Congratulations to the girls and boys who participated in the AASCA basketball tournament. The girls went undefeated for the second year in a row and captured the championship. The boys only lost one game and finished third. It was a very well-organized tournament, and the host school, Marian Baker, set a high standard once again for all the AASCA schools to follow. The games at CDS were a lot of fun as well. The parent boosters stayed for every game selling food and refreshments, the students took turns as Captain Black, the CDS Panther, and the gym was rocking with noise and enthusiasm for the home teams.
I continue to be impressed with the behavior of our students. I have always complimented our kids on their kindness to each other and their overall acceptance and inclusiveness when it comes to others. A tournament involving schools from other Central American countries is yet another test of that goodwill, and I thought our kids passed that test with their usual good cheer and good sportsmanship. And I am pleased to say that it wasn’t just our kids. I noticed the same spirit in the kids from Panama, the kids from El Salvador, the kids from Guatemala and the other Costa Rican school kids. I don’t know if it is something about small schools (this was the AASCA small school basketball tournament) that brings this out in kids, but I don’t always hear accounts of the kind of inclusiveness and acceptance I saw this past weekend from teachers and coaches at much larger schools. When I think of the stereotypes of cliques and bullies and elitism, they usually come out of large, impersonal, high schools. And I mean no disrespect to large schools. I am sure there are many large schools where the sense of acceptance and community is equal to if not greater than what we experience. Nevertheless, this small school phenomenon that I am experiencing is unique to me as an educator and I want to applaud it.
Let me share with you a few highlights from the tournament, and none of them have anything to do with basketball, winning, or losing. At the icebreaker the players were all taught a dance to a popular “instructional” song, and all the kids had a great time interacting, jumping around, and learning the dance. Spontaneously, during half time or during a break in the action, someone would play the song over the speaker system and a team would jump up, race to the middle of the court, and start doing the dance. Other teams would hear the music and jump up to join them. It didn’t matter that the gym was filled with kids and adults from many different schools; there was no self-consciousness or shame. Everyone joined in on the fun.
After the hard fought games, the kids all gathered for some food and the distribution of trophies. When mvp’s or high scorers were announced, a genuine display of good will and congratulations erupted from the audience. Teams gave opponents standing ovations out of respect and admiration. I felt a great deal of pride watching as the athletes celebrated their successes as a team and applauded the successes of others. It was a display of good sportsmanship that arose out of programs that clearly emphasized and encouraged fair play.
As a school culture we moved seamlessly from AASCA to Halloween, finishing off the week with a rare all-school activity. I thought it was appropriate, in a way, that one of the few all-school events–celebrated independently and differently in each division–followed on the heels of AASCA, another “all-school” event in which each division plays an unique role. Each division participates in Halloween in what can best be described as age-appropriate activities. The elementary kids dress up in costumes and trick or treat throughout the school. The middle schoolers help distribute the candy, then get ready for their special activity: the Halloween dance. And finally, high school kids help the adults with the pizza sale and completely organize and supervise the games for the younger kids.
Speaking of seamless transitions, as we head into the Action tournament for basketball, the traditional end of basketball season, we also begin to move outdoors for the start of soccer season. The boys and girls soccer teams have already had several friendly matches and are eager to start their seasons. Below are a list of games that take us into next year and through the middle of March.
Varsity Soccer Action Tournament
Tues. Nov. 17: Girls vs Blue Valley 3:15 at Blue Valley
Tues. Nov. 24: Girls vs Lincoln 4:00 at CDS
Mon. Nov. 30: Boys vs ICS 3:15 at ICS
Thurs. Dec. 3: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at AIS
Boys vs AIS 4:00 at AIS
Sat. Dec. 12: Boys vs UWC 10:30 at UWC
Thurs. Jan. 21: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at CDS
Tues. Jan. 26: Girls vs ICS 3:15 at CDS
Mon. Feb. 8: Boys vs Blue Valley 3:15 at CDS
Tues. Feb. 9: Girls vs MBS 3:15 at San Ramon de Tres Rios
Thus. Feb. 11: Girls vs UWC 3:15 at CDS
Tues. Feb. 16: Girls vs MBS 3:15 at CDS
Mon. Feb. 22: Boys vs MBS 3:15 at CDS
Tues. Feb. 23: Girls vs AIS 3:15 at AIS
Tues. Mar.1: Girls vs Lincoln 3:15 at Lincoln
Boys vs Lincoln 4:00 at CDS
March 10-14: AASCA Soccer in Panamá
March 15-19: Semifinal and Final Action Games
Sorry this post is so late…I was hoping to upload some photos from the events but had some trouble. As I begin working on my next post I realize I should just put this one up. Sorry again for the delay.