Digital Detox Day

On Tuesday the 9th of November the school community was challenged to “Detox” from screen time for a 12 hour period. A large number of students and teachers voluntarily took part in logging their ‘screen time’ early in the morning and then again in the evening.

It was heartening to hear a wide range of conversations throughout the day centred on the importance of being conscious about our engagement with technology. Reflecting on the challenge Semestralizdo teacher, Sarah Bruce, made the observation that “[There were] many times I considered that it was completely necessary to use the cell phone, but I had to find other interesting alternatives.”

While one student commented that “I found it really difficult not to have my smartphone with me all day. Though in the end I really enjoyed not having it with me.”

Thank you to everyone who engaged so positively in this challenge raising awareness of this important contemporary issue.

3rd grade field trip to the Centro de Biosistemas

Kingsley Ogbonna
Science Coordinator

As part of the gardening project in Zasqua, the third grade students, along with their science and homeroom teachers visited the Centro de Biosistemas of the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University on Monday, October 25. The students had the opportunity to visit the center’s seedling section. They had hands-on experience on how the plant germination process takes place with the use of a coconut growth medium. During the visit, they also looked at the importance of the insect and microorganisms in the soils such as predators in the control of other harmful insects/pests and diseases. The visit to the hydroponic form was an eye opener because students saw how plants (tomatoes for example) can be grown without the need of a soil. The centre creates its own compost from plant waste from their farm. Students were able to compare the process with what we have in Zasqua. The students were made to carry out a quick demonstration of field practice and in this experience, they learned how farmers dig little holes and space seeds in beds. On arrival back to school, some time was dedicated to reflecting and comparing their learnings from the Zasqua project and the Centro de Biosistemas activities.

Gardening project in Zasqua

3° grade Science teachers

Third grade and Zasqua are happy to have regular classes once again! Last week we started our gardening project in Zasqua. Thus far, we have cleaned the soil and made our parcels, as you will see in the pictures. However, we will live the entire cycle of gardening by planting, watering the plants, measuring their growth and potentially harvesting and making a salad!

This trimester we will be working with lettuce and radish. We will see as we visit Zasqua on a weekly basis whether compost really help plants to grow taller and healthier. We will have some plants in soil with compost and some others in soil without compost. As we visit Zasqua, we will record carefully what we see and prove our initial hypothesis.

Thanks to school, the third grade Science teachers, William Rincón and the rest of the Zasqua staff to make this beautiful project come to life!

The Scientist for a Day NASA essay contest

Kingsley Ogbonna
Natural and Environmental Science Educator

If you could send a spacecraft to explore one of Uranus’ 27 moons in more detail, why would you choose to visit Ariel. What do you think you might learn? This is the question for the NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program essay contest called “The Scientist for a Day”. While this contest is designed for students in the United States, a parallel contest is run in other countries. Students from Colegio Los Nogales entered the national contest coordinated by Sonia Castro of the Knightsbridge Schools International, Bogotá.

María Lucia S., Sara R., Pedro M., Carmen M., Emilio C., Esteban P., Lucas R., Mariana E., Martina O.  and Sofía Antonia L.  and Pedro A. were the eleven students who summoned the courage to participate in the contest. From not know anything about Ariel to asking challenging questions and spending time to investigating for information, they wrote wonderful essays. 

The essay written by Sofía  L.  won in this category. On the other hand, the essay co-written by Mariana E. and Martina O.  and that submitted by Pedro A. made it to the featured articles. For participating in the contest, all the contestants participated in a one-hour Q&A on Tuesday, May 4 with three Colombian astrophysicists: Juan Diego Soler, Santiago González and Patrick Antonin Tobos. 

I invite you to read the articles of the winning contestants and learn about Ariel, the fourth-largest of the 27 known moons of Uranus.

Ap Seminar & Ap Research

AP Research

All AP Research students designed, implemented, and carried out their own research inquiries about a topic of their choice.  In this course students not only deal with analysing sources within their Literature Review, but also have the methodological challenge of producing their own sets of data.  Students produced Academic Papers where they presented their Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Analysis, and Future Directions, and then presented these findings in the POD (Presentation and Oral Defense).  The PODs included panel members from various departments in the school, including special guests and ‘Expert Advisors’ who asked the students their ‘oral defense’ questions at the end of each presentation.  Students demonstrated impressive college-level critical thinking, academic discourse, and creative and lateral thinking, producing high quality presentations overall.    

AP Seminar

This year the AP Seminar students had the opportunity to plan and present their Individual Multimedia Presentations (IMP) about their chosen research topic related to the overarching theme of ‘sport’.  Students had taken part in a thorough research process surrounding their topic and formulated either a positions-based or solution-based argument that explored multiple perspectives.  The IMP was an extension of their research process where students presented their major findings, evidence, and conclusions.  The quality and caliber of the presentations were exemplary and impressive; students demonstrated their sophisticated public speaking skills and advanced critical thinking.

Think Globally, Act Locally

Kingsley Ogbonna
Natural and Environmental Science Educator

The pandemic is making us realize the importance of nature and the services they provide to humans. During this academic year, the 5th grade students have dedicated their science classes to explore some of the ways human activities, what you and I do every day, disrupt the delicate balance in ecosystems. One of the ecosystems that is being devastated by our actions is the Bogotá River ecosystem. This is the most important river in the Cundinamarca department. According to figures recorded in the River’s “Plan de Ordenación y Manejo de la Cuenca Hidrográfica”, this ecosystem is home to 542 species of fauna, of which 322 are birds; 76, mammals; 66, reptiles; 55, amphibians and 23, fish. The conservation of this river should be a priority. Sadly, it is considered as an open sewer for solid waste and wastewaters. It is fast becoming a dead river. The River receives the wastewater from the homes of millions of people and from the different industrial activities, like the tannery industries near the source of the river in the municipality of Villapinzón.

After studying the importance of ecosystems, the special properties of water and the invaluable role watersheds play in the water cycle, the students worked in groups to create podcasts about the River. They want you to become aware of these problems and the possible solutions for restoring the River. We enjoin you to listen to them and be part of the solution.