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CDSG NEWS
October 3rd, 2009
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Director's Corner
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Are you wondering if the rainy season will ever come this year? Do you miss it? I kind of do. I like the daily rains during the rainy season, not necessarily the floods, but the rains are refreshing. We'll see. It makes for easier travels to places accessible only by dirt roads anyway. We are staying as busy as ever at CDSG. We had a big 'Capture the Flag Tournament' on Wednesday night, an AASCA Leadership Conference in San Jose over the weekend (KIM'S LETTER BELOW IS A MUST READ!), and Estuary trip in Baulas National Park on Thursday, Movie Night for the elementary tonight, Bingo Fundraiser for AASCA Basketball tonight, a trip to the catfish farms next week, pen pal activities with Huacas schools all next week, bake sales to raise money for school supplies for Huacas Schools through CEPIA. Everyday something is happening around here. We never stop putting activities out there for your kids. It's what makes our school such a special place. National Honor Society, Upper and Lower School Student Government Associations, Booster Club, the Parent Association, and Mano A Mano will be scheduling fun events and fundraisers all year long for us. Combine that with events like we had for Independence Day and the AASCA Leadership Conference and more to come for Halloween, Coffee House Evenings, Dances, Spirit Weeks, Curriculum Fairs, Math Days, Lock Ins, Special Awards Assemblies, Basketball, Soccer, and Swimming events, more AASCA events, field trips, field days, and adventure weekends all over the country, scuba certification next month, after school activities every day, baseball every weekend, community service opportunities throughout the area, family services from Monica, and now an organic greenhouse to add to our increasingly green campus and curriculum and we have quite an impressive array of things to offer at our amazing little school. And all of that comes on the most beautiful campus in Central America. We are truly lucky. Let's have a great year.
And in keeping with the generous and loving spirit of the CDSG community I want to let you know about an opportunity to help one of our own. Our co-worker and bus driver Jhonny was severely injured as he was hit by a car (he was on his motorcycle) yesterday. He will be in the hospital for quite some time it seems and we want to help him and his family as much as we can during his recovery. We will accept donations in our front office and in Margarita's office. We will also be having fundraisers next week in the form of bake sales. I know that you all will come out and show your support. Thank you!
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Great Picture!
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No More Homework!!
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PSAT/SAT Announcement
Hello Parents of 9th, 10th and 11th graders,
Wednesday, October 14th is the PSAT testing date for 9th, 10th and 11th graders. This is a practice test for the SAT which is encouraged to be written late in the Sophomore year, or during the Junior year. Seniors should be writing the SAT this November at the latest. There is a charge for the PSAT which our school covers for each student. Please remind your child to get to bed early, and eat breakfast the day of the 2.5 hour test. High scores attract college scholarships. Read more at collegeboard.com
SAT scores are used by colleges for acceptance criteria. The present test has 3 parts, each worth 800 points with a total score of 2400points. The sections include: math, English and a written essay.
Ocober 10th, Saturday, is the next scheduled date for writing the SAT. This is offered here at CDS-G. It will be held in Room #15 (the science lab) and students should arrive by 7:45am. They will finish between noon and 12:30pm. They should bring calculators and a snack.
November 7th, Saturday, is the following scheduled SAT date also offered here at CDS-G. The deadline to register for this was Oct. 1st. You may still register with a late fee. Check collegeboard.com.
The December through April tests are NOT offered here at CDS-G. Students would travel to Lincoln or the Friends School to write those tests.
The SAT may be written at CDS-G in May.
It is a wonderful help that the SAT is now offered at our school. This is only the 3rd year it is offered here.
Help us get your children ready for college!!
-Mrs. K. Baldwin
A.P. Coordinator
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AASCA Leadership Conference
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Dear Parent Association,
I wanted to say thank you for the support you gave to allow our students to attend the AASCA Leadership conference. Hopefully the following tales of adventure will illustrate how important this opportunity was for our students, and will be for the future classes.
Lincoln School in San Jose hosted this event but rented La Montana Christian Camp (located in the mountains above San Ramon) to take over the program, safety, activities etc. It was fabulous.
The attending students were from the best school in Central America, members of NHS or Student Counsel or both, and coming from powerful families. It was amazing to think that the future presidents and elected officials of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama were there in that room. (Honduras had their airports closed...their schools could not attend).
On Saturday, the students were given 1.5 hrs to write a speech on leadership. These speeches were judged by 3 businessmen flown in from San Antonio, Tx. Our youngest in 9th grade, Karol Brenes, was nominated by her group to be their representative speaker. She was also the first one up on stage to give her speech. She said her knees were knocking, but her team kept telling her that she could do it best...and they were right. She gave one of the best speeches of the night.
Students heard 3 main lectures given by professional speakers. They participated in teambuilding activities, volleyball and dodge ball tournaments, Retro Selva, and field and water Olympics (where Alex was on a giant inner tube island with 3 other boys with the object of pushing each other off using large foam pads - gladiator style.) Retro selva challenged some students to their limits. It was a race through a muddy jungle obstacle course Army-style. This started with a jump into a pool of slimy mud. All participants were coated head to toe. The "professors" were one of the first teams to compete and I didn't let the students down....but my shirt is not even near to being clean after 13 washings! As I waited for Sophia's group to come up the finish line, I saw a person...could barely recognize her...looking like a petite Rambo. I said, "Sophia???" and she gave me a smile ....with mud on her front teeth!!
Students were encouraged to memorize quotes on leadership to earn points for their team...Jeremy had memorized all 4 pages! His red team came in second place...an accomplishment considering there are 156 competing tooth and nail for the top level. Walter was invited up to the electric piano on Sunday morning, played Wonderwall by Oasis. The drummer, base and 2 lead guitars joined in and Walter was a rock star for 3.5 minutes. The whole group was singing along and there is now an international Walter Augustine fan club. During the speeches, very few students out of the 156 actually got to the microphone....5 out of our 6 were there on stage at different times giving speeches! Mariana was the most confident and focused speaker of the entire assembly. Sophia sang a song and played guitar at the campfire and charmed the crowd.
These are just a few mini stories... the atmosphere encouraged competition, along with compassion, communication and leadership. All present were outstanding students....but ours were some of the brightest stars. My fellow "profes" (as we were called), would nudge me and say..."Is that one of yours, again??? Wow, CDS-G has talent!" I can not tell you how proud I am of this group and amazed at the amount they matured over these 4 days.
All 6 of our students were separated into the 14 different groups, and were visible leaders in each one. The entire ride home was a buzzing of excitement and stories. The funny thing is that the accommodations for these future leaders was pretty rough. The cabins smelled like mold, rice and beans for every meal, 6:30am-10:30pm active program, point-counting pressure to perform and cold showers in a very cool and misty mountain camp. Mariana took a shower with a hose!...she is the one I called Paris Hilton when we planted Jatropha trees...I still can't believe it.
So, ask for photos. Ask Walter, Sophia, Alex, Jeremy, Karol and Mariana for their stories and realize you helped change their lives.
With much thanks,
-Kimberly Balwin, NHS Advisor ( a very proud one )
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Flu Prevention
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Please remember to watch your children for any symptoms of the flu. If your child has a fever, upset stomach, or congestion please keep him/her home and consult a doctor before coming back to school. If a child has the flu he/she should be kept at home until at least 24 hours after the symptoms have gone. In the mean time we will be watching carefully and will immediately call parents to pick up any child that is showing symptoms of the flu. We are also asking the students to wash their hands regularly. Providing them with a small bottle of hand sanitizer that can be kept at school is a great idea. Thank you for your help and cooperation in this matter.
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Weekend Adventures for Boarding Students
Also Available to All Students!
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Don't forget that all of our weekend activities for boarding students are also available to our 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. It's a great way to spend a weekend.
Next weekend boarding students will be taking a three day trip down the Nicoya Peninsula. If you're interested in going with us please contact us ASAP! It will be super fun!
EMail the dorm supervisor, Mr. Eric Bragg at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for information about all trips and other activities.
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Emergency Phone Tree
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Please be sure that Katia has your current home and cell number to add to our Emergency Phone Tree. This is important for us in case we have an emergency announcement or school closure due to weather or other unforeseen event. This helps us to disseminate information as quickly as possible to everyone in our school community.
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