鶹ӳý American k-12 school in Costa Rica Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:25:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 /wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-鶹ӳý-Escudo-Site-Icon-32x32.png 鶹ӳý 32 32 Newsletter from the Director Dec-2024 and Jan-2025 / Carta de la Directora Dic-2024 y Ene-2025 /archives/8365 Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:25:01 +0000 /?p=8365 Dear 鶹ӳý community,

We appreciate your food donations and attendance to the Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon. Your collaboration benefited the MUN and NHS school teams, and contributed funds to the Cafeteria Renovation Project. Thank you so much!

We look forward to seeing you at the Christmas celebration on Thursday, December 5th, 2024. We invite you to wear your Christmas sweater and enjoy a family event that includes the lighting of the tree, student presentations, Christmas carols, Holiday Market and more.

This semester’s afterschool classes are ending and students will soon resume their normal dismissal time (Wednesday at 1pm), with the exception of two dates: Wednesday December 11th and Friday December 13th, students leave 12md, please take the necessary precautions.

Students will have a mid-year holiday break from December 14, 2024 to January 12, 2025. Classes will resume on Monday, January 13th, 2025 , thus beginning the 2nd Semester of the School Year.

The school and offices will be closed from December 19th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025; offices will reopen at 7:30am on Monday, January 6th, 2025.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, may peace and prosperity be with you in 2025.

]]> Newsletter from the Director November-2024 / Carta de la Directora Noviembre-2024 /archives/8359 Wed, 06 Nov 2024 15:56:57 +0000 /?p=8359 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

We appreciate your donations to the solidarity campaign that the NHS maintains for the Belén Palliative Care Association, your generosity each semester benefits families facing the terminal illness of one of their members.

We congratulate our students for their outstanding performance: the Basketball teams that competed in the Action Tournament 2024 were crowned Champions in the Middle School Category and made it to the semifinals in the High School Category, our gymnasts obtained multiple medals in the National Gymnastics Tournament Costa Rica, and our team won the Best Attraction Park Ride Award at the CodEd STEAM Camp in Orlando, Florida. Great job, Falcons!

We wish all the best to the Soccer Teams that will compete in the Action Tournament this month. Go Falcons!

The General Assembly Meeting of Associates will take place on Thursday, November 14th at 6:30pm. We remind all parents who are active members of the association that this is an opportunity to learn about the school operations and projects that the school is working on, while listening directly from the Administration and the Board of Directors.

We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Wednesday, November 27th. This year the funds raised will go towards the school Cafeteria Restoration Project, the NHS and Model United Nations teams. We thank you in advance for your food donations and attendance that day!

The PTO announces the celebration to kick off the End of Year’s Festivities with a family night that includes Christmas tree lighting, student presentations, food sales and more, save the date on December 5, 2024.

Happy November to all!

]]> Newsletter from the Director October-2024 / Carta de la Directora Octubre-2024 /archives/8352 Mon, 30 Sep 2024 15:12:00 +0000 /?p=8352 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

Thank you for joining our celebration of 203 years of Costa Rican Independence and for your support to our Young Entrepreneurs last month.

Congratulations to our athletes for their great performance in different tournaments in September: Inter School Tennis, Swimming Cariari, Action Basketball and Libertad Gymnastics, you can see their pictures and results on our social media pages. Special mention to Santiago Ramirez, winner of 7 medals (including 4 gold medals!) in the swimming competition.

We welcome our new Science Teacher: Mr. Fabian Rodriguez.

Our best wishes go out to our students who will be competing in the Basketball and Soccer tournaments, and to those participating in the STEAM Camp in Florida, USA. Go Falcons!

This coming month our students will have one week off while our personnel are in training. We’ll have an Open House for those families that are interested in joining our school community, and we’ll celebrate Halloween with activities and costumes (as usual). Please see the calendar below for specific dates and times.

Happy October to all!

]]> Newsletter from the Director September-2024 / Carta de la Directora Setiembre-2024 /archives/8342 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 17:29:37 +0000 /?p=8342 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,
We welcome the 21 new families and 24 new students who joined 鶹ӳý in August. I look forward to getting to know every one of you. Please feel free to reach out to your Homeroom Teacher or Principal if you need assistance at any time.

We also welcome our new teachers: Ms. Micaela (LSP), Ms. Vanessa (Math) and Mr. Juan Manuel (Music). Greetings as well to the student-teachers from Washington State University who will be co-teaching with our faculty members during the first semester: Mr. Jake and Mr. Jordan.

Congratulations to our senior student and Golf athlete Michael Mikus for obtaining 2nd place in the Valle Shootout Costa Rica.

We thank the PTO for another wonderful Mothers’ Day Celebration this year, it was a beautiful event! Thank you!

Our best wishes go out to the students who will be competing in different tournaments this month: Math Olympiads Team in the second round of OLCOMA, Swimming athletes in the Costa Rica Open, Basketball Teams in the Action Tournament, Gymnastics Team in Copa Libertad, and Model UN Team in the Costa Rica International MUN Conference. Go Falcons!

The month of September brings a lot of excitement with the celebration of the Costa Rican Independence Day and much more.

]]> Newsletter from the Director August-2024 / Carta de la Directora Agosto-2024 /archives/8337 Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:49:21 +0000 /?p=8337 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,
Welcome to a new school year! We look forward to seeing our students again! The Welcome Activities for include some water games, please bring a change of clothes (just in case you may need it).

This year we will have very exciting events and celebrations including the 55th Anniversary of our school, Sports and Academic Tournaments, we’ll host the 1st AASCA MUN, our students will travel to Space Camp in Alabama, STEAM Camp in Florida, Global Innovation Summit in Qatar, and more! I invite you to stay tuned for our official communications and social media pages for more details.

Dear parents, I remind you of the importance of including the school’s whatsapp phone number as part of your cell phone contacts, in order to receive reminders of school events. Also, because this will be our communication channel in case of an Emergency if we do not have access to your emails via Seduca.

The School Transportation routes have some spaces available for this school year, to contract the service you must contact the provider directly. Please ask our front desk staff for their contact information.

Please be aware that we have had a delay with the delivery of this year’s uniforms and at this time we do not have units available for sale. We appreciate your patience if you are waiting to purchase these products. This delay responds to a change in fabric of the polo shirts (now it will be a cooler material) and a change in the color of the physical education shirts.

Students who do not have uniforms from last year will be able to attend school with private clothing while the new shirts arrive. It should be noted that families are not obliged to buy the new uniforms, students can continue using last year’s shirts. Even the change in the color of the PE shirt does not represent the obligation to purchase the new uniform.

]]> How the Nicoya Peninsula became one of the five ‘Blue Zones’ of the world /archives/8308 Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:43:21 +0000 /?p=8308 Costa Rica, a beautiful country located in Central America is known as the place with one of the only five blue zones in the world. “Blue Zones”, a term created by National Geographic’s Dan Buettner, who led a team of scientists to discover why people in some areas of the planet live longer and healthier lives than the rest of us. Nicoya, Costa Rica, was one of the sectors studied.

The scientists studied Nicoya Peninsula, not only as a whole, but mainly focusing on the rural landscapes of the Nicoya, where people have some of the longest lifespans in the world. People that live in Nicoya have proved that they live long and extraordinary lives due to some key factors, mainly their social, economic, and lifestyle ways.

When it comes to lifestyle, families tend to eat larger meals at lunchtime and lighter meals early in the evening. They likely will always eat all together at least once a day to interact with those they love. The interaction and good food is just a bonus since the food is low in added sugar, and there are few processed snacks. Studies have linked diets that are lower in calories to longer lifespans.

The water may also be a factor that affects longevity in this region. This is because the water of the Nicoya Peninsula is high in calcium and magnesium, contributing to low osteoporosis rates and low rates of heart disease.

Not only are the natural resources useful for the physical health of the citizens of Nicoya but their secret goes beyond healthy eating.The one thing all Nicoyans in this Blue Zone have in common is having a positive mindset. When faced with adversity, the most common advice given by each citizen is to look at the bright side, pick yourself up, and keep going.

Besides its Blue Zone, Costa Rica is known for its countrywide Green Season. The Green Season is the most beautiful time of the year. It is characterized by the lush scenery, the rich and happy wildlife, and all the flowers in bloom. After a long, dry summer, the Green Season is every Costa Ricans favorite time of the year. It brings cool breezes, cool mornings and afternoons, and an excuse to stay in to enjoy a nice
calm evening.

This is not only the most calm and lush season but it is also characterized by the recollection of coffee. The coffee is just-picked, freshly dried, and ready to be roasted. It is then sold in both grocery stores and small family markets. It is one of the many reasons why this is the best season to buy locally grown coffee and for any coffee enthusiast, the best season to enjoy tasting various of Costa Rica’s delicious
varieties of it.

Whether it is because of its Blue Zone or its Green Season, Costa Rica is truly a wonderful place to live in. Life, and every experience in between, can be categorized as rich, splendid, and educational for every citizen and tourist.

By Daniela Álvarez, Class of 2024.

]]> Newsletter from the Director June-2024 / Carta de la Directora Junio-2024 /archives/8303 Fri, 31 May 2024 21:06:00 +0000 /?p=8303 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

We thank the parents, staff and 12th grade students who joined the Voluntary Blood Donation Rally. Thanks to our Nurse (Ms. Karla) for organizing this event, and also coordinating the Rubella, Measles and Mumps Vaccination Campaign for the students under 10 years old.

Congratulations to our sports teams and arts clubs for another successful semester of Afterschool programs. Some of the teams will schedule training sessions in June and July, please pay attention to the upcoming messages from Ms. Dylana.

Our gratitude goes out to the families who donated groceries and cleaning supplies, as requested by the NHS students, in favor of the Palliative Care Association in Belén.

Congratulations to the 6th and 12th grade students who took the Standardized Tests for the MEP diploma this month.

We remind you of the Annual 鶹ӳý Show and Art Display on Thursday, June 6th at night.

Kindergarten, 6th Grade and 12th Grade Graduations will be on Friday, June 14.
Congratulations to our 2024 Graduates!

]]> Newsletter from the Director May 2024 / Carta de la Directora Mayo 2024 /archives/8296 Thu, 02 May 2024 20:59:47 +0000 /?p=8296 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

We thank the PTO for the organization of BINGO NIGHT last week. The celebration was a total success and it was enjoyed by adults and children alike. Also, our gratitude goes out to the families who donated prizes and their time to support this effort. Thank you so much!

Our Basketball, Soccer and Volleyball teams continue to obtain victories in their tournaments, congratulations! Go Falcons!

We also honor our middle school students who competed in the International Kangaroo
Math Tournament. We are proud of the performance of our team during 鶹ӳý’ first time
participating in this competition. Special mention to the students who brought home the
medals. Go Falcons!

We remind you of the Voluntary Blood Donation Rally, this Friday, May 3rd, from 8:30
am to 11 am. This is a great opportunity to collaborate with the hospitals in the country. Registration is available with the Nurse.

]]> Newsletter from the Director April-2024 / Carta de la Directora Abril-2024 /archives/8270 Mon, 01 Apr 2024 23:08:00 +0000 /?p=8270 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

Welcome to the last quarter of the school year! We hope you enjoyed a well-deserved Easter break.

We thank the families that donated food and attended The 鶹ӳý Annual International Luncheon and Assembly last month. It was a heartwarming event, where we were able to celebrate the 41 countries that are represented in our educational community. Thank you so much!

The invitation is cordial to collaborate and participate in the Bingo Night that will be held on April, starting. Stay tuned for official communications via Seduca and WhatsApp, this event is open to all 鶹ӳý families, alumni and friends.

We are very proud of our sports and academic squads! Congratulations are in order to the Soccer and Volleyball teams for the excellent results they had in their matches last month, to Model United Nations for their successful participation in the LMUN Conference, and to NHS + Generation Amazing for the development of the Soccer School for children sponsored by Roble Alto. Go Falcons!

We will have an Open House session on April for new families looking to join 鶹ӳý. If you have friends or relatives who wish to get to know our school and learn more about our programs, they can send a WhatsApp message to attend this session or to schedule a private visit.

]]> Newsletter from the Director – March 2024 / Carta de la Directora – Marzo 2024 /archives/8263 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:09:38 +0000 /?p=8263 Dear 鶹ӳý Community,

Our gratitude goes out to the PTO for organizing a memorable FAMILY DAY, which reported the attendance of more than 500 people. Thank you very much!

We congratulate the Model United Nations (Model UN) team for hosting a very successful 2nd Annual 鶹ӳýMUN Conference last weekend. The event included the participation of 15 visiting schools and more than 115 delegates from all over the country. It was extremely nice to hear advisors from other teams refer to 鶹ӳý as their role model for this program. What great pride! Congratulations!

Good luck to the Female Volleyball Team that is competing in the Action Tournament (American schools in CR). We invite all our families to attend the games that will be played in our gym and also those scheduled to take place in other schools. Go falcons!

There are still a few spaces available for middle school and high school students who would like to attend the STEAM Camp in Orlando, Florida in October-2024. For more information, please send an email to Dylana Vincenti.

]]>