by Lural Ramirez | Aug 31, 2016
Dear families and Futuro Verde supporters,
As I come into the final trimester in my third year at Futuro Verde I am rejuvenated and positively looking ahead to the coming years! Every time that our school community comes together to work through difficult decisions like those made at our assembly meeting in August, I am reminded of what an incredible honor it is to lead this educational project through so many transitions and improvements. I thank you for your commitment to Futuro Verde, your support as we continue to invest in quality infrastructure and programming for all of our students and your thoughtfulness and care as we continue to nurture our incredible teachers, of which we will have only 7% attrition from this school year to the next! These are celebratory days at Futuro Verde!
I remind you of some of our current projects and plans for the coming year:
- Continued fundraising toward our capital campaign to build our new campus in Las Delicias: this includes events like the Media and Construction Forum in San Jose on the 31st of August which highlighted the “Future of Construction through Light and Sustainable Building”. The plans for our new Futuro Verde campus were featured and all proceeds from the event will benefit our school’s capital campaign!
- If you take a Nature Air flight in the next few months, make sure to check page 9 of their in-flight magazine, Landings, for a full-page spread donated to Futuro Verde’s efforts to fund our new campus!
With the assembly approval of our funding needs for a financially healthy school and an improved educational experience for all students in 2017, we are also pleased to announce the addition to our current campus of:
- A science laboratory to be used by all Futuro Verde students and designed to meet IB* standards
- A remodeled multimedia center with a dedicated space for technology classes and another for library browsing and study space. This will come accompanied next year by a fully barcoded, inventoried and searchable database for Futuro Verde library resources!
- Dedicated classrooms spaces for all Futuro Verde subject areas!
We are also thrilled to announce that the parents of one of our preschoolers have generously offered to donate substantial improvements to our preschool facilities! Thank you Thoren and Silvia!
With further projected curricular improvements in 2017, a decisive year for us with our accreditation visit as a candidate school for IB*, and all but two of our current employees committing to another year at Futuro Verde, we are looking forward to an even brighter future at Futuro Verde!
And so, I appreciate you, the families, for your continued trust and commitment to Futuro Verde and for your belief in the high quality bilingual education our non-profit school provides to all of its students. I am so pleased to serve you on this journey!
Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation.
Lural Ramirez
Director
*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. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
by Fundraising | Aug 11, 2016
Interview with Eileen Waldshmidt:
How did you hear about Futuro Verde?
I heard about Futuro Verde from Lural. Lural, and her husband Alejandro, had been graduate students of mine at Oregon State University in the US over 13 years ago. I left Oregon in 2005 and had not seen Lural in several years. I had heard she had moved to Costa Rica.
Then, in November 2014, Lural contacted me from FV saying that she had seen my name in the La Cosecha Dual Language Education New Mexico Conference Program and she wanted to know if she could stay at my house in New Mexico because she was coming from Costa Rica to the United States to present at the conference. When she came to New Mexico, she told me all about Futuro Verde and how wonderful it was.
Why did you decide to come over here and become a FV teacher?
I came to FV because of Lural. Lural had been one of the top students in the graduate program at Oregon State University and I grew close to her and Alejandro over the years. I have always admired Lural as a very intelligent, well-informed and dynamic bilingual educator and I continue to learn so much from her.
When Lural was in New Mexico telling me about Futuro Verde, she kept saying that I should come teach there. I didn’t take her offer seriously at first thinking maybe she really didn’t mean it and, besides, it would be impossible for me to leave for a year to teach in Costa Rica. But she was serious, and happily it worked out for me to come with my husband and teach at FV for one year and continue to work alongside and learn from Lural again.
How do you think FV educational system impacts children´s lives?
I think Futuro Verde has a very positive impact on children’s lives because it is a strong community of parents and educators dedicated to progressive educational practices that focus on the whole child. Children feel safe, nurtured, and challenged at FV. When FV students graduate, they have a strong understanding of their local context (Cóbano, Puntarenas, Costa Rica) as well as skills and dispositions that will serve them well as they interact with the global community either right here in Cóbano or through travel or through the internet.
How would you describe Futuro Verde´s curriculum? What makes it so different from other schools?
In many parts of the world today, there has been a narrowing of the curriculum because of a belief that what counts is what can be easily tested using multiple choice exams. FV, on the other hand, has a curriculum that reflects more aspects of the total human experience — math, science, social studies, English, Spanish, French, art, music, industrial arts, PE, and more. FV is situated in a rich jungle setting that serves not just as a beautiful backdrop for learning but also as an important resource for the classroom curriculum. Teachers utilize this rich environment to create meaningful lessons, activities, service projects, and field trips to help the students make connections between what they are learning in the classroom to their local context and to the wide world beyond.
What kind of skills do you think FV students acquired during their educational process in here that would benefit in their future life?
First and foremost, because of the diversity among the students and teachers at FV, FV students develop invaluable linguistic and cross cultural skills that will serve them well in the future. FV students also develop strong academic skills across all content areas that are necessary for critical thinking, collaboration, environmental stewardship, and global citizenship.
by Noelia | Aug 4, 2016
“Mother and son”, Gustav Klimt
Being a mother means many things: sleepless nights, changing diapers, tantrums of children or adolescents, being a taxi driver and an octopus mother but especially that your heart is no longer yours, but roams wherever your children are in their adventures, occurrences, sadness, happiness and growth.
To you, mothers of blood or heart we wish you a VERY HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! (today and the other 364 days of the year!)
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 3, 2016
Parent-Teacher conferences have been well received at Futuro Verde since their implementation in 2015. An opportunity for a personal meeting with teachers allows parents to better understand their child’s experience at school, their academic and social emotional strengths and weaknesses and conferences give teachers an invaluable opportunity to hear directly from parents- their concerns and worries and their questions and their suggestions for how to best work with their children.
This second trimester we are excited to announce student-led conferences, to be held during the Trimester II each school year! Student-led conferences have a slightly different format and purpose than the parent-teacher conferences we hold during the first and third trimester each year. Student-led conferences are conference times set aside for your child to lead their own conversation and sharing with you, the parent(s). Your child will have a portfolio of work to share, work that has been selected by your child and work upon which they have personally reflected on prior to meeting with you in order to have a conversation with you regarding their learning processes, their interests, their successes and their struggles. Come ready to see your child in a new light, to learn from them first hand and to help support them in making concrete learning goals for the rest of the school year.
Mark your calendars now and assure that you and your child will be present on September 8 and 9 for your child’s conference. Remember, parents who are directly involved in their child’s education tend to have more successful and happier children. Student-led conferences- a fun and simple way to connect to your child’s learning and development!
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Jul 31, 2016
Think about current world events. Your thoughts might include: Trump and the election in the USA, immigration, terrorist attacks in Europe, Brexit, racial tension. Look at the image. Where does your focus land? Perhaps to the left where our thoughts, beliefs, perceptions and interpretation can lead to literal and metaphorical walls being built. A closed mind comes when the culture, history, values and traditions of others feel overwhelming and threatening.
It is often a natural response. When we feel threatened, physically or emotionally, we often go inward and hold on to what makes us feel sure and right. How can we be more open and encourage others to look into the unknown, encourage uncertainty, and evolve so that we have a welcoming, and accepting mind which is open to new possibilities, new knowledge, freedom, limitless possibilities, and does not feel threatened?
by Lural Ramirez | Jul 27, 2016
Did you know that every year at Futuro Verde around 1% of our student population is comprised of visiting students? Coming for a short-term experience that leads to long-term benefits, we have received students over the years from the United States, Canada and Europe. This year though, we are pleased to announce our first study abroad exchange! Loïse and Isée, secondary students and twins from France, have been at Futuro Verde for nearly two months now. Their experience is unique because they are staying with two Futuro Verde families, whose daughters will then be studying in France during the third trimester and living with the twins in their home in France.
Having a distinct international experience during your teen years can be a life-altering experience! In conversation with Loïse and Isée, both have shared how much they have loved attending Futuro Verde, a school where students actively participate in their learning. They cite Futuro Verde’s weekly Peace Practices as one of their favorite aspects of our school. They have also enjoyed improving their Spanish and participating in cultural and adventure activities typical to the area. We have loved having Loïse and Isée at Futuro Verde and look forward to supporting more exchange opportunities in the future!
