student life

Dominican Night

Mi Corazón Dominicano

Third grade students composed “Mi Corazón Dominicano”, a song highlighting the Dominican heritage celebrated during the month of February.

The lyrics resulted from the Spanish Language Arts lessons on rhyme. Students organized their ideas, and once put together, it rendered a beautiful merengue.

We are especially thankful for Mr. Aguilar who was in charge of the music arrangements, Ms. Beislyn who took over the choreography and Ms. Abreu as coordinator of the project. What a blessing to count with so much talent!

Lyrics:

1
¡Qué lindo es este país!
Lleno de alegría, mucha gente feliz, bailando merengue y bachata,
y disfrutando de bellas playas.
2
Siempre con cariños nos saludamos,
y nos decimos “¿Qué lo qué mi hermano?” Los buhoneros en la calle gritando:
“¡Amarillo, amarillo los plátanos!”
3
En la comida somos campeones, comiendo yaniqueques, salami y tostones. un buen mofongo y un mangú,
que con chicarrones disfrutas tú.
4
Y no se puede quedar el sancocho,
un arroz blanco, habichuela y pollo.
Y en los postre el dulce ’e coco
que es más bueno que cualquier bizcocho

Qué bonito es,
agradecido es,
tan alegre es,
mi corazón dominicano.
Qué bonito es,
agradecido es,
tan alegre es,
mi corazón dominicano.
5
No hay para mi más bonito lugar, hermosos paisajes para disfrutar, inmensas playas y montañas como el Pico Duarte y Punta Cana.
6
Tenemos un clima privilegiado con mucho calor todo el año, pero en Cosntanza y Jarabacoa ese friito es otra cosa.

7
Valoramos nuestra historia
de mezcla, batallas y victorias.
que recordamos en la Zona Colonial y al nuestros próceres celebrar
8
Aquí disfrutamos de to’
Y por eso nos aman los turistas
En esta tierra bendecida por Dios, todos somos unos artistas.
Qué bonito es,
Agradecido es,
Tan alegre es,
Mi corazón dominicano.
Qué bonito es,
Agradecido es,
Tan alegre es,
Mi corazón dominicano.

Mi Corazón Dominicano

Third grade students composed “Mi Corazón Dominicano”, a song highlighting the Dominican heritage celebrated during the month of February.

The lyrics resulted from the Spanish Language Arts lessons on rhyme. Students organized their ideas, and once put together, it rendered a beautiful merengue.

We are especially thankful for Mr. Aguilar who was in charge of the music arrangements, Ms. Beislyn who took over the choreography and Ms. Abreu as coordinator of the project. What a blessing to count with so much talent!

Lyrics:

1
¡Qué lindo es este país!
Lleno de alegría, mucha gente feliz, bailando merengue y bachata,
y disfrutando de bellas playas.
2
Siempre con cariños nos saludamos,
y nos decimos “¿Qué lo qué mi hermano?” Los buhoneros en la calle gritando:
“¡Amarillo, amarillo los plátanos!”
3
En la comida somos campeones, comiendo yaniqueques, salami y tostones. un buen mofongo y un mangú,
que con chicarrones disfrutas tú.
4
Y no se puede quedar el sancocho,
un arroz blanco, habichuela y pollo.
Y en los postre el dulce ’e coco
que es más bueno que cualquier bizcocho

Qué bonito es,
agradecido es,
tan alegre es,
mi corazón dominicano.
Qué bonito es,
agradecido es,
tan alegre es,
mi corazón dominicano.
5
No hay para mi más bonito lugar, hermosos paisajes para disfrutar, inmensas playas y montañas como el Pico Duarte y Punta Cana.
6
Tenemos un clima privilegiado con mucho calor todo el año, pero en Cosntanza y Jarabacoa ese friito es otra cosa.

7
Valoramos nuestra historia
de mezcla, batallas y victorias.
que recordamos en la Zona Colonial y al nuestros próceres celebrar
8
Aquí disfrutamos de to’
Y por eso nos aman los turistas
En esta tierra bendecida por Dios, todos somos unos artistas.
Qué bonito es,
Agradecido es,
Tan alegre es,
Mi corazón dominicano.
Qué bonito es,
Agradecido es,
Tan alegre es,
Mi corazón dominicano.

Harvard Public Forum Debate

A delegation of Ashton students participated in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament-Public Forum Debate Competition.

They prepared to debate on the topic: The United States federal government should ban single-use plastics. Our teams were registered as Junior Varsity, debating 6 rounds during the weekend. It was a very challenging experience, where only 12% of the participants pass to the quarter finals.

How this event becomes such an enriching experience regardless of the results:

Forensics (speech & debate) offers a unique and rewarding mix of academic and extracurricular opportunities that provide a wide range of benefits to students, whether they learn the basics and are occasional competitors or become experts in an event and compete in a tournament. No matter their level of involvement and commitment, there is a format of debate beneficial for every student. Students who participate in speech & debate learn a variety of skills that are directly transferable to a wide range of academic and real-world situations. For starters, all formats of speech & debate teach the vital skill of public speaking, useful to a student for the confidence to speak up to answer a question or in making a presentation in front of a class, or later in life as a professional who has a busy slate of meetings, press releases and pitches.

Debater students met every week for one hour or two hours. Sometimes our students find themselves being overwhelmed with school work and extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, etc.) To be part of the debate program requires discipline, debate is an extremely rigorous activity, demanding near-endless amounts of time and energy from its participants. Our debate coaches are Leyti De Los Santos, Alexia Pimentel, María José Brea, and Laura Vásquez.

“My Harvard experience was pretty good! I knew it would be a challenge yet my partner and I tried our best. It was interesting to see how different every judge is and how you have to adapt to their likings. Along with the learning I gained from the debate, I also appreciate the international friends I made throughout the debates.” -María Andrea Herrera

Harvard Public Forum Debate

A delegation of Ashton students participated in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament-Public Forum Debate Competition.

They prepared to debate on the topic: The United States federal government should ban single-use plastics. Our teams were registered as Junior Varsity, debating 6 rounds during the weekend. It was a very challenging experience, where only 12% of the participants pass to the quarter finals.

How this event becomes such an enriching experience regardless of the results:

Forensics (speech & debate) offers a unique and rewarding mix of academic and extracurricular opportunities that provide a wide range of benefits to students, whether they learn the basics and are occasional competitors or become experts in an event and compete in a tournament. No matter their level of involvement and commitment, there is a format of debate beneficial for every student. Students who participate in speech & debate learn a variety of skills that are directly transferable to a wide range of academic and real-world situations. For starters, all formats of speech & debate teach the vital skill of public speaking, useful to a student for the confidence to speak up to answer a question or in making a presentation in front of a class, or later in life as a professional who has a busy slate of meetings, press releases and pitches.

Debater students met every week for one hour or two hours. Sometimes our students find themselves being overwhelmed with school work and extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, etc.) To be part of the debate program requires discipline, debate is an extremely rigorous activity, demanding near-endless amounts of time and energy from its participants. Our debate coaches are Leyti De Los Santos, Alexia Pimentel, María José Brea, and Laura Vásquez.

“My Harvard experience was pretty good! I knew it would be a challenge yet my partner and I tried our best. It was interesting to see how different every judge is and how you have to adapt to their likings. Along with the learning I gained from the debate, I also appreciate the international friends I made throughout the debates.” -María Andrea Herrera

Embracing Diversity

This week we had the privilege to join Adriana Irazabal once again. Adriana is from Venezuela, she is 33 years old with Cerebral Palsy. Our Academic Coordinator, Ms. Viera, worked with this valuable lady at a younger age, and put our school in contact with her through a virtual meeting, evidence of using the silverlining the pandemic left us.

As part of the Respect Campaign, the 6th students had a conversation with her and this week 12th grade students joined her via Zoom.

This charismatic young woman told us about her life, her experiences, her dreams and how she has managed to achieve them. She told us that it hasn’t always been easy since diversity is not always welcomed, but she also shared that we set so many of the limits ourselves without considering what we can acheive if we work hard. Adriana’s motto is “make lemonade with the lemons you got” so breaking barriers and against all odds, she graduated from high school, trained as a presenter, actress and dancer. And as if all of this is not enough, she wrote a book that she successfully sells on Amazon.

A true inspiration!

Thank you Adriana for your generosity in sharing your life with us!

Embracing Diversity

This week we had the privilege to join Adriana Irazabal once again. Adriana is from Venezuela, she is 33 years old with Cerebral Palsy. Our Academic Coordinator, Ms. Viera, worked with this valuable lady at a younger age, and put our school in contact with her through a virtual meeting, evidence of using the silverlining the pandemic left us.

As part of the Respect Campaign, the 6th students had a conversation with her and this week 12th grade students joined her via Zoom.

This charismatic young woman told us about her life, her experiences, her dreams and how she has managed to achieve them. She told us that it hasn’t always been easy since diversity is not always welcomed, but she also shared that we set so many of the limits ourselves without considering what we can acheive if we work hard. Adriana’s motto is “make lemonade with the lemons you got” so breaking barriers and against all odds, she graduated from high school, trained as a presenter, actress and dancer. And as if all of this is not enough, she wrote a book that she successfully sells on Amazon.

A true inspiration!

Thank you Adriana for your generosity in sharing your life with us!

Ashton School Leads the American Math Competition in DR

Last February, 11 students from 11th and 12th grades were participating in the AMM (American Math Competition) at Colegio Bilingue New Horizons. The American Mathematics Competitions are a series of examinations and curriculum materials that build problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge in middle and high school students.

We have received the summary statistics for our school with the following results:

As a school, the mean score was higher than the mean score of everyone that took the test in the DR. The percentile cutoff scores are also higher than the country (Ashton School mean-43.2, RD mean-41.4, Ashton School top 5% score-72, DR top 5% score-60).
Two students from Ashton School obtained the highest rankings at that grade level in the country: Sergio Moya ( highest score in the country) and Arturo Camarena second highest).

I consider this an achievement for both the school and the students, and suggest it be shared with the community (newsletter, Back to School Night). It is a good opportunity to motivative other students and recognize the effort of these two students.

Ashton School Leads the American Math Competition in DR

Last February, 11 students from 11th and 12th grades were participating in the AMM (American Math Competition) at Colegio Bilingue New Horizons. The American Mathematics Competitions are a series of examinations and curriculum materials that build problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge in middle and high school students.

We have received the summary statistics for our school with the following results:

As a school, the mean score was higher than the mean score of everyone that took the test in the DR. The percentile cutoff scores are also higher than the country (Ashton School mean-43.2, RD mean-41.4, Ashton School top 5% score-72, DR top 5% score-60).
Two students from Ashton School obtained the highest rankings at that grade level in the country: Sergio Moya ( highest score in the country) and Arturo Camarena second highest).

I consider this an achievement for both the school and the students, and suggest it be shared with the community (newsletter, Back to School Night). It is a good opportunity to motivative other students and recognize the effort of these two students.

Celebrating Dicentia 2020

Cross-Stitching/Crochet Elective – Electiva de punto de cruz y crochet

High School students completed the Elective projects for Semester 2 with the drafting of a short paragraph reflecting on the experience of cross-stitching and crocheting.

This proved to be a very useful tool to develop one essential virtue specially under current circumstances: PATIENCE!

This class was taught in Spanish this semester. Here the students thoughts:

“La clase de cross-stitch me pareció muy interesante, dinámica e independiente. Aprendí mucho, desde los puntos más básicos hasta puntos mayores y complejos. La clase me parece muy interactiva, hay una relación estudiante-profesor, relacion estudiante-estudiante de diferentes grados. Lo único que puede mejorar la clase, es darle mas tiempo, 55 minutos no son suficientes. Estoy muy agradecida de que Ms. Viera fuera nuestra profesora de esta materia💘🤩”

Crochet Hat completed as well

“La clase de electiva de este semestre la verdad que fue genial. Yo no soy una persona muy creativa y tengo muy poca paciencia y Cross Stitching me ayudó mucho en eso. Para poder mejorar en muchas cosas hay que tomar riesgos y salir de nuestras zonas de comfort. Al escoger esta electiva la verdad que salí de mi zona de comfort pero todo valió la pena. Aprendí muchas cosas principalmente puntos básicos para luego poder desarrollar mis propios proyectos más adelante. Mi parte favorita fue al final cuando tuve que escribir me nombre porque no tenia el hilo totalmente adecuado y ya estábamos en cuarentena por eso fue un gran reto pero me salió mucho mejor de lo que esperaba. Creo que para una próxima ocasión sería mejor que como estudiantes compremos nuestro propio hilo y aguja porque si se presenta una situación donde no tenemos a nuestra profesora que nos provea esto, tengamos nuestros propios materiales. La verdad que Cross Stitching es un arte, te ayuda a practicar la paciencia y desarrollar tu creatividad. Le recomiendo esta electiva a cualquier persona. Les prometo que vale la pena.” – Laura Vásquez

“Cross stitching no era algo que tenía en mente aprender este año pero a último minuto decidí dar un rápido cambio de electiva. Esta fue indudablemente la mejor decisión que pude hacer ya que esta materia me enseñó sobre la paciencia y como la primera vez que intentes algo las cosas no te van a salir bien.” – Maria José Brea (9th grade)

“Al terminar la Electiva de Cross-Stich/Crochet, recordé que nunca es muy tarde para aprender algo nuevo. Gracias Miss por enseñarme algo con que distraerme y divertirme. Me encantó esta Electiva!” – Mia Peralta (10th grade)

Cross-Stitching/Crochet Elective – Electiva de punto de cruz y crochet

High School students completed the Elective projects for Semester 2 with the drafting of a short paragraph reflecting on the experience of cross-stitching and crocheting.

This proved to be a very useful tool to develop one essential virtue specially under current circumstances: PATIENCE!

This class was taught in Spanish this semester. Here the students thoughts:

“La clase de cross-stitch me pareció muy interesante, dinámica e independiente. Aprendí mucho, desde los puntos más básicos hasta puntos mayores y complejos. La clase me parece muy interactiva, hay una relación estudiante-profesor, relacion estudiante-estudiante de diferentes grados. Lo único que puede mejorar la clase, es darle mas tiempo, 55 minutos no son suficientes. Estoy muy agradecida de que Ms. Viera fuera nuestra profesora de esta materia💘🤩”

Crochet Hat completed as well

“La clase de electiva de este semestre la verdad que fue genial. Yo no soy una persona muy creativa y tengo muy poca paciencia y Cross Stitching me ayudó mucho en eso. Para poder mejorar en muchas cosas hay que tomar riesgos y salir de nuestras zonas de comfort. Al escoger esta electiva la verdad que salí de mi zona de comfort pero todo valió la pena. Aprendí muchas cosas principalmente puntos básicos para luego poder desarrollar mis propios proyectos más adelante. Mi parte favorita fue al final cuando tuve que escribir me nombre porque no tenia el hilo totalmente adecuado y ya estábamos en cuarentena por eso fue un gran reto pero me salió mucho mejor de lo que esperaba. Creo que para una próxima ocasión sería mejor que como estudiantes compremos nuestro propio hilo y aguja porque si se presenta una situación donde no tenemos a nuestra profesora que nos provea esto, tengamos nuestros propios materiales. La verdad que Cross Stitching es un arte, te ayuda a practicar la paciencia y desarrollar tu creatividad. Le recomiendo esta electiva a cualquier persona. Les prometo que vale la pena.” – Laura Vásquez

“Cross stitching no era algo que tenía en mente aprender este año pero a último minuto decidí dar un rápido cambio de electiva. Esta fue indudablemente la mejor decisión que pude hacer ya que esta materia me enseñó sobre la paciencia y como la primera vez que intentes algo las cosas no te van a salir bien.” – Maria José Brea (9th grade)

“Al terminar la Electiva de Cross-Stich/Crochet, recordé que nunca es muy tarde para aprender algo nuevo. Gracias Miss por enseñarme algo con que distraerme y divertirme. Me encantó esta Electiva!” – Mia Peralta (10th grade)