The Columbus School 10th grade students attended a convivencia based on military activities  on September 23rd at Parque Arví as part of TCS Counseling Department program.

Around 100 students took part in the convivencia, which was organized by an independent company called Fundación Ventura, who based the convivencia around military training.

The convivencia took place in a designated area called Campo Escuela inside Parque Arvi, normally used for by local Boy’s and Girl’s Scouts Troops, but previously used by other TCS groups. 

 Fundación Ventura added a military component to the outdoor activities and divided students into groups, just like in the army.   

“They divided us into squads,” Andrés Rendón, TCS High School counselor, said.  “We performed an initial discipline exercise that not all students enjoyed.”

The 10th graders performed other activities after the initial discipline exercise. They hiked through trails in the slope of a hill until they reached the bottom, where they crossed a ravine to later head back to the camp.

“This convivencia was a challenge,” Norberto Villa, 10th grade Spanish teacher, said. “The relationship between the organizers and the kids was strained, but we enjoyed the convivencia”.

Back at the camp stations, the students were introduced to other activities which involved crawling through a mud pool and navigating a ropes course. At the same time another group completed an activity requiring them to extricate themselves after being tied up with string.

Convivencias are activities to provide information, teach student to work together, and coexist. TCS  has recently incorporated Character Counts into these convivencias, which have been part of both the school’s and Colombian education program for many years.

Convivencias give students the ability to live together, to understand each other, and to value and accept differences, according to the Chilean Education Ministry.  

“Beyond the activities, I would define the convivencia as an attitude which defines the ability to enjoy something challenging, because all of us that put all the enthusiasm and attitude enjoyed the convivencia,” Rendón said.