12th Grade Comes to Futuro Verde in 2019!

12th Grade Comes to Futuro Verde in 2019!

All year long we have been celebrating our 10th anniversary as a school, years that have brought impressive changes and accomplishments. 2019 is right around the corner and we are thrilled to soon be adding in the 12th grade year to our currently pre-school through 11th grade school!

In 2019 Futuro Verde will boast the following levels:

  • Preschool Department: two classrooms and two teachers, one native-English speaker and one native-Spanish speaker
    • Preeschool: 
      • prekinder, 3 years old by Feb. 15
      • kinder, 4 years old by Feb. 15
    • Prepa
      • prepa, 5 years old by Feb. 15
  • Primary School: six grades, 1st through 6th grade. Students have two teachers, one native-English speaker and one native-Spanish speaker. Teachers are paired together at two grade levels (1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and 5th and 6th), so your child could have the same set of teachers for two years in a row.
  • Middle School: 7th and 8th grades in 2019 will have a slightly gentler introduction into our secondary program. Middle schoolers work with slightly fewer teachers than their high school counterparts, but still move into a secondary model by travelling from class to class and beginning to have electives to choose from.
  • High School: 9th through 12th graders make up our high school program.
    • 9th and 10th grades are the introduction to high school and a time when students transition into a more rigorous curriculum. 10th graders start a service class, called pre-CAS that prepares them well for the IB program to come and begin to worry about their GPAs and start to make post-secondary plans.
    • 11th and 12th grades make up our International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP). A two-year program, students take social studies and civics MEP exams in 11th grade and IB exams over the course of the two years, with final IB exams toward the end of year two of the program. Successful 11th and 12th graders have the opportunity to earn both the MEP diploma AND the IB diploma! Emphasis is placed in the IB DP on confirming post-secondary plans and preparing for life as young, independent citizens of the world.

As you can see, 12th grade completes the Futuro Verde continuum education! As an IB World School we take the concurrency of learning across grade levels seriously and we are proud to make 2019 the year our school is finally complete!

IB @ FV – Learning so much together

IB @ FV – Learning so much together

IB World School, Costa Rica, Bilingual school, International Education, IB school

While we excitedly await the arrival of our new high school and IB English teacher, Vidhi Gada, I have been the substitute teacher for our 11th-grade students. Often we teach what we already know, but I think I have the most fun when I learn with the students. Did you know that Shakespeare invented countless words and phrases that we use in English? 1,700 words actually, and countless was one of them.  You just can’t get “too much of a good thing!” (Shakespeare). I feel the same teaching Business Management. It has re-awakened my passion for the subject and I find myself spending hours reading the business news and researching company statistics. It’s all worth it when you see students light up and get involved with their learning as well. Show them how to learn, model how to learn, and most importantly model how fun it is to learn.

We have made an auspicious (thanks Shakespeare!) start to our IB program. We’re learning so much and learning together – not just facts and figures, but about ourselves and each other. Students continue to learn how to research, how to write according to the MLA style guide, and to question not only their sources but what they think they know or believe. They are starting to plan their Extended Essay as well as their Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) project, and have already completed some IB Internal Assessments which will contribute to their final grade. Oh! And we’re talking about university applications as well!

With so much going on we are all learning something else that is very important. Organizing their priorities and time will be the key to our students’ success. There is a lot to do in IB. There is no getting away from that. It is a rigorous program of study and makes a lot of demands on students. An important realization must be that classwork and homework is not optional and deadlines are not suggestions! Some might have to adapt their outlook and how they use their time. For example, the weekend can still be a time for relaxation and fun, but sometimes it’s not. What I have seen so far is that those who put in the time and effort are really moving forward and making big gains.

So students, dig deep, be resilient, accept that it’s important to do your best work, stay up to date, and don’t forget to ask for help and support. We’re here for you! The IB diploma program is about many things, including building character and developing lifelong learning skills. It’s also about scoring as high as possible to give yourself as many opportunities as possible in the future. You can do it!

When Do We Get our Multi-use Sports Court?

When Do We Get our Multi-use Sports Court?

sports, ib school, international education

For over a year now Futuro Verde students, staff, parents and our greater school community have worked together to raise the funds needed for a multi-use sports court for the school. With our efforts thus far we have raised over $5,000. The total cost of the court is estimated at $40,000, which would include the court base and roof.  Our board president, Rico Reolon, has been working hard to secure an external donor willing to support the funding needed for our court and just this last month the good news came in- a Swiss donor has committed to $20,000 toward our sports facilities!

We held a surprise announcement with our staff and students and filmed the moment to share with our social media community and as a thank you to our donor. Students and staff celebrated in full- overjoyed to have achieved such impressive progress on this important goal for our school community! It is never lost on our school community that we have and continue to thrive thanks to the support of generous donations just like our current Swiss donors and we are tremendously grateful for this ongoing support.

Phase one of construction for the sports court will begin as soon as possible. This phase will complete the court base and will boast a purpose-built facility designed for:

School Enrichment

  • Basketball
  • Indoor football (soccer)
  • American 5-man football
  • Handball
  • Goalball
  • Acrobatic gymnastics
  • Artistic gymnastics
  • Volleyball
  • Tennis
  • Hockey (roller skate and tennis shoe)
  • Badminton

Community Enrichment

  • Pilates classes
  • Yoga classes
  • Zumba
  • Dance classes
  • Crossfit
  • Group recreation activities

Multipurpose Uses

Community and school events

  • Assemblies
  • Guest speakers
  • Civic events
  • Band practices
  • Graduation

We would love to achieve Phase 2 of the sport court construction, primarily the construction of a roof over the facility and bathrooms, showers and lockers, and encourage donors interested in supporting this to contribute to our current online campaign. Thank you!

Donate here
Importance of Preschool Learning

Importance of Preschool Learning

preschool education, bilingual kinder education

When I was in New Zealand in 2015 studying their education system, I was awe struck by their commitment to early childhood education.  The government of New Zealand funds 20 hours of preschool for every child beginning at age 3.  New Zealand has a vision for the members of their society to be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners.  They value excellence, innovation, inquiry and curiosity, diversity, equity, community and participation, ecological sustainability, and integrity.  They also know that the path to confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners begins at birth. They understand that an investment in preschool is cost effective because it only strengthens the economic and physical health and well-being of their society in the future.  

I left New Zealand wishing that preschool were an option for every child in every country.  Wherever preschool is optional and/or unfunded, it vastly downplays the importance of its role in a child’s development.  Preschool is a place for exposure to language and numbers and science and the arts, and it is also the place where children form reciprocal relationships with peers and adults outside of their family.  Where they learn to take turns and take responsible risks and problem solve.  Preschool should be neither glorified babysitting nor kindergarten delivered earlier.  Whereas reading, writing, and math should not be withheld from our youngest learners, the primary focus of preschool should be social and emotional development.  When children don’t first learn to recognize, name, and problem solve their own emotions and conflicts, it makes academic learning of primary school content much more difficult.  Going to preschool is like laying the foundation upon which a house will be built.  It is time consuming and, if done right, eventually overlooked as the more interesting parts of the house are constructed.  But if it is missing, it is much more difficult to find solid footing upon which to lay the bricks of the house.  

Caring in the community

Caring in the community

Caring, beach clean up, sustainable education

by Kira Patterson and Alessia Soares, 10th grade.

In the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, we are surrounded by nature and happy people. How do we keep our community so pure? We care for our community and all try to step in and help in some way. For example, by organising beach clean ups, like we’ve been doing in Futuro Verde for the last few years. Most of us enjoy going to the beach in our free time and like it to be a clean environment for children to play in and a safe one for the local wildlife. Another example is the current recycling campaign in Montezuma where local people are getting involved. In Santa Teresa, there are many kids who don’t have the privilege of easy access to a surfboard or have the money to enter a local surf contest. Maykol Alarcon felt the need to make a difference, and takes a dozen local children surfing in Playa Hermosa every Saturday, along with volunteers from Jakera surf camp. This gives the children the opportunity to do one of the few sports that can be done in the community. He is also planning on extending this project by organising surf contests where they provide the competitors with a board and the subscription fee is free. Thanks to the people that organise all these events and initiatives, we are a community that shows empathy, compassion, and respects the needs and feelings of others.