by Lural Ramirez | Jan 9, 2020
As a small school, in a continual process of growth and development, each new school year brings with it improvements and changes aimed at reaching our goal of ongoing innovation and adaptation designed to meet the needs of our ever changing student population and the challenges of an ever-changing global reality. The 2020 school year is no exception and I share with you here some staffing and curricular highlights for the coming school year.
Curricular Changes
The 2020 school year will be a year of school wide redesign for mathematics! All of our subject areas go through a regular and programmed revision cycle and math has been an area of reflection, research and development this past 2019 school year. For the 2020 school year we are ready to fully roll out our modifications and adjustments. New approaches include:
Math
- A new math end goal in 11th and 12th grade: As you will remember, Futuro Verde students can receive both the MEP and IB high school diplomas through minimum scores in IB Math examination. Starting in 2020, all IB Math courses will follow the newly adopted framework which has us shifting from teaching IB Mathematics to teaching the Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation course which will be offered at Standard Level and is targeted at students who are interested in developing their mathematics for describing our world and for modelling and solving practical problems using the power of technology. Mathematics: Applications and interpretation is developed for students who do best with math when seen in a practical context.
- Redesign of curricular structure PreK-10th grade: In order to shift our mathematics instruction to better prepare students for this new math goal, we will be redesigning middle and beginning of high school math classes in order to integrate into more practical context, mathematical modelling and real world applications. In preschool and primary grades, math will be taught on both the English and Spanish side within a complementary format that will allow more minutes of math instruction weekly and the integration of more problem-solving opportunities.
- School wide implementation of IXL: IXL has been adopted at Futuro Verde since October of the 2019 school year, but the 2020 school year will bring with it systematic implementation of IXL within and outside the math classroom. IXL is intended to support, not replace, mathematics instruction and teachers will be using IXL as a tool designed to intervene when students are in need of filling gaps in their math development and also to extend learning when students have successfully attained a new concept or objective.
History Instead of Business in IB
The 2020 school year will bring with it a change in our IB programming. The switch will come in what is referred to as the Group 3 subject area, Individuals and Societies. Due to a staffing change, our 12th graders will finish with Group 3 Business Management and our 11th graders will now take Group 3 History.
MEP Graduation Requirements Change from Bachillerato to FARO
This year brings with it a switch across Costa Rica away from MEP graduation exams known as Bachillerato and a switch to the new exam format called FARO. The exact details of this change are still being finalized and communicated to schools, but as an IB World School we do not anticipate the transition impacting our students in a significant manner.
Integration of Information Sciences in Middle School
In 7th through 9th grade this year, students will combine their technology and library times for a new course called Information Sciences. This course will focus on using the knowledge of the Information Sciences as a tool within other subject areas; for research, effective use of MLA, wide reading, and word processing and presentation tools.
Staffing Changes
1st Grade Bilingual Assistant
As Futuro Verde continues to grow to full capacity at all grade levels, we are adding a new position this year with a bilingual assistant who will be assigned to accompany our 1st graders. This extra set of hands and presence will ensure that groups run effectively and smoothly and will allow for small group and individual attention and instruction as needed.
New Position: School Psychologist
This year we are proud to announce that we will be fully funding a full-time school psychologist! Massiel Arroyo is a certified, bilingual psychologist excited to join the Futuro Verde community in support of school climate and well-being as well as the individual counseling and support that may be needed by students, families and staff members at Futuro Verde.
New Position: Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics Specialist, 1st-9th grades
In an effort to provide a more complex and meaningful structure in primary grades, while providing additional teacher prep and collaboration time, we will be adding a Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics specialist for the 2020 school year. This new specialist will be working with all classes from 1st through 9th grades in social studies and civics only. We are very excited for this new opportunity and the scheduling and hiring flexibility it brings!
Integration of Music and Physical Education in PreK-3rd grades
With a change in teacher in our specialist generalist position in PreK to 3rd grade, along with the division of the art position into two separate positions, we will be reducing the subject matter for the specialist generalist to teaching only PE and music. With our new specialist generalist, Juan, on staff in 2020 we have the unique opportunity with two professional PE teachers, to integrate music and PE with choreography, rhythmic dance and collaboration between both PE teachers for meaningful music integration into PE for the PreK-3rd grades.
by Lural Ramirez | Dec 3, 2019
Every school community celebrates school level graduations in unique ways and Futuro Verde’s traditions are a perfect match for our singular and proud school community! At Futuro Verde, and after extensive polling of our entire school community during our 10th year anniversary school year, we came upon our permanent graduation traditions. We have been intentional in the development of these traditions as an opportunity to define the Futuro Verde experience and include consistent ceremonies from year to year that are filled with meaning and depth.
I share with you details on the Futuro Verde graduation traditions:
High School Graduation
Futuro Verde 12th graders culminate a rigorous 2-year diploma program full of learning, unforgettable experiences and preparation for their independent lives ahead. The final two weeks of school for 12th graders has them: finishing final exams, attending their final Prom and then climbing mount Chirripó (the tallest peak in Costa Rica)! As graduation rolls around at the end of the school year, our 12th graders join us at an off-site location for an evening designed to acknowledge their efforts, celebrate their successes and send them off into the world prepared for the opportunities and challenges that await them. 12th grade graduation is a formal event and students wear formal attire, caps, gowns and sashes. The ceremony includes speeches from meaningful adults in the students’ lives and ceremonial aspects allusive to this special occasion, including an event photographer.
Elementary School Graduation
Following successful completion of 6th grade at Futuro Verde students have their first formal graduation ceremony at Futuro Verde! The event is held yearly on the Futuro Verde main stage. Students wear semi formal attire and don caps, gowns and sashes for the event. Futuro Verde’s student body president welcomes students to secondary school with a meaningful rock ceremony, students receive a bounty of well wishes prepared especially for them by family, friends and teachers, parents escort their children to the stage and student diplomas are presented to them in a custom designed Futuro Verde diploma holder. A photographer is on site to capture special moments from the event as well.
Grade Levels with Special Activities, but no Formal Graduation Ceremony
In Costa Rica, some schools also celebrate graduation from Prepa and 9th grade. At Futuro Verde, our school community was clear in not wanting to adopt and continue with this tradition and graduation ceremonies for Prepa and 9th grades have not been held since 2017. As an international school with lofty goals for our students, it is customary to celebrate the completion of primary and secondary school only and for the second year in a row we will follow this important tradition.
Prepa and 9th grade do not have formal graduation ceremonies at Futuro Verde, although per Costa Rican Ministry of Education (MEP) expectations students do receive a diploma during parent-teacher conferences at the end of the year in 9th grade and during a class party for Prepa at the end of the year.
A highlight for students in Prepa and 9th grade is the tradition of a joint artistic performance during our end of the year RAP: Respeto, Amor, Paz celebration. This spectacle is not to be missed!
As you can see, graduation traditions are well thought out and meaningful aspects of school life at Futuro Verde! If your child is graduating this year- congratulations! If your child is heading toward a graduating year soon, I hope this article has helped explain our processes and traditions.
by Lural Ramirez | Nov 3, 2019
Over the course of this year I have been sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in September explored the fourth of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: We Take the Best of our Diversity to Live in Harmony”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our fifth and final core school value.
Futuro Verde: We Grow and Learn in Harmony with Nature
With a name like Futuro Verde, this final core school value might be the most obvious one to pop into your mind! Futuro Verde has green in its name but most importantly we are truly ‘green’ in our hearts- not perfect in our ecological footprint but certainly striving and working hard to be the model of what green, sustainable, harmonious living with nature can be like. From one year to the next our commitment strengthens and grows and here is a quick sampling of how we grow and learn in harmony with nature at Futuro Verde:
Purpose-built new classroom construction:
Our board of directors and leadership team has purposefully committed to our new construction, regular education classrooms having half walls, no doors and no traditional windows. Why, you might ask? Because we are located in the middle of the jungle and we want our students to feel connected to that beautiful jungle each and every day as they learn and grow! The design also has a practical purpose as the air flow keeps the space cool and lets moisture in and out as needed.
A full permaculture campus is in the works:
Through a long-standing collaboration with our fiscal sponsor, Green Wave, we are dedicated to the development of a campus wide alignment to permaculture practices and restoration of our green spaces. This design includes development that takes the land, flow of air and water and the needs of the community into consideration before ground is broken and building and development begins. As our Green Wave consultant is prone to say “the problem is the solution!”. This beautiful mindset shift is an inspiring guide post as we learn and grow in this area.
School-wide environmental campaigns:
Most of our community already knows about our trimester beach clean-ups which are a dependable and welcome service project our students participate in three times per year at a range of our local beaches. But, you may not have known about the on-site, open to the community recycling center we have, or the compost bins run by our students? Perhaps you’ve never heard of our program to support wild animals staying wild or our farm to table goals through our student-developed garden? Our environmental campaigns are many, are led by our environmental education teachers and our students at every grade level and are supported by each and every school teacher, staff member and community member who joins us in this strong commitment to the environment!
One of our newer aspects as a school when we consider the importance of living in harmony in nature is serving as an advocate for our beloved mother Earth! As the years have passed, as our school has grown and as our level of academic rigor has continued to improve, our students are increasingly working as activists and advocates for policy change, awareness campaigns and social and political influence regarding environmental and nature related topics. As a school we also have an ongoing commitment to, and work intentionally with, the Global Goals, especially in the sense of raising awareness among our students and encouraging their advocacy and activism related to a variety of different areas related to sustainability within the Global Goals framework, to include: education, citizenship, equality, environment and health.
We encourage our entire school and greater community to continue to support our school’s commitment to a life filled with connection to nature and a determination to seek a harmonious existence with the nature in our lives and a dedication to ongoing development, growth and learning from each of us every day as we strive to best support the health and longevity of our Earth!
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 30, 2019
Over the course of this year I will be sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in July explored the third of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: Our cultural oxygen expands your curiosity”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our fourth core school value.
Futuro Verde: We Take the Best of our Diversity to Live in Harmony
What a gift it is to belong to an international school community like ours! Did you know that not all international school communities are the same? Frequently you will find international schools where English is the only language taught. Other international schools may be located in a country different to their curricular offering that is tied strictly to a British, American or Australian framework for learning and the host country for the school is often not reflected in the school culture. Most other international schools are also geared toward educating only the economically privileged members of the community. As you most likely already know, none of these international school tendencies describe Futuro Verde!
Futuro Verde is an international school unlike most others! Here are some of the fascinating facts about our diverse community:
- Each year our student population is made up of students from around 33 unique countries from around the world.
- Over 60% of our student population is Costa Rican.
- Most years we boast over 10 unique native languages spoken in our students’ homes.
- Our school staff come from 14 different countries, with four English dialects taught and five Spanish dialects represented.
- We are a fully bilingual school, providing instruction equally amounts of time in Spanish and English from ages 3-18.
- A minimum of 30% of our students each year receive some form of financial aid in order to attend school with us.
- We are a secular school that welcomes all forms of belief and spiritual practice and our staff and student population is full of diversity in faith as well.
It is an amazing thing, if you think about it, that so much rich diversity has gathered in this little corner of the world! But, by far, the best part of our diversity is the harmony we keep with one another. In an ever divisive world, a global and diverse microcosm like Futuro Verde offers an opportunity to grow in tolerance, acceptance and open-mindedness and we strive to lead in the commitment to promoting a more peaceful and harmonious world. Thank YOU for forming part of the inspiring community that is Futuro Verde!
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 7, 2019
We are excited to announce that we are in the final stages of remodeling for our school kitchen! Over the mid-year school break, demolition of the old kitchen floor and walls took place and now the tile has been installed and our new electrical and gas are being finished. The challenges of remodeling existing buildings have been ongoing at Futuro Verde and we are thrilled that our kitchen updates will now allow our staff to provide even healthier and more diverse dining options each day!
Kitchen upgrades have included: new kitchen appliances- including a lowboy fridge, new grill, stove and oven as well as an industrial sink and clean, stainless steal shelving and prep space.
One of the most exciting new additions to our kitchen is our service area, which has lowered the food service space to eye level for most students and has double boilers installed within the appliance in order to keep food heated at all times. The protective sanitary shield also helps keep food clean, yet visible, to those receiving their meals.
Again, we are excited for these important changes which have improved the safety of our kitchen for employees and changes which now allow us to provide a more professional and industrial setting for the preparation of nutritious and delicious meals for students and staff at Futuro Verde each and every day!
by Lural Ramirez | Jun 28, 2019
Over the course of this year I will be sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in May explored the second of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: Feeling safe and comfortable to be ourselves helps our learning to thrive”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our third core school value.
Futuro Verde: Our cultural oxygen expands your curiosity
But, wait…what is cultural oxygen? As our former school counselor, David Brookshire, who coined the term, said: “Our school culture is so palpable, you breath it!” He isn’t the only person to proclaim that there is a feel to Futuro Verde. Futuro Verde is truly a unique community! There are aspects of the school you can point to that are great examples of our culture and then, much like the oxygen we breathe, we have aspects to our school culture that are much less palpable. But, when you enter the school gate you are bound to exit that same gate some day with an expanded personal curiosity!
Speaking with our 12th graders, all International Baccalaureate (IB) students, they identified the following palpable and non-palpable school culture components:
- Do the right thing! Not because you are afraid of getting into trouble but because you want be a person who does the right thing.
- Be open-minded and seek to understand your peers that are so different than yourself.
- Make connections all of the time: to your own life, to the place you live, to other places you have lived or traveled, to what you have read or to what you are learning in other classes at Futuro Verde!
- Find a passion and go for it- without fear! You will be supported and loved as you take risks. You are not likely to be criticized when you try new things (and aren’t perfect yet) here at Futuro Verde!
- Make sure you are always thinking because you will always be asked what you think- about an environmental issue, about a subject you are studying, about something happening in the world, or even about what you want to learn and how you want to learn it!
- Come in peace! We don’t welcome conflict, anger or hate. But come with your own criteria, your arguments and be ready to share them so that others can hear them.
- We welcome you! You, person X with X characteristics and X beliefs! You belong here too!
This unique culture is a breeding ground for an expanding curiosity! Once you let your guard down, and find the differences you notice interesting and intriguing, you become innately curious. Quickly, as a student at Futuro Verde, you find it interesting to be open to learning about the world around you and the people within it. What is better than that? With curiosity at our center, we are guaranteed to be life-long learners! And with Futuro Verde deep in your heart and soul and lungs, you are guaranteed to be a good, open-minded, connected, passionate, peaceful thinker and human being. You keep your uniqueness and you enrich it with us!
