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CDSG Weekly News
March 20, 2009
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Director's Corner
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Hard to believe we're already most of the way through March. The year is flying by. As we make plans for the end of the year we will also be looking forward to next year and preparing calendars and academic schedules. We will be doing our best to predict enrollment. How many new students will we have? How many families will be moving away? We will send out intent to return notices very soon and I would greatly appreciate it if you would let us know whether or not you plan to return. Some families planning on moving to the area are waiting to hear back from me as to whether or not we will have space for them in some grades.
Did you know? Our girls' soccer team went to San Jose two weekends ago and played great. They won both games against CDS Escazu and another public school in San Jose. Then they won another game last week and now find themselves in the middle of a pretty good winning streak. Mr. Berey has been doing a fine job and the girls' hard work in practice has really paid off. Congratulations!
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Staff Changes
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Just to keep you informed there will be some staff changes for next year.
Caroline Braganza will be moving back to Canada to be with her husband. We'll miss her but are happy for her. We are looking for a teacher to replace here after we look at the class sizes for next year and decide how the classes will be grouped.
Tom Regele will be heading back to Boston at the end of the year to hopefully become the head of the math department at his previous school. He's sad to leave early, and we are too, but it is a career opportunity that is just too promising to pass up at this time in his life. We have already hired a new upper school math teacher for next year, Mr. Andrew Johnstone, currently teaching in New York.
Ms. Roxana Rojas has decided to move back to San Jose immediately in order to pursue another job opportunity. We will miss her smile and positive outlook, but again, we understand that sometimes opportunities arise that need to be seized upon before they get away. We are now looking for a new teacher to fill the vacancy.
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Performing Arts Teacher Announcement
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PERFORMING ARTS!!!
"COME ONE,COME ALL"
COME AND SEE WHAT'S
COMING SOON!!
DO YOU LIKE TO DANCE?
SING?
ACT?
PERFORM MUSICAL THEATER?
WANT TO LEARN MORE???
JOIN IN NEW CLASSES BEGINNING WITH
~MISS COURTNEY~
PLEASE JOIN HER FOR A "WELCOME WAGON" MEETING
FOR PARENTS AND KIDS
PROGRAM BEGINNING SOON
AFTER SCHOOL FOR ALL AGES!
"All acts performed in the world begin with imagination."
Greetings Parents and Kids of CDS!
I'm Courtney Clark. I welcome you to join me for a "Welcome Wagon" to introduce myself personally to you, and talk about a Performing Arts Program that I am starting at Country Day School. The fantastic stage is CALLING!!
I have an 18 year background teaching kids in the performing arts, with my main focus on dance, musical and physical theater.
During our introductory meeting, I want to hear from you about the wishes you may have in a Performing Arts Program for your children. I also will be sharing with all you my experience, production ideas, and taking you through
" A Day in the Life of Performing Arts" class.
CDS and I are very excited to begin with after school classes soon! Depending on enrollment, we will have the classes either on one or two days and continue until the end of May. Our last classes we will give a small show to parents, family and friends!!
Please Email Mr. Haun if you would be interested in joining a class
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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An Amazing Adventure
By: Laura Moshammer, Grade 5
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An Amazing Adventure
I went to La Carolina Lodge with our teacher Ms. Allie, Camille Segonne, Delnaey Thompson, Ela Mazon, Laicia Bouali, Simone Augustine, Wyatt Hutton, Dane Torres, Leo Arevalo, Nicola Sassi, and Jack Lavey. Also Simone and Ela's dads came and so did Delaney's mom. Before the trip I was feeling very excited. When I got there I looked around and thought "what a beautiful place to stay." The field area was full of trees. They were tall small, thing, and thick. All of the trees were surrounded with flowers in every color. Not to mention all the shrubs and bushes! We also saw lots of animals. When I finally got to see the girls cabin, which was up a hill. I noticed how nice and cool it was. My favorite thing about the cabin was that you could hear the river rush by. The most beautiful thing was Rio Celeste. Just as they say, it was a stunning color of light blue! The one unexpected thing was milking cows. It was kind of weird. I would l have never thought I would have milked a cow in my life. During the whole trip the most memorable past was all of us sitting together at one big table eating and drinking. Now everyone must be thinking "dinner time?" I'll tell you why. All of us were all together laughing and having a great time. On top of that everyone used their manners to say "could you pass this" or "please pass that". Maybe this gives you a better idea of why I said that dinnertime was the best. Some of the most interesting things I experiences were hiking tto Rio Celeste, milking cows, and catching and holding piglets. The most fun thing was playing hide and go seek in the dark. The reason is that it was easier for the hiders than the seekers. Some things I learned were how to milk cows, how to hold piglets without getting bit, and how to measure champion trees. All in all I had a great time with my friends and the parents all thanks to our fifth grade teacher, Ms. Allie!
By: Laura Moshammer
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Don't Forget Swimming Lessons
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Don't forget that Eric, our PE teacher, offers swimming lessons after school for all ages immediately following after-school activities in in our beautiful swimming pool. Please drop by after school from 3:45 to 5:45 and see Eric if you are interested.
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Mr. Bragg's 6th Grade Marine Biologists
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Monica Riascos' Workshops
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Every week Mrs. Reascos is hosting a different workshop for parents and teachers concerning child development and learning styles and other important issues to help us better understand our childrens' development and how we can be more effective parents and teachers. I invite you all to come and participate in these valuable sessions. We are fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable and talented on our staff. Thank you Monica!
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CDSG Speech and Language Corner
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"CDS Speech-Language Corner" Go Pirates...ARRRRRrrrrgh!
Hi! My name is Tara and I am a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist from the USA. I hope you will find the information presented here to be interesting and helpful in regards to the development of Speech/Language and essentially communication. So, some people may ask...what exactly is this information about? Great question. Essentially this "corner" will focus on discussing receptive and expressive communication skills in dual language learners (i.e., speech, language, listening, speaking, reading and writing, semantics, syntax, phonology, morphology, and pragmatics).
ARTICULATION/PHONOLOGY
Does the child experience difficulties when producing a certain sound(s)?
Does the child substitute one sound for another and/or omit sounds...
/t/ for /k/ (cat --> tat) - - - Kindergarten
/th/ for /s/ (sock --> thock)? - - -1st grade
/w/ for /r/ (rock --> wock or car --> cah)? - - - 3rd grade
FLUENCY
Does the child seem not fluent (possibly demonstrate involuntary actions) when speaking or reading in their native language?
I want to g-g-g-g-go to the park/
The...(tensed silence)...cat walked home.
LANGUAGE
Does the child experience difficulties following directions, telling a story, sharing ideas, or answering questions?
PRAGMATICS
Does the child experience challenges when "reading the faces" of people in his/her environment?
The 1,000,000 question is...As compared to same aged peers, is the child significantly discrepant/different in regards to listening, speaking, reading and/or writing (i.e. communication) skills?
Should you have concern...
Please notify your child's teacher
OR
Please notify Jeff
OR
Please notify me
The next CDS - SLP Corner will focus on WHAT to generally expect and WHEN to generally expect it by (PreK - 1st grade).
Until then, please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions, comments, and/or concerns.
Part II
"CDS Speech-Language Corner"
Before we get into WHAT to expect WHEN, it is necessary to understand the difference between speech and language.
The following information is from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA).
Please visit www.asha.org for additional information.
What Is Language? What Is Speech?
Kelly's 4-year-old son, Tommy, has speech and language problems. Friends and family have a hard time understanding what he is saying. He speaks softly, and his sounds are not clear.
Jane had a stroke. She can only speak in one- to two-word sentences and cannot explain what she needs and wants. She also has trouble following simple directions.
Language is different from speech.
Language is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:
What words mean (e.g., "star" can refer to a bright object in the night sky or a celebrity)
How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly)
How to put words together (e.g., "Peg walked to the new store" rather than "Peg walk store new")
What word combinations are best in what situations ("Would you mind moving your foot?" could quickly change to "Get off my foot, please!" if the first request did not produce results)
Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following:
Articulation: How speech sounds are made (e.g., children must learn how to produce the "r" sound in order to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit").
Voice: Use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound (e.g., the voice can be abused from overuse or misuse and can lead to hoarseness or loss of voice).
Fluency: The rhythm of speech (e.g., hesitations or stuttering can affect fluency).
When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a languagedisorder.
When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder.
In our example, Tommy has a speech disorder that makes him hard to understand. If his lips, tongue, and mouth are not moved at the right time, then what he says will not sound right. Children who stutter, and people whose voices sound hoarse or nasal have speech problems as well.
Jane has a receptive and expressive language disorder. She does not have a good understanding of the meaning of words and how and when to use them. Because of this, she has trouble following directions and speaking in long sentences. Many others, including adults with aphasia and children with learning disabilities, have language problems.
Language and speech disorders can exist together or by themselves. The problem can be mild or severe. In any case, a comprehensive evaluation by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the first step to improving language and speech problems.
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Summer 'Reef to Rain Forest" Program
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Take a minute and click on the link to our new summer program we are calling "Reef to Rain Forest" or "R2R" for short. It is a two week program that takes students all over Costa Rica learning about the environment and the incredible biodiversity of this great country. It is also a chance to earn a paritial credit for science and Spanish for those participants looking to add to their resumes. Just click on the link at the top of this newsletter and then send me an email to tell me what you think and also if you have ideas about how we can promote this new program. Students from all over are invited to join us. We hope CDSG students and students from around the globe will participate in this exciting new program.
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Upcoming Events
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March/April
ITBS Testing March 30 to April 3
Semana Santa (No School) April 4 - 13
Coffee House in April
Beach Challenge April 25
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Event Name
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 Month/Year
Event Day - Event Name, Event description
Event Day - Event Name, Event description
Event Day - Event Name, Event description
(Add a link to your Event description to provide additional event information and to drive traffic to your website)
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