RADIANS STUDENTS DONATE GENEROUSLY TO

Operation: Christmas Child

A VIRTUES-BASED COMMUNITY A College Prep School

Issue 7, December 2014

Sharing with others is an integral part of a noble human being. At Radians School we integrate the virtues and values we model to our children into their social and academic activities. One such activity was the recent work done with Operation: Christmas Child. The importance of teaching our children to be kind and giving, and to have empathy for others less fortunate cannot be underestimated. In a world that promotes “me-ism” and that is constantly being de-humanized, the development of those needed virtues becomes even more crucial. Our children are naturally giving. By fomenting this, we are returning to the classical family virtues essential to the positive progress and growth of any society. It's faster for busy parents to write a check to a charity, but it has little impact on a child who can't see where the money is going or imagine the people who benefit. Having the child prepare gift packets to give to others makes him a direct participant and derives all the benefits of good character development that such actions offer.

As an educational institution, we understand the importance of the core courses such as English, Math, Science, History, Spanish, etc. However, our responsibility does not end there. The complete formation of a student involves the core values that define him or her as an upright citizen and a noble, honest person.

Middle School Students Reflect On Their Non-Traditional Class Experience

One of the outstanding experiences offered to our students is that of a non-traditional education. Students come to truly experience by doing in a variety of ways. The educational strategies employed include game-based learning, group cooperative learning, blended learning, and flipped learning. Studies demonstrate that non-traditional educational learning methods help students obtain deeper knowledge. They are more engaged, more creative, more socially involved and feel in control of their education.

But don’t take our word for it. Following are excerpts of student reflections on their non-traditional educational experience here at Radians School. In Science class: “Building character is very important. This whole week we’ve been doing activities like ‘The All About Me’ Collage in which we learn things about ourselves, ’The Friendship’ Collage in which we learned things about our friends, and the ‘Hand of Virtues’ where we named various virtues we see in ourselves. They were very fun activities we can learn from...Today I learned that science is awesome! How those layers mixed together on top of each other is just so cool. I definitely look forward to doing this more often” ~Kiara Puentes 9th Grade In English Class: “I learned that it’s not nice to bully people and to avoid going to the internet. When you bully people they feel something really bad, and want to hurt themselves. If you’re getting bullied, don’t stay silent, speak up” ~Clarilee Ortiz 7th Grade In History class: “I learned about many different dictators from all over the world. I learned how the people were treated and what they had to go through… I enjoy hearing other peoples’ thoughts and opinions...I am a very talkative person and I get distracted easily at times and sometimes I find it hard to focus, but I enjoy working in groups because the more times I do it, I gain more self-control” ~Gabi Gomez 9th Grade In Science class: “I learned today that education is turning around; flipping the class-

room. This means that we will be exposed to new material outside the classroom. It may be through some home video or reading, using the class time for clarification and discussion. The classroom will be used to assimilate the knowledge already acquired at home. It is a new way of learning to ensure preparation for a more productive classtime” ~Millied Díaz 7th Grade “I learned today about the new teaching method, Flipped Learning. It’s very interesting this way, because the students get more involved. I understand more the material and acquire more knowledge. ~Leiny Adriano 9th Grade Radians School will continue to promote non-traditional learning as an important element in helping our students acquire essential 21st century skills: creativity, community, collaboration, and critical thinking.

Above, Flipped learning and cooperative learning in Mr.

Irizarry’s class. Non-traditional education engages students.

Above, Students in a Science class discussing topics in a Flipped

Learning environment.

Above, students work creatively in cooperative group activities after discussing a flipped learning topic. Creativity is a higher order thinking skill.

Como madre de dos ninos, Elyan G. Pagán Tirado and Katyuska M. Pagán Tirado que han estudiado desde pre-escolar, me siento a gusto con la educación que han recibido. Es un Colegio de excelencia, buena administración, y unos maestros de calidad. No hay mejor herencia que se le pueda dar a los hijos que una buena educación. Me siento muy orgullosa de poder tener a mis hijos en este lugar recibiendo una educación de primera. Es un lugar donde fomentan el amor, la unidad, el respeto y ese deseo de ayudar al prójimo. El saber que mis hijos están bien me confirma que están en un buen lugar y están recibiendo una educación correcta. ~María Tirado (madre)

A Mother’s Reflection

Photo Montage: Your Children at Work

Carr. 735 Km. 0.4

Cayey, Puerto Rico

00736

The FIRST and STILL the Only School in Puerto

Rico recognized as a

“National School

of Character”

Parents Join in Decorating the School

School Calendar November

11 Veteran’s Day—Class as usual 19 Puerto Rico Discovery Day—Class as usual 24-28 Thanksgiving Recess—NO CLASSES

December

14 Parra-Zumba Navideña (Sunday) 15 Study Recess—NO CLASSES 16 Final Exams—English and History 17 Final Exams—Spanish and Mathematics 18 Final Exam—Science (LAST CLASS DAY OF

SEMESTER)

Photo left, “Snowy” the snowman

happily greets our students as they

arrive every morning! With a

kind face and cheery disposition,

children always smile when they see

him!

Photo top right to left, Nilda M. Galindo Montalvo, Lymarie Vicente Castrodad, and

Carmen Ortiz Rivera are some of our wonderful parents who helped decorate the rooms to create an uplifting environment for

the holidays.