by Futuro Verde | Apr 30, 2022
Con la ayuda de nuestros voluntarios el pasado sábado, hemos completado o hecho progresos significativos en los siguientes proyectos:
Recogida de aguas grises y pluviales
Los voluntarios ayudaron a cavar un círculo de plátanos y a mejorar el drenaje del agua a lo largo de nuestro nuevo arroyo seco. Las tuberías de PVC de las aguas grises de los lavabos se redirigieron bajo tierra para eliminar los peligros de tropiezo y regar el bosque de alimentos. Para este proyecto se movió mucha tierra, por lo que fue uno de los proyectos más difíciles del día.
Mantenimiento del bosque de alimentos
Los voluntarios limpiaron el bosque de alimentos, reconstruyeron los caminos y reforzaron los parterres con troncos de árboles. Se podaron los plátanos y otras plantas y se añadió compost. Además, los voluntarios también plantaron una variedad de plantas como vetiver, cúrcuma, hierba de limón y yuca.
Pintura y limpieza general
Los voluntarios de este proyecto se centraron en pintar las puertas de la fachada de la escuela y en teñir toda la madera de la entrada de la escuela. Los voluntarios también se centraron en la limpieza general en todo el campus, la eliminación de la basura y el retoque de la pintura verde y blanca.
Esperamos organizar otro evento de embellecimiento en mayo para centrarnos en la finalización de los proyectos restantes, como la construcción del contenedor de compost, la creación de una valla para el jardín de la escuela, y la finalización de las mejoras de la infraestructura de agua de lluvia.
Un enorme agradecimiento a Green Wave por la donación de materiales para nuestro contenedor de compost y por proporcionar el tiempo a la experta en permacultura Irene para ayudar a implementar los principios de diseño en el campus. Y lo que es más importante, gracias a los estudiantes, padres, profesores y personal que han ofrecido su tiempo para que este evento fuera un éxito.
by Angie Briceño | Jan 5, 2022
This 2021-2022 school year we have seen tremendous growth and change in our educational community.
We feel very honored and proud that you have chosen our educational community for your children. Because of this, we always seek the best for them.
This year we have invested in new classrooms for our secondary classes, so that little by little we begin to divide secondary students from primary and preschool. This way each student body can enjoy their own designated space.
In addition, we have divided the high school to third grade classes into two groups, A and B, to ensure a student population of 15 students each and a maximum of 18 students per classroom at a time. This ensures more differentiated attention, thus reducing the groups from 25 to 18 students per class.
Growth in Futuro Verde is not only in classes and buildings, but also in the extracurricular area.
This year we are including ‘Personal and Community Project’ classes for grades 7-9 and the students are really enjoying them. Some of the projects they have started are; volleyball tournaments, creating bags made from recycled clothing to give to business, cookbooks based on cultural dishes related to heritage, learning more about caring for pets and sharing that knowledge with others, plus much more. These courses help students develop the attributes of the International Baccalaureate student profile such as being: bold, inquisitive, informed, educated, well-rounded, open-minded, supportive, balanced, reflective, excellent communicators, and profound thinkers. Additionally, these courses are excellent opportunities for students to explore new interests and arrive more prepared for the Pre-CAS and CAS courses in the 10th and 11th grades, respectively.
In the preschool and primary department, we continue to work on aligning all content to the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. This year we implemented a communal blackboard where primary teachers can share the work done in class along with work that is aligned with the transdisciplinary theme of the month. Thus having four transdisciplinary themes this year:
- ‘Who we are’
- ‘How the world works’
- ‘How we express ourselves’
- ‘Where we are in time and space’.
Lastly, we started this year with new courses in the artistic area as well as expansion in the athletics area. Art, dance, music, expression and theater give our students a development of knowledge which helps them enhance their skills which is as important as any other subject in school or college. We are fortunate to have teachers in the arts and athletics who are highly qualified and support students in discovering their potential.
The 2021-2022 school year is a short year but filled with new opportunities for our students!
by Karol Madrigal | Sep 20, 2021
The month of September is a month of celebration throughout Central America and, for this reason, in Costa Rica, for example, we call it “the month of the homeland”. This is because on these dates each country celebrates the important process that began the night before September 15, 1821, when the representatives of the towns that previously made up the Captaincy General of Guatemala, decided to draft a document to demand to declare themselves independent from Spain. Those people who fought together for their sovereignty in those years, are the current nations of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
In this way, events such as the journey undertaken by students from all over Central America with torch in hand, which begins on September 1 leaving Guatemala and ends, when it has passed from country to country, arriving in Cartago, Costa Rica on the night of September 14. This commemorates the journey that was made to bring the news of independence to each nation of the Captaincy, which was made with a torch that illuminated the way and today is a symbol of freedom.
At the end of the torch’s journey in Cartago, when it is received by the president of our country, it is customary to start the parade of lanterns, which reminds us of the moment when the neighbors of Guatemala went out at night, with lamp in hand, around the place where the act of independence was being drafted, to demonstrate their enthusiasm and support for such a decision.
However, the celebration does not end like that, since the news of independence generated so much joy among the people, that we can remember how every September 15 the streets were filled with the beating of drums and colorful parades that reflect the joy with which the Central Americans started on that road to freedom.
It has been 200 years of journey, in which they have struggled to build a solidary, peaceful and hard-working nation. The journey has not been easy and we are far from being a perfect nation, but we can feel grateful to have a soil that gives us shelter and provides us with tranquility and stability.
Whether it is because we were born in this little piece of land, or because at a certain moment we decided to make it our home, let us feel privileged to be celebrating another year of freedom.
by Stephanie Nuñez Jiménez | Aug 4, 2021
Here in Preschool it should come as no surprise that our priority is…FUN!
Yes, we are responsible for our student’s first experience of what school is and yes, we take that responsibility very seriously.
Yes, our students learn about the structure of school and what the expectations are for their behavior.
Yes, our students are learning how to socialize with other students, how to form friendships and how to resolve conflicts.
Yes, our students are engaged in a rigorous academic program where they are obtaining the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and critical thinking that they will require to succeed in future grades.
BUT… our philosophy of instruction is based on PLAY. Multiple studies over decades of research have shown that all students, but especially those 6 and under, learn most effectively when they are enjoying the learning process. In our classroom, we ensure that our instruction is play based by providing a variety of activities for our students to choose from during center time, allowing our students autonomy over their learning. We build up our skills to work on whole group projects, and go on journeys of investigation as a class. We allow the students to explore the concepts of each unit, taking into account a variety of learning styles: auditory, visual, reading and kinesthetic.
We are honored to be charged with the facilitation of an engaged and enjoyable relationship with learning for our littlest school citizens. We thank you for reading and leave you with one suggestion ….go outside and PLAY!
by Angie Briceño | May 18, 2021
We have reached the end of the first semester of the year of transition to the international calendar and the students have made a great effort despite the difficulties of the bimodality that has occurred on different occasions.
We are aware of the difficult times that our community and the country have been going through during these months and that they have been challenging for students, that is why we want to communicate the importance of attending the parent-teacher conferences that will be held virtually this coming June 9th and 10th. During the parent-teacher conferences you will be able to learn more about the performance of your child. . It is important to be prepared and take into consideration some aspects for these conferences:
- It is a two-way conversation that focuses on the student’s academic performance and emotional development. The conversation should inform the parent of how the student is doing in class and how the student can improve. Make sure you bring questions you can ask the teachers to learn more about your child’s classroom performance and emotional development.
- Just like you, as a parent, the teachers at Futuro Verde also want your child to succeed, that is why during the conferences you will be able to discuss possible areas of growth both academically and in their overall development. It is important for you to be ready to ask questions about how you can support your child at home as well as how you can support your child at school, and together be able to come up with an action plan.
- If you are still not sure about the Futuro Verde´s assessment in your child’s grade, now is a good time to ask about it.
- Share with teachers information about your child, what is your child good at, the areas your child needs more support, areas in which your child is passionate about, and areas your child may not be that interested.
After teacher conferences, the appropriate follow-up is very important:
- Take notes on all the information you received during the conference. What will the teachers be doing to support the student and what will you be doing at home to support your child.
- You can talk to the teachers during the conference and schedule a meeting some time after the parent-teacher conference to follow up on the action plan.
- Remember that parent-teacher conferences are about your child, so be sure to tell them! Tell them what you learned and how they will receive support from both school and home. Ask what he or she thinks about the plan and about the suggestions.
We hope to see you all at the parent-teacher conferences on June 9 and 10 to share with teachers and stay informed. Invitations for the virtual conferences will be sent out closer to the conference dates. Do not miss them!
by Angie Briceño | May 15, 2021
During this time of uncertainty, where the number of cases in our area has been increasing, Futuro Verde continues to work in order to provide educational services to all of our students. We improve and learn day by day which leads us to offer the modality of virtual lessons and in campus lessons. Our goal is to offer spaces for students where they can continue with their lessons without interrupting their learning process.
A group of teachers and members of the administrative team have worked hard creating the virtual schedules shared above and we will continue working on improving and offering the best virtual education to students when necessary.
It is important for you to consider that even though due to the positive cases of Covid-19 that have been presented in the past and that have forced us to change to on-line lessons in certain grades, these classes are still just as important as the in-person ones. We would like to share with you some tips to follow during these weeks:
- Keep basic materials handy, such as a notebook, white sheets of paper, and a pencil case with supplies.
- Follow the virtual class schedule so that your child can be accompanied by the teacher synchronously and asynchronously throughout the day.
- Contact the teachers at the end of the week and stay informed of your child’s progress.
If you have any questions, all the teachers and staff are here to help.
