by Hileyn | Apr 26, 2017
Futuro Verde is starting a student-led social media initiative. We want to give our students the opportunity to run certain aspects of the school’s social media. The team will be brainstorming ideas, learning how to film and edit videos, and creating fun and interesting content for the school. Increasing our online presence is essential to promoting and marketing the school as well as to giving the students a platform to express their creativity. Keep an eye on our social media platforms to see what they come up with!
by Lural Ramirez | Apr 26, 2017
At the end of every grading period at Futuro Verde, families and teachers sit down together to discuss each student in detail during their individual parent-teacher conference. But, what does it all mean? The numbers and jargon teachers use can sometimes be confusing for families and parents can, at times, not come away understanding fully what all of the information means for their child. Add in the complication of our diverse population of families, all coming from unique educational contexts themselves, and it becomes even more important to practice good communication.
Below I provide you with some key advice to make the most of your child’s conference and to best understand their report card:
- Come to your child’s conference with questions in hand. Some good questions for the teachers might be:
- What do you observe my child doing well?
- Can you explain an area you have concerns about with my child?
- How I can help at home?
- What does my child’s participation and work ethic is class look like?
- What does my child most need to work on?
- Celebrate your child’s successes and focus on their needs.
- When you look at your child’s grades, wonder about what they still don’t know well. Often we focus on our children having “good grades”, but really we should think about what they still need to work on, regardless of their final grade in each area.
- Focus your attention on your child’s social-emotional rubric scores, in addition to their academic grades.
- Research shows that how well students do in the social and emotional processes of learning is just as important as what they learn and know.
If we have a ‘growth mindset’, we know that hard work, perseverance and a realistic understanding and acceptance of our current strengths and weaknesses allows us to make continual improvement and growth. Please remember that report cards are only a snapshot in time of your child’s educational journey. Please use opportunities like parent-teacher conferences to engage in collaborative reflection with your child’s teachers and with your child in order to recognize successes and focus energies on current needs.
Working together, with open and honest communication, we will assure that we work as a team (student, family and teachers) so that all children reach their full potential!
Futuro Verde: Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation
by Lural Ramirez | Mar 31, 2017
As Earth Day approaches on April 22nd, Futuro Verde will hold a unique fundraiser to benefit both the environment and the completion of our multimedia center. Multiple Futuro Verde board members, parents and community supporters will choose an environmental charity of their choice and will then compete to see who raises $1,000 first. All participants will then climb into the strangler fig outside the art room on Futuro Verde’s campus on April 21st. As they enjoy the world from atop this majestic tree, they will also work hard to motivate further donations so that all participants reach their $1,000 goal. In order to get out of the strangler fig, each individual participant will have to make their $1,000 goal.
The money raised will then have a double benefit.The first participant to make their $1,000 goal will donate their money to the environmental charity they chose. The rest of the money raised will be used to purchase seven more computers for the school computer lab and to complete the equipping of our new school library!
Commit to the environment, support our new multimedia spaces and enjoy this fun Earth Day inspired event at FV! For further information, complete event rules and guidelines on how to donate check the school website www.futuro-verde.org “Support FV” menu. Stay connected on FV’s social media channels for regular updates throughout the event!
by Noelia | Mar 30, 2017
On April 22nd we celebrate Earth Day, a day entirely dedicated to nature and all its ecosystems, to the protection of our natural resources and to finding sustainable solutions to mitigate the pollution of our planet. The prosperity of every community on earth depends on the presence of water, fresh air, forests and the scenic beauty found in its natural spaces. In this day and age, we actually lead such hasty lives that we have become oblivious to the fact that we need nature to survive, in the same way a plant needs a rich soil to be able to grow. Confronted by a myriad of environmental conflicts, we often feel overwhelmed and doubtful about how to contribute to a possible solution to the environmental problems around us. It can be useful to reflect on the environmental problems we witness on a daily basis and, consequently, take the decision to make some changes in our homes, offices, schools and all other community spaces. For this reason, Futuro Verde is committed to helping with our community´s waste management and has accepted the challenge of functioning as a recycling center both for our institution and our students´ homes. As an institution, we feel proud to be in the position to contribute to the search for sustainable solutions to the problems of waste production and its ill management. We aim to make our students aware of these problems and of the need to Reject, Reduce, Reuse, and, lastly, Recycle. We truly appreciate your support in making our community more sustainable every day!
by Lural Ramirez | Mar 29, 2017
Over the past 2 months, we have made major improvements to our WIFI network.The range of the WIFI access has now extended to all the classrooms, meaning all of our teachers are now able to access the internet from their own classroom. Our students are also able to access the internet now in a secure way, with filters blocking inappropriate content, and with the ability to use the internet during school time to do research connected to their learning.
Our Google Classrooms launch has been a success! Secondary students are registered in their Google Classrooms and are receiving regular posts from teachers as a part of this innovative blended learning platform. As a part of their grade, students are required to respond to each post received from teachers, to upload work, and to maintain an interactive presence in classes. Parents, prepare yourselves! As a part of our gradual roll out of the platform, teachers will be adding parent/guardian emails to each student account. Please make sure you accept the invite email you receive from Google Classroom so that you receive the weekly summaries of your child’s assignments and work due the coming week. This guardian email will give parents regular, automatic updates on learning, your student’s progress and notification of any late work due as well.
Today’s world requires a 21st Century Classroom and Futuro Verde strives to support meaningful technology integration in the classroom by providing reliable and secure internet throughout the campus and teachers committed to technology integrated learning. In the years to come, students will be expected to supplement their use of our school computer lab with their own personal laptop. If your child does not currently own a personal laptop computer, it is never too early to start making plans for its purchase. As a part of FV policy, 11th graders in 2018 will be required to bring a personal laptop to school each day and other secondary grade levels, though not required to have a laptop, will be encouraged to bring one as well.
Parents, keep yourselves informed and updated on your student’s learning by following the regular Google Classroom updates and plan ahead for an even stronger digital presence at Futuro Verde in the future!
by David Brookshire, MPH/ School Counselor & Special Education Case Manager | Mar 28, 2017
Technology benefits our live in many ways because it makes communication easier and more efficient. It’s also important, however, to be aware of the dangers of technology use, especially when it comes to our children. With the ability to connect with anyone in the world, at any time in an instant through social media; we must take certain precautions to protect ourselves and our kids from those individuals that may not have the best of intentions. Because we have had incidents in our own community regarding online sexual predators, the need to have the conversation with each other and our children is urgent. Have you talked with your kids about internet safety? A simple conversation can go a long way in raising their awareness of the dangers and, give them some important information regarding their behavior online so that they can be empowered to make safe choices.
Here are a few key ideas for a meaningful conversation:
- What happens on the internet, stays on the internet!
This is an important reminder for all of us. Whatever we post on the internet is always available and can be found quite easily. We sometimes forget that we are always leaving a digital trail with everything we say and do online. A good question to always ask ourselves before we decide to post any content is this: “Would I want my grandma or grandpa, or little brother or sister to see this?” If the answer is “no,” don’t post it! This could include a comment, picture, or video. By creating this simple filter, we can prevent a lot of potential stress in the future for ourselves and/or the people we know.
- There is value in privacy.
Keeping private things private is often a value that is lost in the digital age. We must remember, though, that what we do represents ourselves and our families. With this in mind, we may not need to share details of our lives with strangers. An easy way to do this is to change our social media settings to “Private.” By only allowing people we know to access us online, we create an excellent safeguard that can prevent others from contacting us and monitoring us unwantedly. Let us please encourage our children and teenagers to only engage with people they know on the internet. By sharing these ideas and monitoring our kids’ behavior online, we can potentially safeguard against online predators.
- What does it mean to be a friend?
By reminding our children and teens to be careful what they post and to maintain their privacy online, we are helping them to be safe. Along these lines, we can take the conversation a step further and remind them that they don’t have to accept every “Friend Request” that comes their way. My simple rule is this, “If I don’t know you or you are not a friend of a friend, I do not engage with you on social media.” Obviously, there might be a few exceptions to this rule but, for the most part, this is a good standard to live by and the benefits outweigh the risks. This can be taken a step further by taking inventory of our “Friend List” and purging it of those that we don’t know. This easy step can add another filter for online safety.
- Help and support are a valuable lifeline.
By giving our kids a safe and open line of communication, we can create an environment of trust and support. Many times, victims of online predators feel isolated, scared, and alone. Often, if they would just seek help, the situation would not intensify. We need to let our children and teens understand that they can come to us when they need help without the fear of judgement. By feeling safe to reach out to a parent, teacher, or counselor before the problem becomes too unmanageable; they can get the help that they need and prevent future problems.
With these key points, we can engage in a meaningful conversation with our children and teens to create a safe online experience. With a few safeguards and the understanding that, “it CAN happen to me,” we can prevent dangerous situations from escalating. Please reach out to Futuro Verde if we can help or provide clarity in guiding the conversation.
