by Noelia | Jan 10, 2020
Important dates for the first days of classes 2020
True to our Futuro Verde tradition of innovation and dedication, the 2020 school year brings many activities and positive changes to our educational center. Please find below the important dates to start the year off well.
January 20th: the Futuro Verde offices open.
February 10th: 12.30pm – 3 pm: Open House
February 11th: First day of classes from 1st to 12th grade. Preschool department, soft start: interviews with preschool students and families.
February 12th: Preschool Department, soft start: interviews with preschool students and families.
February 13th: First day of school for Prepa (no classes for Pre-K or Kinder).
February 14th: First day of classes for Pre-K and Kinder (there are no classes for Prepa).
March 4th, 3pm – 5pm: Back to School Night
by Lural Ramirez | Jan 9, 2020
As a small school, in a continual process of growth and development, each new school year brings with it improvements and changes aimed at reaching our goal of ongoing innovation and adaptation designed to meet the needs of our ever changing student population and the challenges of an ever-changing global reality. The 2020 school year is no exception and I share with you here some staffing and curricular highlights for the coming school year.
Curricular Changes
The 2020 school year will be a year of school wide redesign for mathematics! All of our subject areas go through a regular and programmed revision cycle and math has been an area of reflection, research and development this past 2019 school year. For the 2020 school year we are ready to fully roll out our modifications and adjustments. New approaches include:
Math
- A new math end goal in 11th and 12th grade: As you will remember, Futuro Verde students can receive both the MEP and IB high school diplomas through minimum scores in IB Math examination. Starting in 2020, all IB Math courses will follow the newly adopted framework which has us shifting from teaching IB Mathematics to teaching the Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation course which will be offered at Standard Level and is targeted at students who are interested in developing their mathematics for describing our world and for modelling and solving practical problems using the power of technology. Mathematics: Applications and interpretation is developed for students who do best with math when seen in a practical context.
- Redesign of curricular structure PreK-10th grade: In order to shift our mathematics instruction to better prepare students for this new math goal, we will be redesigning middle and beginning of high school math classes in order to integrate into more practical context, mathematical modelling and real world applications. In preschool and primary grades, math will be taught on both the English and Spanish side within a complementary format that will allow more minutes of math instruction weekly and the integration of more problem-solving opportunities.
- School wide implementation of IXL: IXL has been adopted at Futuro Verde since October of the 2019 school year, but the 2020 school year will bring with it systematic implementation of IXL within and outside the math classroom. IXL is intended to support, not replace, mathematics instruction and teachers will be using IXL as a tool designed to intervene when students are in need of filling gaps in their math development and also to extend learning when students have successfully attained a new concept or objective.
History Instead of Business in IB
The 2020 school year will bring with it a change in our IB programming. The switch will come in what is referred to as the Group 3 subject area, Individuals and Societies. Due to a staffing change, our 12th graders will finish with Group 3 Business Management and our 11th graders will now take Group 3 History.
MEP Graduation Requirements Change from Bachillerato to FARO
This year brings with it a switch across Costa Rica away from MEP graduation exams known as Bachillerato and a switch to the new exam format called FARO. The exact details of this change are still being finalized and communicated to schools, but as an IB World School we do not anticipate the transition impacting our students in a significant manner.
Integration of Information Sciences in Middle School
In 7th through 9th grade this year, students will combine their technology and library times for a new course called Information Sciences. This course will focus on using the knowledge of the Information Sciences as a tool within other subject areas; for research, effective use of MLA, wide reading, and word processing and presentation tools.
Staffing Changes
1st Grade Bilingual Assistant
As Futuro Verde continues to grow to full capacity at all grade levels, we are adding a new position this year with a bilingual assistant who will be assigned to accompany our 1st graders. This extra set of hands and presence will ensure that groups run effectively and smoothly and will allow for small group and individual attention and instruction as needed.
New Position: School Psychologist
This year we are proud to announce that we will be fully funding a full-time school psychologist! Massiel Arroyo is a certified, bilingual psychologist excited to join the Futuro Verde community in support of school climate and well-being as well as the individual counseling and support that may be needed by students, families and staff members at Futuro Verde.
New Position: Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics Specialist, 1st-9th grades
In an effort to provide a more complex and meaningful structure in primary grades, while providing additional teacher prep and collaboration time, we will be adding a Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics specialist for the 2020 school year. This new specialist will be working with all classes from 1st through 9th grades in social studies and civics only. We are very excited for this new opportunity and the scheduling and hiring flexibility it brings!
Integration of Music and Physical Education in PreK-3rd grades
With a change in teacher in our specialist generalist position in PreK to 3rd grade, along with the division of the art position into two separate positions, we will be reducing the subject matter for the specialist generalist to teaching only PE and music. With our new specialist generalist, Juan, on staff in 2020 we have the unique opportunity with two professional PE teachers, to integrate music and PE with choreography, rhythmic dance and collaboration between both PE teachers for meaningful music integration into PE for the PreK-3rd grades.
by Angie Briceño | Jan 8, 2020
Welcome to the 2020 school year! We hope it will be a rewarding school year for all!
Some important reminders for this new school year:
This year you will not receive a list of school supplies since the enrollment fee already includes the purchase of the school supplies for the year. So, you needn´t worry about going shopping because we already did it for you!
School Supplies
Parents pay a registration fee that includes the school’s purchasing of all school supplies that are shared items that a student will need throughout the year. Parents are in charge of purchasing for their child the following personal items:
- backpack
- reusable water bottle
- laptop (suggested for 7-8 and required for 9-12)
Please note the revised school policy regarding your child’s school uniform:
FV students must come to school each day in their appropriate uniform. Do you know which uniform is required for preschool and primary students and which one is required for middle and high school students? Please read carefully no make sure you are fully understanding which uniform is the correct one for your child!
Dress code- The official Futuro Verde uniform is slightly different for daily wear and official events (you will receive a prior notification by the director when an occasion requires the official uniform):
| Official Futuro Verde Uniform |
| Uniform shirt (green for prek-10 and navy blue for IB students) |
| Black or brown closed-toe, closed-heel shoes |
| Beige pants, skirt or shorts (skirts and shorts cannot be shorter than the student’s hand´s length above the knee) |
| Physical Education Uniform |
| Official Physical Education Uniform (athletic shirt and shorts) |
| Athletic footwear |
| Swimming Classes |
| One-piece bathing suit (or with a shirt on top if wearing a bikini) and/or
Swim shorts |
| Goggles |
| Non-official Futuro Verde uniform (for daily wear) |
Preschool to 6th: Beige pants, skirt or shorts
(skirts and shorts cannot be shorter than the student’s hand´s length above the knee)Middle and High school: Pants, skirt or shorts
(in any color but skirts and shorts cannot be shorter than the student’s hand´s length above the knee)IB students: Beige pants, skirt or shorts or jeans or dark blue shorts or pants
(skirts and shorts cannot be shorter than the student’s hand´s length above the knee) |
| Uniform shirt (green for prek-10, navy blue for IB) |
| Footwear: sandals, tennis shoes, shoes of any color |
Note: Students must wear a Futuro Verde uniform every day of the week. One of the prizes available to students at all grade levels as a part of our valores program is a “uniform free day”. If a student earns and uses a “uniform free day”, their clothes still need to meet the following requirements: skirts and shorts cannot be shorter than the student’s hand length above their knee, no transparent clothing, cleavage, or spaghetti straps, no inappropriate prints, etc.
Students who come to school without their full uniform will receive the following immediate consequences:
We remind parents that their child wearing the full and approved uniform is the responsibility of the parent only. Students who come without the appropriate uniform will need to purchase a full PE uniform set that they will then need to change into immediately and the uniform set will be automatically charged to the family as a part of the next month’s tuition. The child will NOT be allowed to call a parent to bring a change of clothes nor change into clothes that are appropriate that they have in their backpacks or within their personal items as this inhibits immediate attendance to classes and does not reflect a responsible and appropriate solution for a preventable uniform infraction.
Please help our students follow and comply responsibly with the school’s policies.
We wish you a happy start to the school year!
by Noelia | Jan 7, 2020
The new school year is fast approaching and at Futuro Verde, the preschool department is preparing to receive the students with our gentle start program, which is designed to provide a gradual and optimal transition to our youngest students. In order to ensure that the gentle start program is clear to all, you will find the details here below.
Gentle Start Schedule
February 10th, 12.30 pm – 3 pm: Open House
Open-door event for the entire school, including the preschool department, to learn about the school, teachers and staff who will work with and support your child all year.
February 11th and 12th: Preschool Department, Gentle Start: interviews with preschool students and families.
Futuro Verde office staff will arrange appointments for individual meetings with each family. During this appointment, families meet with the two preschool teachers to get to know each other, share important details about the students and reach an agreement regarding the goals for the year.
February 13th: first day of school for Prepa (no classes for Pre-K or Kinder).
Both teachers work together on this day to meet our preparatory students and ensure that students adapt to their new role as older students in our preschool department.
February 14th: First day of classes for Pre-K and Kindergarten (no classes for Prepa).
It’s our little ones’ turn to have the day just to themselves! The two preschool teachers work together on this day to meet our Kinder and Pre-K students and ensure that they feel comfortable starting the new school year.
February 17th: All students in the preschool department have their first day of school together, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
by Katie Chiaverini | Jan 6, 2020
All Futuro Verde students and families are cordially invited to join us at our Open House on February 10th from 12:30 to 3 pm. This is a great time to check out the recent updates on the school campus as well as meet new staff members. In the past, families were asked to bring all their school supplies but that is not necessary this year as all supplies were purchased with a portion of the matriculation fee. All of the teachers will be able to organize and label materials before students arrive, so exciting! Each student will receive their Futuro Verde School Planner on this date with their class schedule inside.
All students and families will get to personally meet their teachers and ask any questions, while also getting to know their classrooms for the 2020 school year. Futuro Verde school uniforms will be available for purchase as well. Please come and help us kick off the 2020 school year, we expect it to be an exciting one with lots of positive changes!
by Angie Briceño | Jan 2, 2020
On December 19th, 2019 our first IB generation graduated, what an exciting day for everyone!
Even more exciting is the great opportunity that Futuro Verde has presented to 12th graders, the John Dolan Scholarship for the start of the university career!
As you know, John Dolan highly valued the importance of quality education, therefore his family showed great commitment in founding the John Dolan Scholarship Fund. Now, the 12th grade students who meet the requirements will have another incredible opportunity that comes from the legacy of John Dolan, which is that those who obtain the IB Diploma and have entered the university may be granted the $ 1000 John Dolan scholarship to launch their university career. We are very grateful to John Dolan and his family for this incredible opportunity to support students to begin a new stage of their educational career and we wish them all success in this new adventure.
And remember that education is our passport to the future because tomorrow belongs to the people who get prepared for today.
