Blog Archives - New Summit Academy Costa Rica

Homestay Picnic to Thank Our Dedicated Families

3/27/2016

Each graduation, students stand at the podium and thank their friends, parents, faculty and staff. They then turn to look into the eager eyes of their Homestay Families and thank them in Spanish. These members of the NSA community welcome – out of the goodness of their hearts – our students into their homes each Sunday. Students learn Costa Rican culture and customs by attending soccer matches and birthday parties with their families. Their Spanish rapidly improves as they work to communicate with homestay mothers, brothers, sisters and fathers. Students sit with families and share home-cooked meals (always mentioned in their graduation speeches.) In short, our Homestay Families provide our students with unique cultural immersion experiences and a family while away from home.

Each quarter, to thank these valuable community members, New Summit Academy hosts a Homestay Picnic. Daisy, our Cultural Coordinator, along with our Experiential Education staff, plan a day full of fun and activities. This quarter, students and families posed for portraits and competed in wheel barrow races. Our chefs prepared picnic food, and the community sat to share a meal and memories of the quarter. Our talented students gave back as well, entertaining families and peers with live music.

Thank you to our Costa Rican homestay families who do so much to enrich the experiences of the students at New Summit Academy!

Student-Organized Medieval Fest!

3/25/2016

Let’s face it: sometimes you just have to roast meats, wrestle, and feast. At least, if you are an adolescent male you do. A number of weeks ago, an idea was born among a number of NSA’s students: host a medieval fest with food, music and feats of strength.

Students began to brainstorm ideas and to approach staff for assistance. Matthew, one of our dedicated Experiential Education staff members (and a master of games) took up the challenge. Student Council joined in, and preparations began. Menus were planned, students created swords out of PVC and pool noodles, costumes were sown (or found), and competitive games were devised.

On the day of the event, every member of the student body attended class in t-shirt that the organizers had made, separating the students into different “houses” or clans. As the afternoon wore on, the Culinary Arts class pitched in to prepare a medieval beef stew. Banquet tables were set outside near the freshly-lit bonfire, where vegetables and meat roasted.

Between courses of the feast, students engaged in (safe) wrestling matches, noodle-sword duels, and gave their teams rousing speeches to galvanize them in competition. The students should be commended for taking it upon themselves to organize and host healthy, fun activities – and we hope to see more in the future!

The Best Way to Fight With a Teenager - NY Times / Lisa Demour

3/18/2016

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/the-best-way-to-fight-with-a-teenager/?_r=0

This is a great article about the different "responses" or "reactions" we can have to conflict as parents and adolescents. The main point is to take a problem-solving approach (instead of attacking, complying or withdrawing). The problem-solving approach has the best effects on mental health, identity, resilience, confidence, relationships and future outcomes.

Second Summit Travels to Guatemala & Belize

3/17/2016

NSA students who have graduated the program but chosen to remain enrolled to complete high school have the opportunity to enroll in the Second Summit Program, which focuses on building real-life skills for a successful transition. Part of that development is the opportunity to learn and practice important organizational and travel skills on Second Summit’s international Aventuras.

This quarter, these senior students traveled to Belize and Guatemala to help plan our July all-school trip. Students booked transportation, accommodations, arranged service-learning opportunities – all while enjoying the history of Mayan sites and the beauty the Belizean coast.

Puma Encounter in Corcovado National Park

3/17/2016

Students in their second quarter traveled to the Osa Peninsula to hike into the stunningly diverse Corcovado National Park. Each time NSA travels to the area, students return with stories about seeing tapir, monkeys, anteaters, and even crocodiles (from a safe distance, of course.)

This trip proved extraordinarily special in the realm of wildlife encounters. One student, fascinated with photography, was hiking in the back of the group with one of our EE staff. As they rounded a headland on the beach, the two spotted a mother puma with two cubs. This unique experience helped make the classes on forest succession and biological diversity that much more meaningful.

"A trip with a few friends instead of a school trip... amazing."

3/17/2016

Circumnavigating the Golfo Dulce by Kayak

With so many Aventuras happening simultaneously, smaller groups allowed students and staff to bond like never before.

Three lucky students traveled to the peaceful Golfo Dulce to study tides, mangrove ecosystems, coral reefs and watershed systems. During their daily paddles, students were followed by a pod of dolphins, which may have helped the fishermen bring in dinner each day.

Even though kayak can be the most logistically demanding Aventura, the group's instant camaraderie led one student to describe the journey as more of “a trip with a few friends instead of a school trip. It was amazing.”

We Love Our Trees & Our Turtles...

3/17/2016

This quarter’s Community Service Aventura was one for the record books. With a recent reduction of Osa Conservation staff, help was desperately needed and NSA’s group of students and staff logged nearly 100 miles on foot in order to rise to the challenge. The students assisted with the demolition and reconstruction of a bamboo turtle hatchery, performed various greenhouse and gardening chores including relocating hundreds of pounds of dirt and beach pebbles.

They patrolled the beach for eggs each midnight and sunrise and studied in daily academic classes and PG assignments. Students kept extremely positive attitudes while continuing to exceed expectations both physically and academically.

Students commented that doing good feels good, and agreed that the trip highlight was stumbling upon 18 turtles hatching and beginning their own exciting life journey.

Cellular Science in Biology Class

3/14/2016

NSA’s Biology class is studying cellular biology, and has been learning about cell organelles including chloroplast, nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi Apparatus, Endoplasmic Reticulum and more. The students are currently conducting an experiment on transport across the cell membrane using chicken eggs and food coloring. They have also begun to work on their final project, which is creating a hands-on wooden model of an animal and a plant cell for the Science classroom - which will help future classes learn about cells.

Exploring Religious Diversity in The Craft of Writing

3/14/2016

As an extension of their studies of mythologist Joseph Campbell and his "Monomyth" theory, students researched major world religions. They compared and contrasted two religions, noting unique characteristics as well as shared values, symbols, and stories. Topics ranged from Christianity to Shinto, and students were free to choose the format for their presentations. One student's presentation, which he described as a narrated comic, included hand-drawn images recorded on his iPad and edited into an educational video with voice-over narration. While some chose to focus on religions with which they were familiar, others opted to explore new territory. Through this project, students examined the narrative structure of Campbell's Hero's Journey model while delving into the Global Citizenship facet of diversity.

Literature and Composition and the Art of the Biography

3/14/2016

This quarter, our senior Literature and Composition class is learning advanced interviewing and writing techniques, and applying them to craft biographies of family members. Our quarter began by looking at word choice as the building blocks of literature. We then studied Literary Devices - metaphor, synecdoche, alliteration and more - and incorporated them into our writing. Dialogue and dialect, archetypal themes, strong verbs, telling details - each lesson was integrated into our stories about grandparents, parents, uncles, brothers and sisters. Many thanks to our willing families for providing rich details, newspaper clipping, photographs and memories about themselves and their loved ones to make our unit on the biography so meaningful.