A great photo of our exchange students from Escola SESC, Rio with their host partners at Bruneau Sand Dunes.
Andrew
Posts Tagged ‘school’
Rio students at Bruneau Sand Dunes
Monday, April 26th, 2010Riverstone in the News
Friday, April 23rd, 2010Riverstone’s Grand Opening Ceremony makes the news!
click here to listen to the NPR report
click here to read the newspaper article
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the ceremony such a great success, and an even bigger thank you to the entire school community who made our new building a reality!
Andrew
Rio students present to Middle School
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010Even the Boise spring weather is learning something from our Rio guests!
On Monday, our 6 exchange students from Escola SESC, Rio, gave a wonderful presentation of their school to Riverstone’s Middle School. It was fun to watch the expressions on the faces of our current Grade 9 students who will potentially be the group to enjoy the exchange with Escola SESC.
Andrew Derry
Rio Exchange: Day 1.
Friday, April 16th, 2010Riverstone is delighted to be hosting the six students from Escola SESC,Rio de Janeiro.
After spending the morning in classes on Thursday, the students teamed up with some of Riverstone’s senior class for a tour of the State Capital and a tour of Boise on the famous trolley bus.
They were even treated to a site of the annual tea party at the capital building.
Andrew Derry
Bogota update: Friday
Friday, April 16th, 2010Hello Everyone,
Ahhhh, we’ve just completed our last day of regular classes. Today was spent working on the collaborative project, followed by a “surprise” going away party for the Riverstone students. There was a great dance with a DJ, a live concert, volleyball, soccer, and concession tables. It was over the top! We had so much fun dancing, playing, and soaking up the very, very strong Colombian sunshine. As the school day drew to close, the students starting talking about how hard it will be to leave. Yes, they are getting very sad. Many students took pictures throughout the day of the campus and their friends, all in an attempt to capture the wonderful experiences they’ve had.
Tomorrow, we will go on a field trip to several neighboring towns such as Sopo and Chia. After visiting the towns, we will go to a traditional ranch for a farewell barbecue and games. Another great day is in store for our students! I’ll update you upon our return in the evening.
Katie
To view photos click here or here
Rio Exchange Students arrive.
Thursday, April 15th, 2010Riverstone is delighted to be working with Escola SESC in Rio de Janeiro to form a curricular and student exchange partnership. Escola SES is a unique school that draws students from across all the states in Brazil to live and study in a fully residential environment.
The six students and two teachers, Gloria and Reinaldo, arrived yesterday will be with us for 10 days.
Riverstone students will have the opportunity to spend time in Rio later this year.
Thank you to all of our generous host families and welcome to our Brazilian guests!
Andrew
Bogota: Katie’s update
Thursday, April 15th, 2010Hello Everyone,
I will attach photos once I find the cable to my camera…In the meantime, I’d like to give you an update on all of the activities that we’ve recently been a part of.
Yesterday, the students were at school at 6:30 in the morning, ready to board busses headed to Chingaza. After 3 hours of driving through gorgeous mountains, we arrived to the paramo of Chingaza. A paramo is an Alpine eco-system found in the tropical Andes (at least 3,000 meters or 12,000 feet elevation). There is a very special type of palm, called the fraliones found all over the area. The students were able to receive an educational presentation about all of this before heading out for a walk through the eco-system. Additionally, a lovely lunch was provided that helped them to stay warm during the strong downpours that occurred throughout the day. By the time the busses returned to school (just after 6:00), the kids were all very happy and exhausted.
Today, classes are in session and the CIEDI and Riverstone students are working on their collaborative projects. As they work, it is very evident that strong friendships have been formed. With the final days of this experience drawing near, you can see that it is going to be very difficult to say goodbye. That is a good thing…a very good thing.
I think that’s about it for now. Again, I will attach pictures shortly.
See you soon!
Katie
Bogota update: Tuesday
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010Andy’s Update:
I am sitting with Katie and the kids in Math class again. Today is their second lesson with trigonometry. Seems like it is going OK. Some of the kids are having a tough time with the current problem on the board. They are solving for two sides of a triangle using sin, cosine and tan.
Katie and I spoke with each of the kids as they arrived this morning. They had a phenomenal time at the water park this weekend!
After math they are moving into two hours of project time. That will be from 1000-1200 Boise time. We are starting that project time with an azimuth check by group. I hope to find out if the intercontinental groups actually made contact on Sunday evening or not. At any rate, I really think we should schedule a bit of time at 1130 Boise time for a Skype for the intercontinental groups.
Andy
As Katie Litzenberger takes over form Andy Johnson in Bogota, here is Katie’s morning update…….
Well, as Andy packs to leave, I am just getting grounded here in Bogota. The kids are really enjoying their days here. It’s great to see all of them together, working on projects, and learning so much about the culture. You’d be amazed at their level of Spanish after only one week. It’s really quite impressive.
Today’s classes consisted of math (another trig. lesson), project time, and P.E. All of the teachers are extremely enthusiastic and make the learning inclusive and fun for all. You’ll see some attached photos, all from the computer lab. Students are on the road to completing their collaborative projects and things are definitely beginning to take shape.
Oh, one other thing to mention is the farewell lunch that was held for Andy. All of the CIEDI students signed a lovely card and the teachers provided a little toast and cake for his goodbye. Everyone is sad to see him go. I know he’s left a very strong and positive impression.
Well, I’ll write more tomorrow. I’m still a bit jet lagged, so I feel like I’m trying to write through a fog. Tomorrow we are on a field trip to the mountains. It should be beautiful and awesome.
Katie
Bogota Update
Friday, April 9th, 2010Here is Andy Johnson’s daily update of the Grade 8 exchange with Colegio CIEDI, Bogota. from my daily conversations with Andy, I can tell you that the whole groups is having a wonderful and educational time. Katie Litzenberger flies out to join the group on Saturday and Andy returns to Boise on Tuesday.
Andrew Derry
Today we spent the day exploring Bogota and its history. We also spent a good deal of time learning about indigenous history at the Museum of Gold. This museum is dedicated to preserving and protecting the remaining treasures of Pre-Colombian Colombia. The museum has an astounding array of some of the finest gold metalwork anywhere in the world. Additionally the Colombian government has done a superb job interpreting these artifacts in a way that is accessible and very educational. Many of the things the kids saw and read in the museum reinforced what they had learned when they studied the Mississippian and Anasazi cultures earlier in the semester. Following that visit we visited the church on Montserrate. The city of Bogota is at about 8000′. The church is on an impossibly steep mountain that towers over downtown Bogota. When we stepped off the cable car we were at about 10,000 feet. The views, even on a cloudy and somewhat smoggy day, were wonderful. The group photo was taken from the steps of the church. After this visit we slid back down the mountain on the teleferico (cable car), piled onto the busses and drove down into la Candalaria. This is the oldest part of Bogota and retains much of its original character. The streets are steep and lined with colorful old houses. We visited the Plaza de Bolivar, saw the main cathedral, sat on the steps of the senate and listened as David Palacios gave a brief, but good summary of the form of the Colombian government. Afterwards, we walked back into la Calendaria and visited the Botero Museum. Botero is Colombia’s national artist. His work is fetching upwards of 700,000-800,000 dollars at art auctions. He donated his entire art collection to Colombia. We saw works from Picasso, Renoir, Nolde, Kokoschka, as well as Botero. We finished the trip by grabbing hamburgers at La Corral, a good chain of Colombian hamburger restaurants. All in all, another great day.
Andy
Today we spent the day exploring Bogota and its history. We also spent a good deal of time learning about indigenous history at the Museum of Gold. This museum is dedicated to preserving and protecting the remaining treasures of Pre-Colombian Colombia. The museum has an astounding array of some of the finest gold metalwork anywhere in the world. Additionally the Colombian government has done a superb job interpreting these artifacts in a way that is accessible and very educational. Many of the things the kids saw and read in the museum reinforced what they had learned when they studied the Mississippian and Anasazi cultures earlier in the semester. Following that visit we visited the church on Montserrate. The city of Bogota is at about 8000′. The church is on an impossibly steep mountain that towers over downtown Bogota. When we stepped off the cable car we were at about 10,000 feet. The views, even on a cloudy and somewhat smoggy day, were wonderful. The group photo was taken from the steps of the church. After this visit we slid back down the mountain on the teleferico (cable car), piled onto the busses and drove down into la Candalaria. This is the oldest part of Bogota and retains much of its original character. The streets are steep and lined with colorful old houses. We visited the Plaza de Bolivar, saw the main cathedral, sat on the steps of the senate and listened as David Palacios gave a brief, but good summary of the form of the Colombian government. Afterwards, we walked back into la Calendaria and visited the Botero Museum. Botero is Colombia’s national artist. His work is fetching upwards of 700,000-800,000 dollars at art auctions. He donated his entire art collection to Colombia. We saw works from Picasso, Renoir, Nolde, Kokoschka, as well as Botero. We finished the trip by grabbing hamburgers at La Corral, a good chain of Colombian hamburger restaurants. All in all, another great day.
Andy
RIS/CIEDI Photos of Yellowstone
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010Here is a link to some photographs of RIS and CIEDI students in Yellowstone
