Eco-Lodge in the mountains
Wow.. Had an awesome weekend with the staff of Nuestra Escuela,http://nuestraescuela.org/ at Casa Collores, an eco-lodge set in the beautiful mountain forest of Central Puerto Rico.http://casacollores.com/ .. Am so wrapped I came to Nuestra Escuela..I was attracted from the moment I heard about the background, purpose, mission & initiatives of the school..I can't speak highly enough of the place and the people...I am so impressed already with their commitment, dedication & awakenedness..they are so onto it..Wed, Thurs & Friday this week we spent shacked up at a nun's convent doing training in social capacity & financial literacy which will be introduced to the students when the new semester starts next week. Wed & Thurs began at 8am & went through to 9 & 10.30 pm stopping only to eat..and everyone was positive & enthusiatically engaged..then on Fri after administrative matters like representatives from each of the school's 5 sites presenting their own evaluation report on 'from where & where to' & a new governance structure proposed, we then packed up and drove 2 hrs to the mountain retreat to look at strategic planning for the school for the next decade..they were straight into it on arrival.. dreaming, sharing, discussing, comparing, proposing, analysing & evaluating till late into the evenings..stopping only to eat, cool off in the river, & watch PR win silver in the wrestling.. & this week staff are busy enrolling prospective students, taking them through a briefing process & preparing for taking the new students to the retreat this coming weekend ..as a means of getting to know each other, building trust, acknowledging the students' hardships & struggles, supporting them to self reflect & helping them to project a new future by setting their own goals & therefore their own curriculums for the year...kiwi teachers would have been in an uproar about excessive workload & missing out on school holidays! It appears here that holidays are for the students to have a bit of a break and a time for staff to work even harder! ..I must say these guys do it in style though..the professional development training during the week for example the event was family-friendly with an on-site creche for the kids & purposeful roles for the teens..the strategic planning weekend at the eco-lodge retreat..well, for starters it was held in environmental heaven.. mountains, forest, river..& tropical fruits galore..need I say more..it included an onsite chef who catered delicious, authentic Puerto Rican cuisine..and everything was provided..including red wine & nibbles to wind down with in the evenings! So..yeah..I can see why staff would willingly opt in! :-)