by Angie Briceño | Feb 3, 2020
Picture: Elonce Paraná (2015). Youth “ambassadors” start the debate at the IV Uniting Goals Meeting. Taken from www.elonce.com
This year brings new experiences for high school students as two big opportunities for cultural and global learning are coming to Futuro Verde!
Model United Nations is a simulation in which students from diverse educational institutions represent diplomats from different UN member countries. Each participating student must study topics relevant to the country they represent, such as culture, economics, domestic and foreign policy, and general features of the society they represent. Students go through various stages before they can compete at the national or international level. These stages include preparation and sessions; the sessions stage may take place within the school, between schools, and eventually competing to reach the international level.
The Youth Ambassador Program is a program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in which interested students can apply for an exchange to the United States, where they participate in activities with other international students focused on topics such as interculturality, mutual respect between different countries and cultures, civility, community development, and others. Students who wish to apply to this program must go through a rigorous process with the U.S. Embassy. However, this process is well worth the effort because of the experience and learning that will benefit those who are selected. The program is a 3-week exchange for students between the ages of 15 and 18.
Once again, we encourage parents to encourage their children to take part in these great initiatives. We look forward to a fruitful 2020!
by Angie Briceño | Jan 30, 2020
Futuro Verde has been characterized by promoting activities that develop not only students’ academic abilities, but also their skills as human beings in all areas of life, such as arts, mathematics, science, service learning, civics, community and global education, as well as opportunities to experience the cultural diversity that Futuro Verde cultivates within and outside the physical space of the school.
It is incredibly important for children and young people to take part of these activities. This participation becomes an important part of their development as human beings, as it allows students to take an active role in their own educational process. By responsibly assuming this role, they create habits that will stick with them throughout their lives. These activities also bring great benefits in different areas of students’ lives such as improved self-esteem, time management, interpersonal relationships, communication skills, sense of belonging and motivation for their studies.
The year 2020 brings with it even more opportunities for students to develop these skills. We invite all parents to encourage their children to be part of student life at Futuro Verde.
by Lural Ramirez | Nov 3, 2019
Over the course of this year I have been sharing with you reflections on our school’s core values. My article in September explored the fourth of five core school values, “Futuro Verde: We Take the Best of our Diversity to Live in Harmony”. Today, I will be sharing reflections on our fifth and final core school value.
Futuro Verde: We Grow and Learn in Harmony with Nature
With a name like Futuro Verde, this final core school value might be the most obvious one to pop into your mind! Futuro Verde has green in its name but most importantly we are truly ‘green’ in our hearts- not perfect in our ecological footprint but certainly striving and working hard to be the model of what green, sustainable, harmonious living with nature can be like. From one year to the next our commitment strengthens and grows and here is a quick sampling of how we grow and learn in harmony with nature at Futuro Verde:
Purpose-built new classroom construction:
Our board of directors and leadership team has purposefully committed to our new construction, regular education classrooms having half walls, no doors and no traditional windows. Why, you might ask? Because we are located in the middle of the jungle and we want our students to feel connected to that beautiful jungle each and every day as they learn and grow! The design also has a practical purpose as the air flow keeps the space cool and lets moisture in and out as needed.
A full permaculture campus is in the works:
Through a long-standing collaboration with our fiscal sponsor, Green Wave, we are dedicated to the development of a campus wide alignment to permaculture practices and restoration of our green spaces. This design includes development that takes the land, flow of air and water and the needs of the community into consideration before ground is broken and building and development begins. As our Green Wave consultant is prone to say “the problem is the solution!”. This beautiful mindset shift is an inspiring guide post as we learn and grow in this area.
School-wide environmental campaigns:
Most of our community already knows about our trimester beach clean-ups which are a dependable and welcome service project our students participate in three times per year at a range of our local beaches. But, you may not have known about the on-site, open to the community recycling center we have, or the compost bins run by our students? Perhaps you’ve never heard of our program to support wild animals staying wild or our farm to table goals through our student-developed garden? Our environmental campaigns are many, are led by our environmental education teachers and our students at every grade level and are supported by each and every school teacher, staff member and community member who joins us in this strong commitment to the environment!
One of our newer aspects as a school when we consider the importance of living in harmony in nature is serving as an advocate for our beloved mother Earth! As the years have passed, as our school has grown and as our level of academic rigor has continued to improve, our students are increasingly working as activists and advocates for policy change, awareness campaigns and social and political influence regarding environmental and nature related topics. As a school we also have an ongoing commitment to, and work intentionally with, the Global Goals, especially in the sense of raising awareness among our students and encouraging their advocacy and activism related to a variety of different areas related to sustainability within the Global Goals framework, to include: education, citizenship, equality, environment and health.
We encourage our entire school and greater community to continue to support our school’s commitment to a life filled with connection to nature and a determination to seek a harmonious existence with the nature in our lives and a dedication to ongoing development, growth and learning from each of us every day as we strive to best support the health and longevity of our Earth!
by Stuart Millar, IB coordinator | Nov 1, 2019
October is a busy month in the International Baccalaureate calendar for schools on a November exam schedule such as Futuro Verde. Grades for internal evaluations have to be submitted, along with the required supporting materials. Internal evaluations come in different forms: individual orals about works of literature; interactive or group orals; research projects in Business Management, Biology, and Math; the Visual Arts exhibition; and musical creating and performing. This year our students have composed music, performed, exhibited their works of art and undertaken research projects about the correlation between sports activity and academic achievement, whether a local hotel should target the holistic wellness segment of the hospitality industry, and to determine if there is a correlation between cases of Tuberculosis and the Human Development Index (HDI) in Europe. Internal evaluations are assessed by Futuro Verde teachers according to IB criteria, with samples of assessed student work being sent to the IB organization for moderation. This is how the IB organization assures that students from different schools are assessed as fairly and equally as possible.
The variety of projects that our students undertake and the support they receive is in no small part due to the qualifications, expertise, and experience of our teachers at Futuro Verde. This is just one of the key strengths and unique selling points of Futuro Verde compared to other institutions in the area. Our teachers are specialists, all of them possessing degrees in their areas of knowledge, be those in early childhood education, primary education, special education, science, math, business, and languages, etc. Many hold advanced degrees, sometimes in more than one area of specialty, and a high proportion has earned masters degrees in education. Add to that the experience they bring from all over the world and our students have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from.
Our teachers are authentic lifelong learners and Futuro Verde supports all of them to be so. IB requires that teachers giving instruction in diploma program subjects have attended Category 1 workshops, which are either face-to-face or online. Going one step further, we have just registered our teachers for multiple advanced Category 2 and 3 workshops which will take place over the next six months. In September we were visited by Dr. Mia Sosa-Provencio and her team from the University of New Mexico (USA) as they worked with all our teachers from preschool to 12th grade to develop collaborative classroom strategies featuring Latin American narratives of struggle and resilience amid structural oppression. Every year we hold the Bilingual Holistic Sustainable Educational Conference and this year we were lucky enough to have David Rogers, Executive Director for Dual Language Education of New Mexico, as our keynote speaker. The success of BHS this year led to David inviting and sponsoring our teachers, by waiving the registration fee, to attend La Cosecha conference in New Mexico, USA. We are excited about all that our attendees are going to learn and bring back with them!
by Katie Chiaverini | Oct 31, 2019
Futuro Verde is very excited to begin implementing a new curricular support which is a learning platform for math called IXL. The IXL program will be used by students across all the grades and can also be accessed online at home. With thousands of skills that match what we’re learning, as well as insights into student progress, IXL is a great resource to help your child excel.
The IXL math program is made up of four main components that are integrated throughout the program to better personalize learning for each and every student: Comprehensive Curriculum, Personalized Guidance, Actionable Analytics, and Continuous Diagnostic. The program provides over 8,000 skills to support grade level objectives and gives instant feedback to students on their work. Students find it very engaging and motivating as it provides incentives connected to student achievement. Another very important aspect is that the questions adapt as the student answers correctly or incorrectly to allow them success at the appropriate level.
There are many different ways that parents can support their children at home with the IXL program. Parents can encourage their children to visit the personalized “Recommendations wall” within IXL for helpful review or new challenges, as they are targeted specifically for each student! Parents can also sign in to their child’s account and click on Analytics to see what they’ve been working on and check their progress. With built in incentives and rewards, families can help celebrate student accomplishments when a new goal is reached.
On October 31, Futuro Verde provided a parent workshop on how to help support their children at home with the IXL program. We were so glad to have parents as learners and show an interest in their child’s academic growth. If any parents would like to know more about the IXL program or how to help their child at home but missed the workshop, feel free to email Katie@futuro-verde.org for more information.
by Angie Briceño | Oct 30, 2019
We are nearing the end of the school year and this also means that some fantastic celebrations for Middle and High School students are coming up!
In 2015 and again in 2018, high school students had a magical and unforgettable night together filled with dance, a fire show, and an amazing time all dressed up with their friends.
Prom is an anticipated event by all, and it is not only attending it that makes it so appealing and exciting, yet also being able to participate in its organization and production! That is why this year, we have 2 dance committees made up of students, parents and teachers taking care of all the logistics.
Two committees?
Yes, there are two committees this year! One prom committee with 9th to 11th grade students and another, consisting of students from 6th to 8th grade, organizing the first Middle School Dance at Futuro Verde.
Both committees have the task of carrying out all the event logistics such as music, food, venue, dance theme, date, price, activities and much more. Everyone is working hard so that both dances are successful and fun. Below you will find detailed information regarding both proms:
PROM for students from 9th to 12th:
Theme: An Arabian Night
Date: November 23rd
Time: 6:00 to 11:00 pm
Place: Quebrada State, Las Delicias
Admission: only for students from 9th to 12th and their companions (from 15 to 19 years old)
Admission price: 8,000 colones before November 1st, 10,000 colones after November 1st
Dress Code: Semi-formal
Middle School Dance from 6th to 8th grade:
Theme: Tropical Spring Fling
Date: November 9th
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 pm
Place: Futuro Verde
Admission: Only for 6th to 8th grade Futuro Verde students
Admission price: 1000 colones
Dress Code: Semi-formal
We hope to continue with these important student traditions which develop excellent life skills such as organization, planning, communication, oracy and creativity, conflict resolution and teamwork. Encourage your children to be part of the 2020 dance committees!
Stay tuned for more activities on our Instagram and Facebook channels!
