News

Iguana Tales, Third Version

Great readers make great writers! 
To encourage our students to showcase their creative writing power, Burton B. Fox Library celebrated the third version of the Iguana Tales Contest during I Love My Library Month.   After close examination by an independent panel of judges, 16 participants were cataloged as outstanding. 

Congratulations to these outstanding writers and poets among us! The books are available for check out at Burton B. Fox Library. 

Below the links to check out these amazing books: 

Elementary Iguana Tales
Secondary Iguana Tales

High School Binationals at Liceo Inglés

The High School Binationals at Liceo Inglés in Pereira were a lot of fun! We are very proud of our teams and all the hard work and amazing sportsmanship skills they displayed! A special shout out to our boys’ soccer team for finishing in second place after an exciting match!
Results

Boys’ Soccer – 2nd Place
Girls’ Soccer – 4th place

Boys’ Volleyball – 7th place
Girls’ Volleyball – 7th place

Boys’ Basketball – 8th place

Jimmy Giraldo – MVP Boys’ Soccer for the final

Felipe Araujo – MVP Boys’ Soccer for the tournament

Dream Team Boys’ Soccer – Santiago Herrera, Jimmmy Giraldo, y Orlando Retamoso

Dream Team Girls’ Soccer – Valentina Polo

Music Isn’t Meant To Be Lonely

By Ana Lucia Caballero, class of 2024

I have been inundated with music since before I was born. My grandmother was the life of the party with her piano. As a baby, my dad lulled me to sleep by playing the congas. Since I can remember, holidays have been filled with joyful noise. However, as much as it filled my surroundings, it took me a while to experience how music could fulfill me.

At four, I started taking piano lessons, although my memories of playing as a child are hardly pleasant. As my parents grew excited about my skill, they started asking me to play for guests. It disturbed me. I didn’t feel comfortable. The feeling wasn’t exclusive to music. It was difficult for me to accept positive, emotional feedback. When I received academic recognition, I didn’t tell my parents to avoid being congratulated. As a result of my emotional block, I stopped playing for three years.

At eleven, I became obsessed with a game called Piano Tiles. I spent so much time playing online that the songs became stuck in my head, and I started playing them on the piano. But this time, it was just for me.

The story could end here, but music isn’t meant to be lonely. Instruments are loud for a reason. In the summer of 2021, a High School Rock Band singer requested me to join the band to replace their graduating pianist. I accepted the offer for the sake of doing them a favor.

I began taking Rock Band as an elective, remaining mostly silent during the class period. This wouldn’t last. Brainstorming songs for Halloween, the band leader proposed playing the salsa “Brujería”, a demanding piece to learn on the piano. I took the challenge and learned the song in two weeks. The band’s response was beyond anything I had allowed myself to experience before; I had never felt such admiration. For the first time, I saw the power of what I was doing. And, over the course of the rehearsals, I started spending more and more time with this group. Over the year, the rock band grew into my school family. The final concert of the year became one of my happiest memories, leaving me desperate for the following year to be back.

The Rock Band made my Junior year the most wholesome of my life. Inside the music room, I became our band director’s “right and left hand,” in his own words. And with his thirty years of experience and his reputation in our community, I was honored to be a subject of his appreciation. My band members became a family who look up to me as inspiration. I now see that our God-given gifts are meant to work for, give, and receive. That is exactly what the connection between the group looks like, and the effect we have on our audience when we perform.

Outside of the music room, this experience, which began as something minuscule, turned out as something massive. It gave me a focus outside of academics, teaching me the importance of working for a passion and expanding my creativity. It strengthened my determination, perseverance, and patience by showing me that 99% percent of my excuses were invalid. My goals started becoming a reality only after accepting that fact. It granted me a sense of confidence that I transmitted into my social skills and public speaking. It taught me to organize my priorities. Most importantly, after struggling with showcasing my emotions and feeling unworthy of appreciation, I grew overwhelmingly grateful for the trust and love my parents and band members have placed in me throughout these years, and saw the magic of the musical connection I was fortunate to be a part of. They have opened my eyes to the truest part of myself, who, thanks to them and to my journey, is the person I now am confident to show to the world.

KCP Tigers participated in the British Games!

Our KCP Tigers participated in the British Games! Congratulations to all of our athletes for giving their best in this competition!  Congratulations to Catalina Sabbagh, who won the award for best attacker of the tournament. Check out the results of our teams:

• High School Boys Soccer: 2^nd place
• Middle School Girls Soccer: 3^rd place
• High School Girls Volleyball: 2^nd place
• High School Softball: 3^rd place
• High School Boys Basketball: 4^th place

AP Biology class meets co-director of the Cellular Imaging Facility at the University of Arizona

The AP Biology class had a talk from the manager and co-director of the Cellular Imaging Facility at the University of Arizona – Douglas Cromey. Mr. Cromey shared with the class a fascinating insight into the world of microscopy, discussing many of the technological advancements that he has witnessed, whilst working for over 40 years in this field. Students learned about new advancements in live cell imaging and the fluorescence microscopy, and Mr. Cromey also gave them a tour of one of the University’s electron microscopes, explaining how it works. It was a really fascinating talk, and the AP Biology class and Ms. Burnham are grateful to Mr. Cromey for sharing his time and passion for microscopy with us.

KCP Earns College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award

Recognized for Closing the Gender Gap in AP Computer Science Principles

Colegio Karl C. Parrish has earned the College Board AP^® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls’ access in AP computer science courses.

More than 1,100 institutions achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-22 school year. In 2022, KCP was one of 832 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles (CSP).

We’re thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education. It is an honor that our school earned this distinction and we look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.

“Computer science is the source code of our economy and so much of our daily lives,” said Trevor Packer, College Board Head of the AP Program. “In the five years since we began the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, it’s been heartening to see schools like Colegio Karl C. Parrish welcome so many more young women into this vital field.”

The first year of AP Computer Science Principles in 2016-17 attracted more students than any other AP course debut, and participation is on the rise. In 2022,134,651 students took the AP CSP Exam—more than triple the number of exam takers in the course’s first year. In 2022, 44,811 women took the AP CSP Exam, more than three times the number who tested in 2017.

Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to driving innovation, creativity, and representation. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $97,430 in May 2021. However, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.

That’s why College Board research about AP CSP is so encouraging. According to the data, female students who take AP CSP in high school are more than five times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to female students of similar background and academic preparation who did not take CSP. The study also finds AP CSP students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP CSA, and that for most students, AP CSP serves as a stepping stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.

These findings highlight the importance of schools achieving gender parity in AP computer science classrooms. Overall, female students remain underrepresented in our high school computer science classes, accounting for just 33% of AP Computer Science Principles participants and 25% of AP Computer Science A participants. Currently, 51% of the high schools in the US teach foundational computer science. The 1,105 schools that receive this year’s AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award serve as inspirations and models for all U.S. high schools.

KCP NHS & NJHS Induction Ceremony

We are pleased to recognize this year’s National Junior and National Honor Society inductees, who are now part of these two important international student organizations. They were chosen for excelling in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Well done Tigers! 

Let’s hear it for:

NJHS Inductees

•  Manuela Alvarez 
• Alexandra Caballero 
• Juliana Cañas 
• Amir Farhat 
• Maria Susana Matera 
• Daniela Montoya 
• Ivanna Muvdi 
• Sofia Olmos 
• Juan Pablo Olmos 
• Gabriel Rosales 
• Mariana Sabbagh 
• Gabriela Herrera
• Camila Haddad
• Mariana Fernández

NHS Inductees

• Miguel Dangond
• Alana Muvdi
• Antonio Amador
• Camila Molina
• Gabriella Simán
• Catalina Arteta
• Alejandra Montoya
• Rafael Muvdi
• Juan Sebastían Raad
• Wulfran Morón
• Isabella Puche
• Zharick Saieh
• Shadia Janna
• Tatiana Carbonell
• Angelina Nule
• Valerie Caballero
• Valerie Wightman
• Maria Gabriela Puche
• Enrique Arteta
• Isabella Chaya
• Esteban Karagumechian
• Daniella García
• Juan Pablo García

KCP International Universities Fair

The KCP International Universities Fair was a great opportunity for our 9th – 11th grade Tigers to start exploring college options abroad. This year, we had the privilege of welcoming 20 delegates from 19 Universities from various parts of the world, including The U.S., Canada, Spain, France and Hungary.

Complete List of Universities: 

• IE University
• Marist College
• DePaul University
• University of Winnipeg
• IESEG School of Management
• SCAD
• EDHEC Business School
• University of San Francisco
• George Mason University
• University of Pécs
• Columbia College of Chicago
• Elon University
• University of Tampa
• Lynn University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Salve Regina University
• Brock University
• Syracuse University
• JCT4Education

Soccer Stars at KCP

A group of our Elementary Tigers participated in the tournament Copa Unidos por la Paz 2022 “Fútbol pedagógico con valores y formación”, sponsored by the Alcaldía de Barranquilla. Our students represented the Country Club academy, in the 2011F category. The team won the sub-championship after having participated for the first time. Congratulations to our Tigers!

Let’s also hear it for Julian Eslait from 1B, who played as a midfielder and goalkeeper in this same cup, representing the Sporting New Academy team, in the 2015 competitive category. Julian played as midfielder and goalkeeper, winning first place and receiving the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament for the least goals received.

Here is the list of our soccer stars:

• Camilo Sabbag
• Felipe del Vecchio
• Salomon Chegwin
• José Miguel Matera
• Sebastián Riveira
• Miguel Vargas
• Matías Char
• Juan José Puche
• Samuel Florez
• Mateo Gutiérrez
• Alejandro Montoya
• Martín García
• Jose Sánchez
• Pedro Juan Celedón
• Sebastián Villalba
• Sharif Abuchaibe
• Juan Martín Caballero
• Alfredo Juliao
• Julián Eslait

Get Set for School Program

Get Set for School “learning without tears” is a Curricular Program designed by an Occupational Therapist for students in the Preschool stages. At KCP we implement this program for STEM and Pre-Kinder students as an approach to the development of fundamental language skills, fine motor skills, mathematical and scientific thinking, and work habits, among other skills. Get Set for School is an intuitive and evolutionary program that is respectful of the learning processes of each child.

Our KCP cubs learn in an imaginative environment, which allows active learning (hands-on), with manipulatives that provide students with multi-sensory stimuli, while they encourage creativity, socio-emotional training, and dispositions for learning such as independence.