Nothing But Net!

As I sit here looking at the computer clock, it is 7:16 p.m. - the boys are in bed and I am trying to decide what to do with my time before I hit the bed: (1) clean up my notes from the Friday night Listening Circle activity (school project), (2) type up the minutes from today's Fundraising Committee meeting or (3) post an entry to the blog...#3 it is! Somebody warned me when I first arrived here in Monteverde...be careful what you sign up for...your time can be gobbled up in a blink of an eye. This is indeed the case!

A couple of highlights from the last week:

SWISH - Basketball Mini-course - Tim, the new volunteer, and I kicked off the basketball mini-course last Thursday - we were a success and I had a ton of fun. The themes of the mini-courses this quarter focus on sports (biking, running, soccer, swimming, frisbee and my personal favorite...basketball!) Tim just arrived in Costa Rica and will be spending time here at the school volunteering through April. When I got my first glance of Tim, a huge smile came across my face -- tall, slender guy, surely must know a thing or two about basketball...right? My assumption was correct....he is a teacher back in Boston and has done a great deal of coaching in his time and has even run some bb camps, so I knew I was in good hands. He has all the drills in his head and right away commanded the attention of the ten kids we have in our course. The kids range from 3rd grade to 8th grade and well, let me just say, soccer is certainly the sport of choice here :) It was cute to watch the kids as I'm sure, most had barely touched a basketball, let alone, dribbled, tried to execute a lay-up or a chest pass!

I could not help think about my days as a highschool bb player and my few summers spent away from home at basketball camp when Tim had us out there on the court stretching and practicing the various drills! We will make a good team over the next few months and I look forward to Thursday's at 1:30. I'm sure glad I had a couple of pick-up games with my sister and Stuart Leigh before leaving Chicago or I would have been really rusty. (Stuart - next time I'm states side - you and me buddy)! And for all you reading this now...remember the bob-sled team from Jamaica - never say never - don't be surpirsed if you see a Costa Rican basketball team proudly waving its flag and marching in a future Olympic opening ceremony...dare to dream!

Last week, the school project I am working on kicked off - MFS Values, Vision, Mission Statement. The school committee has approved an initiative to re-examine the values, vision and mission statement of the school...in comes me and Jude, my project partner. As I may have mentioned in a previous blog, the Director has tapped us to help with this initiative as we both have many years working in a project management capacity in the corporate world. For me, this project was, in the beginning, very daunting, as working in the corprorate world, is worlds away, from managing a project here within a Quaker community. The approach we are using to gather information from all of ours stakeholders is called Listening Circles...It is very spiritual work that involves all of the constituents in the community, meeting with the main focus being that of listening. I guess I would equate these circles to focus sessions if I had to make a comparison. We use a rain-stick which is a stick that is filled with seeds or pebbles and each speaker uses it to open and close the 'space' from which to speak. The main intent of our circles is to have the consituents lend their ideas and heart to the Listening Circle to explore questions in support of discerning Values & Vision for the Friends School. Through this, we hope to reflect the spiritual energy of the growing and expanding school community and provide the spiritual foundation to achieve a more strategic plan. We hope to hear from everyone in the Friends School community, parents, students, teachers, graduates, and former parents. The Circle is a special way of learning what others have to say. It is not a time for debate or argument.
Here’s how it works:
 Listen from your deepest self, from your heart
 Listen without judgment from a compassionate & empathic heart
 Give your complete attention to the speaker
 Affirm the speaker; send positive energy.

The questions that we are asking the folks to speak about are:
1. What is the purpose of the school in the Community?
2. What do we most deeply want to create through having a school?
3. Who and what are we serving as a school?
4. How does the school support and enrich life for my family and me?

Jude facilitates the meetings, while I scribe. The circles are scheduled over the next two weeks, some in Spanish, some in English and some a mix. I walked into Santa Elena Saturday afternoon to lend support to a Spanish circle, a Tico member of the community was kind enough to facilitate. He and his wife own a Macrobiotica store in town - their house is beyond the store. It was a very small and intimate circle where Tico parents shared their desire for their children to have a chance for a better education. It was humbling to listen to their stories of sacrifice and struggle so they could pay the tuition so their child could attend MFS. I enjoyed huddling in their kitchen after the circle as they treated us to tea, coffee and some snacks. I am really getting a flavor of how special this community is...everyone talks of respect and the values of the Quaker community. In one of the circles last week, I asked what those values are...a Quaker visitor from NY (who just happened to participate in our circle chimed in and said: harmony, integrity, equality and simplicity. What I am hearing over and over again in these circles is a desire and a common goal to teach our children respect, equip them with the tools so they can resolve conflict peacefully and to love one another. It is not all about academics or test scores, but rather, providing an education that nutures the entire soul, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, enviornmentally, etc. I know there is much more here (in the community) that meets the eye, and believe me, there is plenty that meets the eye. But there is so much other 'stuff' deeper, under the layers, and I look forward to this week as I continue to search to discover why this community is so rich and vibrant.

I am still very busy with the Fundraising Committee as well - we are in the full swing of our annual appeal letter and hope to meet or exceed last year's donations. Jude and I are actively redesigning the School's newsletter as well and I will likely be known as "Scoop Schaefer" shortly as I hope to interview the Kinder teachers for an upcoming article in the Gallo Pinto publication.

The school will also be ramping up for their 'Caminata'/Walk-a-thon Fundraiser end of March. From what I hear, this is the biggest local fundraising event for the school. I hope to be not only walking but also lending a hand to help coordinate the event this year - the walk will end up at San Gerardo which will be quite a good jaunt (I will need to look up the stats to find out the exact distance as I am unsure, but know that it will get the blood flowing and the sweat glands working).

Comanche the Cat: The cute, little stray cat who has adopted us, is well, still part of the family, despite the 'over-loving' it receives from the boys. A proposition landed in our laps this Friday when Miss Melody (one of the boys teachers) asked us 'do you really have a cat that you are thinking of getting rid of"? I replied..'yes, keep talking'. MIke had announced at a teacher meeting that this cat had adopted us and if anyone was willing to give it a home, we would be happy to turn it over to a loving family. Melody said that they would love to have the cat for 'mouse control' in the Kinder building. I thought to myself "is she really serious'? but the more I engaged in the conversation, I knew, she was definitely straight-up. The cat would stay in the classroom and help to control the mouse population....a win-win for us and them right? The boys could still see/play with the cat while at school and hopefully Comanche would grow a little paunchy while helping to control the mouse population:) I'll be talking to Melody tomorrow - stay tuned !

Constipation - Things are a moving now! We had our first real bout with constipation last week. Poor little Michael was plugged up for about four days. I sent MIke into Santa Elena on Saturday for some glycerin suppositories, prunes and papaya, papaya and more papaya. We had also purchased some boxes of apple juice from the store at the end of the street. Finally had some success yesterday. Michael was a trooper, but in a lot of pain and discomfort last week. We are happy that things are back on track and will continue to push the fresh fruits and veggies. For any of our local friends, happy to share the suppositories if you find your child 'stuck with no where to go'.

Family Visit - I am SO excited to see family next month. We have decided to spend three days at Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos (the coast) on the first leg of Mom, Dad and Auntie Beth's visit. A real treat for all - We are all counting down the days and can't wait to see some familiar faces.

Well, it is 8:33 now, Mike has been in bed for an hour now, I've chatted with Beth over Skype half way through this writing and my continual yawning is telling me that I should retire.

Peace,
Signed: S