JumpStart 2014 a Unos Pocos Dias

Poco más de una semana después del Año Nuevo, CRML estará lanzando la edición 2014 de nuestro proyecto JumpStart Costa Rica. Como se hizo para la edición pasada, en éste blog se estarán subiendo noticias, fotos, y otras novedades desde principio al final, en muchos casos escritas directamente de las docenas de comunidades donde JumpStart 2014 se realizará. Le animamos a visitar la columna a la derecha denominada “Nuestros Campamentos 2014.” En este momento están vacías las páginas ahí enumeradas, pero a partir del 9 de enero se empezarán a llenar con contenido compartido por nuestros facilitadores alrededor del país, con mensajes en inglés y español para que nuestros patrocinadores de Costa Rica como fuera de nuestras fronteras puedan mantenerse al tanto y seguir el crecimiento de nuestros estudiantes. Mientras tanto, si quisiera conocer la experiencia que próximamente tendrán nuestros estudiantes, visite las secciones de nuestros campamentos 2013, las cuales se pueden encontrar también a la derecha.

¿No sabe exactamente donde quedan los sitios para JumpStart 2014? ¡Le mostramos! Vea nuestro mapa, el cual le pueda interesar aunque lo hayas visto antes. Recién actualizado, al rastrear el ¨mouse¨ sobre cada sede muestra cuantos estudiantes estarán participando en el campamento ahí y también las escuelas donde esos estudiantes asistieron este curso lectivo recién cumplido. En total, casi 600 estudiantes de poco menos de 100 escuelas formarán parte de JumpStart 2014.

Por último, si le interesa ser parte del equipo de trabajo para facilitar los próximos campamentos y también ayudarnos a sembrar semillas para un JumpStart 2015, es el tiempo propicio para unirse a la causa. Aun una contribución pequeña hace una diferencia tangible, y se puede hacer en unos pocos minutos.

Les enviamos nuestros mejores deseos para el año 2014 de parte de Costa Rica Multilingüe y toda la familia JumpStart. Esperamos que como los campamentos el inicio del año sea todo un éxito. Esperamos compartir con usted nuestras próximas aventuras 2014.

JumpStart 2014 Just Days Away

Just over a week after New Years, CRML will be kicking off our 2014 edition of JumpStart Costa Rica! Like last year, we’ll be providing you with updates not only from our office but also directly from the ground. Check out the top column to the right, “Our 2014 camps,” for links to each of our JumpStart 2014 sites around the country. You’ll find empty pages at the moment, but between January 9th and February 7th, 2014, they’ll fill up with stories, pictures and other media posted by our camp facilitators, with content in both English and Spanish so that all our supporters around the world can stay in the loop and follow the progress of our students.

In the meantime, for a taste of the dynamic classroom experience our students are in for next month, we invite you to peruse postings from the facilitators at the helm of last January’s 2013 edition of camps, also divided by site to the right. Not sure exactly where our JumpStart 2014 sites are located? We’ve got a map for that, which you might find interesting even if you’ve seen it before. Freshly updated, it no longer shows just where our 2014 camps will take place. For each camp, you can now find out how many students will be participating, and also see a list of the schools those students attended this year. In total, nearly 600 students from just under 100 Costa Rican schools will attend JumpStart beginning next month.  

Lastly, if you’d like to become part of the team working to make JumpStart 2014 possible and help plant the seeds for a successful 2015 edition in the future, we invite you to consider making a contribution towards our cause. Support in any amount makes a tangible difference, and pledging yours takes only a few simple clicks of the mouse.

Since it’s perhaps too late to say Happy Holidays, on behalf Costa Rica Multilingüe and the entire JumpStart family, Happy New Year! We look forward to sharing our adventures with you as we roll into 2014.

JumpStart Training Now Underway!

With each edition of JumpStart, the pre-camp training at the end of the school year kicks off the last stretch of project coordination. Today, Costa Rica Multilingüe (CRML) is excited to welcome to San José the Peace Corps Volunteers who will be leading most of our camps this coming January as part of JumpStart 2014! For all involved, this training is exciting on several levels. As the only event that brings together the vast majority of this project’s many collaborators, it’s the one opportunity to really see and grasp firsthand the true scale of JumpStart. Not only does it signify that many months of work are about to pay off; it also indicates to what extent. And it’s safe to say this training will be especially validating.

This week’s training will be twice the size of the one we did this time last year. Whereas JumpStart 2013 included 14 camps led by Peace Corps Volunteers, this January we’ll be doing camps in 26 communities through Peace Corps support. Tomorrow we’ll meet the second half of attendees: most of the 25 MEP (Ministry of Education) English Teachers who’ve signed on to serve as co-facilitators at our Peace Corps camps, as well as those teachers’ Regional Advisors, whose advocacy for this project has proven invaluable at several crucial phases of camp planning. Between Volunteers, Teachers and Advisors, we’ll be working with over 50 counterparts this week. Even those who’ve participated in JumpStart before are in for a treat, because a freshly revised curriculum is coming their way. We’ve added a few new English lessons, as well as entirely new extracurricular components. One, which we’re calling “High School Ready,” includes a series of five sessions to prepare students for their upcoming transition to secondary education more generally. From those five sessions, camp facilitators will chose one to organize and implement with students each week. Sessions include a Q&A with local high schoolers, another with high school teachers on habits for academic success, and a high school tour.


Esteli at Casa Presidencial with
friend Raquel, a Spanish teacher
from the UK who helped teach
the first week of JumpStart camp
in Katsi, Talamanca

This week’s JumpStart extravaganza comes not long after last month’s training with Esteli, a Peace Corps Volunteer who is now halfway through JumpStart 2014’s first and only camp to be held outside the standard January-February timeframe. Esteli is working with students from several schools in Costa Rica’s indigenous Talamanca region, with support from other Peace Corps Volunteers and friends from abroad. So far, her camp has been quite the success. The first day, more sixth graders (rising high schoolers) showed up than the number of students who generally enter the local high school each year. We’re excited to see pictures from Katsi, and will share them here as soon as we get them. Also, expect pictures from this week’s big event, which will be coming soon!

JumpStart 2014: ¡Hora de Inscripción!

Cada uno de los iconos del mapa de arriba corresponde a una comunidad que será sede de un campamento de inglés como parte de la tercera edición de JumpStart Costa Rica programada para enero del próximo año. Por medio de los 23 campamentos indicados (ver la mapa a la izquierda bajo "Donde Estamos" para una version interactiva), JumpStart 2014 tendrá la capacidad de llegar directamente a más de 500 estudiantes, casi el doble del número de graduados de JumpStart 2013. Durante las próximas semanas, nuestra esperanza es poder llegar a muchas zonas más. Esto significa que queda tiempo para que otras comunidades, tal vez la suya, se inscriban para JumpStart 2014. 

Hasta la fecha, voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz (EE.UU) especializados en la enseñanza del inglés como idioma extranjero (TEFL) han desempeñado un papel clave en la expansión de JumpStart. Con su apoyo, hemos logrado pasar de un sólo campamento piloto a ser ahora una iniciativa nacional. Para el 2014, la alianza entre CRML y el Cuerpo de Paz se ha hecho aún más fuerte: voluntarios de dicha organización están a cargo de coordinar y luego facilitar 22 de los 23 campamentos en el mapa. 

¿Y el otro campamento? ¿Quién estará coordinando y facilitando ese? Para JumpStart 2014, una comunidad no tiene que contar con voluntario/a residente del Cuerpo de Paz para poder montar un JumpStart local. Por primera vez, una comunidad puede solicitar ser parte del programa directamente a la Fundación y recibir para el mes de enero a un voluntario angloparlante reclutado en colaboración con nuestros socios para facilitar su campamento. Este paso significa una apertura del programa JumpStart a cada rincón del país—el acceso para esas localidades donde nuestros amigos del Cuerpo de Paz no están actualmente trabajando, como por ejemplo San Rafael de Alajuela, ¡el lugar donde se está montando ese campamento 23 bajo el liderazgo de una profesora de la zona! 

Para ser aprobado como sede para JumpStart 2014, toda comunidad solicitante tiene que cumplir con dos requisitos: 1) Contar con un residente, sea alguien que hable el inglés o no, que se encargue de coordinar el campamento a nivel local (asegurar el acuerdo formal de escuelas participantes, reclutar estudiantes, etc.) y 2) contribuir con una parte de los recursos y servicios necesarios para JumpStart.

Para mayor información sobre cómo su comunidad puede solicitar un campamento y así formar parte del mapa de sitios para JumpStart 2014, le invitamos a contactarnos al bchildress@crmultilingue.org. Si le interesa apoyar a las comunidades que ya están coordinando campamentos en cubrir todo lo que se necesita para JumpStart (meriendas para estudiantes, materiales didácticos, etc.), haga clic aqui. Hay un límite del número de campamentos que se pueden realizar, así que actué ya. ¡Le esperamos!

JumpStart Expands Beyond Summer Break

Big things are happening in the world of JumpStart! Since this past Monday, the first ever JumpStart camp during students´ mid-year school break (July 1st - 12th) has been underway. The camp, which will last a total of two weeks and include 30 hours of instruction, is being hosted by Reserva Los Coyotes, a nonprofit organization located on a tract of protected forest only a short distance by car from downtown San José. Through its Aula en el Bosque (Classroom in the Forest) program, Reserva Los Coyotes provides elementary students from nearby communities with supplementary instruction in the science topics they learn about in school using hands-on, experiential activities in the outdoors. Like us, they´re committed to dynamic teaching strategies that keep student´s out of their seats and engaged The perfect project partner!



JumpStart Los Coyotes is being facilitated by three volunteers -- Stewart from England, Sima from New York City, and Chelsea from New Jersey – who we managed to recruit through the invaluable support of volunteer organization Maximo Nivel. With assistance from Los Coyotes staff, they´ve spent the last three days reviewing topics such as greetings, basic conversation, and how to describe physical appearance with their 19 students. Starting tomorrow, the curriculum will transition to lessons designed to apply students´ existing English knowledge to topics in science. For instance, instead of describing people, students will be describing animals and leaves. What is the difference between a mammal and an amphibian? What is the difference between a simple leaf and a compound leaf? By the end of this week, our sixth-grade camp participants will be able to answer these questions – in English! At the end of next week, after reviewing prepositions and learning to give directions for navigating the Los Coyotes trails, students will face the camp´s cumulative final project: to devise and complete scavenger hunts involving various landmarks around the Reserve.

JumpStart Reserva Los Coyotes represents substantial progress towards two of our main goals for the JumpStart program: 1) adding more opportunities to reach students, and 2) moving toward a model whereby students learn English in the context of other academic disciplines. As the camp progresses, we´ll be adding more updates to keep our supporters informed, including stories from our volunteer facilitators. Stay tuned!

I am a student, I am strong, I am young!

JumpStart Camp B!

After four weeks, our JumpStart camps finally came to a close. This last week was extra fun because we had a special visitor from Programe Adopte un Talento from Mexico, Richard, who came to incorporate science and math into our English language learning. From making sundials, to playing a counting game with buttons, to making a mess with giant bubbles on the floor, the students had a blast learning science and math at the same time as English. What a great opportunity it was for our JumpStart camp to have Richard, the kids learned so much. Thank you Richard!

At the end of the camp, all the students wrote Thank You letters to the people who sponsored us and made our camp possible. One student, William, complained about writing a letter to someone he had not even met yet. His letter said, "Thank you for helping me to learn English. My name is William. I am fifteen years old. I live in Santa Teresa. I am tall. I am a student. I am strong. I am young. (Translated from Spanish) For me, JumpStart was a camp where I learned to share, to work in a team, and to be a more open person. Thank you to all the people who donated, you helped me learn a new language. Sincerely, William" Another student, Alonso wrote, "For me, the camp was something unforgettable that you all donated your time to us. We learned English before entering high school. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have done for us."

My amazing co-teacher, Diego, and I

All in all, I just wanted to thank everyone who helped make this camp possible for us. It was one of the most rewarding things I have done in my service here in Costa Rica. I could see the students learning and improving in only two weeks! They built confidence, friendships, and developed a base for English. In their comments, the students asked for more days of camp and more activities. At the end of the camp in a survey, when asked what they would say to the incoming students next year who might participate in JumpStart, one student, Adriana wrote that she would tell them, "They should go because it is a very good opportunity and they have to take advantage of it." I'm ready for JumpStart 2014, are you?

Thank you from students of Valle la Estrella

A big, heart felt "THANK YOU" from the Colegio Tecnico Profesional Valle la Estrella JumpStart graduates!!!

Last week down...and they're off to 7th grade!

Friday, February 1^st marked the last day of La Guaria’s JumpStart camp. What a special day to end a very special week! I’ll start from the beginning…

This past week the students learned to tell time, to talk about different foods and ask for food in a restaurant setting, they played fun games in order to review everything, they had  their final interview, and we had a fun visitor!

I am SO proud of each and every student. I took a look at their first interview videos and then the final one and am soooo impressed by the change. They have learned and retained a ton of English.

Doing a practice called "Match Mine"

Isenia had to attend a meeting one day for the school, so my friend Lena came down to help out with class. The students prepared interview questions for her ranging from “Do you have a boyfriend?” to What’s your favorite fruit?”. Again, I felt so proud. Later we learned how to give and receive directions in order to take Lena on a tour of the high school (on which we lucked into seeing baby pigs!).

We also found the time to squeeze in a little morning yoga. The kids really enjoyed doing something a little different! My favorite part was when we all sat in circle, holding hands and with our eyes closed. We were practicing “passing the energy”. I started by squeezing the hand of the person to my right, and then they passed it on by squeezing the hand of the person to his/her right and so on until the hand squeeze returned back to me.

Class on Friday (our last day!) started with an activity called “Say Something Nice Behind My Back”. At the beginning of JumpStart each student received a notecard with his/her name on it to place on the desk. For this activity the students taped the notecards to their backs and then wrote nice, anonymous  comments on the notecards. We then danced the Cha Cha slide, followed by some other English games, and ended the day with a mini “graduation” where each student received a t-shirt and a certificate.

Cake and a slideshow of pictures were the final treat to conclude an amazing English camp!!

The end of JumpStart. The beginning of High School.

Yesterday was a whirlwind.  The students were super excited.  We had visitors from Costa Rica Multilingue and our sponsor CRUSA.

The students performed for our specials guests and their parents.  They received t-shirts, certificates, notebooks, pencils and folders.  A great time was had by all!

Congratulations, future 7th graders of Amubri!

Well, JumpStart Amubri officially came to an end today so I'm gonna do one last post just to say... wow! So much can happen in 4 short weeks. It was awesome to be with the kids today, they were just bubbling over with positive energy and excitement. They put a lot of thought into filling out their final surveys about the camp and some of their comments really surprised me - like the thing that almost all of them would change about the camp would be...to start it earlier in the morning?! And it turns out that the singing that no one really admitted to liking... ended up being one of almost everybody's favorite activities!

I enjoyed sitting down with each one of the students individually as we recorded their final video interviews. But it was even more fun for me to watch them again just now, together with the ones that we made on the first day of class. It's great to see how much more English they can speak and understand but it makes me even happier to see how much more comfortable and confident they seem. I'm looking forward to being able to continue to support and teach these kids as they start their first year of high school...

 Hermana Cecilia Alvarado, principal of Amubri's elementary school, came to congratulate the students and to speak with them about the importance of continuing their education and taking advantage of the opportunities they've been given.

It was lots of work for everyone involved, but definitely worth it! Yay! Go JumpStart Amubri!!
So proud of each one of these students!

Saludos desde Puerto Jiménez

Después de estas cuatro semanas del campamento Jump Start Osa (patronicado por la Embaja Norteamericana), ya el programa, y el sueño se acabó. Estas bellas cuatro semanas han sido cuatro de la mejores que he tenido desde que llegué a Puerto Jiménez. Aunque no es un adiós a los catorce güilas, Barton y Yo, todavía, tenemos un poco algo de tristeza decirles hasta luego. En este momento, lamentablamente, no tenemos las fotos de la ceremonia de graduación listas, entonce decidimos subir esta rendición de In, On, Under por Hellen, Katherine, y Freisel. Estas muchachas tan valientes dirigieron la coregrafía por su propia parte. ¡Disfruten!

Hoy ha sido un día demasiado largo y complejo, pero quisiera compartir un poco algo con ustedes por haber confiar en nuestros estudiantes por el mes entero de enero. Aquí es una foto de Keiler redactando la carta de gracias a los quienes han apoyado al campamento!

Ha sido un gran placer particpar en el proyecto de Costa Rica Mulitlingüe, me gustaría reforzar las gracias por la parte de la Peninsila de Osa y del pueblo jimeneño.

Saludos desde Puerto Jiménez.

Bitter Sweet

Yesterday another student came back to camp.  He had a family emergency and therefore missed Monday and Tuesday.  He picked up right from where we left off.  Randall, the regional English adviser, came yesterday to help with recreo (recess).  He taught the students a game that they really liked.  We also learned a song using the prepositions of location.  I didn't know if my lack of singing talent would hinder the learning process.  The students didn't cover their ears and they learned the song.  In fact they learned it so well that they sang it off and on the rest of the class.  We did an activity using school supplies.  In pairs, the students had to organize the items and then describe their location to the other pair.  The other pair had to organize the items according to the description.  When both sides are ready they remove the barriers and compare.  Here is a photo of the activity in process.

Today yet another student came back to camp.  Turns out that his bicycle was broken for a while.  Since we didn't have use of the UNA mini-bus he wasn't able to come to camp.  Having missed 3 days this week proved difficult for him.

Randall, came to camp again today and supervised recreo.  He suggested that they create a new game, but the students liked yesterdays game so much that they played it again today.  We made our Thank You cards and letters for all of the donors that made JumpStart CRUSA Sarapiqui possible.  The students also created sale advertisements to review clothing, colors and numbers.

Tomorrow is our last class together.  I think that we are all experiencing mixed feelings.  We have all grown and learned so much this month.  Personally, I am really excited for their parents to see how much they have learned in one month.  Graduation will be at 11:00 tomorrow morning.  The students will receive t-shirts, notebooks, pencils, graduations certificates.  We will also have cookies and drinks.  Staff from Costa Rica Multilingue and CRUSA are coming for the graduation.  I'm really excited for the students and sad because I will miss them.  As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end".

¡El inglés...con las Ciencias!

Esta semana, JumpStart Costa Rica 2013 cuenta con el apoyo de dos invitados especiales del Programa Adopte un Talento (PAUTA) de México, Janet Verjovsky y Richard Cisneros. En cinco regiones de México, PAUTA trabaja con jóvenes de escasos recursos que demuestran talento académico, para brindarles oportunidades educativas en las ciencias y la matemática en colaboración con algunos de los principales escolares del país. Además, PAUTA ofrece capacitaciones a profesores para mejorar la enseñanza de dichas materias en las aulas. La organización promueve un modelo académico donde el profesor, en vez de explicarles todo a sus estudiantes, les presenta un problema y los reta a identificar el cómo y el por qué mediante actividades dinámicas e interactivas,  ayudándolos así  a desarrollar destrezas vitales como el pensamiento crítico y la creatividad.

Richard con estudiantes en Sabalito

 Bueno, pero ¿qué tiene que ver dicho programa con JumpStart? En cuanto a las ciencias y la matemática, el inglés es la lengua franca de la investigación. Para un estudiante que espera ser doctor, químico,  ingeniero,  o profesional en casi cualquier otro sector del campo científico o relacionado con números,  es casi inevitable que se tope con el inglés durante la universidad. No saber el idioma puede ser una muleta. Al contrario, poder manejarlo le permite acceder de pleno a los nuevos desarrollos dentro de su carrera. En Costa Rica Multilingüe siempre trabajamos con la meta de promover la competitividad y la empleabilidad del pueblo costarricense. Integrar las ciencias a nuestros campamentos JumpStart nos parece una buena manera de asegurar que nuestros niños--especialmente los que vienen de zona rural y escuela pequeña--tengan oportunidades que los preparen para sobresalir en las carreras que más se demandan.

Janet en La Cruz

El viernes pasado en San José, Janet y Richard expusieron con Marta Blanco, Directora Ejecutiva de CRML, sobre el vínculo entre el inglés y las ciencias en la Conferencia Nacional para Profesores de Inglés (NCTE). Después de una visita el sábado al Volcán Irazú y a Cartago, salieron en direcciones distintas desde la capital para realizar lecciones de PAUTA en las clases de dos diferentes campamentos JumpStart. Richard está ahora trabajando con Darien, voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz (EE.UU.), en el campamento en Sabalito de Coto Brus. Al otro lado del país, Janet está trabajando con otra voluntaria, Taylor, en La Cruz de Guanacaste. Con los estudiantes en esas comunidades, Janet y Richard están facilitando actividades sobre temas científicos que van de la astronomía a la física. En México ellos suelen enseñar en español, pero acá están incorporando el inglés. 

Nosotros en CRML no podríamos estar más emocionados para esta nueva colaboración y las oportunidades que presenta para el futuro de JumpStart. Este viernes, Janet estará en Liberia para el cierre del campamento, y Richard estará en Puerto Jiménez. Poco después estarán regresando juntos a México. ¡Estaremos en contacto con ellos para un futuro!

The Final Thursday

Today was a day packed with review games, 'bubbleology' science experiment, and finally painting the student's desks! What a day! 

We began with reviewing direction, numbers, and body parts with the kids three favorite activities...all outside and really active. Part I of the day consisted of Janet's activity called Bubble-ology. The kids were given a variety of soaps and different types of instruments to create bubbles: straws, cups, spatulas, serving spoons, wires, etc. We measured the bubbles and found the biggest bubbles can be made by poking a straw in a plastic bubble and blowing through the straw. We were so impressed with the kids creativity!

Next, with our donated paints and paintbrushes, the students finally got to design and paint their desks. We had some amazing creations: lots of JumpStart desks, hearts, flowers, a few Rastafarian themed desks and even a little mouse! They were given the themes of English, science, or nature and had to paint within those boundaries... 

Tomorrow is the big day! I think more than the certificates, the kids are most excited about their peer voted superlatives...hopefully all will go well with the cake and pizza surprise for the last day!!

Final update tomorrow...

- Taylor Westfall

Superstars!

Often, we write and talk about our projects, the curriculum, the successes we frequently find, mention our partners and sponsors, among many other great things we are doing, but we sometimes forget the beautiful faces that make our project a reality; the faces that have made our project possible.

Here are the fourteen faces of Jump Start Osa who have shined as SUPERSTARS for the last month! And Osa-English-Teaching-Extraordinaire Barton.

The glamorous Leonela!

Mr. Kevin (He has a very special talent for EL)

Ms. Katherine from Monterrey. Sometimes she tries to hide her smile, but eventually it always surfaces.

Keiler and Freisel! 

Ms. Jeymi!

The Steven Tandem (Reyes and Jimenez) 

Daniel from Bambu!

Rosa, a rising superstar, from Amapola!

The Fabulous Hellen from Agujas.

The Two Sandalo Estrellas, Lady and Rachel.

Marlon has his back turned! 

Co-Teacher Barton!

This Picture Is Just Way Too Cute Not To Upload! Hellen and Steven.

Some Help From World Teach Panama!

First, I would like to offer an apology for not blogging during week three of Jump Start Osa.

Famous Osa-English-Teaching-Extraordinaire Barton Rode and I were off perusing in San Jose at the Costa Rica National English Teaching Conference. We saw a great opportunity to be able to gain some English Teaching Strategies we could use for Jump Start, so we jumped at the opportunity to attend on behalf of the Peace Corps. Don't fret though folks, World Teach Panama and Jump Start Osa were able to coordinate together to ensure our lovely fourteen students didn't miss any class time! 

A very great teacher, friend, and program director of World Teach Panama, Amanda, volunteered some time to come travel to Puerto Jiménez from Veraguas, Panamá and teach the week of classes. Amanda has a lot of experience working in Latin America, speaks beautiful Puerto Rican Spanish, and taught TEFL classes for several years before being hired by World Teach to direct programs in Panama, and most recently in India. Amanda was just transferred to lead the program in India. 

Before leaving for India, this is what Amanda had to say about Jump Start Osa: 

"It was inspiring for me to be part of such a well put together program. As a teacher, it touched me to be part of a classroom again, especially with the great kids that have volunteered their time this summer to take English classes. As the director of a volunteer program in Panama, I was struck by the ingenuity and dedication of the Peace Corps volunteers conducting the camp. Jumpstart offers an amazing opportunity to empower youth through education while fully engaging the energies and skills of their teachers. Participating in this program has been a great treat for me. Now, to start one in Panama..."

Team Work!

When Barton and I returned to camp, we asked the kids about her classes, the common response we received was the confession that they liked her better, because she didn't assign homework. :) It was very evident that the students all responded very positively to her teaching methods and practices.

Thank you, Amanda! Everyone at Jump Start Osa wishes you the best for your future endeavors, and extends a warm thanks for helping carry out Costa Rica Multilingue's, the US Embassy, and Peace Corps vision of helping these kids work to attain a better future through English learning.

Cantando * Singing

We've learned a few songs along the way to help us learn vocabulary and remember how to pronounce new words. On one of the first days of camp, I asked the kids who liked to sing. They looked at me suspiciously and asked "Why?!" Almost all of them told me that they didn't really like to sing. But just take a look at their faces... they seem to be enjoying themselves! Which is good, since we usually start our days with a song, or two... or three. 

Hemos aprendido algunas canciones que nos ayudan a aprender vocabulario y recordar cómo pronunciar palabras nuevas. En uno de los primeros días del campamento, les pregunté a los niños a quienes les gustaba cantar. Me miraron con desconfianza y me preguntaron "¿Por qué?" Casi todos me dijeron que no les gustaba mucho cantar. Pero sólo tiene que mirar a las caras... parecen estar disfrutando! Lo cual es bueno, ya que por lo general comienzan nuestros días con una canción o dos ... o tres.

Good Morning! (canción de los saludos)

 

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes (canción de las partes del cuerpo)

Days of the Week (días de la semana)

English...and Science!

This week, the JumpStart Costa Rica 2013 team is joined by two special guests from Mexico´s Adopt a Talent Program (PAUTA), Janet Verjovsky and Richard Cisneros. In Mexico, PAUTA works with underprivileged youth who demonstrate academic talent by providing them with educational opportunities in science and math designed in collaboration with some of the nation´s top scholars. Additionally, PAUTA offers training to teachers to improve how science and math courses are taught in schools. The organization promotes an academic model whereby the teacher takes on the role of facilitator instead of providing students with all the answers. PAUTA´s lessons present kids with a problem and then challenge them to discover a solution, thereby pushing them to think critically and be creative.

Richard from PAUTA working with JumpStart
students in Sabalito de Coto Brus

So, why involve an organization focused on science education with JumpStart? In science, English is the lingua franca of research. For an engineer, doctor, mathematician, chemist, or professional working in virtually any other field of science or math, fluency in English can make him her her better poised to contribute to and learn from the international conversation surrounding their speciality. For that reason, we´re working to turn JumpStart into a program that provides students in Costa Rica with support in both English and science, and that also promotes greater collaboration between teachers of those two subjects.

Janet from PAUTA in La Cruz de Guanacaste

Las Friday, Janet and Richard presented alongside Marta Blanco, our Executive Director here at Costa Rica Multilingüe, about the relationship between English and science at Costa Rica´s annual National Conference for Teachers of English (NCTE). After a trip to the Irazú Volcano on Saturday, they headed in separate directions to integrate PAUTA lessons into two of this year´s JumpStart camps. Currently Richard is working with Darien, the Peace Corps Volunteer in Sabalito, at her JumpStart camp in the local high school. Janet, on the other hand, is on the opposite end of the country working with Taylor in La Cruz. With students in these communities, Janet and Richard are facilitating lessons on topics ranging from astronomy to physics. In Mexico they teach exclusively in Spanish. For JumpStart, however, they are integrating English into their science activities.

Here at CRML we are so excited for this new collaboration and the opportunities it presents for the future! This Friday, Janet will be in Liberia for the JumpStart graduation ceremony there, and Richard will be in Puerto Jiménez. Shortly after they´ll be heading back to Mexico. We will definitely be staying in touch!

Conocé a Rachel!

Rachel y Keiler trabajando

El primer día del campamento, Barton y yo estuvimos tratando de aprender todos los nombres de nuestros estudiantes, estábamos intentando de conocer a los chiquillos, y averiguar todos los motivos y las razones que tenían por asistir el campamento. Ya todos saben que el campamento se ha realizado durante sus días libres mientras están de vacaciones. ¿Por qué quieren ir a aprender el inglés cuando no hay clases? Obviamente todos tienen sus propias justificaciones, pero nos gustaría que todos tuvieran la oportunidad de conocer a Rachel. Es una de los catorce aspirantes del campamento, Jump Start Osa. Rachel es bien concentrada y tiene una historia demasiada bella.

Haciendo un dialogo.

Rachel es hija única y vive con sus padres. Su mamá es ama de casa y su papá es pensionado. Rachel vive en Sándalo, un pueblito demasiado pequeño que tiene muy poco ofrecer, en la península de Osa. Rachel nunca había tenido clases de inglés antes de que empezara este curso de inglés. Según a Rachel, aprender el inglés es un poco difícil, muy divertido, y bien útil e imperativo para su futuro y sus estudios. Nos dijo que “es simple, en realidad, entendemos porque debemos aprender el inglés.” Rachel nos contó que la vida puede ser muy difícil, si no se hace las decisiones correctas durante la vida.

Rachel es alumna de primera generación; es la primera persona de su familia que asistirá al colegio. Para mí, aprender eso es increíble. Como Latino quien viene de las partes desfavorecidas, de un barrio desamparado, me puedo relacionar con, o sea concibo, la realidad de Rachel y la vida de los alumnos de primera generación. Ese primer día, no supe mucho de esta muchacha tan valiente, pero inmediatamente me di cuenta que no era como los demás. Era más tímida, introvertida, y calmada. Rachel se sostenía muy callada, no quiso participar mucho, pero propagaba genialidad como nunca había visto antes en un alumno.

Rachel tiene un poco de verguenza por su compañero

Como los días se convirtieron en semanas, Rachel, y su dominio, floreció y surgió como una de los más probables de agarrar la lengua, lo más rápido que sea posible. Ahora, Rachel, participa en las clases sin problema, nunca falla, tiene buena pronunciación, y es modela de lo que debería ser un alumno de inglés. Es menos tímida y confía mucho en sus compañeros. No sé cuando se transformó, pero yo les puedo decir que el resultado es por Jump Start Osa y el proyecto de Costa Rica Multilingüe. Antes del campamento, Rachel, sumamente, era buena estudiante, pero ahora me parece que Rachel maneja el trabajo del curso con facilidad y con confianza en sí misma. Jump Start continúa de ser un paso demasiado importante como una introducción a sus nuevos compañeros y el ambiente del colegio del porvenir.