by Noelia | Aug 23, 2017
by Kira Patterson and Alessia Soares, 10th grade.
In the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, we are surrounded by nature and happy people. How do we keep our community so pure? We care for our community and all try to step in and help in some way. For example, by organising beach clean ups, like we’ve been doing in Futuro Verde for the last few years. Most of us enjoy going to the beach in our free time and like it to be a clean environment for children to play in and a safe one for the local wildlife. Another example is the current recycling campaign in Montezuma where local people are getting involved. In Santa Teresa, there are many kids who don’t have the privilege of easy access to a surfboard or have the money to enter a local surf contest. Maykol Alarcon felt the need to make a difference, and takes a dozen local children surfing in Playa Hermosa every Saturday, along with volunteers from Jakera surf camp. This gives the children the opportunity to do one of the few sports that can be done in the community. He is also planning on extending this project by organising surf contests where they provide the competitors with a board and the subscription fee is free. Thanks to the people that organise all these events and initiatives, we are a community that shows empathy, compassion, and respects the needs and feelings of others.
by Stephanie Nuñez Jiménez | Aug 21, 2017
September 15th is the Costa Rican Independence Day, which will be celebrated in the entire country. In this country, as in the rest of Central America, the students carry the responsibility of organizing the most important activities on this day. The aim is to teach them honor, values, patriotism and respect and learn about history and tradition.
In 1964, Alfredo Cruz Bolaños, a Costa Rican citizen, had the idea to represent the years of struggle leading up to the independence with fire. That same year, a group of countrymen descended from Guatemala to our country, in order to awaken a tradition. The torch of freedom is carried from Nicaragua to Cartago the day before Independence Day, with students running different stretches and passing the torch on each time. Likewise, students of educational centers nationwide run with the torch and pass the fire on from school to school on the 15th of September.
Children play an important role in the September celebrations, as they are the main participants. Our students feel excited about the upcoming events and are rehearsing enthusiastically for the typical dances, creating their lanters and looking forward to running with the Torch.
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Aug 15, 2017
After almost three years, Futuro Verde is nearing the culmination of our process to secure authorization as an IB World School to offer the IB Diploma Program. Following the visit by two inspectors at the end of May, we received the written response listing the outstanding items that still need to be completed before the official judgment will be made.
We are working hard to finish the biology lab, expand the library, and purchase the resources we need to successfully introduce the IB Diploma at Futuro Verde. Once we submit proof that the outstanding items have been completed, we hope to hear the final decision within the next two or three months.
Thank you to all our teachers, parents and students for your support during this application process. We are excited to be getting closer to the finish line!
*Centro Educativo Futuro Verde is a candidate school* for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy- a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Centro Educativo Futuro Verde believes is important for our students. Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
by Alejandro Ramírez | Aug 11, 2017
This year Futuro Verde has given many positive things to talk about in the field of sports at local, regional, interregional and national levels. We have had a very productive and successful six months. Both in team sports such as basketball and in individual sports such as swimming, chess, table tennis and cross country, the name of our institution was well represented by our athletes. Among our most important achievements, we can highlight that in cross country two of our students reached the national level, where one of them had an outstanding participation. In chess, basketball and table tennis our athletes advanced to the interregional level, only a small step away from nationals. In swimming, 13 of our swimmers classified to the national competition with all of our students in category A and B obtaining at least one bronze medal. At the secondary national level, one of our two athletes achieved the podium obtaining a bronze medal.
The competitive sport’s season of the Ministry of Public Education is over. However, this does not mean that opportunities for our students to get involved in sports have come to an end. For the rest of the year, we are planning different student and family events, including a volleyball tournament, a chess tournament, and a cross country run. There will also be opportunities to participate in a basketball academy for all ages and a swimming club.
As you can see, we expect a third trimester full of opportunities for all students. I hope to continue counting on your support and to see family members getting involved.
If you have any questions or would like to get involved in any of the upcoming events do not hesitate to contact me: alejandro@futuro-verde.org
Sincerely,
Alejandro Ramírez Urías
Athletic Director
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 7, 2017
Just the other day I was talking with a parent who has been a part of the Futuro Verde family for 6 years now. As we talked about the changes that have happened over the years, we both celebrated curricular, staff and organizational improvements and awed at the quantity of growth our little jungle school has seen in such a relatively short amount of time. So, what are the latest improvements you ask? In one word- Infrastructure! Please enjoy the photos of our newly updated spaces and please consider coming by for a personal tour. We’d love to have you!
Deep Cleaned Upper Elementary Classes and New Withe Walls
New School and Community Recycling Center
Filled and Resurfaced Parking Lot and School Entrance
Thank you to all our donors and supporters who have helped make these infrastructure improvements a reality. Stay tuned families and Futuro Verde supporters- more infrastructure improvements are still to come!
by Karol Madrigal | Aug 3, 2017
September is a month of celebrations throughout Central America and for that reason, in Costa Rica, we call it “the month of our fatherland”. This is because at this time, each Central American nation celebrates the important process that began on the eve of September 15th, 1821, when the rulers of the current Central American countries, which in the past were part of a territory named ‘General Captaincy of Guatemala’ belonging to Spain, decided to write a document that declared the independence of the entire region.
The celebrations include, for instance, students from all over Central America running with a torch along a route that starts on the 1st of September in Guatemala and ends in Cartago, Costa Rica, on the night of the 14th of September. The Torch Run commemorates the route along which the news of independence was carried from nation to nation with a burning torch illuminating the road ahead. Today, the torch has become a symbol of freedom.
The culminating moment of the Torch Run is when our nation´s president receives it in Cartago. At that moment, the lantern parades commence in each town, recalling the moment when the inhabitants of Guatemala took to the streets, carrying lanterns in their hands, to demonstrate their enthusiasm and support, in the area where the Act of Independence was being drawn up. The celebrations, however, do not end here, because the rejoicing was such that every September 15th the streets fill with the sounds of the drum roll and the sights of colorful parades, as an expression of the sheer joy with which the Central American people walked their path of freedom.
