by Tee McDougal | Oct 3, 2019
Who would have known that during the BHS conference here at Futuro Verde the staff would be offered complimentary registration for the 2019 La Cosecha Dual Language Conference! On November 13-16 Futuro Verde staff members Lural Ramírez, Khalida Lockheed, Paola Grijalba Araya, Vidhi Gada, Alannah Anglin, and Tee McDougal will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend and present at this important conference for dual language education. When the director for Dual Language Education in New Mexico, David Rogers, presented as the keynote speaker for the BHS conference he asked that Futuro Verde presenters consider presenting at the dual language conference in New Mexico. La Cosecha brings together educators, parents, and researchers from across the U.S. and several foreign countries. It offers a unique opportunity to share best practices and resources to educate children in multilingual and multicultural communities.
With this in mind, teachers from Futuro Verde will be presenting two different workshops at the conference. On is called, “Reflection and Metacognition Strategies in Upper Elementary and Secondary Grades.” This presentation, by Vidhi, Khalida and Tee, will focus on metacognitive strategies that teachers can use to help students identify error patterns and better retrieve information and skills learned. The other presentation, “Translanguaging Done Right: Transcending Traditional Additive Language Instruction” presented by Lural, Vidhi and Tee, will share with attendees the innovative “World Language” class that a team of teachers have developed here at Futuro Verde. There will also be opportunities to visit other presentations, network with dual language teachers and researchers, visit dual language classrooms in Albuquerque, and shop for new and innovative bilingual classroom resources. An exciting opportunity for Futuro Verde staff in New Mexico, “The Land of Enchantment.”
by Lural Ramirez | Aug 30, 2019
Over the course of this year I will be sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in July explored the third of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: Our cultural oxygen expands your curiosity”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our fourth core school value.
Futuro Verde: We Take the Best of our Diversity to Live in Harmony
What a gift it is to belong to an international school community like ours! Did you know that not all international school communities are the same? Frequently you will find international schools where English is the only language taught. Other international schools may be located in a country different to their curricular offering that is tied strictly to a British, American or Australian framework for learning and the host country for the school is often not reflected in the school culture. Most other international schools are also geared toward educating only the economically privileged members of the community. As you most likely already know, none of these international school tendencies describe Futuro Verde!
Futuro Verde is an international school unlike most others! Here are some of the fascinating facts about our diverse community:
- Each year our student population is made up of students from around 33 unique countries from around the world.
- Over 60% of our student population is Costa Rican.
- Most years we boast over 10 unique native languages spoken in our students’ homes.
- Our school staff come from 14 different countries, with four English dialects taught and five Spanish dialects represented.
- We are a fully bilingual school, providing instruction equally amounts of time in Spanish and English from ages 3-18.
- A minimum of 30% of our students each year receive some form of financial aid in order to attend school with us.
- We are a secular school that welcomes all forms of belief and spiritual practice and our staff and student population is full of diversity in faith as well.
It is an amazing thing, if you think about it, that so much rich diversity has gathered in this little corner of the world! But, by far, the best part of our diversity is the harmony we keep with one another. In an ever divisive world, a global and diverse microcosm like Futuro Verde offers an opportunity to grow in tolerance, acceptance and open-mindedness and we strive to lead in the commitment to promoting a more peaceful and harmonious world. Thank YOU for forming part of the inspiring community that is Futuro Verde!
by Hileyn | Aug 26, 2019
In our institution ethics, research, and information literacy are very important, which is why teaching and guiding our students to locate reliable, safe and credible sources for academic writing and to make sound decisions both in and outside of school is high on our list of priorities.
EBSCO is the most reliable database in the field of education, a valuable and verified information tool available to students, which will help them find the resources they need to perform their academic tasks and learn about specific topics, making their academic research being more effective and credible.
It takes a transition process for search preferences to point to EBSCO compared to more traditional search engines, which, although they may be a faster and simpler option, have the disadvantage of not being reliable sources.
With training in how to search for information within a world full of technology and with the constant use of the EBSCO database, students will develop more qualified search competencies that prepare them for a more advanced academic and professional world, such as university.
EBSCO opens the doors to digitally reliable, reviewed and certified resources from all over the world. The use of this tools allows us to find resources such as: prestigious magazines, complete academic articles, electronic books, videos, maps, images and much more.
Hoping that these technological advances will benefit the student community in their learning and training process, EBSCO is one of the most important academic research tools at Futuro Verde, providing the assurance that what is produced within the institution is of high quality.
Futuro Verde EBSCO packages
We have databases that cover all the specific needs of our institution. At primary level, we have a subscription to more than 1000 ebooks, academic articles in the elementary field, and educational videos, all of which support our curricular goals from first grade to sixth grade, being of great benefit to both teachers and students.
At secondary level, we are subscribed to more than 5,000 prestigious academic journals, have access to the best ebooks with topics related to high school, to support for teachers regarding pedagogy, adolescence and learning methods, to a Premier Academic Source, and to a database specialized in secondary schools with over 8,800 available titles for students to gain information from quality primary sources.
IB students also have access to their own databases, designed with academic excellence in mind and containing information for their professional growth through full texts and thousands of photos, maps, and more.
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Aug 4, 2019
What a successful Conference on Bilingual, Holistic, and Sustainable education we had this year! Now in it’s fifth year, the BHS conference is a valuable opportunity to provide our staff and educators from near and far, students, parents, and other community members with a rich learning experience which might otherwise not be easily accessible from our location.
There were twenty presentations over the two days with keynote addresses by David Rogers, a leader in the dual language education community. Other presentations covered a wide range of topics including: artful thinking routines, the strengths of quiet students, reflection and metacognition in math assessments, whether vegetarianism is sustainable, and the diversity and richness of musical traditions in Costa Rica. Students took part in presentations, attended sessions, and gave wonderful performances to entertain the conference attendees during breakfast and lunch. In the end it was a wonderful event which benefited greatly from this integration and interaction of people of all ages and backgrounds.
For many it was not their first BHS, while for others it was their first experience. However, everyone was unanimous in their praise for this year’s conference, reporting that they finished the two days feeling inspired and grateful that they had shared a wonderful experience together.
by Lural Ramirez | Jun 28, 2019
Over the course of this year I will be sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in May explored the second of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: Feeling safe and comfortable to be ourselves helps our learning to thrive”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our third core school value.
Futuro Verde: Our cultural oxygen expands your curiosity
But, wait…what is cultural oxygen? As our former school counselor, David Brookshire, who coined the term, said: “Our school culture is so palpable, you breath it!” He isn’t the only person to proclaim that there is a feel to Futuro Verde. Futuro Verde is truly a unique community! There are aspects of the school you can point to that are great examples of our culture and then, much like the oxygen we breathe, we have aspects to our school culture that are much less palpable. But, when you enter the school gate you are bound to exit that same gate some day with an expanded personal curiosity!
Speaking with our 12th graders, all International Baccalaureate (IB) students, they identified the following palpable and non-palpable school culture components:
- Do the right thing! Not because you are afraid of getting into trouble but because you want be a person who does the right thing.
- Be open-minded and seek to understand your peers that are so different than yourself.
- Make connections all of the time: to your own life, to the place you live, to other places you have lived or traveled, to what you have read or to what you are learning in other classes at Futuro Verde!
- Find a passion and go for it- without fear! You will be supported and loved as you take risks. You are not likely to be criticized when you try new things (and aren’t perfect yet) here at Futuro Verde!
- Make sure you are always thinking because you will always be asked what you think- about an environmental issue, about a subject you are studying, about something happening in the world, or even about what you want to learn and how you want to learn it!
- Come in peace! We don’t welcome conflict, anger or hate. But come with your own criteria, your arguments and be ready to share them so that others can hear them.
- We welcome you! You, person X with X characteristics and X beliefs! You belong here too!
This unique culture is a breeding ground for an expanding curiosity! Once you let your guard down, and find the differences you notice interesting and intriguing, you become innately curious. Quickly, as a student at Futuro Verde, you find it interesting to be open to learning about the world around you and the people within it. What is better than that? With curiosity at our center, we are guaranteed to be life-long learners! And with Futuro Verde deep in your heart and soul and lungs, you are guaranteed to be a good, open-minded, connected, passionate, peaceful thinker and human being. You keep your uniqueness and you enrich it with us!
by Lural Ramirez | May 7, 2019
Have you heard about Futuro Verde’s annual education conference held on our campus on the last Thursday and Friday of June each year? Attendees from years past can attest to how unifying the conference is with attendance by educators, community members, parents and students from around the peninsula, Costa Rica and the world.
This year’s conference is gearing up to be another great experience! Click on the link below to register and read the flyer below for details on the basics of registering and getting involved in this year’s conference! And, don’t forget! Our Call for Proposals is currently open for submissions. If you are an educator or community member with something to share in the area of bilingual, holistic or sustainable education, submit your proposal today!
Registration Form
Call for Proposal
