NatureKids
October 2006
Activity Update
Welcome to NatureKids’ October Activity Update! We hope this email finds each of you well, and we’re excited to share with you what we’ve been up to during the past month!
In September the staff, teachers and coordinators of NatureKids laid the groundwork for what will be our newest and most creative language program yet—English on Horseback! Designed to make NatureKids language courses accessible to even the poorest communities, this month the English on Horseback program will begin sending a NatureKids teacher to isolated communities surrounding Drake Bay to deliver language courses. Guided by the established NatureKids curriculum, the traveling teacher is beginning to deliver courses to students, teens and parents who otherwise would not have access to them due to the high cost of transportation, poor infrastructure and lack of funds. We are very excited about this new program, and after initial meetings in two of the targeted communities, we already have over 40 students signed up!
This month in Drake Bay we also had the pleasure of welcoming Bella Fernandez Jimenez to the NatureKids family as the new community coordinator. Having been involved with the school as a dedicated volunteer (and student!) since it’s opening, Bella is very knowledgeable about the NatureKids program, and she has already proved herself to be a great new addition to our family!
In Salitral, NatureKids kicked off this month with the introduction of intensive one-on-one oral language sessions. Designed to supplement students’ classroom time with extra attention and exposure to pronunciation, Gena Terry and Michelle Kreger have begun to work closely with each student to evaluate their personal needs, improve their pronunciation and help them build up the skills they need to speak English in their towns and communities. These oral language sessions will be conducted on an ongoing basis with each child, and the NatureKids team is enjoying this opportunity to assess students’ individual needs and work closely with them to improve pronunciation and conversational skills.
This month our advanced language teacher, Pamela Nave, took a break from teaching in Drake Bay to attend the world-renowned SIT TOSEL English Language Teacher-Training Course in La Fortuna, Costa Rica on a grant funded by the US Embassy Regional English Language Office. This month-long intensive course gave Pamela many of the valuable skills she needs to improve not only her own classroom instruction, but also to work with our other teachers to make our program the best it can be.
Last and certainly not least, in September both NatureKids communities came together to form the first ever NatureKids soccer league! With two teams in Drake Bay and three in Salitral, the NatureKids soccer league promises to be a smashing success. With the new soccer league, students will not only be learning language skills in the classroom, they will also be battling it out on the field—in English!
This month has been a busy one for NatureKids, and we are delighted to share with you all we have been doing. As always, we would love to hear your questions, comments and suggestions as we move forward with our important work.
A big thanks to each and every one of you for supporting this important cause!
Have a beautiful day!
Best,
The NatureKids Team
Mercedes Cerna, President
Michelle Kreger, Administrative Director
Gena Terry, Educational Director
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