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Classes, wrap-up meetings, Aventuras and meals - these facets of life at NSA make up a big part of our students' experiences. However, there are many more hours in the day and many interesting activities available that engage our guys in healthy recreational opportunities.
Clubs are one structured way students are able to pursue interests throughout the week. Wednesdays and Thursdays find students gearing up and embarking right after classes to hit the pitches or waves for the Climbing and Surfing Clubs. The Running Club organizes practice runs and competes in local races, while the Ultimate Frisbee Club - coached by our Experiential Ed mentor Samantha, recently scored a last-minute win over another local high school here on NSA's home field.
Each Sunday, Frank leads a dedicated group of gourmands in the Cooking Club, preparing Sunday night dinner for their peers. Clubs are student-created and driven enabling our guys to pursue their passions and interests.
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Preparing students for a successful transition from New Summit Academy is a crucial step in helping them succeed in the next stages of their lives. A huge part of this help comes from their work within the NSA Transition Program - an intensive process which engages students, families, and a "Transition Team" in planning and preparing for life after New Summit.
The planning begins well before students' final quarters, when they work with their families to create drafts of their Transition Plans, which will be refined and edited for months before final approval. These comprehensive plans include expectations about education, finances, family and house rules, socializing, and more. Throughout the Transition Program, students also engage in life-skills workshops of their choosing, including topics such as College Level Skills, Planning for and Preparing a Meal, Independent Travel, Budgeting and Finances, and Sex and Dating.
The planning begins well before students' final quarters, when they work with their families to create drafts of their Transition Plans, which will be refined and edited for months before final approval. These comprehensive plans include expectations about education, finances, family and house rules, socializing, and more. Throughout the Transition Program, students also engage in life-skills workshops of their choosing, including topics such as College Level Skills, Planning for and Preparing a Meal, Independent Travel, Budgeting and Finances, and Sex and Dating.
A Transition Family Workshop engages students and parents in face-to-face plan creation, a time guided by the Transition Team when expectations and boundaries can be clearly communicated. As students near graduation, their Transition Plans are reviewed by their team, with further edits and suggestions taken into account before they are approved for their final Aventura: summiting Costa Rica's highest mountain, Cerro Chirripo. As students descend with complete plans, they have the skills, confidence, and support needed for continued success.
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New Summit Academy’s students and staff have just returned from an inspiring round of Integrated Aventuras: Community Service in the Osa Peninsula, kayaking the Golfo Dulce, and hiking through Corcovado National Park. Each Aventura – integrated with Experiential Education activities, engaging Academic classes, and Personal Growth work – challenges students to step outside of their comfort zone to develop important life skills while surrounded by the beauty of Costa Rica.
Below are some of the trip highlights.
Below are some of the trip highlights.
Community Service Conservation Efforts
- Working side-by-side with Osa Conservation in reforestation, self-sustaining permaculture, and organic farming projects
- Collaborating with a local community to build a new sea turtle hatchery
- Patrolling beaches at night to collect turtle eggs for safe hatching
- Building trails for future visitors to make turtle-conservation efforts more possible
- Growing closer as a community of Orientation and newer students, and bringing those new connections back to NSA’s campus
Golfo Dulce Kayak Aventura
- Honing open-water kayak skills to paddle an average of a dozen kilometers per day on the gulf waters flanked by primary rainforest
- Learning about tides, mangrove ecosystems, coral reefs, and watersheds in a spectacular “living classroom”
- Being escorted on our journey by dolphins, sea turtles, schools of fish, and even sighting humpback whales
- Setting and achieving a group goal of not allowing negativity to influence the sense of wonder experienced in such an extraordinary setting
Exploring Corcovado National Park
- Holding classes in the middle of the rainforest which, based on student feedback, was a highlight of the trip
- Spotting a baby white-collared peccary with its mother, dubbed the “cutest thing ever”
- Sighting a massive crocodile feeding at the mouth of the Sirenas
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When it comes to clubs at New Summit Academy, the students are in control. Based on individual and group interests, students are able to manage existing clubs and propose new ones. Students develop important skills of organization and follow-through as they write proposals, find a staff sponsor, develop a budget, and work with Student Council to make the club a reality.
Once a new club is formed, club leaders are responsible for organizing meetings and workshops, and planning weekend activities.
Once a new club is formed, club leaders are responsible for organizing meetings and workshops, and planning weekend activities.
Our newest club – Backcountry Skills – provides students interested in camping and wilderness survival an opportunity to learn new skills and put them into practice. Recent meetings have focused on campfire cooking, knot tying, and makeshift shelters.
Students and staff in the Backcountry Skills club recently tested out their expertise on a weekend camping adventure in the Bosque Eterno de los Niños – a protected forest reserve funded by children’s donations from around the world!
Students and staff in the Backcountry Skills club recently tested out their expertise on a weekend camping adventure in the Bosque Eterno de los Niños – a protected forest reserve funded by children’s donations from around the world!
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by Kelly Weld, NSA therapist
I was having one of those incredible moments last week when I found myself surfing at sunset with Nico. Our Surf Club heads to South Jaco every week, which may be my favorite part of the job (which says a lot). I’ve been out in many different conditions: the perfect 4’ rollers in which everyone feels like a professional; big waves in which many of us ride the white water (when we clearly are not professionals), or even flat calm days in which there are no waves to catch, but everyone still feels the magic.
There is a particular bond that happens between people over a surf outing: first the anticipation and shared excitement on the drive to the beach, and then the stories told over post-session pizza. It is during these activities where some of my best student connections are made. Paddling in the warm water under a rose-covered sky, I watched Nico return to the lineup after surfing the last set. He grinned at me, happy and proud of the wave he caught, while clearly amused by my recent wipe-out. I am not the best surfer, but laughing at ourselves is part of the fun.
There is a particular bond that happens between people over a surf outing: first the anticipation and shared excitement on the drive to the beach, and then the stories told over post-session pizza. It is during these activities where some of my best student connections are made. Paddling in the warm water under a rose-covered sky, I watched Nico return to the lineup after surfing the last set. He grinned at me, happy and proud of the wave he caught, while clearly amused by my recent wipe-out. I am not the best surfer, but laughing at ourselves is part of the fun.
I have found that it is moments like these that allow the most natural and open relationships to develop between myself as a therapist, and the students with whom I work. There is an emotional connection that occurs when sharing favorite activities with someone, particularly in an outdoor setting. Profound relationships develop when that activity includes a “challenge element” (eliciting the “flow state” of presence and mindfulness) with an attainable struggle that eventually leads to mastery (creating a sense of earned pride and personal confidence).
On our drive back to campus, I could tell that something special had happened out in the water that evening: Nico and I had strengthened our shared experience and personal history. Whether it be surfing, rock climbing, paddling, or the rhythm of walking, NSA’s experiential Aventuras create opportunities for deep therapeutic rapport, the foundation for clinical efficacy.
On our drive back to campus, I could tell that something special had happened out in the water that evening: Nico and I had strengthened our shared experience and personal history. Whether it be surfing, rock climbing, paddling, or the rhythm of walking, NSA’s experiential Aventuras create opportunities for deep therapeutic rapport, the foundation for clinical efficacy.
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New Summit Academy students and staff have just returned from an extraordinary experience exploring ancient and modern cultures in Belize and Guatemala!
To prepare for the trip – to be travelers rather than tourists – teachers engaged students in a week of workshops, studying the history of the area and current issues affecting the people. Students also participated in workshops focusing on how our senses are heightened through travel. The objective of this guiding theme is to help raise student awareness of the human experience, both through their travels and in their day-to-day lives at NSA and back home.
While traveling in Belize and Guatemala, students engaged in once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, including:
- Exploring the breathtaking Mayan sites of Caracol, Tika and Xunantunich
- Performing community service in the tropical gardens at their jungle lodge
- Spelunking the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, home of Mayan sacrificial objects
- Snorkeling in the second-largest reef on Earth (including Shark Ray Alley!)
- Documenting their experiences in a film which will premiere in September
Students returned to campus energized by this amazing opportunity, and ready to begin the quarter. Keep an eye out for our upcoming Documentary Film Premiere issue at the end of the quarter, and a shared link of the student film!
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As our largest graduation ever quickly approaches, it is a perfect time to reflect on what makes up a student’s experience graduating the New Summit Academy program. While attention is often given to exciting Aventuras, engaging classes, and Personal Growth, it is important to understand the results of these programmatic aspects.
In other words, what does the resume of a New Summit Academy Graduate look like?
In other words, what does the resume of a New Summit Academy Graduate look like?
Resume of a New Summit Academy Graduate
Service:
Students perform over 100 hours of community service (many much more!), on projects ranging from working with children at Hogar de Vida to protecting endangered sea turtles in the Osa Peninsula.
Students perform over 100 hours of community service (many much more!), on projects ranging from working with children at Hogar de Vida to protecting endangered sea turtles in the Osa Peninsula.
Academic Achievement:
Graduates have succeeded in a college-preparatory learning environment, and have not only developed impressive critical thinking skills, but have learned how they learn to take charge of future success.
Graduates have succeeded in a college-preparatory learning environment, and have not only developed impressive critical thinking skills, but have learned how they learn to take charge of future success.
International Travel Experience:
Costa Rica is a rich classroom for learning independence and cultural sensitivity, and students also have opportunities to travel to Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, Peru and Guatemala!
Costa Rica is a rich classroom for learning independence and cultural sensitivity, and students also have opportunities to travel to Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, Peru and Guatemala!
Real-World Skills:
Students engage in classes and workshops to prepare them for independent living, which include cooking courses, car maintenance, budgeting and finances, dating 101, and resume development.
Students engage in classes and workshops to prepare them for independent living, which include cooking courses, car maintenance, budgeting and finances, dating 101, and resume development.
Global Citizenship:
Our Global Citizenship program engages students in the study and application of ethical decision making in areas of Social Justice, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Digital Citizenship, Conflict Resolution, and more.
Our Global Citizenship program engages students in the study and application of ethical decision making in areas of Social Justice, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Digital Citizenship, Conflict Resolution, and more.
Professional-Level Certifications:
Our Health term includes all students earning their Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) Certification, and summer Aventuras may have them earning open water SCUBA certifications!
Our Health term includes all students earning their Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) Certification, and summer Aventuras may have them earning open water SCUBA certifications!
Cultural Immersion:
Costa Rica provides an opportunity to develop cultural awareness through our Spanish Language program, cultural events and celebrations, and weekly homestay program.
Costa Rica provides an opportunity to develop cultural awareness through our Spanish Language program, cultural events and celebrations, and weekly homestay program.
College Applications:
Graduating seniors apply to and – no surprise considering their resumes – are accepted to colleges which provide them with a chance to continue their success. This fall, our seniors will be attending: St. Louis University, Montana State University, Southern Methodist University, Central Washington University, Western State Colorado University, The University of Vermont, and Fordham University.
Graduating seniors apply to and – no surprise considering their resumes – are accepted to colleges which provide them with a chance to continue their success. This fall, our seniors will be attending: St. Louis University, Montana State University, Southern Methodist University, Central Washington University, Western State Colorado University, The University of Vermont, and Fordham University.
The class was offered a total of over ONE MILLION DOLLARS in scholarships this year.
It’s amazing what a resume can do!
It’s amazing what a resume can do!
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This quarter our students are learning about the development of many of the economic principles and philosophies (some competing) being used around the world now and in the past. In addition, our students are playing a virtual stock market simulation game powered by Investopedia.com that offers real world, true, and real-time consequences for investment decisions made with the trading of all stocks available on the NYSE, the NASDAQ, and AMEX.
A great way to understand complexity in markets is to study how regional, national, and global changes in different areas can impact the health of the market. Students are learning how to use headlines and market indexes to make predictions about investments. Students are also working on research projects related to different kinds of impact-investing (green energy, green or social justice-minded, social progress serving) and microfinance banking to see how capitalism, profit motive, and greed can actually be used to serve noble purposes.
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Recently, NSA math and photography students collaborated on a lesson geared toward raising awareness regarding geometric shapes in our surroundings. Students were challenged to find polygons around campus - the more complex the better. Not only did the project help to raise awareness of math in the natural world, it also provided an opportunity for students to investigate and pay special attention to aspects of their everyday lives that had been previously overlooked.
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Our Culinary Arts class is always willing to pitch in to collaborate with school activities. This week, student council has organized a "Star Wars" night, with costumes and games to celebrate the films. Our cooking class is preparing a number of dishes for the event, all with a Star Wars theme. Students researched and planned the recipes, learning how to convert servings to prepare enough for the 40-plus participants of the event. Dishes we are preparing include: White Chocolate Pretzel Rod Light Sabers, Jawa Brownies, and Star Fighters-n-Cheese. May the Forks Be with You.