JFK Times 50th Anniversary Issue

JOHN F. KENNEDY · THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF QUERÉTARO

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elcome to our first ever digital JFK Times. It gives me great pleasure to see these improvements in communications and I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed producing it.

Our students are the center of our school, they are the leaders of tomorrow, our future and with your help and support we can keep working hard to help make them all effective and responsible citizens and to make them really achieve the extraordinary.

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Adrian Leece MA, BSc, FRMtS GENERAL DIRECTOR

Debra Cortney MA

PRE–SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Mark Dunn M.Ed., MA

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Robert Callahan M.Ed., MA

Benito A. Tagle Jiménez, Fernando Pérez, María Isabel Miranda Saucedo, Matthew Schmidt Covo, Raúl G. Paredes Guerrero, Martha Naranjo Romero, Paul A.Cuevas Peralta

VOL. 2 NO. 1 ·

may 2015

VISION

To facilitate the balanced development of our students; with commitment and respect for the local community and a multicultural world.

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Arturo Bustamante

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR

Dra. Josefina Morgan

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR

Jeffrey Lewis

OPERATIONS AND SERVICES DIRECTOR

DESIGN

Viviana Ochoa vochoa@jfk.edu.mx

ALUMNI CONTACT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Georgina Frías

sextosentido

Lic. Mónica Duarte Balcárcel EDITOR IN CHIEF

Karime Dorantes Gutiérrez Ph. (442) 218 0075 ext. 1013 cdorantes@jfk.edu.mx ADVERTISING SALES

Leonor Cortina COPY EDITOR

Alejandra Martínez Karime Dorantes Gutiérrez ASSOCIATE EDITORS

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Contents 8

Coffee Talk Reminiscences 1st Generation JFK Alumna

Adriana Pacheco

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A history that makes us proud

Do you know how it all started?

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1964

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1968

JFK e Timelin arks Historic Landm by the Year

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JFK by the Numb3r5 Our community has grown larger than our founders ever imagined, but just how large is it?

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42

A to the Z to the JFK

Teacher’s hall of fame

A Whimsical Wordplay

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Roots and Wings for our Future A message from our General Director

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A Word About the Future How are we Preparing to Offer a 21st Century Education?

Our Students’ Academic Life Starts with Safe and Sound Steps

The Shift Towards Interdisciplinary and Integrated Learning

Working with Responsible, Independent and Collaborative Students

We Seek for Students to be Committed, Proactive Individuals

The IB Program and the New Skills: Challenges for the 21st Century

How Can we Get the JFK Community to Help?

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Coffee Talk Reminiscences A

s we are celebrating our school’s 50th anniversary, I would like to share some of the memories that remain in my recollection as a member of the Kennedy’s first generation.

I remember, in those first days of school, we were altogether no more than thirty students taking classes in director Ray Carranza’s house, located in colonia Cimatario. There were only nine students in my grade, who came from San Miguel de Allende, Celaya, San Juan del Río and the city of Querétaro. Little by little the student community started to grow and, by the time I concluded my studies, we were already fifty students.

Shortly after, we moved to Hacienda La Laborcilla where we had the privilege of studying amidst rivers and beautiful jacaranda trees; an environment that supported the Kennedy’s philosophy that taught us to be free and to grow in an environment of

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equality that came from the day to day interaction amongst students, teachers and staff. I remember we played in the nursery, we took art classes, and we organized festivals and plays in a wonderful setting in the rear building at La Laborcilla. Being outdoors was fundamental, we made campfires and we tended an animal farm that had more animals than we were students.

Our teachers were Canadians, Americans and Mexicans. The students belonged to many different nationalities and they were mostly the children of senior managers in transnational corporations that had just arrived at the Bajio. It was them who, with the support of other parents, initially managed the school.

Moving from Querétaro to Jurica was quite an experience.

I belong to the first class that came to this area and I remember we loved planting trees and spent lunch breaks sitting on some benches that had our

Being outdoors was fundamental, we made campfires and we tended an animal farm.

o c e h c a P a Adrian 1st Generation JFK Alumna

I remember, in those first days of school, we were altogether no more than thirty students taking classes in director Ray Carranza’s house.

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Moving from Querétaro to Jurica was quite an experience... I remember we loved planting trees and spent lunch breaks sitting on some benches that had our names on them.

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names on them. Only a small section in Kindergarten and the mesquites in the back remain from those days now. We grew up with the school and it is very pleasant to know that our memories, still laden with nostalgia, suddenly stop to admire the progress that characterizes our school.

There were many who contributed in this process. My mom, Luz Blanca Alcaraz, served as school’s president, and it was she who signed all the documents necessary for the incorporation of the school. I remember Cristi Franco, a pioneer kindergarten teacher; Lina Osorio, the first technical director of the Elementary section; and have fond memories of the three Ruiz Corzo teachers. They and many others more contributed with hard work in building the foundations of the Kennedy we know today.

The atmosphere that existed at that time was very familiar, so much so that Board meetings, which were initially held at tremec, moved to my living room. So, I grew up very involved in school and that is why I loved, love and will always love the JFK, which has

been a state of the art school, out of the ordinary and of what used to be expected in Querétaro fifty years ago, offering a challenging academic level, art, and a secular, bilingual and multicultural education.

The experiences I had in school were unforgettable and it is a pleasure for me to remember that time in my life.

I am very grateful for the opportunity that my parents gave me of studying at the Kennedy, where I remained from 8 to 18 years old. After I finished school —2 years later— I came back to teach.

I would like to thank the founders who believed in this project and I want to say to students today, that they are an essential part of our school and that they should enjoy what they have, they should work hard to build their future, but above all, they should feel proud of being part of the great Kennedy family, as I believe that the fruit has already been harvested with great success.

I want to say to students today, that they are an essential part of our school and that they should enjoy what they have.

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A History that Makes us Proud John F. Kennedy the American School of QuerĂŠtaro, turned 50. Do you know how it all started? We invite you to take a brief tour through its history and to get to know some of the personalities who contributed to the rise of the great institution that we are today.

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Our foundation: A school for us managed by us

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n 1964 tremec, an automotive manufacturer was established in the city of Querétaro. Needing to provide their children’s executives —who came mainly from the United States— with international quality education, they decided to found our school.

The Kennedy was installed at first in a house

The first years gallery

on the street Ignacio M. de las Casas, in the Cimatario neighborhood, where Kindergarten and the first three grades of Elementary School were taught to about 60 students. After the first generation of 6th graders graduated, the school moved to Ex Hacienda La Laborcilla, where Junior High School and the

School for Young Bilingual Executive Secretaries were created.

Ing. José Rivera Frausto, tremec’s director at the time, describes this stage of our history, which culminated in a key moment when the Kennedy was donated to the parents of our school.

The Kennedy was installed at first in a house in the Cimatario neighborhood, where Kindergarten and the first three grades of Elementary School were taught to about 60 students.

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Ing. José Rivera Frausto Former Director of TREMEC When I arrived in Querétaro in 1967 the school was already in La Laborcilla and was a cutting edge institution. It originated with the impulse of thirty or forty American executives; it was a very strong group. Tremec was the school’s founding partner, but then with the loss of our export contracts, tremec went through a very difficult economic period. We were faced then with a big problem and we spent a lot of money in the conversion of the company. Everything was reduced, including our support to the Kennedy.

So we decided to ask the company’s Council for permission to donate the school to the Board, making sure the school’s control remained truly on the parents and that no person or group could take hold of it.

Moving to Jurica

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he second period of our growth was defined by our move to Jurica, a neighborhood where we have strengthened one of our key values: building a community. In 1970 with the donation of five hectares of land by Lic. Juan José Torres Landa, our school was established in Jurica, where our development has been woven with this great community for five decades. Lic. Torres Landa’s son, known as El Pollo Torres Landa, shares with us some of his memories about this great moment of our history.

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The first years gallery 14

After the first generation graduated, the school moved to Ex Hacienda La Laborcilla, where Junior High School and the School for Young Bilingual Executive Secretaries were created.

Juan Antonio Torres Landa Businessman and Kennedy’s patron In 1970 with the donation of five hectares of land by Lic. Juan José Torres Landa, our school was established in Jurica, where our development has been woven with this great community.

My dad was Guanajuato’s go­vernor from 1961 to 1967. At the end of his term he became very interested in fostering real estate developments, and decided to turn Hacienda Jurica into a residential suburb. My dad said, “at all costs we must bring a school here so people no longer have to go to Querétaro.” He was a visionary man, and he predicted what is currently happening with Querétaro.

We gave five hectares of land to the school and my brother got architect Artigas to donate the classrooms. I have great affection for this school and we are very pleased of having made a donation to someone who knew how to take advantage of it on behalf of Querétaro’s youth and for the good of our city. It’s amazing that 50 years have already passed by. For us that witnessed its birth, it has been a flash.

My dad said, “at all costs we must bring a school here so people no longer have to go to Querétaro.”

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We decided to ask the company’s Council for permission to donate the school to the Board, making sure the school’s control remained truly on the parents.

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Growth: A path of great effort

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alking through the current campus which we all have worked together to make a reality, and now boasts the new Middle School building, the Media Center, state of the art sports facilities and the ongoing construction of the new Elementary School building, it is hard to imagine the school at the time when it lacked fences, had a fleet of buses to transport students and teachers to neighboring cities, such as San José Iturbide, Celaya, San Miguel de Allende and San Juan del Río, and Jurica still seemed a farmland.

From Rags to Riches 16

Roberto Fraga External Comm.

Manager at Kellogg Company Latin America I arrived in Querétaro when I was 5 years old. The school was all green and seemed an isolated rural school without all the luxuries the Kennedy has now. I remember during that year, we went from being 250 students to 500. Miss Mirtha was my teacher in Prefirst, only for six months, because she soon left on maternity leave. My brothers and I loved the pleasant welcome we enjoyed while arriving at the Kennedy, as well as finding out that the most impor­tant thing in the Kennedy are our opinions. Not learning things by heart but reasoning them.

This type of education has given us great tools for life.

“My brothers and I loved finding out that the most important thing in the Kennedy are our opinions.

Not learning things by heart.”

It is hard to imagine the school at the time when it lacked fences, had a fleet of buses to transport students and teachers to neighboring cities...

Lucy Huber de Loyola Former student and mom The Kennedy helped me to be who I am today, gave me friends, great experien­ces and a sense of belonging. It strengthened my confidence and self-esteem, and it fostered my development.

I learned that hard work and giving always an extra effort is worth it. This type of training helps you become a bridge between individuals who are not so used to dealing with people of different cultures and their needs; this ability will open many doors to new relationships, know­ledge and employment.

50 years seem to go by easily, but to someone who has witnessed the Kennedy’s growth, and has seen the great changes that have occurred through these years, is quite amazing. I tell my kids that they should have seen the classrooms where I studied... the school was practically in the countryside. My friends and I had picnics where the auditorium now stands. The Kennedy has been a very important part of my life and it remains so because my five children are also students here. I want to congratulate the Kennedy, because I realize that many fa­milies come here to find the family they left behind, ma­king a very tightly knit community.

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“I want to congratulate the Kennedy because I realize that many families come here to find the family they left behind.”

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“I arrived in Querétaro when I was 5 years old. The school was all green and seemed an isolated rural school”.

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With teachers and students from twenty eight countries, we open our doors and our hearts to families of all nationalities.

From Rags to Riches 18 18

“My friends and I had picnics where the auditorium now stands.�

Consolidation

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he 50th Anniversary we are celebrating now has been a journey guided by the mission of providing high quality education and fostering the welfare of our students as our primary concerns. One of our greatest assets is our multicultural heritage.

We offer the best international educational practices combined with Mexican cultural values and traditions. With teachers and students from twenty eight countries, we open our doors and our hearts to families of all nationalities, and to the cultural diversity that prepares our students to be part of a world where borders disappear. That is why the Kennedy is today an integral part of the growth of our city and our state.

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Adrian Leece General Director A lot people don’t realize how good we are. A couple of years ago we were actually nominated as the top high school in Latin America by the National Hispanic Institute in the United States, which is a very serious recognition for what we’ve done to help students become leaders in this future world.

I really think what we all want at the end of the day is our kids growing up to be decent, well educated adults.

That’s ultimately what we’re looking for, beyond the academic aspect. And our curriculum goes well beyond those academic measures. So yes, we’re good at science; yes, we’re good at mathematics; we’re good at languages. But we are far more than that, because the community really believes we want decent citizens. So our curriculum focuses very much on social services, it focuses on international mindedness, helping our students become something this world needs. And if we look at the news every day around the world, we can see that what this world is looking for are leaders with a real social conscience. Leaders that really want to stand up and do something and pay back to society what society is requiring of them. People that can really help make a change and make this world a more peaceful place; which is what we are all about and what our program is all about.

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“Yes, we’re good at science; yes, we’re good at mathematics; we’re good at languages.

But we are far more than that...

Seeking Excellence

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oday, 50 years after our founding, the Kennedy’s mission remains the same: to provide our students with knowledge, skills and values in an atmosphere of safety and respect. The vision we share is facilitating the balanced development of students with commitment and respect for the local community and a multicultural world.

JFK Timeline Moments to remember

1965

First school established

JFK moves to Hacienda La Laborcilla

1968

60’s

1964

Middle School section started

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1969

1971

1971

70’s

1971

Mr. Juan José Torres Landa donates five hectares of land

Bilingual business school started

Inauguration of new facilities in Jurica

1989

First Book Oktob

1991

90’s

1989

First Bo Fair a Oktobe

1998

High School’s construction completed 22

High School classes begin

First High School Graduation

1998

School Within A School (SWAS) begins

Pre incorpo

2000

00’s

High School construction begins

New Middle School facilities completed

New Middle School facilities

The sch 1,20

1988

1983

80’s

1976

ook and erfest

k Fair and berfest

First Board of Directors and Parents’ Association

1993

School Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges

1994 th

1997

30th Anniversary

School Accredited by the IB

Auditorium construction begins

2002

2004

2004

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e-school orated by SEP

2000

hool now has 00 students

In just one year, JFK went from 250 students to 500

Auditorium is completed

1998 Auditorium construction begins

40th Anniversary

Library Media Center inaugurated 23

2007

2007

2008 th

2008

45

Inauguration of Science/Technology facilities

45th Anniversary

2010

2010

1st JFK Race Best

Place to Work Certification

JFK Band an Band fo

10’s

2010

Inauguration of new Pre-school facilities

National Honor Society

2012

2013

2013

Elementar design a

201

Shade the Campus Program

Shade the Campus Program

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Construction of Elementary School buildings begins

Middle Year Program begins

50th Anniversa

8

2008

nd Junior ormed

2011

ry School’s approved

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ary

Basketball court with covered seating

2012

“High School of the year”

2009

2009

Middle School building inauguration

1st Golf Tournament

2012

Green School Certification

2012

Multipurpose court inauguration

2014

Phase 1 of the Elementary School building

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John Naytor Luis Pastor Anthony Kosloski

1 96 4 James M. Bridges Wreatha Leonard Salvador Cinta Larry Lyall Luis Carranza gen era l d i re cto r

Michael H. Sommers

1 969 - 1 9 7O Ramón H. Eberstadt Robert Kennedy Maiko Cheremeteff Susan Breedlove Joseph Decker Ronald Germán José Luis Martínez Don L. Swenson Carlos Buchanan Luis Gómez José Rocha Roberto Ruiz Antonio Sánchez Sr. y Sra. Potter Sra. Powers Jorge Luis Vega gen era l d i re cto r

Robert McMahan

g e n eral di rector

John David Nall

1 9 72 - 1 9 7 3 Susan Breedlove Roberto Ruiz Rafael Magdaleno Abel Baca Beatriz Suárez Kenneth Strang John Naylor Luis Pastor William F. Leonard g e n eral di rector

John David Nall

1 9 7 3 - 1 9 74 John Bauer Robert Breedlove Rafael Magdaleno William F. Leonard Beatriz Suárez Bárbara Deming Humberto Ramírez g e n eral di rector

John David Nall

1975 Emilio Castelazo Wreatha Leonard Lawrence Lyall Salvador Cinta Luis Carranza g e n eral di rector

1 9 7O - 1 9 7 1

Michael H. Sommers

Luis Gómez Fernando Pacheco Antonio Sánchez Juan Espino Carlos Buchanan William Leonard Jorge Luis Vega Joseph Decker Susan Breedlove Ronald Germán Juan Germán Roberto Ruiz Jorge Triay Fernando Pacheco Roy L. David Blanca Pacheco Juan Germán Torres

1 9 78 Emilio Castelazo Lawrence Lyall g e n eral di rector

Ricardo López

1 9 79 Emilio Castelazo Wreatha Leonard Sergio Quiñones Roberto Ruiz Touro Nagashima Manuel Cadena

198O Ricardo López Wreatha Leonard Miguel Weinstein Paul Jones John McKiernan general di rector

Lawrence Lyall

1981 Ricardo López Paul Jones Wreatha Leonard Miguel Weinstein general di rector

John McKiernan

1982 Ricardo López Paul Jones Miguel Weinstein Rafael Rangel Helmut Huber Oscar Agüera William D. Anderson Gerardo Vázquez Pablo Trofimoff Mario Salinas John McKiernan general di rector

Aleyda G. de McKiernan

1983 David Hunter Pablo Trofimoff William Anderson Mario Salinas Oscar Agüera Federico Carrera Jorge C. Hernández Holly A. de Magaña Ricardo López general di rector

Aleyda G. de McKiernan

g e ne r al d i r e cto r

Lawrence Lyall

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1 9 8 3 - 1 9 8 4

1989

David Hunter Pablo Trofimoff William Anderson Mario Salinas Jorge C. Hernández Oscar Agüera Holly A. de Magaña

José Alberto Sánchez Manuel Ovalle Gustavo Olvera Leo B. Franz Pedro Bravo Juan Jorge Córdova Jaime Fernández Lilian Rodríguez Mario Salinas Luis Felipe Sánchez Pablo Trofimoff Enrique Torres Manuel Sánchez L. Mario Chávez Pedro Suárez Leo Franz

gener a l d ir e cto r

Aleyda G. de McKiernan

1985 Pablo Trofimoff Gene Pease David Hunter Mario Salinas Jorge C. Hernández Luis Caraza Carlos de Mucha

gener a l d ir e cto r

Sharon P. de Salcedo

1 9 8 7 - 1 9 8 8 Carlos M. Gutiérrez Luis Caraza Gustavo Olvera Sharon Salcedo Pedro Bravo Federico Carrera Jaime Hernández Eduardo Franco Ricardo García Lilian Rodríguez Rubén Mingram Juan Diego Oliva Mario Salinas Luis Felipe Sánchez Pablo Trofimoff gener a l d ir e cto r

Sharon P. de Salcedo

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José Manuel García Roberto Díaz Claudia Portas Carlos Villalpando David Vargas Gerardo Quirarte Ma. Teresa Corredor general di rector

Francisco Galicia

1 9 95

José Alberto Sánchez Eduardo Franco Francisco Luque José Antonio Sánchez Francisco Rivera Manuel Sánchez José Alberto Rivera g e n eral di rector

general di rector

g e n eral di rector

Rand Bissel

gener a l d ir e cto r

Pablo Trofimoff Luis Caraza Carlos de Mucha Jorge C. Hernández Federico Carrera Juan Diego Oliva Pedro Bravo Mario Salinas Aleyda G. de McKiernan

1994

José Manuel García Ricardo Peñafiel Ma. Catalina Mijares Ángeles Vargas David Vargas Gerardo Quirarte Xavier Prado Francisco Galicia 1996-1997 Xavier Prado Ricardo Peñafiel Ma. Catalina Mijares Javier Guerrero Juan Sepúlveda Antonino Sierra Ernestina Soto Francisco Galicia

Aleyda G. de McKiernan

1986

Ma. Teresa Corredor David Vargas Francisco Galicia

1 9 9 O - 1 9 9 1

Javier Maldonado

1992 José Alberto Rivera Roberto Díaz Claudia Portas César Martínez Glendon Lyons Ma. Teresa Corredor Enrique Torres g e n eral di rector

Francisco Galicia

1993 José Alberto Rivera Roberto Díaz Claudia Portas José Manuel García Glendon Lyons Ma. Teresa Corredor

Alfonso Lajud

1998 Ernestina Soto Luis Manuel Alvarado Alicia López Javier Guerrero Juan Sepúlveda Antonino Sierra Pedro Ruiz Velasco Ariel Hernández general di rector

Alfonso Lajud

1999 Ernestina Soto Alfonso González de Cossío

Alicia López Roberto Medellín Pedro Ruiz Velasco Juan Sepúlveda Jesús Tamayo g e n e r a l d ir e cto r

Alfonso Lajud

2OOO - 2OO2 Juan Sepúlveda Alfonso González Cossío Alicia López Pedro Ruiz Velasco Roberto Medellín Cristina Fernández Jesús Tamayo Ricardo Martínez Javier Guerrero g e n e r a l d ir e cto r

Alfonso Lajud

2 O O2 - 2 O O 4 Jaime López Ricardo Martínez Cristina Fernández Cecilia Leal Ma. Carmen Parada Ricardo Martínez Jesús Tamayo Enrique Taracena Alfonso Lajud g e n e r a l d ir e cto r

Mirtha Stappung

2 O O 4 - 2 O O 6 Jesús Tamayo Enrique Taracena Cecilia Leal Ma. Carmen Parada Cristina Fernández Sergio Chufani Mario Steta g e n e r a l d ir e cto r

Mirtha Stappung

2 O O 6 - 2 O O 8 Ma. Cristina Fernández Jeffrey Lewis Norma Ma. Rico Mario Steta Carlos Perera

Julián Urquiza Elmo Ceretti general di rector

Mirtha Stappung

2 O O 8 - 2 O 1 O Julián Urquiza Jeffrey Lewis Norma Ma. Rico Roberto Loyola Carlos Perera Rodolfo Vega Elmo Ceretti Ma. Del Mar Sánchez Ángel de Lope general di rector

Mirtha Stappung

2 O 1 O - 2 O 1 2 Roberto Loyola Ángel de Lope Ma. Del Mar Sánchez Rodolfo Vega Matthew Schmidt María Antonieta Cuellar Benito Adolfo Tagle general di rector

Mirtha Stappung

2 O 1 2 - 2 O 13 Ángel de Lope Benito Adolfo Tagle Matthew Schmidt Raúl G. Paredes Luz Ma. Aguirre Martha Naranjo María Isabel Miranda general di rector

Mirtha Stappung

2 O 14 - 2 O 1 6 Benito Adolfo Tagle Fernando Pérez María Isabel Miranda Matthew Schmidt Raúl G. Paredes Martha Naranjo Paul A. Cuevas general di rector

Adrian Leece

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JFK by the Numb3r5 1 How large are we?

Our community has grown larger than our founders ever imagined, but just how large is it?

204

Pre-School Students

302 Middle School Students

892

Families 32

363 High School Students

587

Elementary School Students

23 High School

generations graduated

46

More Than

2000 Alumni

Middle School generations graduated

33

2

How multicultural are we?

Teachers & Staff

Our international staff is comprised by members of 11 nations 18

Canadian

3

22

Belgian

English

French

American

Guatemalan

3

3

2

108

4

27

3

Guatemalan

Venezuelan

Italian

Spaniard

3

Colombian

4

Brazilian

1

2

Ecuatorean

Bolivian

5

1

Swiss

5

Chilean

Argentinean

Students Our 317 foreign students come from 28 countries around the world making 2014-2015 the most multicultural school year ever for the school.

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Canadienses

2

Britรกnicos

27

241

Americanos

Mexicanos

2

Colombianos

2

Ecuatorianos

1

Uruguayo

Scholarships Our alumni currently hold 35 grants worth USD 1.3 million University of British Columbia San Diego State University

Anรกhuac

34

Boston University

New York University Stern School of Business TEC de Monterrey

ITAM

Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)

IBERO

Culinary Institute of America (CIA)

JFK by the Numb3r5

1

8

Austrian

German

Korean

Chinese

Polish

Dutch

64

1

2

3

1

3

23

Lebanese

Japanese

Indian

1

HolandĂŠs

1

Coreano

1

JaponĂŠs

Witten Annen (Germany)

35

3

How socially commited are we?

Reach

High School Program

Internal Social Service

8,323

330

$138,618 Estimated Value

582

$37,597

People Served 3,500 In the Sierra Gorda

136

In AMANC

459 In Schools

Participants

Recipients

15 Institutions Benefited $83,809 Cash Raised

$52,532 Collected in Kind

36

Food for Firefighters

640 kg

Paper & Cardboard

48 kg

Aluminum Waste

132 kg

Milk for “La Providencia�

JFK by the Numb3r5

Participation

The Environmental and Social Service Program has the

Largest Volunteer Participation

76

Duration

Certifications

3 Our Ecoclub Turned

10 Years Old

Green School

Annual Certifications

Moms

37

4

How athletically accomplished are we?

LIDEIP & ASOMEX Tournaments

Athletes of the Year

Team Sports

8 Second Place

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9

First Place

5 Third Place

Martha Sofía Ruiz Jorge Santiago Román

JFK by the Numb3r5

LIDEIP & ASOMEX Tournaments

Track & Field

17 Golden Medals

11 Silver Medals

3 Bronze Medals

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5

How artistically inclined are we?

Music Violin

Viola

Cello

have Now we and 3 3 bands oups string gr

Euphonium

Saxophone

Percussions

40

in ar

ut e

Fl

Cl

35 students nd & form the Bagram Strings Pro

Ob

oe

et

ram The Prog2008 Began in

Music recorded “ In 2010 we Americas� around theg to Tango From Swin

Trumpet

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Baton

ave ents h d u t s 215 ipated partic

JFK by the Numb3r5

Theater

UB AMA CL THE DR

in n a g e B

2009

THE PLAY

Strangers IN THE NIGHT

700

PEOPLE HAVE COLLABORATED

WAS WRITTEN BY IITH GRADER DIEGO ALCOCER

ESS THE PRINCOG & THE FRUMES: ST USED 70 COCTOR 3 PER A

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A to the Z to the JFK We asked our students what these keywords mean to them… these are some of their whimsical answers!

“Ecology”

Green school History

“Work and time” “Couple” Anniversary

“Airport” Dedication

“The School”

“Work and focus” Effort

Bilingual

“Miss Fernanda”

International

“A spotted animal”

“Marriage” Jaguar

Commitment

“People, a connection of people”

Family

“The president” Kennedy

“Eagle, a soccer team, the place where we are”

Leadership

Vision

Querétaro

“Future”

“Discipline” “Commitment”

World Mission Name

“It actually makes me think of the committee I was in charge of when we had the last SACS committee”

“Manuel”

Responsibility

“The place where we live” “Uff... there’s no words to describe México”

Sports México

“A team”

“Growth”

“Health” Unity

Opportunity

Youth Teacher

Parents

“Being together”

“Team” “Chanfle”

“A helper” Zas

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sta lker, hando Marh.orWaaecsoampepgreo y d ncillez. su se Badilla GabrRieolabledo

ss lker, Mi Mr. Wa , Miss Emmarzo Co .

Jorge Ledesma

Miss Almada, si alguien la conoce por favor díganle que Yvonne Páez nunca la olvidará.

Yvonne Paez Miss Lupita Domínguez, laboratorista del JFK. Miss Mirtha… ¿es necesario que les explique por qué la nomino?

Ms. Gaby Madrid

Anaes Julia Flores la mejor maestra que tuve.

Andrea Maestre

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Roger Gouran dejó huella en mi corazón. ¿Cómo olvidar TGIFSOTB WLYB? Daniela Martínez

Mr. Walker, Mr. Scanlon, Muzquiz, Panchito el chofer, Prof. Ledezma.

Margarita Reyes Martinez

¡Ana Julia Flores es LA maestra que dejó huella en el Kennedy!

Andrea S. Cervantes

Mr. Walker; Mrs. Paty Ruiz (Paty Pedraza), Mrs. Corzo, Gabriela Castellanos

Martha Salinas, Gaby Sánchez, Clemente Chauvet, Claudia Sánchez Botello, Adriana Sánchez Lara, Nora Caturegli, Mauricio Aguilar, los recuerdo con mucho cariño.

Emma Terres

Keep on walking…

Mr Walker.

Gerardo Mier y Terán

Mr. W Ceci alker.

Mora

Mr. Walker Thelma Edith Peña Velez

Ana Julia, Roger,y Peter Kelly.

Ana Paula Sierra

Mr. Walker.

Lilian Alcocer Manrique

CarmenPeter Corzo Calderón, Kelly, Roger Julia.

Goran, Ana Joanna Cardoso Biard

Miss Corzo, Miss Paty Pedraza, Miss Franco, Salvador Sánchez, los esposos Mckiernan, Miss Emma Terres y mi generación 86-89 secundaria inolvidable!!

Gabriela Sánchez López

Mr Adrian Leece Mariana M.

Mr Paste y Walker!!

Riech Presa Ampudia

Paty Pedraza, Susana Lerma, Miss Felicia, Miss Coyo.

LaMiss Sra.Franco.

Corzo, Adriana Pacheco

Miss Corzo.

Flor, Miss Dennise Chauvet

Miss Josefina Cariño, Peter Kelly, Mr Brian, Miss Corzo, Miss Georgina Frías, Miss Patty Betancourt, Mr Roger, Miss Griselda, Miss Paniagua, Profesor Roberto, Salvador Sánchez (CHAVITAAAAAA) Tania Torres

Peter Kelly.

Dante Sepúlveda Mendoza

Miss Corzo.

Luis Hoyos

Luis Castañeda

Miss Corzo, Peter Kelly, Roger, Miss Rita, Maureen.

Mónica Tirado

Guillermo Madzimoyo Walker ¡¡fue un profesor ejemplar!!

Adrian Martínez

Miss Ana Julia, lo mejor que le ha pasado al Kennedy.

Rafa Cueli

Carmen Corzo, Ana Julia, Roger, Chava.

Sofi Vielma

Mirtha Stappung.

Adriana Pérez Landin

Amandin.

Fernando Díaz Peón

Maureen, Peter Kelly, Patricia Betancourt Covarrubias, Georgina Frías, Roger, Roberto, Paniagua, Mr. Brian!!

Bárbara Morales Casas

Miss Corzo, Roger, Chava!

Lilly Cupido

Miss Paty Pedraza.

Liliana Luque

Peter Kelly y Chava!

Thalía Gissel Jáuregui Mtz

Bob Callahan.

Tomás González De Rosenzweig

Mr Walter huella en dejó mí.

Arnoldo Moran

Roger...

TGIF SOTABS. Ximena Martínez Palafox

Paty Pedraza, Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo, Miss Tete, los Lyall, Mrs Paez, Mr Scanlon, profe Ortiz, Mr Walker, Pat Mc Neil y, sin duda John McKiernan.

Fernanda Alfaro

Peter Kelly, Mirtha, Miss Flor, Mónica Pederzzini, Carmen Brea, Chava, Miss Grace, Maureen, Patsy, Mr. Heath, Ana Julia.

Fernanda Gleeson

Miss Mirtha, Miss Pilar Lombana, Chava, Miss Flor, Miss Maricruz.

Mr. Brian, todos!!

Jenny Sánchez

¡Miss Ana Julia!

Pau Cuevas

Susy Lerma, Stransky, Miss Emma, Miss Flor.

María Sanchez Lara

Miss Donna, Miss Carol y sus pingüinos, el Prof.

Chava de deportes, Miss Flor, Miss Patsy!!

Thaira Hernández

Aleida, Miss Marisela, Miss Julia, Mr Walker, Pedro y una infinidad de amigos que recuerdo con mucho cariño!

Federico Carrera

Miss Vicky con sus “ Chucas y Chucos”.

Clementina Mata Ramírez

Peter Kelly, Roger Gouran, Adrian Leece: los profesores que más han influido en mi vida.

Santiago Medrano de la Llata Miss Carmen Corzo, Mr. Guillermo Madzimoyo Walker, Profe. Chava, Miss Aleyda, Miss Julia, Miss Gloria Vélez, Profe Silvano Téllez, Adrian, Pitirijas, Stringal, Pepé Salinas, Foca, Tato, Pollo, Yolis, Laura, Lucy, el Pichi, Memo, Temin, Yuca, Gaby P., Pablo, Casta, Cristy R.M. , Gus, Larry James, Daniel V, Rafa y Pablo V, Nuria.

Marco Antonio Zamudio

Esos tiempos dejaron unabien granla huella.

Qué pasamos.

Larry McKiernan González

45

Mirtha Stappung, Miss Tara Fitzgerald, Miss Patsy.

Luisa Smaic

Miss Patsy Casas!!

Rodrigo Vi Le

Miss Corzo me enseñó a escribir con el sentimiento del corazón.

Sócrates Nava

Chava, Miss Corzo, Miss Flor, Miss Patsy, Miss Luna, Peter Kelly, Stransky, Maricarmen Chávez Galas jjejeje!!

Maricarmen Chávez

Miss Corzo, Miss Flor, Peter Kelly, Josefina Stransky, Georgina Frias y Paty Betancourt!!

Fue un honor haber sido su alumna!!

Sue Larrea

Miss Corzo, Mr Walker, Miss Cristy, July, Susy, Maricela Najera y tambien los Padrules multicampeones.

Luis Alberto Vega Ricoy

Miss Susy Lerma, Miss Jose Stransnky, Peter Kelly, MissChava!

Corzo y Annie Cupido de Lamping

Miss Corzo!

Diana San

No es por nada, pero yo dejé huella.

Jorge Del Villar

Prof. Jesus Ledezma, Heriberto Muzquiz, Larry y Aleida Mc Kiernan, Susy Merma, Luzma Navarro, Cristy Barredo, Blanca Garcia, Betty Mareantes, Graciela Heinz, Emma Terres, Jerry Scanlon, Gloria Vélez, Susy Lerma.

Julia Cevallos Hernández

Definitivamente, Paty Pedraza, Larry Lyall y John Mckiernan.

Stephanie SauderAndrade

Juanito, Valdemar, Isacc, Los Soria, Chava.

Mike Schz

Miss Carmen Corzo, Lety Iturbe Alvarado, Mr. Guillermo Walker.

Lety Iturbe Alvarado

Miss Mirtha, Mr M, Mr. Roger y Adrian, Chava, Manuel Mata, Miss Corzo, Mr White, Miss Patsy, Benny.

Juan Soria

Yolanda Lomelín.

Tanya Rodríguez

Mr. Chuck Weiss will always be the President of the class.

María Retana de la Peza

Magaly, Miss Corzo, Sara Young, Roger, Miss Ana Julia, Carmen Brea, Miss Patsy, Mr Weiss, Miss Flor, Adri Pardo, Miss Jose Cariño... Mr Shiffield porque siempre me sacaba del salon.

Mariana Larrea

Miss Patsy, Miss Corzo, Miss Carmen Brea, Miss Flor, Miss Jose Cariño.

Adriana Pérez Landin

Miss Margaret Caturegli, Miss Donna, Maureen y Peter Kelly y por supuesto Miss Corzo!

Fernanda Zenizo

Peter Kelly, Roger,Miss Ana Julia, Pedro Menezes

Vickyeny la Martha tiendita!!

Mariana Larrea

Pat Mc Neil, Mr. Walker, Mr Scanlon, Lara y Miss Pat. Karla Yoffe Sucar

Miss Corzo, Miss Flor, Miss MariCruz, Mr. Brian, Miss Stransky y Panchito.

Mar Besoy

PatWalker, Mc Neil,Mr Mr. Scanlon, Cooper.Mr. Betty-Lu León

Quiín se puede olvidar de “Cach was here...” Y los únicos y sensacionales “Fisch Boys”.

Antonio Govela

Sari, Rebe, Beni, Chivo, Crisogono, Maureen, Stransky, Georgina Frías, Miss Corzo, Liliana Bollain, Paty Betancourt, Peter, Paniagua, Roberto, Gonzalo.

Roberto Sanchez-Lara Murguia

Ana Julia.

Sofia Monroy

ROGER GOURAN! Y claro que Miss Ana Julia!

Juan Fran

Mr. Knoll, Miss Green.

Fer Ayala

Roger Gouran, Peter Kelly, Sarah Young de Trejo, Yolanda Lomelín, Adriana Pardo Azuela, Alejandra Landa Perera, Stephanie Nicole Bowles

Profesor Lajud, Mr. Tom, Miss Blanca Raymond, Miss Blanquita en música, Miss Blanca Bolaños, Miss Silvia de kínder.

Alan Beck Mr. Guillermo M. Walker fue quien dejó más huella.

Adrián Jiménez

Miss Corzo, Peter Kelly, y a mi Mamá Betty Borrego.

Beatriz Borrego Escamilla

Profesor Mainero.

Julieta GM

Todos los queequipo formamos elfútbol, primer papás yde alumnos; los alumnos que hicieron y crearon primer logo de deportes.el Yara Julieta VidalRomero

Pat McNiel, MR. Walter, Profe Ortíz, Paty Pedraza.

Pablo Landin

Miss Corzo, Miss Flor, Miss MariCruz, Mr. Brian, Miss Stransky y Panchito.

Mar Besoy

Mr Walker y la maestra Villamil.

Carlos Ramírez Escalante

Miss Franco, Mrs. Lyall, Miss Cristi Barredo, Pat McNeil, Mrs.Green, Paty Pedraza!

Heliana Castelazo

Carmen Corzo, Josefina, Stransky, Roger Gouran, Miss Rita, Miss Tere, Sara Young...

Extraordinarios maestros que dejan huella Santiago Lombana Quijano

Miss Corzo. uan Carlos García Mainou

Roger...

TGIF SOTABS. Ximena Martínez Palafox

Alfonso Roger, Lajud, Tara Fitzgerald, Brand. Julie Erika Hagstotz

Mr. Walker MARCÓ HISTORIA! Mauricio Suárez Pacheco

yGeorgina MissFlores.

AnaFrías Julia Tania Leece

Ana Julia, Roger y Peter Kelly.

Alejandra Serrano

Miss Patsy, Robert Callahan, Miss Corzo, Miss Dorothy Gerhart, Miss Debra Cortney, Roger Gouran, Josefina Cariño, Miss Ana Julia Flores.

Darian Ma

Mr. Walker! çLeonor León

Miss Patsy, Miss Corzo, Mr. Brian, Miss Josefina Stransky, los hermanos Soria, Prof. Chava, Miss Flor, Peter Kelly.

Jorge Viesca

¡Peter Kelly y Roger! ¡LOS MEJORES! Florentina Scully

Miss Margaret, Miss Susy, Miss Flor, Mr Brian, Roger, Beni, Miss Corzo, Chava, Miss Patsy, Miss Ceci, Peter Kelly.

Mariana SardeGo

Miss Carmen Corzo, Miss Josefina Stransky.

Gabriela Lecuna

Ana Julia, Roger y Peter Kelly.

Any Sosa

Inolvidable época!!

Sara Leticia Damm

Miss Paty de Música, Miss de Pat de Arte, Pedro de deportes... Mr. Walker by far!!

Adela Carretero Román

Mr. Walker, con su muy especial:No no no no señorita, Im very molesto!!

Maria Teresa Robles Cinta

Sin duda Mr. Walker y Miss Corzo.

Miguel Esteban Báez Reyes

Miss Emma Terres. Dennise Chauvet

Miss Emma Terres, Miss Josefina Stransky, Miss Corzo, Miss Margaret Caturegli, Miss Patsy y muchos papás de la mesa directiva q han logrado mucho tmb!!

Ardi Sánchez-Lara

Mr. Scanlon.

Rafael Landin Sánchez

Miss Caroooooool!

Miss Flor.

Jorge Amezcua

Miss Corzo, Stransky, Jose Cariño, Profe.

Chava, Susy Lerma, Roger, Miss Patsy, Ana Julia.

Débora Soria Villeda

Mr Walker, Patty Corzo, Miss Corzo, Miss Emma Terres y Miss Maricela Najera.

Ma. Luisa Torres Landa

Mr Walker!!

Hildegard Frei

Jacquie Gerthart, Paty Ruiz Corzo, Barbara Paez.

The best!

Ma. Elena Guerra

Miss desdeMirtha, luego.

Julián Urquiza Fernández

PatiCorzo, Pedraza, Miss Walker. Mr. Magdalena Thiel

Mr. Walker, Ms. Pat, Pati Pedraza y claro... mi mamá, Mrs. Páez.

Kat Páez Douce

Miss Carmen Brea, Peter Kelly, Miss Ana Julia, Miss Patsy, Miss Paty, Ceci.

Lilia Rabling

Benigno Martínez.

Cesar Rv

Sin duda, Walker!!

Andres Ibarra

Mirtha es una persona honesta, comprometida con su trabajo como maestra y directora. Su huella en la escuela y en mí, es sólida y grande. Jose Stransky impactó positivamente en mi vida y me apoyo a crecer como maestra en el JFK. Miss Luza

Roger, Miss Cristina Franco, Carmen Corzo, Jose Cariño, Benny: la mejor persona que estuvo cuidando de todos en prepa.

Kristy Cano Najera Miss Corzo, Mr. Brian, Roger, Peter Kelly, Chava, Jose Stransky, y la directora Paulina.

Ana Laura Langenscheidt

Peter Kelly, Paty Betancour, Chava, Armando (basket), Georgina Frias, Lupita ( lab) rita, Josefina Stransky, Mr Brian, Crisogono, Paniagua, Roger, y Thalio!

Ane Tor Corzo

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48

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Roots and Wings for our Future Adrian Leece General Director

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1

2

Celebration & Roots Opportunity and Wings Tap to play video This is a very exciting time for education, the pace of change in the world is quite breathtaking; new inventions and new discoveries hit the headlines everyday.

While the world rushes forward, it is the world of education and schools in particular that have the tremendous responsibility to find ways to educate children and prepare them for a world we don’t yet know ourselves.

Never before has change happened so fast; it is said that one in three of the babies born this year will end up working in jobs that presently don’t exist, solving problems that we don’t yet have and yet somehow schools need to prepare these children for their future.

In order to make sense of all of this, our school is in the process of change, or adaptation really, to ensure we can remain on the leading edge of educational progress. This is not a time to panick and grasp at whatever new trends come along; it is a time to ensure clarity in what we do, to ensure that we have the processes and systems in place and to guarantee that we can adapt and change with a highly profesional team on board, capable of doing all that we need to do to stay in front.

Tap to play video This reminds me of the famous quote from Henry Ward Beecher “There are only two lasting things that we can hope to give our children: one of these is roots, the other, wings”. His words convey that we must give our children a sense of belonging, identity and understanding of who they are and where they’re from, but we must also be prepared to make them capable to leave home and fly higher than we ever could.

This is very similar to the JFK belief in Tradition and Innovation. The JFK will not lose it’s roots: we have 50 years of success and experience, solid foundations of curriculum and educational philosophy and understanding.

The reasons for our success can’t be found in the pages of a book, they are found in the living soul of our school and it’s community. Each one of us throughout the years has added their own elements to the mixture and the outcome is 50 years of dedicated thought, effort and skills. This is what makes our school so special and so unique; irreplaceable.

Never before has change happened so fast; it is said that one in three of the babies born this year will end up working in Jobs that presently don’t exist The JFK will not lose it’s roots: we have 50 years of success and experience, solid foundations of curriculum and educational philosophy and understanding.

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3 Constant Innovation Tap to play And now we need to continue to innovate as always but with a greater pace than ever. We are aligning ourselves with International Baccalaureate programs. With 15 years of experience in the IB programs so far we are now moving forward to incorporate the Middle Years and then the Primary Years program.

With so many trends in education coming and going throughout the years, the IB had remained stable. They have a broad and clear understanding that we have to educate children in the skills of critical thinking and research, to learn to be able to work with others to solve real life problems.

They appreciate, as the JFK has always done, that students must grow to become useful and caring citizens and members of our society. IB understands and recognizes the changes happening in our world and invest heavily in identifying the best practices for teachers and schools.

By embracing the IB philosophy, culture and program school wide the JFK will increasingly become a leading educational option for all of our students.

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4 Our Community is our Strength Tap to play You will find in this magazine comments from all of our directors that it is not only the contents of classes what will take our school well into the 21st century and beyond. Our school is a community and as such it lives and breathes on the input and support of parents and community members.

It is this community that has helped us build new and modern facilities for the Middle and Elementary schools.

Modern, bright educational spaces are recognized as important elements in the provision of world-class education.

All new rooms and spaces have been designed with the education of our students in mind; they have been designed intentionally, considering the best ideas available in school design.

In the coming years we will continue our infrastructure program and build new buildings for the High School and Kinder Children, also incorporating the latest design ideas.

None of this would be possible without the effort, support and financial aid of our community.

With so many trends in education coming and going throughout the years, the IB had remained stable. They have a broad and clear understanding that we have to educate children in the skills of critical thinking and research

5 Parental Involvement Tap to play Parental support is not just about the infrastructure. All of the research tells us how student academic performance increases and disciplinary problems diminish when parents become highly involved in the school.

This is why we are taking various new measures to involve parents more: with the sports teams, creating social events, strengthening the parent’s associations; always looking for new ways to collaborate more directly with the needs of the school.

With well over 100 volunteers in campus our first semester in this year, we are already making great progress and will continue to do so. In the coming months and years we will see increased parental involvement in our accreditation and school improvement processes as well.

All of this is helping us build a school of pride and determination to face and overcome the challenges of our future.

I would like to take this moment to thank all of those have already come forward and help in so many ways.

6 A School on the Move Tap to play I have every confidence that the JFK is a School on the Move. We are moving, as the saying goes, from good to great.

This is a time of great change, we have the knowledge, skills and determination to keep progressing, to keep rising to challenges as they occur and to overcome the obstacles.

This is the role model that we as a community need to demonstrate to our children, that the challenges are opportunities and that with effort and determination all can be overcome.

Continued growing success will be ours into the foreseeable future.

We don’t know what this world will look like in 10 or 20 years; this is true, but we do know that as a school we are moving forward with confidence to face this future. Our students already been given incredible opportunities: our world class curriculum, the IB, highly effective social service programs, recognized sustainable and green education, international leadership training opportunities and access, of course, to universities the world over.

We will continue developing these programs and opportunities, looking for expert teachers and an ever-increasing range of extra curricular opportunities.

We don’t know what this world will look like in 10 or 20 years; this is true, but we do know that as a school we are moving forward with confidence to face this future.

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A word about the future How are we Preparing to Offer a 21st Century Education?

The directors of each section share with us their vision, effort and commitment to keep building a community where we are all invited to give the best we have to offer.

pre-school

Debra Cortney

Georgina FrĂ­as

Our Students’ Academic Life Starts with Safe and Sound Steps

We seek for Students to be Committed, Proactive Individuals

e l e m e n ta ry s c h o o l

at h l e t i c s

Mark Dunn

Arturo Bustamante

The Shift Towards Interdisciplinary and Integrated Learning

The IB Program and the New Skills: Challenges for the 21st Century

middle school

infrastructure

Robert Callahan

Working with Responsible, Independent and Collaborative Students 54

high school

Jeff Lewis

How can we get the JFK community to help?

Our Students’ Academic Life Starts with Safe and Sound Steps Debra Cortney Pre-school Principal

A

s we know, the Pre-school section has proven to be the school’s most fun area; the reason behind this lies on it being the children’s first learning experience and opportunity to manifest their emotions. It is a place full of energy, life, laughter, imagination and curiosity; it allows us to witness the first of many steps from the children as well as from their parents. Our trained staff of teachers accompanies them at this stage of growth while maintaining

always a positive approach, as well as providing parents with the confidence that our school is a safe and reliable place, where every student has their own place.

Accompanying younger children and their parents at this important stage of academic life is essential, and doing so, with closeness is fundamental. This is how we foster integration and security in the Kennedy in order to give cohesion to our community.

Accompanying younger children and their parents at this important stage of academic life is essential, and doing so, with closeness is fundamental.

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One of our primary goals is to guide the smaller ones at the beginning of their life as students; therefore, our education is persona­lized through the monitoring and development of each of their individual skills.

The future plan for the section includes continuing development of a safe space where children learn to work, study and share. Kindergarten is a critical step because it is here that students prepare to go to school, respecting always their innate curiosity, strengthening their ability to research and their sense of wonder at everyday life, all these through concrete motivations.

We will also continue driving the section to reach the PYP, a program that goes along with the exploration of the children’s environment and surroundings, a vital element in the growth process.

We would like to modernize our facilities in the future, perfecting thus the specific needs that characterize each of the children’s areas of development, as well as to continue the recruitment of new students to the full capacity of our area.

In addition, we will continue working to achieve a stable staff of teachers, seeking their steady progress, in what has been our custom to retain teachers who follow through on their leadership and remain part of our team. The com-

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bination among teachers and students that arises each year in the classroom, coupled with social and technolo­gical progress, is a key factor that gives variability to the daily education of our children.

We will continue to forge a better link with Elementary School in order to make the transition between sections a smoother process through a program where teachers facilitate this change.

It is a joint effort based on communication aimed not only at achieving the kid’s adequate preparation, but also to get them acquainted with who will be receiving them on the following grade.

We are focusing as well on establishing a similar schedule by including them on cooking or art workshops, aside from sports, where the areas of most interest to the children may be explored.

Empathy with our students will be essential to achieve our goals, as well as strengthening their skills through programs of character education and positive discipline, to give them the emotional tools and intellectual skills that will accompany them during their transition, keeping always within our priorities the quality of the English language.

We will continue to forge a better link with Elementary School in order to make the transition between sections a smoother process.

The Shift towards Interdisciplinary and Integrated Learning Mark Dunn Elementary School Principal

T

here is a phrase we used a couple of years ago and it still resonates with me; a JFK filled with “tradition and innovation�. It is a great way to describe our unique school at this crossroads of honoring the traditions built on 50 years of successful practice. Innovation means constantly reflecting on our practice and meeting the changing needs of our students. Pillars of strength are the veteran teachers who constantly build on their excellent practice. New local teachers and from abroad contribute to the overall learning environment

for the students with fresh ideas and strategies.

For the future, I see us moving towards a deeper level of understanding 21st century education. We have all of the basic building blocks to make it happen: teachers who love children and love project based learning. We are bringing in the Primary Years Programme from the International Baccalaureate. This is very exciting for us because it is going to demand us to assess children in different ways, to ask them to question in a critical manner, and to collaborate even more than they

I see us moving towards a deeper level of understanding 21st century education...

We are bringing in the Primary Years Programme from the International Baccalaureate.

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currently do. This goes hand in hand with our 21st century building. Now we have state of the art installations to match our state of the art learning. The PYP is not just about students memorizing things that can be reproduced on a test but being able to look for information, analyze it, to be critical of it and then put it in a context where it can be used in different ways.

The JFK learner profile is what children need to have in order to be ready for jobs that don’t exist yet. The goal of the PYP is to start that process of thinking and ensure a seamless transition to the MYP (middle years programme).

We can say the PYP is a well-managed chaos where the children are all in charge of their own learning and the teacher is exploring the same concepts with the children, facilitating their learning and asking them questions to get them to take the ownership of their learning.

Learning in a transdisciplinary way means moving beyond just combining subject areas; it means asking and answering essential questions. A JFK student in the future will commonly ask, “How do I take the ownership of my own learning? How do I collaborate on a team to take it to a different level?”

Technology is an important resource in the PYP but does not replace the teaching-learning experience. We will

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continue to be innovative with technological support systems, but will still continue having excellent teachers exploring alongside the students as our core.

This is the evolution I envision for the next years; it represents where we are going and how we are building on what we’ve achieved. It is an exciting time to be part of the JFK Elementary School for parents, students, teachers, and this principal too!

We can say the PYP is a well-managed chaos where the children are all in charge of their own learning and the teacher is exploring the same concepts with the children, facilitating their learning.

Working with Responsible, Independent and Collaborative Students Robert Callahan Middle School Principal

W

hat will JFK look like in the next ten years?

Hmm…. Interesting question because you have to imagine what the world will look like and then plan how to prepare students for an uncertain future in a way that you were never personally taught in school. To be honest, I see JFK in the vanguard of global education where students learn how to think independently, work collaboratively, produce creatively, and live responsibly.

It’s ambitious, but we are moving in this direction quickly. Over the past year-and-a-half in Middle School, we have seen teachers redesign instruction to put inquiry and problem solving at the center of daily learning. Students are exploring some of the biggest questions in life –Why do good people do bad things? Whose version of history is right? Does science and technology

have the potential to do more harm than good? – and finding their own answers in the guidance of teachers who can structure meaningful experiences that engage adolescents and provide the feedback necessary to improve.

Through the use of inquiry tables, we are also systematically teaching metacognition for the first time to teenagers; a strategy research says is one of the best ways for students to learn how to develop their own ideas.

Everyday, Middle School students are learning what it means to truly work collaboratively. They can see now, through experience and patient instruction from teachers, that to work collaboratively to produce a product, create an idea or participate in a debate, everybody must arrive to the team individually prepared with all readings and work complete. Students work through a cycle of individual prepara-

Over the past year-and-ahalf in Middle School, we have seen teachers redesign instruction to put inquiry and problem solving at the center of daily learning: EXAMPLES ❙❙ Why do good people

do bad things? ❙❙ Whose version of

history is right? ❙❙ Does science and

technology have the potential to do more harm than good?

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tion, collaboration with others, and personal reflection in order to make sense of experiences, course content, and the world around them. We have found that young adolescents learn best inside this cycle, and our teachers personally model it weekly through their own professional collaboration to develop the best and most interesting classroom dynamics.

In the future, we will see the collaboration cycle used to blur the lines between learning and creativity until they are seen as one and the same. In the same day, a Middle School student can work on building a sustainable IPOD charger using a solar panel and rechargeable batteries, record and edit an original composition in music class, rewrite a textbook page to convey the “true” story in history, search for evidence of evolution in million-year old fossils, discover the powers and roles of Greek Gods through play, compare their own volleyball technique to a professional using an IPAD double screen, and write short stories using the style of Edgar Allan Poe. What we create and what we learn will become one and the same.

When students think independently, work collaboratively, and produce creatively, living responsibly is a small developmental step. Our social service projects in middle school require students to do all three, whether they are organizing a photography exhibition to create sustainable civil society fundraising for the TSUNI-DIF project to educate indigenous girls or organizing a children’s day in support of the high school 20/20 El Obraje project or

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finding sponsors in the community for children without a gift for Christmas or Three Kings’ Day with the organization Dibujando Sonrisas. One amazing thing about JFK is that at no point during this year have I had to force or coerce students to serve others through threats or prizes as done in many other schools. They are achieving, in the words of the IB, an “inner vibration” to serve others, and I have the parents of this community to thank for that. When students can combine creativity, collaboration, and service, the sky is the limit. In the next ten years, we will see how high JFK Middle School students can go.

I believe that one of the biggest challenges in general in education is the role of technology. We believe that technology should be used to personalize learning as well as to create, communicate, and serve others in a way perfectly in line with our school’s mission and values as well as IB Community Profile. The challenge we face is that new technologies and the Internet as a whole are amoral; they do not take an ethical position nor are capable of “doing the right thing” independent of human morality. It is up to us as a community to educate our children to use these tools in a congruent way with our values. That is our challenge.

In the next ten years, we will be building an educational model where students think independently, work collaboratively, produce creatively, and live responsibly to solve problems that do not exist yet using the best resources available. This is what a truly visionary education looks like.

What we create and what we learn will become one and the same: EXAMPLES ❙❙ Building a

sustainable IPOD charger. ❙❙ Record and

edit an original composition. ❙❙ Rewrite a textbook

page to convey the “true” story. ❙❙ Search for evidence

of evolution in million-year-old fossils. ❙❙ Discover the powers

and roles of Greek Gods. ❙❙ Compare their own

volleyball technique to a professional. ❙❙ Write short stories.

using the style of Edgar Allan Poe.

When students think independ­ ently, work collaboratively, and produce creatively, living responsibly is a small developmental step.

We Seek for Students to be Committed, Proactive Individuals Georgina Frías High School Principal

T

hanks to a great team effort we are today the Bajio’s best school. High School is now recognized in Querétaro as a school of excellence, with the great advantage over other institutions of being a school where students are prepared to enter any university. We are the only school that offers three different diplomas in one: the national program by the Secretaría de Educación Pública, the American School program accredited by AdvancED, and the International Baccalaureate.

As an integral part of our education we seek to form individuals with a

critical judgment, students assertive in their decisions and with positive attitudes in problem solving, thus preparing them to face any situation that comes along in their future.

In addition to rigorous academic quality as a priority in our program, we seek to instill, through social service, the courage to recognize that society to which our students belong to, focusing their devotion to causes beyond the boundaries of individual benefit.

Caring about the welfare of others is therefore an essential requirement for graduation. The development of our students is also generated through the

Our strength is giving students the values and skills necessary to achieve their development in the world, seeking new opportunities and better tools.

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art and sports programs, which contribute positively in this stage where young people are still searching for their identity and preparing for the challenges of adult life.

Our strength is giving students the values and skills necessary to achieve their development in the world, seeking new opportunities and better tools.

It is always a great pleasure to see them return as alumni and know that they have succeeded, thereby reconfirming the excellent quality of their education.

As part of our vision for the future, we work on the construction of a more collaborative High School, in other words, an inclusive section that will keep the commitment not only to meet students’ needs, but also those of teachers, staff, parents and the community; it will be in the integragted efforts, that we can achieve excellence. This means creating socially conscious students, who upon realizing that they are a critical part of this school, will come back to share their knowledge in the same way others have done it. We are talking about academically prepared students, formed within ethics, citizenship and team effort. Young adults with critical thinking, global thinking, with a knowledge to act upon sharing disciplines, open-minded, receptive to new ideas, who will have the ability to make and

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receive proposals; creative people apt to generate the world they eventually will have to build. A joint effort between the school, students and parents will certainly encourage tightly knit generations and form men and women with the necessary skills for the twenty-first century.

We seek for students to be proud members of the Kennedy and not just students with excellent grades; an example of this is the work already under way in the Student Council, that makes it much more active, more involved, proactive in issues by and for the school, and that favors the participation of peers based on the development of the institution. The school belongs to them and is for them, only in this communion will our students thrive successfully.

The opportunity that I now have as High School principal involves not only the responsibility to continue effectively with what as a school we have achieved the last 50 years, but with the need to work towards the development of successful, conscious and socially committed individuals, capable of generating changes that will impact not only their generation but future ones, consistent with the current ideology: global and sustainable; all without losing their identity.

We are the only school that offers three different diplomas in one.

The IB Program and the New Skills: Challenges for the 21st Century Arturo Bustamante Athletics Director

W

ithin our 50th Anniversary’s celebration, I wish to proudly share our department’s scope and goals where, with effort and perseverance, we have succeeded in turning sports into a fundamental activity for the Kennedy’s community. It is very gratifying to see how each school year we are adding more students and more activities to

our educational program, consolidating into sports with excellent results: Today we are one of the best schools in asomex and are within the first three places in the local league.

Currently our program consists of two parts, the first one being the curriculum, that is to say, physical education provided to all students from PreSchool to High School. The second one

Today we are one of the best schools in asomex and are within the first three places in the local league.

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includes all after school and evening activities, divided into basic sports and sports workshops. The basic sports taught in our school are soccer, basketball, volleyball and athletics, while the workshops include ballet, Tae Kwon Do and cheerleading.

Our mission is contributing to the overall education of all students by developing and promoting knowledge, fitness, and mental and emotional balance, with the aim of creating healthy, wholesome and successful people.

Through our work we have the opportunity to positively influence them, not only through physical education but also through the afternoon sports program in which, as I mentioned, are enrolled many of our students. Today we are very proud of the growth we have achieved and of the positive impact we have on our community and, consequently, on society as well.

Fifty years after the founding of our school, we are in an important stage of development and realignment of our department, brought about by the implementation of the IB program in Middle School and High School, and

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it is our intention for the immediate future to implement it also in the Elementary section. With this we are committed to continue a steady pace governed by the standards of a global education, where the learning of our students will generate their experiences and they will obtain the necessary social skills for problem solving and negotiation; physical and mental skills that will serve them well in the future both in their professional life and at a personal level.

In the department we are very excited about this program’s philosophy and we focus on applying its methodology in order to integrate the skills required for the 21st century. Our goal is to deve­ lop the best characteristics in students and in their sport and thus seek to integrate technology into physical education’s teaching with the aim that our students acquire more and better information that can be converted into sound practices to be applied, not only into physical education and sport, but also in helping the community and those in need.

Our mission is contributing to the overall education of all students by developing and promoting knowledge, fitness, and mental and emotional balance.

How Can we Get the JFK Community to Help?

Jeff Lewis

Operational and Infrastructure Director

O

ne of the things I have noticed after being part of this school for the past 14 years, are the big changes in infrastructure.

Some of the biggest changes that we’ve had have been major projects carried out over the last few years, starting with the laboratory and offices for High School to the rebuilding of Middle School and the complete Elementary School and cafeteria project.

One of the really important things that we have improved is the way we have carried out these projects‌ improved them in the sense that the planning and the decision making in their design involved many people. This is part of what we want to have; positive community involvement to make sure that whatever installations we have on campus are the best for the education of our kids. By involving educators with

Together, as a community, we can assure that the JFK continues to be the best option for educating our children far into the future.

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architects and engineers in this process, we can assure that we are going to give the students the best installations that will help maintain the high level of education that we are giving them.

The big achievement is the way we have gone about doing these projects as they have gotten bigger and bigger.

I would say that our process of the design and the building through to the final product is much better than ever before.

We are planning for the next large projects. For these projects, we will be looking at the trends in education in the 21st century as a guide for how they are going to be done.

The traditional way of education has changed entirely. The introduction of the IB program in our school makes the students their own investigators of information, becoming more proactive in their own educational process, guided by the teachers.

With that in mind, it obviously means that there have been chan­ges in the classrooms because the design has to do with new techno­logy and teaching techniques. It is very difficult today to say what is going to happen with technology in five years or ten years from now. How is technology going to be incorporated into the classroom?

It’s not very clear, but we need to make

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sure that we leave the design of the spaces, where the students are being educated, flexible enough to allow for any of those future changes.

Certain trends are obvious like mobile and wireless technologies and we are prepared for them and taking them into consideration.

How can we get the community to help? With expertise, time and money.

1 Input from the community with their ideas is always welcome.

2 Time from experts that are on the infrastructure committee, who are helping in the design and construction process, is very valuable.

3 Money, after the completion of the Elementary School project we will need people to help support our fundraising efforts for our next big project, High School.

Together, as a community, we can assure that the JFK continues to be the best option for educating our children far into the future.

In order to achieve this, we need to make sure that our installations are optimal and that requires community support with expertise, time and funding.

Together, as a community, we can assure that the JFK continues to be the best option for educating our children far into the future.

D N A T S E B E H T T E Y S I TO !

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