Mr. Jose Luis Menendez
Secondary Principal
Dear Secondary Families,
The last half of the quarter and the final stretch of the semester is around the corner. I’m sure everyone is anticipating the upcoming Thanksgiving break and then the end of the semester quickly thereafter.
Since the next newsletter does not come out until right before Thanksgiving break, I wanted to take this time to share my gratitude to you all for the support you have given the faculty and staff this year as we have made strides in normalizing school again. I’m grateful for this community and the desire we all have to see the best in each child as we work in partnership to teach them not only what is in a textbook, but how to be responsible global citizens.
I’m thankful for the tireless work our teachers do to provide the best education to your children here in Costa Rica. If you have a moment between now and the break, send them a note of appreciation. I know they would love to hear it!
As always, I’m here to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to contact me at your convenience.
Onward and Upward,
JLM
Lately, we have had a number of students come to school with a cough or not feeling well. Our teachers have been sending students to the nurse if they notice students visibly sick with coughs and runny noses. Most of the time, the nurse has been sending students home.
I ask that if your child wakes up not feeling well, even if they are not presenting a fever at the time, it will be wise to keep them home for the day. Students when not feeling well at school usually can’t focus and perform well in their classes, so it is better for them to stay home.
Please contact Vanessa Prendas vanessa.prendas@cds.ed.cr in the MS or Tatiana Gutierrezat tatiana.gutierrez@cds.ed.cr in the HS when your child is sick and staying home.
Each year I always receive emails from parents or speak to students about travel plans that begin before the end of the semester asking for their child to take their final exams early. This places an undue burden on our teachers to administer exams before the scheduled time. If there are plans for early travel the last week of the semester, know that any exams missed will need to be made up in January before we return to class. Those dates are January 12-14th. There are two days where teachers may give exams early on December 8 and 9 as these are review days and exams will be ready to be administered. If the return from break is the weekend before school starts, then students will be required to make up the exams after school.
Those exams missed will receive an incomplete on the report card until the exam is taken in January.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Students continue to work in Global Campus as they work on better understanding Human Rights and how discrimination, and in particular racial discrimination are violations of such rights. Please talk to your children about these activities as we all work together to build a community of respect that CDS prides itself on.
Just a friendly reminder to tell your child that cell phones are not to be out during the school day. Teachers have been bringing cell phones to the office when they are out and students are able to pick them up at the end of the day. Now that lockers are back, students should place their cell phones in those lockers to avoid any temptation to pull them out.
On Tuesday, November 23, the HS will have a guest speaker on campus to speak to us about the Afro Tico experience and racial diversity. Ms. Tanisha Swaby Campbell is a human rights activist and public speaker working with organizations and companies around issues of diversity in the workplace. She is the daughter of Costa Rican Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr and we are excited to have her on campus to speak with our HS students about these important topics!
