Directly Speaking

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” -Cicero

Being raised in Massachusetts, U.S.A. required me to be able to re-tell the story of the first thanksgiving and understand its meaning beyond family, food and football. And while historians still debate over the fare at the first meal or the validity of whether the Native Americans or colonists began the tradition, growing up I lived in a community that took time during the end of November to recognize what others had done for them and encourage that we do so in the next year.

At CDS, this idea holds true as well. The month itself is surrounded by gratitude, from the elementary school taken on appreciation as their life skills theme this month, to middle school students interviewing members of our maintenance staff in order to learn about their lives and contributions, to the various thank you notes back and forth through our pony express and from groups visiting our high school to show gratitude to our students.

For me and for CDS, there is so much to appreciate at the moment. Here is a short list of people and projects that I am thankful for; they reach out to help those beyond themselves just in the past month:

• Four of our high school groups (National Honor Society, HS Roots and Shoots, Global
  Initiatives Network (GIN) and Bachchillerato Community Serivce Group) who joined forces and donated time and resources towards making at the La Carpio a better place. Working through the Fundación Humanitatia, I am thankful they are focused on their capacity to serve and empowering the women and youth of La Carpio to become independent and thriving.
• Our Middle School Roots & Shoots  group for organizing and collecting massive amount of rice and beans for Hogar Montiel‘s children.
• The wonderful donations by the elementary school classrooms that acted as displays for our Thanksgiving lunch AND then were donated to various El Carmen families as a surprise this week.
• The boxes of new shoes, sneakers and sandals for the CEN-CINIA children, donated by
  the families of ELC and Prep.
• The 176 children who chose to participate in the read-a-thon, read thousands of pages and raise thousands of dollars (millions of colones) for children at El Camren, La Carpio and Cabecar villages.
• The elementary school faculty who write, act, sing along and dance in the monthly Billy and Friends performances for our school. Their play about appreciation this month set the tone for all in the grades one through five.
• The Parents’ Association for hosting breakfasts and lunches for all of our teachers as a sign of appreciation for their work n the classroom, hallways and playing areas.

And, of course, many more simple, and often unseen, moments of appreciation happen each day on and off campus. We take the moment today, Thanksgiving, to focus on it. And I hope we can have a beginner’s mind, like those at the first Thanksgiving, and appreciate each other and what others give throughout the whole year.

Teaching and learning about the concerns and issues facing our children today requires collaboration between the home and school. It is important that families become aware, educated, and proactive to truly receive the full benefits of what happens in the classroom. Our Family & Education Series is designed to offer families insight into educational trends and matters and to allow you to become better equipped to support your children’s education.

Please find below a list of the topics and dates for our Family & Education Series for the 2011-2012 school year. Topics range from stress management for teens to helping your child become a lifelong reader. They cover a number of issues that connect school and home life. While the series is open to all CDS families, there are some presentations that are more beneficial for specific grades.

We might include additional presentations based on interest and time. If you have questions about any of the events, please contact your particular division’s office. We will send out reminders and details before each event through regular emails and newsletters.

• Restorative Circles in our School and at Home by Miguel Tello (all parents) Oct. 5, Wed. 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• What Is College All About? by Mike Sexton of the College Board (parents and students grades 9 – 11) Oct. 18, Tue. 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Help!My Child Is So Disorganized! by Kerri Nolan (grades 5-10) Oct. 25, Tue. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
• Decision Making Conversations: Drugs and Alcohol by Greg MacGilpin (grade 8 parents and their children)  Nov. 2, Wed. 6:30 –8:00 p.m.
• Stress Management for Teens and Preteens by Isabel Urrutia (grades 5 – 10)  Nov. 8, Tue. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
• The Teen Brain: Is That Why They do What They Do? by Kerri Nolan
  (grades 6 – 12)  Nov. 16, Wed. 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Tips and Tricks to Enhance Memorization by Chris Brown (all parents)  Dec. 1, Thur. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
• Social Relations in Middle School by Isabel Urrutia (grades 6 – 8)  Dec. 6, Tue. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
• Help your Child Build Early Reading Skills at Home by Alexandra
  Samper and Rachel Shakowski (grades pre-k – 2) Dec. 9, Fri. 5:30 – 7:30
  p.m.
• Technology Safety Night by Josh Knudson and Greg MacGilpin (grades 4 – 6).  Jan. 25, Wed. 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
• Do Boys and Girls Learn Differently? – Kerri Nolan (grades 4 – 10)  Jan. 31, Tue. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.
• Building Math Sense in your Child by Chris Brown (grades 1 – 8 )  Feb. 9, Thur. morning 8:15 – 9:30
• Help your Child Become a Lifelong Reader by Miguel Gonzalez, Vanessa Gonzalez, Doug Gamble, Amy Cohen, Shannon Sweetman (all parents)  Feb. 29, Wed. 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Decision Making Conversations: Social Relationships by Greg MacGilpin (grade 8 parents and their children)  March 7,Wed. 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
• Positive Discipline by Kerri Nolan (grades 1 – 8 )  April 17, Tue. 8:15 – 9:30 a.m.

We look forward to seeing you at our sessions.

The following is an excerpt from a “motivation” address by Elizabeth Picado, ’13 during the Acta Civica on Wednesday, September 14th in the High School Forum. Ms. Picado spoke with passion about being Costa Rican and why she was happy to share her heritage with others here at CDS.

(La traducción al español está por debajo.)

“The moment I began writing this motivation, I started thinking about the true meaning of being independent. At first, I thought it meant to have no political obligation with other country and have our own government. However, I realized that it means much more. Being independent is being proud of our identity. Becoming independent allowed us to develop our culture and create a personality that defines us as Costa Ricans. It allowed us to decide what type of people we were going to be and become pacifists and decide not to have an army. It allowed us to protect our nature and establish natural reservations throughout the country. Honestly, I agree with the decisions made by the founders of our country. When I read the headlines of global news, I thank God that I live in a country relatively peaceful, that I can freely express my opinion, and that I can enjoy of our beaches any time I desire.  The truth is that I am proud of the effort made by our grandparents. This is why I believe that today, when don´t only celebrate the day we became independent, but today we also celebrate our Costa Rican identity and who we are as a country.

Because of this, today I can proudly say that I´m am Costa Rican. I am Costa Rican and when I was little, I wore my “campesina” skirt, painted my lips with red and put an ‘amapola’ in my braid. I´m Costa Rican and I eat ‘gallo pinto’ for breakfast and eat ‘tamales’ in December. I´m Costa Rican and I get frustrated during our soccer games. I´m Costa Rican and I have a strong accent, I say ‘pura vida’, ‘mae’ and ‘tuanis’, and once in a while I say ‘charita‘or ‘teja’ But most importantly, I´m Costa Rican and I´m free. Today, I want to encourage all the people who are not Costa Rican and are present here, to take a little piece of our identity with you. I wish living in Costa Rica was not just a stage in your lives, but that my people could leave a print in your hearts. I wish you to arrive to United States, Spain, Brazil, Poland, Korea or whatever your country of origin is, and defend your natural resources promoting reservations, look for a peaceful alternative always, ‘bateen’ in your tests, say ‘mae‘ to whoever is in front of you, eat ‘gallo pinto’ or, in the worst of cases, arrive in “tico time” to everything. Thanks and Happy Independence Day!”

****

“Cuando comencé a escribir esta motivación, reflexioné mucho sobre el
verdadero significado de  ser independiente. Al principio, creía que significaba no tener ninguna obligación política con otro país y disfrutar de un gobierno propio. Sin embargo, me di cuenta de que es mucho más que eso. Ser independiente es estar orgulloso de
nuestra identidad. Independizarnos nos permitió desarrollarnos como cultura y
crearnos una personalidad que nos define como costarricenses. Nos permitió
decidir qué tipo de pueblo íbamos a ser e incluso, en opinión de algunos, pecar
de inocentes al convertirnos en pacifistas y no tener ejército. Nos permitió
proteger nuestra naturaleza y establecer reservas naturales a lo largo de todo
el país. Y sinceramente, estoy satisfecha con las decisiones tomadas por los
forjadores de nuestra República. Al ver los titulares de noticieros mundiales,
agradezco a Dios que vivo en un país relativamente pacífico, que puedo hablar
sobre lo que quiera cuando quiera y que puedo levantarme un sábado por la
mañana, montarme en el carro e ir a disfrutar de cualquiera de nuestras playas.
La verdad es que estoy orgullosa del esfuerzo de nuestros abuelos. Por eso,
creo que hoy no solo celebramos el día en que nos independizamos, sino que  celebramos nuestra identidad costarricense y
quiénes somos como país.

Por esto, gracias a que soy independiente, hoy puedo decir con orgullo que soy tica. Soy tica, y cuando era pequeña me puse la enagua de campesina con sus franjas de colores, me pinté los labios de rojo y me adorné la trenza con una amapola. Soy tica, y desayuno gallo pinto y como tamales en diciembre. Soy tica y me pego en la frente durante los partidos de la sele. Soy tica y hablo cantado, digo pura vida, mae y tuanis, y de vez en cuando se me salen palabras como charita o teja. Pero más importante, soy tica y soy libre. Realmente, mi mayor deseo esta mañana es motivar a cada una de las personas que no son ticas y que están aquí presentes, a que se lleven un poquito de nuestra identidad costarricense con ustedes. Que Costa Rica no sea solo una etapa de sus vidas, sino que mi gente deje una huella en sus corazones. Deseo, que lleguen a Estados Unidos, a España, Brasil, a Polonia, a Corea o a al país al que pertenecen, a defender sus riquezas naturales promoviendo reservas, a buscar siempre una alternativa pacífica, a batear en los exámenes, a decirle mae a quien se les cruce por enfrente, a comer gallo pinto o en e peor de los casos, a llegar en “hora tica” a todos lados. Gracias y ¡feliz Día de la Independencia!”