by Rico Reolon | Oct 30, 2019
The Futuro Verde educational project has always been a labor of love for our board members! Having been on the board from the beginning and having overseen all of the construction, remodeling and development projects our school has taken on, I can attest to the hard work and concerted effort facilities development has been at our small, community school.
The positive news is that our facilities continue to improve each year and this has been the product of the support of school families, generous external donors and the careful planning and quick initiative of Futuro Verde leadership team and board members looking to act quickly and in favor of ongoing development, growth and improvement.
Some highlights from our governing body and from my tenure as board president include:
Overcoming Development Setbacks- From a lack of funding, to a lack of consistent governmental support, to the delay of planned projects in order to address urgent needs, our development has not been a continual line of success. But, through it all, I am proud to say that our board of directors has worked together to problem solve, address urgent issues and to work diligently toward the best facilities we can achieve at any given time.
Strategic Plan- I am proud to say that our board has followed a strategic plan for years now. This plan has focused the board’s efforts and ensured that we continue to seek development of our student population and facilities with intention and drive. A new, full day board retreat scheduled for November 9th will have us reviewing and updating our current strategic plan.
Leadership and Guidance- The board of directors takes its responsibility of leadership and governance seriously and this includes a sustained focus on the support and counsel of our fantastic school leadership team as they strive to ensure that our programs develop in a measured way that matches our ability to improve and build new and needed facilities. The positive relationship we have sustained with the school leadership team has allowed for courageous conversations and collegial interactions in which the well-being of our students and our school stay at the forefront of our decision-making.
Septic System Process- One of our most recent achievements has been a major improvement to our septic system, which will improve our waste water management school wide. We are proud to be collaborating with Ecotanks in the installation of a system that fully treats our waste water and releases into the environment waste that is 100% potable (although Futuro Verde will use this water only for watering purposes, not for drinking). As our student population grows and our facilities multiply, adequate waste water treatment has become a pressing and urgent need we are thrilled to have solved at this time.
Future projects:
As many of you know there are many projects yet to come:
- construction of our multi-use sports court
- construction of new, permanent classrooms to replace our remaining temporary buildings
- remodeling and expansion of our administrative building
- completion of our staff parking lot and remodel of our visitor lot to make arrival and dismissal safer and more efficient
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Oct 3, 2019
11th grade is hard at work, raising funds for their upcoming trip to Guatemala at the end of November. Students will experience the sights and sounds of Antigua, climb a volcano, visit local villages, and be responsible for making meals for the group! This trip will be the culmination of fundraising activities that started at the beginning of last year. It is a fundamental part of Futuro Verde’s philosophy that students should be responsible for raising the money for their field trips. This way, families are not burdened with an extra cost and students learn about the results of effort and the value of money.
However, fundraising isn’t easy. Sodas are the traditional method at Futuro Verde, but you need a lot of sodas to raise $5,000! There have been lots of good ideas, and some very successful events, but sometimes putting these into practice has been a challenge. Across all grades we have been seeing some interesting initiatives: the chance not to wear uniform in exchange for a donation, raffles, garage sales, movie nights, and sponsored field trip t-shirts. One of the main challenges is that fundraising efforts normally target students and staff. As that is a relatively small population, all these initiatives are looking to benefit from the same limited pot of financial resources. One suggestion to all classes looking to pay for their field trips is to consider holding events that reach a wider audience. Also, maybe we’re missing a trick if we don’t involve parents, families, and friends and ask for their ideas and support.
So what’s next for 11th grade? A great collaboration between a student and his parents. Look out for an announcement about a raffle with a prize of dinner at Restaurant Montezuma!
by Tee McDougal | Oct 3, 2019
Who would have known that during the BHS conference here at Futuro Verde the staff would be offered complimentary registration for the 2019 La Cosecha Dual Language Conference! On November 13-16 Futuro Verde staff members Lural Ramírez, Khalida Lockheed, Paola Grijalba Araya, Vidhi Gada, Alannah Anglin, and Tee McDougal will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend and present at this important conference for dual language education. When the director for Dual Language Education in New Mexico, David Rogers, presented as the keynote speaker for the BHS conference he asked that Futuro Verde presenters consider presenting at the dual language conference in New Mexico. La Cosecha brings together educators, parents, and researchers from across the U.S. and several foreign countries. It offers a unique opportunity to share best practices and resources to educate children in multilingual and multicultural communities.
With this in mind, teachers from Futuro Verde will be presenting two different workshops at the conference. On is called, “Reflection and Metacognition Strategies in Upper Elementary and Secondary Grades.” This presentation, by Vidhi, Khalida and Tee, will focus on metacognitive strategies that teachers can use to help students identify error patterns and better retrieve information and skills learned. The other presentation, “Translanguaging Done Right: Transcending Traditional Additive Language Instruction” presented by Lural, Vidhi and Tee, will share with attendees the innovative “World Language” class that a team of teachers have developed here at Futuro Verde. There will also be opportunities to visit other presentations, network with dual language teachers and researchers, visit dual language classrooms in Albuquerque, and shop for new and innovative bilingual classroom resources. An exciting opportunity for Futuro Verde staff in New Mexico, “The Land of Enchantment.”
by Karol Madrigal | Oct 2, 2019
At the end of this month, our eleventh-grade students will take the Social and Civic Studies examinations of the Costa Rican Public Education Ministry, which they must pass to obtain the Costa Rican Baccalaureate diploma. These tests assess all content learned by the students, in each subject, during the last two years. For this reason, students need to be very focused and committed to making the most of their preparation time.
Although all the content has already been addressed in previous classes, during the remaining month and a half all subject matter will be reviewed and revised. This classroom review consists of practicing with exams from previous years to get to know the format of the test and acquire techniques or strategies that help them reply correctly. However, to achieve successful preparation, it is important that efforts be made both in class and at home. Students should attend class, but also study at home, allowing them to identify any doubts they have regarding each topic and arrive to class ready to ask their questions and make the most of the tutoring.
As the date approaches, it is also essential to be very aware of not ignoring such important aspects as necessary rest and proper nutrition. Both affect concentration, physical well-being and, thus, overall school performance.
The dates of the examinations are: Thursday, October 31st, Social Studies and Tuesday, November 5th, Civics.
by Irene Jover | Oct 1, 2019
Written by Khalida Lockheed and Irene Jover
With only a few months before the school year comes to an end, 12th grade students are preparing for their exams and internal IB assessments.
IB Music
Dilana Campos, the only music student in 12th grade, has been working hard these past two years and presented us with a small sample of her work in a final concert held at the school. She was accompanied by 11th grade students while all presented solo pieces as well as a group piece.
Dilana has also shared one of her musical compositions and her research on the musical links that can be established between two totally different cultures.
To meet the requirements of the subject, the music students of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program must interpret pieces of different styles and periods in public, compose three musical pieces, investigate the differences and similarities between musical cultures and take a written musical perception examination.
We are very proud of Dilana, who is very close to finishing her International Baccalaureate and the 11th grade students, Rachid, Alejandro and Axel, who have started the music course by working very hard and awarding us with the opportunity to enjoy their performances.
IB Visual Arts
Visual Arts students in 12th grade, Elian Gonzalez, Mateo Avila, and Lawerence Scheda, presented their body of work at the IB Art Exhibition in the Cultural Center of Cobano on August 29th. The Exhibit comprised their internally assessed portion for IB. Each student had their own personal gallery space with works ranging across media, including pinhole photography, painting, drawing, ceramics, graffitti, stop motion animation, and interactive installation.
Entitled “Tiquicia Online”, Mateo’s exhibit was an exploration of social media and the impact of technology and development in our rural “third-world” community. In his Curatorial Rationale, he writes, “My artworks attempt to expose the negative assumptions that social media use to try to incentivize on people. Exposing how special it is to focus on being an ethical rather than being beautiful person, being different and original rather than being fashionable and enjoying the small things rather than wishing for an opulent life.”
Elian’s exhibit was a similar exploration of modern life and social isolation through media and technology. In his words, “Isolation. That is the theme that connects my exhibition. Be it social isolation, not fitting in, or not feeling understood, or physical isolation, isolation can take many forms. With my art I tried to explore the ways and reasons why isolation has become so common in the present day. “
Lawrence’s exhibit, on the other hand, focused on connection and synergy, “or the idea that the combined power of a group of things when working together is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately.” His intentions were “to break traditional barriers into a oneness or feeling of belonging to the world without having to enter in pre established categories, this is why I often allude to duality and gender.”
Selected works from students of all grades were also showcased at the show, with special highlight to the 11th grade IB Visual Arts students’ work, giving us a taste of what will be in store for next year’s show!
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!
