by David Brookshire, MPH/ School Counselor & Special Education Case Manager | Feb 14, 2018
Our IB learner profile value for the month of March is “Inquirers.” We define this value in the following way:
“We develop or natural curiosity. We acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. We actively enjoy learning and the love of learning will be sustained throughout our lives (IB 2017).”
At Futuro Verde, Constructivism, as a philosophy of education, is the notion that students construct knowledge and understanding out of their experiences. With reflection, the student can assess what they are learning and how their understanding changes over time. By asking questions and exploring, students essentially learn how to learn. With an emphasis on project based and experiential learning, our students get a chance to regularly develop their natural curiosity inside the classroom and throughout their day. This is reinforced during our weekly Peace Practices meeting as we explore different ways to be good inquirers when we come together as a community.
Developing natural curiosity at home can be reinforced by constantly asking questions and encouraging our children to ask questions as well. Helping them expand on their thoughts and ideas can be easy and fun when we ask clarifying questions utilizing the 5 W’s. When we get in this habit with our children, especially from a young age, it trains their brain to seek more information and expand their ideas. How? What? When? Where? Why? These simple words can be a great tool for creating a natural love of learning by engaging in a dialogue and creating conversation that allows for regular expansion of questioning and expression of ideas. With practice at home, being inquisitive at school and throughout life becomes a natural part of how we explore our world and communicate with others.
by Lural Ramirez | Feb 2, 2018
Did you know that parents and students are expected to review the school handbook each year?
From year to year, we make important adjustments to aspects of the school handbook that need to be improved for clarity or due to policy changes. Please open the link below to access the full handbook and please notify me if you have any questions or concerns related to the content within.
The following parts of the handbook are of special importance to review as changes have been made in these areas, among others:
- Calendar and General Schedule
- Student Departure From School Grounds
- Uniform
- Attendance/Tardies
- Assessment Policy
- Report Cards/Conferences
Thank you for taking the time to review the handbook and to understand our whole school policies!
Handbook 2018 – Click to download
Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation
by Lural Ramirez | Jan 24, 2018
2018 is a year of strong retention from the 2017 school year at Futuro Verde! With only two new staff members joining of our team of committed and passionate educators we give a warm welcome to our new staff.
Eugenia Allen, middle school science, health, french and sports teacher
Eugenia was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. She graduated from high school with an IB diploma, making her uniquely qualified to understand the student experience in an IB World School! Eugenia’s love for nature led her to study biology at the University of Costa Rica. She then worked as a science teacher at a bilingual school in San José. For years, Eugenia was a part of the Costa Rican national team, representing in Tennis and Track and Field. At the start of 2017, Eugenia moved with her husband and two sons to the Nicoya peninsula seeking a new way of life for herself and her family. She is overjoyed to become a staff member at Futuro Verde and excited for the opportunity to help impact the lives of students and to develop in them the critical thinking skills needed to achieve their personal goals. In her free time, Eugenia likes to run, ride her mountain bike and go on fun trips with her family.
Andrew Robey, 5th and 6th grade English subjects teacher
Andrew is from the southwest of the U.K and was born and raised by a beach, which has shaped his love for the natural world and sports. He was involved in a lot of sports coaching from a young age, the enjoyment he gained through coaching led him to complete further educational training. He has a first class honours in Sports Performance and Coaching and a Post Graduate Diploma in primary Education from Exeter University. He is interested in sustainability and studied environmental science, completing a six month internship at the Green School in Bali where he helped to plan and implement project based learning initiatives focusing on sustainability. He is passionate about seeing people involved in learning applied to the real world and allowing a sense of autonomy and confidence to grow. He is very excited to come to Costa Rica, learn about the country, its culture and people. Andrew is a qualified beach lifeguard, surf instructor and surf life saving coach, so when not at school he will most likely be in the sea!.
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Jan 20, 2018
The start of every school year brings some new things to get excited about, and this year is no different!
Middle and high school students in grades 7-10 will be offered greater choice than ever before in the areas of physical education, the arts, and a third language.
Just some of the highlights include:
- Visual arts and music electives will be offered on a semester basis. This will allow students more hours per week to focus on the visual arts or music course they are taking. As they move up the grades, students will be able to select visual art or music courses that interest them, depending on availability and space.
- All 7th-grade students will embark on a Classical Languages course with Don Byrne, while students in 8th and 9th grades will be given the option of studying Classical Languages with Oscar Leal Méndez or French with Eugenia Allen. It is worth noting that French is for students who are new to or have little experience with the language. It is not designed for those who are already advanced or native speakers.
- Athletic director Alejandro Ramírez, with the support of Eugenia Allen, will be incorporating more options and choice, while still focusing on a core offering for all students. The list of choices for the entire year is yet to be finalized but the first choice will be between swimming and mountain biking.
We are excited to bring even more to our holistic offering at Futuro Verde. As the school year starts, students will hear much more about our offering of electives. Make sure you ask your middle or high school student what fun and exciting things they are up to!
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Dec 26, 2017
Accreditation ✅
New IB uniforms ✅
New students enrolled ✅
Classrooms, computer lab, library, science lab ✅
Resources ✅
Futuro Verde has reached the end of one episode and is ready to start a new and exciting one – implementation of the IB Diploma Program! We passed the accreditation process with flying colors and received great comments, yet there is still an air of apprehension, and nerves sometimes bubble to the surface. This has been a topic of conversation in class during the last few weeks and months. It is understandable, as we head into the unknown. Students wonder if they are ready, capable, and strong enough to study in two languages? Teachers feel the pressure to do the best they can for their students. It’s a great responsibility to be part of the process as students shape their futures.
Nerves are normal as something new is on the horizon. However, we must not let nerves disable us. Yes, IB is new, we know it’s rigorous and challenging, but we won’t know for sure until we try! The problem with nerves is that they can be infectious. Before you know it, you and those around you can be caught in a spiral of worry and depression. Take each week, each day, each class, one step at a time and try and stay detached from the drama of those around you. Sometimes our pessimism can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we perceive something to be “too difficult” we back off. “What’s the point? I’m going to fail anyway!” Once we’re determined something is too hard, we are sometimes tempted to give it less effort. With that negative mindset, we put ourselves at an automatic disadvantage, focus less on the task at hand, don’t do well, and then say, “See! I told you I would fail!” Finally, the thing to remember is that when things get hard, opt for grit not quit. Dig deep, look for support, organize your time and finish!
This is going to be an exciting journey for our first group of IB students and their teachers and parents.
by Lural Ramirez | Dec 26, 2017
As Futuro Verde moves into its first year as an IB World School, we are excited for some new curricular changes in 2018 that will benefit students at all ages and stages in our school and better prepare all students for their new end goal of an IB diploma!
In preschool and primary school:
- Two sessions of mindfulness classes for each grade, each month- keeping kids in touch with their emotions and on the path to a healthy, calm and mindful self
- Weekly library time- to listen to a story read aloud by our librarian Daniela Ugalde and to check out or renew a book from our school library, which boasts over 5,000 unique titles at all reading levels. Building their love for reading one book at a time!
- CREW time twice weekly- this extension of ‘homeroom’ assures everyone in class is a part of the crew, no passengers allowed. A great time to set class goals, reflect and build community!
All of these changes come in addition to the holistic offering Futuro Verde has always shown commitment to: swimming, physical education, art, music, environmental education, comparative language study, global studies, technology classes, peace practices and all the basic subjects required under Costa Rican law and our MEP accreditation.
In middle and high school:
- Electives! Choose between-
- Physical education options: for the first trimester students will choose between swimming and cycling to complement their general physical education classes. Each new semester will bring fun new options to choose from!
- Additional languages: French or Classical Languages
- The Arts: choose which semester to take music or visual arts
- CREW time twice weekly- same goals as in primary and preschool grades with an added emphasis on self-management and organizational skills.
For students in 11th grade, the choices abound:
- Language Arts and/or Acquisition: Literature (Spanish), Language and Literature (English), English B or Spanish B
- Business Management
- Biology
- Math Studies
- The Arts: Music or Visual Arts
For all IB classes, students choose from within each group and, additionally, which classes they would like to take at a higher level. These classes come in addition to their Core classes: Theory of Knowledge, CAS and Extended Essay.
It is looking like it will be a fantastic 2018 school year ahead at Futuro Verde!
