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CDSG News
April 23, 2010
Calendar of Events
Erasmo's Farmer's Market Today! (2:30)
K-4 Elementary Dance, CDSG, Fri, 4/23, 2:30-4:00.
Cooking Classes every Wednesday 12:30-2:00 by Ms. Jacqueline
Minimum Day, (Accreditation work), Wed., 4/28, 11:30 Dismissal
Teacher Apreciation Sunset Cruise, Friday, April 30
SAT Exam Day, CDSG, Sat., 5/1
Get Your Performance On!
Coffee House May 7th
Lock In, Friday Night, May 14
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Director's Corner
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Pirates in Liberia at Teo Cali Yesterday
I had a lot of fun in Liberia yesterday with the boys' soccer and basketball teams. We played at Teo Cali and everyone had a terrific time. Hopefully we can have them come to Brasilito to play us next time so more of our fans can come and see our teams in action.
Take a close look at the calendar as we have events every week and alsmost everyday now until the end of the year. It's a fun time of year so encourage your children to particiapte in as many events as they can.
Accreditation:
As you see on the calendar we will have a minimum day on Wednesday for teachers to do accreditation work. These days will come more often over the course of the next year and a half while we diliginently study all of the different aspects of our school from curriculum to facilities to community involvement to parent communication to school saftey and much more. An accredited school goes through an intensive reaccreditation process every 5 to 6 years as a way of developing strategic plans for the future and most of all to reassure families and faculty that the school is continuing to offer a valid accredited program approved by an outside professional organization such as Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. Accreditation is an important stamp of approval, but the accreditation process is probably the most important aspect because the self study study process guarantees a better school each time the process is completed. We will be asking parents to become invovled in the process next year as we will look for individuals to volunteer to be a part of certain committees that will evaluate and make recommendations in different standards for accreditation. It will require a lot of work and time committment but in the end it will all be worth it. Keep an eye out for accreditation announcements in the near future! We are the only US accredited school in Guanacaste after all.
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| National Jr. Honor Society News! |
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Hello CDS-G Community,
This past weekend, members of the National Junior Honor Society attended a leadership workshop at Finca Daniel in Miramar. The group of 12 were challenged to teambuilding elements, a high ropes course, a delicious dinner,evening lessons on communication and self analysis, and a morning of climbing crates. There were both physical and mental challenges. There were a few tearsand an lot of cheering and many surprises at how well they performed on the individual events. Mr. Baldwin and I were very proud of their efforts and achievements. Secret "letters" from parents were very much appreciated. One student asked 5 times, "When do we get the homework our parents had to complete?" I could tell that many of you used this rare and useful communication idea wisely. [One was a 4-page typed letter, the student later told me!]
When asked 3 days later, how the trip rated 1 to 10; with 1 being a math test and 10 as Christmas, there were only 8's 9's and 10's in the response.
We would like to thank the parents who permitted their children to
attend. Please enjoy the photos of the students dressed in the belaying gear.
Note Brenda and Mason high in the trees. See Andrew's feet from high above the ground (my artsy shot). Also note Alex B., Lauren and Karol ("afraid-of-heights-Karol") up on the stack of 14 crates. There are also some great group photos and a night-time workshop photo.
These are most excellent youth, and Dan and I learned as well as taught.
Thanks so much.
I'm sorry that the photos wouldn't load onto the site. Next week!!
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2010-2011 Calendar
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School Calendar 2010-2011
First Semester August-December 2010
Monday, August 2 Administrators return
Tuesday, August 3 New teachers arrive
Wednesday, Aug.4 to Aug. 8 New teachers' in-service week
Monday, Aug. 9 to Friday, Aug. 13 Teachers' in service week
Monday, Aug. 16 Classes begin at CDSG
Wednesday, Sept. 15th Costa Rican Independence Day
Monday, Oct. 11th Columbus Day (CR Holiday)
Friday, Oct. 15th End of first quarter
Thurs/Fri. Nov. 25 /26 Thanksgiving (US Holiday)
Thursday, Dec. 16th Noon dismissal for Christmas vacation
Second Semester January-June 2011
Monday, Jan 10th Teachers' in-service day Tuesday, Jan. 11th Classes resume for 2nd semester
Monday, Feb. 21st Presidents' Day (US Holiday)
Friday, March 25th End of third quarter
Monday, April 11th Juan Santamaria (CR Holiday)
Monday, April 18th to April 22nd Easter Week
Thursday, June 2nd High School Graduation
Thursday, June 2nd Last day for students, (noon dismissal)
Full day for teachers
Friday, June 3rd Last Day for teachers (1/2 day)
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Model United Nations
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Mr. Mark Slusky and Mrs. Kim Baldwin will take a delegation of 9 students to the Lincoln School on April 23rd to participate in an International High School Model United Nations. Our delegates are assigned to represent either Costa Rica or Austria. Some of the topics include: the Palestine/Israel conflict, a historical account of the situation in the Congo, Africa in the 1960's, the Darfur/Chad situation, Narcotics, World Hunger, and International Workers' Rights. Our delegation includes: Mark Ritenour, Taylor Smith, Elizabeth Guton-Bunn, Andres Rohr, Walter Augustine, Jeremy Akin, Mariana Calvo, Alex Ferguson and Drake Ballard. These students are crafting their position papers and researching their topics. Look for highlights of this trip in a later newsletter. Please wish the delegates good luck in their debates.
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Mano A Mano!
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A Cooking Class for parents will be held on Wednesdays from 12:30-2:00. Classes will be taught in Spanish, so brush up on your cooking and Spanish language skills all in one class! Classes are $10 each and all proceeds go towards helping the sons of a community memebr who died last weekend from diabetes. The boys are left to take care for themselves and it will be very difficult for them. Ms. Jaqueline (assistant in Pre-Kinder/Kinder) will be the instructor. If you are interested in joining the class, please email Sarah at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Buen provecho!
If you are interested in joining Mano a Mano, a concerned group of parents and students who enjoy getting involved in local community service projects, please email Sarah. |
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Anatomy and Physiology Presentation
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Drake talking lice....
The Honors Anatomy and Physiology consisting of senior and junior students presented health related topics to the upper school and some of the upper lower school grades. Drake Ballard's presentation on hygiene which is the proper steps of staying clean and healthy, focused on correctly brushing and flossing the teeth to prevent tooth decay and gum diseases such as Gingivitis's, Periodontitis, and Gum cancer and washing the hands properly. Discussions were about sweat, skin disease like Acne, and scalp diseases such as Dandruff, and Head Lice.
Sophia talking healthy foods....
Sophia's topic was nutrition, as it is one of the most important aspect of health. Sophia introduced the food pyramid, and talked about the recommended daily amounts and nutritional importance of the different food groups. She also presented the importance of water and the health hazards of soft drinks. She concluded teaching the students how to read and interpret the nutritional facts labels on foods. Jessi Curtis presented a power point on the benefits of exercise. She talked about different ways that exercising benefits the human body and one's mood. She also spoke about the different types of eating disorders as well as dangerous alternatives to exercise. She concluded with the different safety and pre-exercise techniques.
Walter talking fitness....or else!
Walter Augustine presented information on types of exercise, stretching, Body Mass Index (BMI), and its relation to body image. The presentation included a brief workout consisting of pushups and a short jog. Students learned that their BMI is necessary for determining their health, and witnessed the evolution of what they called an "ugly" woman into an attractive supermodel on a billboard by means of Photoshop and make up.
Angie talking about alcohol abuse....
 Angelina
Bastasch focused on alcohol and its short and long term effects. She started with the introduction of alcohol, its varieties, and effects on men vs. women, which was followed by the short term effects and long term effects that can lead to addiction. Angelina focused the end of her power point on a big problem with high school and college students, binge drinking, which is drinking grand amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time. The severe damage caused due to heavy drinking are also mentioned in the power point focusing on the brain and liver. Lavinia Pandis presented a powerpoint on the three most commonly used drugs in this area (cocaine, ecstacy and marijuana) and the side effects of them. She talked about all the negative aspects of the drugs and she mentioned some interesting facts about each drug. Drake states that the take home message is, "stay clean and healthy and make good decisions toward your health". The Anatomy Class would like to thank all of the students for being respectful and asking fantastic questions.
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Boarding School Activities
Weekend Adventures for Boarding Students
Also Available to All Students!
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Don't forget our weekend activities for boarding students are open to day students. Watch the calendar and newsletter for upcoming trips and let us know if you would like for your child to participate. All students grades 7 and up are eligible to go. (depending upon space availability). It's a great way to spend a weekend.
This weekend the dorm students will spend their time with various Costa Rican families practicing their Spanish and also experience true Tico culture up close. Next weekend they will be going to San Jose for a day of wandering through art museums and a night of food court sampling and movie going at the shopping mall in Escazu. Have fun!
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| Lower School Dance |
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Lower School SGA will sponsor a Pre-K through Grade 4 Dance on Friday, April 23rd from 2:30 until 4:30. All students are invited! Games, dancing and prizes and fun for all! Admission is $5 and proceeds benefit Lower School SGA! Come join the fun!
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Amazing Photos of Our Recent Activities
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PirateTeamwork!
Waiting for their turn in the play....
Pajama Day mean time to make tortillas!
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| Middle School Announcement for 2010-2011 |
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Next year we are fortunate to have two new and very talented teachers for middle school math and science. Amanda Buscos will be teaching science to grades 6 and 7. She is coming from the same science teaching program on Catalina Island in California that Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin worked at for six years. She comes highly recommended. We also have Sam Peyton from the University of Oregon who will be teaching math. Both teachers have many years experience working with middle school students in a variety of capacities and I believe we are very fortunate to have them.
The difference between next year and the past years will be as follows:
· One change will be including grade 6 as part of the middle school. This means that they will not have a single homeroom teacher for their core subjects. They will instead have a different teacher for each of their subjects. Mr. Townley will also be teaching English and history in the middle school.
· The second difference will be that the middle school classrooms will be on the elementary side of the campus in the rooms that are on the office side of the building. Currently those rooms are used for grades 5/6 and Mr. Vargas's Spanish class. Middle school students will also have lockers on this side of the campus.
· Elementary students in our four combined classes of Pre K/K, Prepa/1st, 2nd/3rd, and 4th/5th, will be in the classrooms equipped with their own restrooms on the opposite side of the building. Middle school and elementary students will not have the same lunch recess time, which will reduce the number of students to be supervised and will also increase safety.
· Classroom space will still be available for elementary classes to split into single grades in the event that we have a large influx of students completing applications between now and the beginning of the school year next year.
We all feel as though this new arrangement will improve the quality of our program for middle school students and allow them to focus more on their classes and experience fewer distractions and concerns that might arise as they interact with much older high school students during the day, at break times and during passing periods.
If you have any questions please feel free to come and talk to me. Our number one concern is always providing the best opportunity for your children to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.
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