What is a House System?
The house system started in the British education system, particularly within boarding school, with students who lived in “houses”. The system helped promote a sense of belonging for the students and helped with their formation.
In 1859, a school in India (Bischop Cotton School) was the first school to adopt the houses modality as a way to organize sporting events, along with English public schools. Even though initially the houses were founded around athletic competition, today houses embrace more than just sports.
How are Houses chosen?
Originally, houses tended to be the names of the buildings where the boarders lived and these were usually named after saints. Many schools use the names of trees or animals representative of the geographical region of the school, or the elements found in the school´s coat of arms. LASIS decided to honor elements found in our beloved Sierra. We will proudly wear the names of Cañahuate, Upar, Nabusimake and Guatapurí, names that represent our region, La Sierra.
How is House membership assigned?
When houses were used solely for sporting events, members were chosen and divided based on athletic talent, making sure that skills were evenly distributed among the houses. Once assigned a house, all younger siblings automatically belong to the same house. In LASIS, the houses will compete in all areas of school life: sports, the arts, academics, values, discipline, and others. Houses are randomly assigned, maintaining equilibrium in regard to numbers between houses as well as student ages.
Cañahuate House, Captain: María Castillo Cuello
“The yellow house, the house of happiness and friendship. The cañahuateros are continually willing to help others with a smile on their face; we are noble, fair, and firm in the face of adversity. We serve as support along the hard way, always friendly, always attentive of what is happening around us. We are characterized especially by our respectful and responsible manners, present in each of our acts. Like the tree, which in its flourishing beauty is preparing the soil so that others like it can grow more grandly, we want to prepare the way for our successors to be better each time. We are of fine and strong wood, which serves to build great things.
In this house there are no bad feelings. More than members of a house, we are all the house itself, which we carry in our hearts. We support each other, thinking as a whole and not as parts. Faithful to each of our fellows, always looking for the common good, ‘one for all and all for one’. ‘In friendship, joys are multiplied, and sorrows are divided’.” -Maria Castillo Cuello, founding captain, 2018
Upar House, Captain: Nathaly María Calvo Santana
“Let’s talk about love. From he who is born without you noticing, from he who inspires and motivates, from he who makes you live; he who will always make you stronger, who will be there for you and will leave his mark. Let’s talk about discipline. She who helps you go ahead, she who makes all else acclaim her, she who is necessary to arrive at a future. Let’s talk about teamwork. He who recognizes that: ‘two brains think more than one’, he who teaches tolerance, he who recharges you, each time you fall.
All these and much more make part of each member of the Upar house. Natural born leaders, limitlessly loving, humanitarian soldiers, full of the six pillars of character. What joy to belong to a family overflowing with values. Each task is completed with pleasure, filling our souls with joy. Our smiles reflect the honor of belonging to this marvelous house.” -Nathaly María Calvo Santana, founding captain, 2018
Guatapurí House, Captain: Andrés Felipe Guerra Bernal
“Constant are its crystal-clear waters, with a flow full of dreams and desires that go in search of becoming integral and full of values that represent the essence of our institution. This is the essence of the Guatapurí house.
A single intention: create a family that represents union and teamwork, together with the values we learn every day in this great institution and that we show in each of the persons with whom we share here. The magnificent Guatapurí house will leave a trace that is carried in the heart and that motivates you to represent the virtues as noble as those that the Guatapurí River embodies and magnifies for the inhabitants of Valledupar.
The Guatapurí River is an emblem of the city, but we must never forget that the river is not the one that represents the city, we are its inhabitants, likewise, it happens with our house; the Guatapurí house is composed by each one of us.” – Andrés Felipe Guerra Bernal, founding captain, 2018
Nabusimake House, Captain: Juan Sebastián Calderón Vidal
“Nabusimake, the house of energy, the house of happiness and brotherhood. What does it mean to be part of the Nabusimake house? Being part of this house means to be a part of something bigger than yourself, it means being part of a family. We, Nabusimakeros, we are characterized by our happiness and energy, just like the natural paradise, the land where the sun is born. We are a family, a family that works hard every day of its life to be something necessary for life. In this house, nobody falls behind, nobody fails and most importantly, nobody is excluded or rejected. Each and every single member of this house must support each other, because this way is the only way we can achieve our goal. Remember, this is not only a house, it's a family, our family.” – Juan Sebastián Calderón Vidal, founding Captain, 2018
