Highlights from our Corcovado Aventura! -Seeing coatimundi, crocodiles, monkeys, toucans and an anteater in the rainforest -Chilling at the lodge after a challenging and rain-drenched 13-mile hike -Competing in an improvised driftwood javelin contest -Learning about forest succession and light gaps from fallen trees while sitting on a fallen tree! |
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NSA’s seniors are currently in the midst of the college application process. As early action deadlines are here, and with regular decision deadlines approaching, our students are busy writing and editing essays, filling out applications, and requesting letters of recommendation. To arrive at this point, our students have spent the previous months involved in an introspective process to determine what characteristics will lead to their continued success. We then take those characteristics and generate schools which meet them, providing students with an initial list of possibilities. After much research, discussion, family input, and campus visits, students are now finalizing their apply-to lists and taking the steps to submit applications that reveal their unique stories of challenge and growth. Best of luck to our seniors as they complete this important step! No other high school teaches Spanish quite like New Summit Academy! Our talented Spanish teachers, Daisy and Vianney, have worked to develop a truly unique Spanish Language program, which overlays grammatical learning objectives onto our yearly Cultural Immersion calendar. This allows students to master Spanish grammar by studying and preparing for upcoming Cultural Immersion activities, making both their language acquisition and their cultural engagement that much richer. Last week, students in all levels of Spanish learned about Costa Rica’s Bosque Eterno de Los Niños, Costa Rica’s largest private nature reserve, which was founded with donations made by children from 44 different nations. After learning the history of the park and relevant language skills, students spent Sunday hiking the trails and putting their new Spanish into practice!
Teachers and all of our staff work very hard to help students develop real skills for success. Every once in a while, one of our graduates reaches out to say thanks and to help make our jobs even more fulfilling. The message is important for our families of current seniors, as well as an example of college application success. From a 2016 High School Graduate: “I just wanted to write to tell you how much I appreciate the time you devoted towards helping me and my family during my college process over a year ago. That was a stressful, exciting and crucial time in my life where you did an impeccable job of helping me stay organized, write concise essays, and choose a school where I can continue to be academically successful. Not only that, but I am truly grateful for the academic skills that I learned while in Costa Rica and the curiosity of mine which was utilized in and out of the classroom like never before while at New Summit. As time continues I only appreciate these things more and more. From the bottom of my heart, I want to write to say thank you to you and all of the other teachers who have impacted my life and academic career in such a positive manner. I am also proud to say that I finished with a 3.46 GPA freshman year. I am continuing to expand my mind and curiosity here at Fordham inside the classroom. Anyways, I hope to visit NSA soon but for now, I say hi and send my regards to the academic staff!" - Robbie This past week, the NSA community – faculty and staff, students and families – gathered to celebrate the high school and NSA program graduation of two beloved students. The day was bittersweet, as both students became important contributors to our campus throughout their stays, helping guide their peers, developing a healthy milieu, and achieving amazing academic and personal growth. These young men are each setting out for very different, but equally exciting, paths after graduating with honors. One will return home to continue working on his college applications with the plan to enroll in the fall of 2018. The second embarked with NSA on an adventure to South Africa and plans on joining our Bridge program to investigate internships. We are very proud of both young men, and excited for their certain future successes. As fall approaches, so does the busy season for college applications for our seniors. In the past months, students have worked with our college guidance coordinator and their families in identifying characteristics that will lead to continued success in college, ranging from location and size of schools to areas of study, cost, student support, and even available clubs and social activities. Using these characteristics, students have been guided in generating lists of schools, and are working to narrow these lists down into final choices. At the same time, our seniors have been hard at work completing applications, writing essays, and requesting letters of recommendation. Though busy, this is always an exciting season for students and their families, as they begin to see student success pay off with open doors for their futures. Good luck, seniors! In preparation for the students' visit to Isla San Lucas, the island site of a former Costa Rican prison, Daisy and Vianney arranged for Don Jose to speak with our students. One of the most famous writers in Costa Rica, Jose Leon Sanchez is the author of Isla de Los Hombres Solos, which tells the story of his wrongful imprisonment on the island for 20 years, until he was finally exonerated of his charges. Meeting the author – a man who had lived through the struggles of the prison – allowed the students to view their visit through a personal lens. In order to prepare students for their upcoming adventure to Peru, the teachers and academic staff facilitated three days of workshops so that this international experience is as rich as possible. When NSA journeys to a new destination, it is important that we do so as travelers, not tourists. These workshops were intentionally designed with that goal in mind. Students have been working with our English teacher to learn the intricacies of travel writing, studying the history of Peru with our Social Studies teacher, learning travel etiquette and curiosity with our Coordinator of Student Success, and pondering how travel changes them and their destinations through daily reflective writing. Keep an eye out for exciting photos and stories in our next issue from this once-in-a-lifetime experience! |
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