Category: Service - New Summit Academy Costa Rica

Graduates Celebrate a Final (for now) Visit to Hogar de Vida

5/8/2019

Our May 2020 graduating class consists of nine young men who have left an indelible, positive impact on our community. That impact has been felt outside the walls of NSA, especially at our local children’s home Hogar de Vida.

These grads, and many of their peers, have dedicated afternoons and weekends throughout their stay to build connections with the children through play, sing-alongs, art projects, games and just having fun.

This week, the graduates carried ice cream and cake to the children for one final afternoon of fun. The children had plenty of hugs for our graduates, who have gained so much from their experiences with Hogar de Vida.

Many thanks to Daisy, who continues to facilitate our ongoing relationship with this tremendous organization!

Integrated Aventura Highlights

5/1/2019

This past week, students returned from Integrated Aventuras in the rainforests and cloud forests of Costa Rica with stories to tell. Some of the highlights of the trips included:

Community Service
• Working hard on mangrove reforestation projects along the shores of the Golfo Dulce
• Learning techniques for finding the highest quality coconuts
• Developing the most efficient teamwork techniques for moving 4.5 cubic meters of gravel over two busy days to create rainy season-resistant flooring for new trails

Kayak
• Having the wind and current at their backs and high tides that coincided with arriving and leaving camp which made loading and unloading gear much easier
• Seeing a pod of at least 30 dolphin at sunrise while crossing the Golfo Dulce
• Catching mackerel, red snapper and tuna, and spotting sea turtles, different sting rays and even a whale shark!

Cloud Forest
• Creating the perfect shelter in a two-hour “team-building” exercise (though it miraculously didn’t rain, so the final design unfortunately wasn’t put to the ultimate test)
• Celebrating two student birthdays, marked by setting an NSA record completing an excruciating 3km hike in just 37 minutes
• On the last day of Aventura, making a bonfire by the river and roasting s’mores Costa Rican style
• Students being vulnerable with each other about the bittersweet feelings of moving on, processing the great connections they’ve made during their time at NSA and preparing for the transition as graduation approaches

Student Efforts Pay Off!

3/26/2019

The recent student benefit concert and fundraiser, SummitFest, turned out to be a major success. Students have been volunteering at Caritas – a local soup kitchen that feeds up to 60 people per day. A lack of a freezer and needed supplies make their efforts challenging, and students recognized that need. Funds raised online and at the concert were used to purchase a new refrigerator, a deep freezer, and contribute to the ongoing food needs of the organization.

The delivery of the new appliances was overseen by our Experiential Education staff, Miguel, who also helped guide the students in organizing the concert. Great work, Miguel and NSA students!

NSA Students Raise Funds for Caritas

3/11/2019

Caritas is a charitable organization located in the center of our small town of Atenas. With a shoestring budget, Caritas is somehow able to provide lunch to humble families every day, serving up to 60 plates of food to community members of all ages.

Our students and staff have been privileged to be able to volunteer for Caritas, helping to prepare and serve food and assist in clean up after meals. One of Caritas’ most daunting challenges is to source enough protein to provide balanced meals, as they lack a regular supplier and do not have a freezer to store the food donations received.

This fact struck our students during their volunteer efforts and they, alongside our staff members Miguel and Peter, decided to make a difference.

Senior students spent their Friday afternoons organizing and publicizing a fundraising concert – which they dubbed SummitFest – to take place on campus. Miguel led their efforts, starting an online fundraising campaign, and Peter led our students in preparing to perform for the show.
The turnout at the concert was fantastic. Staff brought in home-cooked food to sell, and students volunteered selling tickets, running the concessions, managing donations and jamming on stage for the crowd.

The students’ efforts paid off, raising over $2,000 for Caritas, which will be used to donate a deep freezer filled with food for the organization.

Global Citizenship in action! Great work, NSA students!

Learning Spanish at New Summit Academy

2/22/2019

NSA’s host country of Costa Rica provides our students with an incredible opportunity to learn the Spanish language. NSA students do spend time in the classroom studying grammar and vocabulary, but the beauty of our Spanish program is that this classroom study is designed to prepare students for, enrich, and reflect on all of the immersive, cultural experiences that we offer.

This month alone, students practiced their Spanish skills by:

- Exploring the history behind the Oxcart Factory in nearby Sarchi
- Volunteering with children at Hogar de Vida
- Learning about the traditional “trapiche” mill and watching sugar cane be turned into sugar
- Visiting Costa Rica’s National Theater in San Jose
- Surfing some of the nation’s most beautiful beaches
- Spending Sundays sharing cultural customs with their homestay families

There is no better way to learn a language than by immersing in it, which is just what our students do at NSA!

Weekend Fun at New Summit Academy

1/15/2019

With challenging and enriching academic days, Honor Council, SCAFA Team meetings, physical education, evening therapeutic groups, and nightly homework, NSA students certainly look forward to some fun and relaxation on the weekends.

Our Experiential Education team works closely with Student Council to design and schedule a variety of activities over the weekends, ranging from outdoor pursuits to cultural activities, and from trips to the movies to community service. Here is a sample of activities that our students have enjoyed in just the past two weeks:

Cultural Activities
This month, students visited a cacao plantation to join in on the chocolate-making process and also spent time learning about Costa Rica’s indigenous past at the Gold Museum.

Las Minas
A nearby river filled with pools and natural rock slides is always a hit for our students!

Beach Day
Students often look forward to action-packed days on the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica, where they can be found body surfing, playing soccer on the sand, and flying kites!

Community Service
Our students and staff recently pitched in at Hogar de Ancianos, our local retirement home, helping for the day in the laundry room.

Pure Go-Karting and Paintball Fun
Competition gets fierce when NSA students get behind the wheel or on the paintball field!

Weekends may be just as busy as weekdays at NSA, but these student-driven activities let the young men recharge and be ready for each coming week!

A New Year’s Reflection at New Summit Academy

1/1/2019

NSA's staff and students are all excited to begin another spectacular year and want to share a reflection of some of 2018's highlights:

8 Global Citizenship workshops, investigating student-chosen topics related to Social Justice, Diversity, Ecological Stewardship, Conflict Resolution, and more.

4 Homestay Picnics, thanking our dedicated and caring Atenas hosts for taking our students into their homes and making them a part of their families.

28 successful Aventuras, including Integrated, Recreational and International Aventuras to Peru and South Africa!

Hundreds of hours of community service at Hogar de Vida, with Osa Conservation, and in the community of Atenas.

New clubs driven by student interests including a Fishing Club and a Birdwatching Club.

Nearly 100 college acceptances, including outstanding schools like Tulane, Marquette, Trinity, Loyola of Chicago, Whittier, Juniata, and Eckerd College.

Over 1.1 million dollars in college scholarships offered thus far!

20 successful graduates of high school and/or the New Summit Academy Program, ready to take on the world with new skills and confidence!

Thanks to all members of our NSA family for your support as we look forward to an incredible 2019... Happy New Year!

Celebrating Christmas with Hogar de Vida

12/19/2018

The children and staff at Hogar de Vida provide us with so much throughout the year, and the holidays are a time when we can say “thank you.”

This season, all of the kids joined us on campus for our annual Christmas party. Daisy, our cultural coordinator, worked her usual magic to ensure that every child had a personalized gift, a delicious meal and a wonderful time.

Raising money for Hogar de Vida!

12/18/2018

It broke our hearts to hear that our beloved Hogar de Vida is facing some big problems and has a big ask. Message from Hogar de Vida: Since 2014 in the child-focused culture of Costa Rica, PANI (Costa Rica's child protective services) has from time-to-time issued new requirements for increased staffing of the children's home. In May, another quite large increase was announced. While well-meaning, this increase was particularly difficult to meet, especially under threat of having the operating permit revoked. At about the same time, the Costa Rican government and department of labor issued new labor laws and regulations affecting pay and labor practices across the entire country. To make matters even worse, PANI announced in the fall that the annual Christmas grant to children's homes, usually $25,000 - $35,000 would not be paid this year. Without intervention, the collective cost to Homes of Life would be a devastating increase in expenses amounting to many thousands of dollars per month, not including the loss of the one-time Christmas grant.

Our families, staff, and friends have amazed us with their generosity! Thank you for your holiday spirit in donating to an amazing cause to help children in need. These children at Hogar make a HUGE impact on our students, and we're sure the feeling is mutual. If you'd like to donate, please follow the link below and make sure you choose the Costa Rica program. Thank you!!

Donate to Hogar de Vida

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Celebrating Thanksgiving at New Summit Academy

11/22/2018

At NSA, our Thanksgiving celebration is about dinner with family and friends, but also about giving back and engaging with our community to express our gratitude.

Students began the Thanksgiving week participating in a Global Citizenship workshop focused on Social Justice and investigating issues that are important to them.

With this Social Justice perspective, staff and students then participated in a number of days of community service.

On Monday, students spent the morning cooking and serving at Caritas, a local organization that provides up to 60 lunches seven days a week for locals in need.

That afternoon, we got our hands dirty, performing garden beautification work at our local elementary school.

The following day, students volunteered by running a much-appreciated Bingo game at Hogar de Ancianos, Atenas’ retirement home.

Wednesday morning had students in the kitchen, working to prepare a turkey lunch to deliver to the kids at Hogar de Vida. In between serving lunch, cleaning up, and playing with the kids, some of our Spanish students entertained everyone with a presentation on Thanksgiving traditions.

On Thanksgiving Day, students and staff returned to the kitchen, but this time to prepare delicious food for our Thanksgiving dinner celebration.

We would like to express our thanks to every member of our NSA extended family!

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