by Noelia | Feb 5, 2020
School will be starting very soon! To begin this new 2020 school year, we’re sharing some important reminders for the first month of school. Some things will stay the same as last year, while others will be changed this year to improve and perfect our performance and quality service for our Futuro Verde community.
Important Dates for the First Month of School
- February 10, 12.30 pm – 3 pm: Open House. An open-door event for all students and families at Futuro Verde; an opportunity to get the know the school, teachers, and staff that work and support students year-round.
- February 11: First day of classes for 1st through 12th grade. Preschool Department, gentle start: interviews with preschool students and families. Office staff at Futuro Verde will organize appointments for individual meetings with each family. During this appointment, families meet with the two preschool teachers in order to get to know each other, share important details about their students, and set goals for the year.
- February 12: Preschool Department, gentle start: interviews with preschool students and families. Office staff at Futuro Verde will organize appointments for individual meetings with each family. During this appointment, families meet with the two preschool teachers in order to get to know each other, share important details about their students, and set goals for the year.
- February 13: First day of school for Prepa (no school for pre-K or Kinder). Both teachers will work together on this day to get to know our preparatory students and help them adapt to their new role as older students in our preschool department.
- February 14: First day of classes for pre-K and Kinder (no classes for Prepa). It’s the little ones’ turn to have a day for themselves! Our two preschool teachers will work together on this day to get to know our Kinder and Pre-K students and help them feel comfortable as they start the school year.
- February 17: All students in the preschool department have their first day of classes together, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
- March 4, 1pm – 5 pm: Back to School Night. See the detailed schedule of activities and workshops for Back to School Night here.
Futuro Verde Planners
Each year, Futuro Verde students receive a planner specially designed by our school in order to facilitate communication between parents and teachers. We strongly recommend that parents check their student’s planner every day to encourage smooth communication with teachers.
The planner also includes important information that helps families stay organized with school events and news, and contains resources that are worth reviewing each year:
- Schedule
- FV Directory
- Description of our Learning Community and Futuro Verde Values
- Academic Honesty
- Calendar
- Important Dates 2020
School Schedule
Futuro Verde’s class schedule is Monday through Friday from 8 am to 3 pm. It is recommended that students arrive 10 minutes before the start time so that they can settle into their classrooms and greet their classmates. That way, classes can begin on time at 8 am, without interruptions.
The departure time is 3 pm. No changes are expected for students who take school transportation since last year’s system worked well. However, some changes will be implemented for children who are picked up by their parents and/or relatives in private vehicles as our pick-up and drop-off lot has been remodeled. Please read the email about this topic for specific details.
by Lural Ramirez | Feb 5, 2020
Each year Futuro Verde holds Back to School Night, an event that is full of activities and opportunities related to your child’s education!
During Back to School Night, to be held on Wednesday, March 4th, families and teachers have time to meet, students share their classrooms and learning spaces, and they walk their parents through some of their daily experiences at Futuro Verde. Specifically, families can get to know the school curriculum, assessment, classroom procedures, grade level expectations, and learn about field trips and events available at each grade level or within each subject area. There will also be time for families to tour the school, to meet and speak with specialists and to get to know teachers who work with their son/daughter in each of the distinct subject areas.
This year, as is our Futuro Verde tradition, parents can literally come “Back to School” with us by attending any of the four parent workshops that will be offered this year prior to our main event!
Parent workshops
IB at FV
- 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm- Art and Biology classes will be open to parent observers in IB classroom
- 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm- IB Dreaming of University – High School Alternative Pathways at FV in Bio Lab
College Counseling for Middle and High School Students (especially geared toward parents of 7th-10th graders) (location TBD
- 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm- Come take the College Counseling class along with the 10th, 11th and 12th graders. This class is open to any parent interested in learning more about this new course at FV!
Effective Parenting Strategies with our School Psychologist, Massiel Arroyo (in primary library)
- 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm- For parents of children ages birth to 9
- 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm- For parents of preadolescents and adolescents ages 10-18
Technology Help! Classroom, Google for Education, Turnitin, EBSCO ( in the computer lab)
- 1:00 – 3:00- Our librarian and IT assistant is here to help you with any of your questions and technical needs with any of the technology your children use at FV!
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- 1:00 – 2:00 Presentation on Turnitin and EBSCO (programs to prevent plagiarism and to support effective research)
- 2:00 – 3:00 Open access time for any and all tech needs. Any and all questions and needs are welcome!
General Whole School Meeting with the School Director, Lural Ramirez – 2020 at Futuro Verde!
Back to School Night Classroom Visits – Visit your child’s teachers and classes!
Mark your calendars now for the afternoon of March 4th and don’t miss this fun-filled afternoon at Futuro Verde!
by Khalida Lockheed | Feb 4, 2020
After the successful completion of our very first IB Generation in 2019, a new year ushers in a new group of IB candidates – our rising 11th graders! This diverse group of first-year diploma students, both old and new to Futuro Verde, joins our second-year diploma students to comprise our 2020 IB cohort. This year’s group comes well prepared for the challenges ahead, thankful for the advice and experience of our recent graduates, and enthusiastic for the preparation and growth the Diploma Program provides.
With this new IB generation comes a new IB coordinator!
While change can be uncomfortable, it inevitably also provides an opportunity for growth. I come to this position both delighted and enthusiastic for the fresh challenge and equally humble about my service to the students and the school. I am thankful for the continued support from our departing IB Coordinator, Stuart, and from the rest of the leadership team at Futuro Verde as I learn the ins and outs of this specialized position. I look forward to supporting our IB students to maximize their success, and to refining and continuing to grow the Futuro Verde IB program.
Other associated changes to our program include IB History taught by Karol Madrigal for our Group 3 offering, in place of Business Management. And, in addition, I will also be coordinating Diploma Program Extended Essay. However, for this self-directed research paper students will continue to choose the best suited Supervisor based on the subject matter for their Extended Essay. Finally, the focus at Futuro Verde, ultimately, remains preparation for higher education and success at the university level. For each student the individual pathway may look slightly different, and we offer several options within the IB framework. Successful completion of high school at FV is attainable for all our students!
by Angie Briceño | Feb 3, 2020
Picture: Elonce Paraná (2015). Youth “ambassadors” start the debate at the IV Uniting Goals Meeting. Taken from www.elonce.com
This year brings new experiences for high school students as two big opportunities for cultural and global learning are coming to Futuro Verde!
Model United Nations is a simulation in which students from diverse educational institutions represent diplomats from different UN member countries. Each participating student must study topics relevant to the country they represent, such as culture, economics, domestic and foreign policy, and general features of the society they represent. Students go through various stages before they can compete at the national or international level. These stages include preparation and sessions; the sessions stage may take place within the school, between schools, and eventually competing to reach the international level.
The Youth Ambassador Program is a program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in which interested students can apply for an exchange to the United States, where they participate in activities with other international students focused on topics such as interculturality, mutual respect between different countries and cultures, civility, community development, and others. Students who wish to apply to this program must go through a rigorous process with the U.S. Embassy. However, this process is well worth the effort because of the experience and learning that will benefit those who are selected. The program is a 3-week exchange for students between the ages of 15 and 18.
Once again, we encourage parents to encourage their children to take part in these great initiatives. We look forward to a fruitful 2020!
by Katie Chiaverini | Feb 1, 2020
CREW is what Futuro Verde refers to as its advisory block of time with all groups of students. Students are divided into different crews based on their respective grade levels and assigned a CREW teacher each year. We call this special time, shared over the course of two lessons each week, as CREW based on the concept of a crew on a boat or ship and the notion that they are all on board and working collaboratively toward a joint goal. In Futuro Verde, we don’t have passengers, everyone is a member of a CREW. This foundational understanding helps support students in their sense of belonging, their development of empathy and in the strengthening of their sense of self and their connectedness to others.
CREW time happens a minimum of two times per week, once at the beginning of the week and once at the end of the week, and should be meaningfully planned just as for any other class. CREW students and teachers actively integrate their school planners into CREW time, making goals and reflecting on them directly in their planners.
This year we are excited to be adding some new additions to the CREW structure. We have purchased a curriculum resource called Tribes by Jeanne Gibbs which focuses on learning within a caring culture and building community to support the development of our CREW class time. Tribes strive to educate children and youth in a holistic manner as it emphasizes the developmental process of tribes as responsive education, a community of learners, a caring culture, human development and learning, and student-centered active learning. The Tribes philosophy will be implemented throughout the school day by all teachers and administration but strategically utilized in each CREW class in a structured way.
The development of the IB skills (self-management, social, thinking, communication, research, and reflection) will still be an integral part of the CREW time in addition to those proposed by Tribes (inclusion, community, and influence). CREW time continues to be a time where teachers and students collaborate on the planning of their yearly field trip, making sure to cover learning connections, communication, budget, a plan for fundraising and transportation. This year, we will be adding in another component, service and giving. Each CREW group will identify an issue that calls them to action and decide how they can make a positive change in regards to their chosen cause. This can include volunteering, petitions, campaigns or fundraising. Parents will be invited to join in as well! Service learning is very important for developing and strengthening empathy skills, which are vital for success and happiness. The service learning aspect of CREW, now starting in Pre K and beyond will be an important element in your child’s success in the MEP Community Project for 10th grade and the IB CAS projects in 11th and 12th grade. Service learning is a very important piece of the IB program and we would like to pave the way for our students and allow them to get the most out of their educational experience.
We are eager to be able to put these new improvements in place. Please talk to your child about what they are doing in their CREW class and stay up to date on all their fundraising efforts and service learning.
by Lural Ramirez | Jan 22, 2020
Futuro Verde has long prided itself on our student success with graduation exams and we are proud, each year, of our students and their achievements academically. The academic results for any school are very important and we know how much our students’ success in elementary, middle and high school continue to pave the way for their university acceptance and university success. Prospective and current parents alike often consider our exam results to be a sign of the quality of teaching and learning at Futuro Verde. Like it or not, exam results continue to be an important factor in ongoing access to post-secondary opportunity and success.
For years, when we only had the MEP diploma to offer, we would anxiously await our exam results each year and we’re fortunate to proudly share the 100% success trend year after year. Now, with students working toward a new goal with our IB diploma option in conjunction with our MEP Costa Rican diploma and the option for IB certificates as well, we are reconsidering our approach to revealing the details of our students’ results. So, why the reticence to share more and make a bigger deal about student exam results moving forward? We will share with you three main points and some specific details that explain our new policy moving forward.
- Futuro Verde is a mission and vision driven school. Parents continually share with us how much they see and feel our mission and vision day in and day out as they visit and interact with our school and our students. Our mission and vision speak to the preparation of our students to be critical thinkers, to be fully bilingual and environmentally minded and to strive to promote a harmonious world on a local and global scale. Examination results, though important and often sought out as measures and determinants of success, prove wholly inadequate in measuring a child’s true ability in the foundational ways of thinking and of being that we seek to develop in our students.
- Our second main concern with over-emphasizing student exam results relates to a growing trend worldwide to be much more mindful of student well-being. An ever present pressure for perfectionism, irrationally high expectations and overly competitive environments for learning and youth development, as shown by current research, such as that summarized in the following two articles: BBC article on the rise in toxic perfectionism, article on role of parents and teachers regarding student well-being, are leading to a mental health crisis never before seen among our children and young adults. Over emphasis on the part of our school and our community on the exam results of our students leads to a deterioration of our students’ well-being.
- The third, yet primary, reason for our shift in approach to sharing student results speaks to the nuance Futuro Verde now lives of student exam success. Students at Futuro Verde can choose among any number of paths to success, with each bar of success being slightly different, yet nonetheless meaningful, than the other. As only a sample of the many opportunities for success that our diploma students can choose from are: full IB Bilingual diploma and MEP diploma, only IB Bilingual Diploma, only MEP diploma, MEP diploma with IB course certificates, etc. With such a myriad of options, quantifying our student success with only one percentage number is no longer informative in any way. Furthermore, the IB Diploma offers a range of success, from a maximum of 45 points to a minimum of 24 points. Each of our students is unique and their challenges and support systems, as well as individual circumstances during exam time, can vary dramatically. No student should be made to feel that success comes only by receiving both full diplomas at top scores. For many students, hard work and top effort will bring with it a MEP diploma only and this success should be celebrated with the same heartfelt support as that given to our school’s high achieving students, of which there are many.
With these three main points in mind, we share some important specific details to consider:
- Futuro Verde students are developed in a holistic manner, with emphasis placed on their academic development, their commitment to service and their community, their emotional and physical strength and well-being and their ability to face an uncertain future with the thinking and communication skills that will ensure long-term success and adaptability. We focus on this holistic development, not on cramming for exams in order to maximize points received.
- Futuro Verde accepts students into our diploma program with all levels of ability and disability. We are inclusive, not exclusive, because we know that the learning characterized by an IB education is beneficial to all and accessible by all!
- All of our students, prek-12 receive an IB aligned education and all our students are encouraged to attempt the full IB diploma with MEP equivalency. Most schools only allow in a select few students into their IB program in an effort to pad their results as a school. Futuro Verde is committed to IB learning for all and a differentiated path to diploma success at the end of the journey with us.
So, if you are curious about our results as a school, we can share this with you: All graduating Futuro Verde 12th graders from our first graduation years ago and all the way to this year’s students in 2019 have achieved a diploma and the qualifications necessary to be accepted at the university of their choice. Because our class sizes at Futuro Verde are small and our emphasis on student well-being is paramount, we will not share the exact diploma each of our current graduating class has achieved. But, please know and remember:
- we are exceedingly proud of each and every one of our students and their respective success stories! They are hard-working, driven, kind and passionate and we can’t wait to see what they will do and become in the years to come.
- as a school, internally each year, we put substantial effort into looking at all of our exam results, both national and international, on a macro and micro level, in order to understand patterns, see trends, and consider where we can make structural, curricular, and instructional improvements moving forward.
So, this is why we will be shifting how we share student results now and in the future. We hope that in doing so we strike the correct balance between transparency and placing value on the right things- on student well-being, first and foremost, and on a respect for the complete and holistic development of our students and their preparedness for university and for life.
