, and the seeking of exchange opportunities will also be built into this year’s curriculum.
10th – 12th grade focus: What to do and how to do it?
In our very diverse student population we aim to provide assistance for students to explore various options to further their education: like gap years, language and cultural exchanges, college fairs, volunteerships, internships, employment, local and international university admittance, and trade schools. We will help students track deadlines for applications and test dates and improve their resume and educational portfolio.
Plan developed by: Head of School, IB DPC, College Counseling Committee Members
College Counseling Support Plan May 2017
by Lural Ramirez | Jan 22, 2019
Aren’t all schools the same? Or, if they are different, they can’t be THAT different, right? I have heard comments like these so many times in my 16 years as a teacher and an administrator.
Futuro Verde is accredited by the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) here in Costa Rica and we are authorized to offer the Diploma Program (DP) as an IB World School. We then choose to align all our grade levels- preschool, elementary and middle school to the IB way of teaching and learning in our DP program. The philosophical groundings of MEP and IB could not be more different from one another- quite literally they are nearly polar opposites. Both ways of learning can get you a high school diploma, but did you know that the IB philosophy does something for students that a traditional MEP education simply does not provide? But what is this difference, you ask?
IB: Guided by a Holistic and Inquiry-Based Education
An IB education is grounded in inquiry and constructivism and is built strongly on a curricular structure that requires students to be critical thinkers and active participants in their learning. Unlike in traditional contexts, IB teachers are guides on the side, not sages on the stage. IB teachers are also entrusted with their own curriculum development. This makes each IB course unique in every school as teachers develop and create their curriculum to match their students’ needs and interests and their specific school context. This pedagogical freedom requires teachers to be smart, creative and excellent models of the critical thinking they then seek in their students.
The other impressive hallmark of an IB education is its commitment to the holistic development of students. So many educational systems, including MEP, place ultimate importance on only a few basic, academic subjects and they do so at the expense of holistic development. IB is dramatically different in this sense! In the DP, the three requirements that make up the core studies for a student are not even any of the basic, academic subjects. Without fulfilling the core successfully, students do not achieve an IB diploma! Core IB classes are: Theory of Knowledge (TOK)- a two-year course designed to critically analyze how we know what we know; Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS)- a course that requires students to be balanced- to be physically active, to try new things, to serve others and to explore their creativity; and finally, Extended Essay (EE)- which is essentially a 4,000 word mini-thesis, written on a topic of the student’s choice. This commitment to core abilities like social connection, critical thinking and research and written expression make IB’s core elements a fantastically holistic graduation requirement!
The final element of IB that is firmly committed to holistic development comes from the final requirements for graduation- passing grades in all of the basic, academic subjects AND in the arts! Gone are the days that students can be so narrowly focused. IB develops in students a liberal arts inspired approach to teaching and learning, leaving students, parents and teachers alike to fully embrace the notion that ALL student learning is equally important, not just success in basic, academic subjects!
As you can see, an IB education is drastically different from a traditional model of learning and, in our modern society focused on 21st Century Skills, the IB provides students with the advantage they need in high school in order to set them up for the most successful university experience possible!
