by Lural Ramirez | Sep 20, 2018
Great news! Futuro Verde’s 2019 school calendar has been finalized! Every year our school leadership team works to develop the new school calendar for the coming year. It is a complex process, as we consider the following aspects:
- The minimum 200 school days (student contact and teacher development)
- The legal requirements regarding national holidays
- The most favorable dates for school events, traditions and trimester divisions
- Prioritization of holiday periods favorable to our diverse community’s needs and wants (a vacation period good for North Americans, another for Europeans and yet another favorable to our Tico community)
The talking and planning has come to an end and the 2019 calendar is ready! Key dates are listed here below and your complimentary 2019 calendar magnet will come once all your registration steps have been confirmed!
Feb 5th: First day of school
April 15th-19th: Spring Break
June 24-July 12th: Mid-year vacation
September 23-October 4: Winter vacation
December 12th: Last Day of School
December 13th and 14th: Conferences and grade reports
December 15th: Graduation
by Khalida Lockheed | Sep 18, 2018
Arts students from the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades have been exploring the Costa Rican traditions of masks and lantern, but with a twist!
Masks
Eighth graders made masks modeled on their faces and expressing some aspect of their personality or something which captured their interest. They ranged from patriotic to scary to a metaphorical emblem of life. Ninth and tenth grade visual art students learned traditional methods for creating large masks used for “mascarada”. They chose to portray traditional designs: the devil, a bull, a campesino, and La Segua. Their big discovery was the challenge associated with using traditional materials in such a wet climate and season: mold in a rainbow of colors!
Lanterns
While they created traditional “faroles” in their Civics and Social Studies classes, the high school visual arts students have had the opportunity to explore light as a medium for visual expression in art class, creating light sculptures. Eighth graders have been working on creating traditional reed and paper lanterns inspired by Asian lantern festivals and the light sculptures created by artist Stephen White. They contemplated their future goals and then abstracted forms for their lanterns based on visualizations of these goals. Ninth and tenth grade visual arts students went even further, using light to create sculptures through projections and site specific installations, as well as lanterns. They grappled with the concept of using light the same way an artists uses paint or clay. How can something as ephemeral as light be used to create a work of art? They came up with some interesting solutions and were inspired by the works of artists Margaret O’Rorke, Isamu Noguchi, Cai Guo-Qiang, Ai Wei Wei, and Yayoi Kusama.
These artworks and more will be on display at the Casa de la Cultura in Cobano on October 11th during our Culture Day Art Exhibition and Music Concert. We invite the whole community to join us in this cultural event!
Art and Music Festival
Our goals for the festival are:
- Offer a space for cultural exploration and celebration open to the entire peninsular community
- Exhibit works of art connected to the festival theme of Cultural Diversity
- Host a range of musical presentations
Projected participation during the festival:
- Musical presentation from Futuro Verde’s IB music program:
- Strings duet
- Trio
- Middle school band
- Musical presentation from all FV grades, prek through secondary
- Visual arts exhibit, gallery style, for students from the Futuro Verde IB visual arts program as well as students in preschool, primary and secondary at FV
Thank you for your support of arts in culture on the peninsula!
by Angie Briceño | Sep 22, 2017
October 12th, also known as the Day of Races or the Day of Cultures, is celebrated in the American continent to commemorate the discovery of the well-known explorer Cristobal Colon.
However, over the years, the main reason for this holiday has gradually changed into a celebration of the mix of cultures that’s been experienced all over America.
Costa Rica is not the exception. It enjoys a great cultural diversity, being the home of more than 47 nationalities. Our home, the Peninsula of Nicoya is a key place for interculturalism in our country and Futuro Verde is not left behind.
Here, in Futuro Verde, we share with more than 30 different nationalities among teachers, staff and families. We celebrate a diversity of cultures every day, always cultivating respect and tolerance towards others.
by Debbie Bruylant | Sep 21, 2017
Do you know how to determine the water quality of a river? What parameters should you take into account? What equipment do you need to carry out the analysis?
Four students from Futuro Verde inquired about these questions in the month of June 2017. Together with their environmental education teacher and three students from the National University, they explored the Danta River in Santa Teresa with the aim of evaluating its water quality in the framework of a project that seeks to promote the scientific learning of the students, generate awareness about the country’s water resources and involve students in community problems.
After an informative session at the institution, the students took samples of the Danta River at two different locations on June 3rd, 2017. Our student scientists came to the following conclusions: the visual analysis of the river clearly shows the effect of the lack of urban planning, the lack of macro-invertebrates is alarming in both points, and the physical and chemical parameters describe a river that suffers from contamination.
With the arrival of new scientific sampling equipment to our FV lab, we will be exploring more rivers in the community! One of the objectives of “We are all water” is to extend the activity to community members. If you are interested in learning about the water quality of the rivers in our area and collaborating with our student scientists we invite you to contact Javier Cáceres at
Javier@futuro-verde.org.
by David Brookshire, MPH/ School Counselor & Special Education Case Manager | Sep 18, 2017
Our IB learner profile value for the month of October is “Balanced.” This value is described by the International Baccalaureate organization in the following way:
“We understand the importance of intellectual, physical, and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others (IB 2017).”
My favorite way to discuss this topic with students comes from research in the field of positive psychology. The 5 ways to well-being are practices we can all incorporate in our lives, the research shows, to achieve intellectual, physical, and emotional balance. Here they are as a great reminder for how we can all make choices to enrich our own lives:
- Connect – By making connections with friends, family, colleagues. and neighbors, we add value to our lives with new experiences and opportunities. We can also connect with nature by prioritizing time outside.
- Be Active – By making time to move, exercise not only makes us feel good and it keeps us healthy. The benefits for mental health, physical health, and learning are profound and supported by decades of research.
- Take Notice – By being mindful, curious, and aware, like a child, we can see the wonder and beauty of the world around us. Noticing surroundings, with new appreciation, allows us to be present and grateful for all of the positive aspects of our lives
- Keep Learning – There’s no reason to ever stop learning. By trying something new, a new hobby you’ve been wanting to take up, or a more challenging task at work, challenges and novel experiences keep us alert and increase our confidence and satisfaction throughout the day.
- Give – Choosing to be generous, whether with time, knowledge, talents, or service; provides great reward for ourselves and those around us. It’s a true win/win for everybody and a great way to boost happiness.
By taking a proactive, mindful approach to balance and well-being, we can teach our children, and remind ourselves, how to create equilibrium and happiness in our lives.
