BULLETIN No. 20

Upcoming Dates

General

Welcome to the 2^nd Semester
We hope that all members of our Learning Community had an enjoyable and restful mid-semester break and we look forward to a positive and productive second semester of the year.

Admissions 2025
We remind all interested parties that we have now started the admission process for Early Years levels for the 2025 academic year.  Please contact the Admissions Department (WhatsApp 8461-7965 or email: admissions@bscr.ed.cr) for more information.

Bicentenary of the Annexation of the Partido de Nicoya
With the objective of celebrating the 200-year anniversary of the Anexión del Partido de Nicoya we invite all students to come to School dressed in typical dress on Friday the 26^th of July.

Chess Tournament
In celebration of World Chess Day (July 20th), and considering that this is one of the most popular board games among our students with proven benefits to those who practice it, we are pleased to inform you that The Libraries and the Department of Extracurricular Clubs have organized a Chess Tournament and other special activities which will take place between July 29th and August 5th. We urge and motivate students who were part of the Chess Clubs during the 1st Semester of this year to register for the tournament in their respective library no later than Tuesday, July 23. We will provide you with more details soon.

Staffing Update

During the last month we have said farewell to a number of staff members as they have moved on to the next stage of their lives.  From our academic section: Ileana Cruz, Sofía Montoya, Liam Moffat, Karl Breen and Eoin Lafferty all moved on to new positions.  In addition, the following three staff members from our Auxiliary Staff retired: Patricia Marín, Lourdes Zúñiga and Amalia Araya.  Finally, we said a sad farewell to Gerardo Orozco (Security Guard) who, after working at The British School since 1993, retired.  We thank each of our departing staff members for all of their hard work during their time with us and wish each of them the very best in the next stage of their lives.

As we say goodbye to the above staff members we also welcome a new Senior Administrator to the British School Learning Community.  Gerardo Arroyo is a vastly experienced educational leader who has held various positions in Schools in both Costa Rica and overseas.  He has also worked for the IB since 2016 in a number of different roles.  Gerardo will have overall responsibility for the School’s Administration moving forward and will work in conjunction with Mr. Berridge, as Head of Academics, to oversee the transition period, before Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd’s eventual retirement.

Primary

Quarter 2 – House Competition in Primary
After a very closely fought Quarter 2, Poás came out on top in the Primary House Competition. House Captain, Sabrina Ruiz and Vice-Captain, Jonathan Mora, received the trophy on behalf of their peers at the end of Semester assembly. Photo

Primary Maths Workshop
Please see the flyer as a reminder to those parents who are interested in attending next week’s Maths Workshop, which will take place next Wednesday at 8:30 am in the auditorium. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn how best to support your child at home with practical strategies linked to the teaching of Maths. Flyer

Creativity Day
The end of Semester 1 was celebrated in Primary via Creativity Day. Creativity is one of our five school values and it was wonderful to see mixed year groups of students within both Early Years, and Primary, enjoy a wide range of activities that promoted interest, collaboration and above all, enjoyment. Photo 1 / Photo 2 / Photo 3 / Photo 4

LDA Goalkeeper
Congratulations to Ibrahim Mizhgan (Year 5), on being selected by Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) as their main goalkeeper for their U12 and U13 teams.  Here is a photo of Ibrahim with LDA Talent Director, Victor Badilla, after he signed his contract – Photo

Secondary

Olcoma Math Olympiad – Semi-Finals
Congratulations to our 16 National Semi-Finalists in the OLCOMA Math Olympiad.  These ‘mathletes’ are in the top 30% of Costa Rican competitors in 2024 and will be competing on August 30^th for the prized spots in the National Finals to be held on November 11^th,12^th, and 13^th.  We wish them well as they train for the upcoming events:

Level 1:  Kevin Brown, Natalie Lipschitz, Lucía Madrigal, Camilo Schuster, Judy Wu
Level 2:  Daniel Brampton, Thomas Gray, Lucía Herrero, Agustín Mejía, Emiliano Robalino
Level 3:  Santiago Calvo, Cristel Haaversen, Leonardo Jiménez, Ally Lin, Carlos Shum, Roberto Zúñiga

USA Cup Champions
Congratulations to our U13 Boys football team and their coaches on being crowned champions in their category at the USA Cup weekend tournament held in Minnesota, USA.  We also wish the team the best of luck as they participate in the week-long tournament this week!  Photo

BSCR students in Artistic Swimming National Team at CCCAN, Mexico
Congratulations to Naima Álvarez (Year 6A) and Abigail Álvarez (Year 9A) on representing Costa Rica at the CCCAN tournament (Campeonato Centroamericano y del Caribe de Natación), which took place in Monterrey, Mexico during the last week of June.  Naima finished fifth in the region with her solo routine in the 12 and under category, while Abigail won a silver medal with the 13-15 years old free team routine. You can watch their routine in this broadcast, starting at 1:19:57.  Result

New Teachers
As we start a new semester, we are delighted to welcome a number of new teachers to our Secondary section:

• Belkis Mayorga, who possesses a Bachillerato en Enseñanza del Castellano y Literatura from The University of Costa Rica, joins our Spanish Department.
• Angie Zúñiga, who possesses a Bachillerato en la enseñanza del Español y la Literatura and also a Bachillerato en Filología Española, both from the University of Costa Rica, also joins our Spanish Department.
• Stephanie Castillo, who possesses a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor’s in K-12 Special Education from the University of North Carolina, joins our English Department.
• Gerard O’Hagan, who possesses a Bachelors and Masters in Economics from The University of Cambridge as well as a PGCE from the University of Greenwich, joins our Humanities Department.
• Javier Sanchez, who possess a Bachelors in Science from the Universidad de Puerto Rico and a Masters in Biology from the University of Costa Rica will be joining our Science Department

In addition, at the end of July we will be saying goodbye to Karla Bustamante as she takes up a new professional challenge.  In her place we will welcome Francinie Arias who possesses a Bachillerato en la Enseñanza de la Matemática from Universidad Americana.

Parent-Teacher Meetings – Secondary Only
Parent-Teacher meetings for all Secondary levels will take place on Wednesday 24^th of July between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm.  Parents may request virtual or in-person meetings following the instructions sent by email on Wednesday 17^th of July.  Please note that classes end at 12 noon on Wednesday 24^th of July for all Secondary students only.  There will also be no Secondary after-school clubs on this day.