Gimnasio Los Caobos

Founded in 1991 by Rev. Gabriel Giraldo, S.J. and a group of notable lawyers from the Pontifical Xavierian University. It is also one of the very few ISO 9001 Certified preparatory schools in Latin America.

• Name — Gimnasio Los Caobos • Location — Vereda La Balsa, Chía, Cundinamarca • Country — Colombia • Religious Affiliation — Secular • Denomination — Jesuits • Founder — Rev. Father Gabriel Giraldo Zuluaga, S.J. • Director — Carlos Felipe Diago • Head — Alicia Martínez de Suárez • Head Label — Headmistress • Usnwr Ranking — Privy and exclusive school • Type — Private, XXI Century education, Problem-based learning school • Accreditation — Ministry of Education of Colombia, American Association of Quality Control, U.C.B. Member, ISO 9001, Frank Locker, Cambridge English preparation center, Character Counts, Red Teprotejo, Red Papaz, Los mejores colegios Colombia • Gender — Co-educational • Mascot — Koala • Campus Size — 5.36 ha • Nickname — Giraldino(a) • Colors — Blue, white and yellow bluewhiteyellow • Enrollment — 1,500 • Website — gimnasioloscaobos.com

In 1989 under the decision of Rev. Father Gabriel Giraldo Zuluaga, S.J. (then Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Pontifical Xavierian University), Felipe Diago Jabois and a group of notable lawyers (alumni from the same university), decided to found a preparatory school under the basis of Catholic principles and quality, bilingual, socially-responsible, and environmentally-friendly education, promoting investigation, technology and aim to serve the nation. During May, 1991 Gabriel Giraldo Zuluaga along with Rodrigo Noguera Laborde, Gabriel Melo Guevara, Roberto Camacho Weberberg, Eduardo Vergara Wiesner, Jaime Alberto Guzmán Vargas, Gladys Salazar de Hidalgo, Felipe Diago Jabois, Isabel Cristina Bettin and Alicia Martínez de Suárez, founded Gimnasio Los Caobos, establishing the school at the Locality of Suba (Bogotá). In 1995 Gimnasio Los Caobos moved to its present 5.36 ha campus located at the Vereda La Balsa, in the Municipality of Chia. Since 1996, is one of the top Bilingüal preparatory schools in the country, due to the fact that courses in the English language were thought by Canadian staff. In 2011 on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Gimnasio Los Caobos was awarded the "Order of Policarpa Salavarrieta - Great Cross" by the Assembly of Cundinamarca. In 2003, the school received the "Order of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia" and in 2001, the "Simon Bolivar Medal" was conferred by the Ministry of National Education.

Gimnasio Los Caobos is consistently ranked among the top preparatory schools in the Bogotá-Cundinamarca Region and in Colombia. It has been designated as "Very Superior" ("Muy Superior") by the ICFES and is a Founding Member of the Union of Bilingual Schools (Unión de Colegios Bilingues - UCB), as well as a Member of both ASOCOLDEP and the Koality Kid Alliance of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQ). The school is famous for its Model United Nations and Model Young Entrepreneur programs, in addition to its Band, Choir, Theater, Cheerleaders and Dance Groups. It maintains an exchange program with the Nancy Campbell Collegiate Institute (Canada) and a cooperation agreement with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Mexico).

Gimnasio Los Caobos follows the House system tradition. Students and teachers form part of one of the four houses, which are called flagships, and compete in both academic and athletic tasks, crowning a winner at the end of the school year, depending on the overall points received. The four flagships are Terra, Mare, Caelum and Spatium.

The school comprises a 5.36 ha campus, which includes a three-floor high school building, the elementary and medium school buildings which are called "Colmenas" (Spanish for beehives, due to its similar structure), a theatre, a three-floor library, a sports arena, two computer learning centers, a fully equipped gym, and a physics, chemistry and biology lab. The cafeteria operates in three different shifts, in addition to two fast food mini-shops. Gimnasio Los Caobos' facilities were planned and/or re-designed to be "innovative learning environments", by Dr. Frank Locker, who currently co-teaches the Harvard University School of Education / School of Design course for educators and architects: Effective Education/Innovative Learning Environments.

Gimnasio Los Caobos provides English language classes to students from public schools located in the Municipality of Chía.

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