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New Summit Academy’s Integrated Reading Program is intentionally designed to engage students in college-preparatory learning, developing comprehension, analysis and synthesis skills. Each quarter, our community collaborates in choosing and reading a different book or novel. Throughout the quarter, students learn that reading is not only a skill in English class, but applicable throughout their lives. Each teacher guides students in analyzing text through the lens of their area of expertise: Math, Science, Global Citizenship, History, and more.
This quarter – with the polemic elections in the United States serving as a backdrop – our school is reading Jose Saramago’s Seeing. This novel begins with a parliamentary election in which the majority of the populace casts blank ballots. The story revolves around the struggles of the government and its various members as they try to simultaneously understand and destroy the amorphous non-movement of blank-voters.
Throughout the quarter, students and teachers will be working together to develop close-reading skills, and will analyze topics within the novel including democracy, the role of the media in politics, utopias and dystopias, plutocracies, and the effect of education on elections.
We invite everyone in our NSA community to read along and join in the conversation!
Throughout the quarter, students and teachers will be working together to develop close-reading skills, and will analyze topics within the novel including democracy, the role of the media in politics, utopias and dystopias, plutocracies, and the effect of education on elections.
We invite everyone in our NSA community to read along and join in the conversation!
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NSA’s Academic Department is continually striving to improve our innovative curriculum to prepare our students with 21st-century skills. Our newest addition to the course catalog is founded on our English teacher Brooke’s passion for teaching English as a second language (ESL). Brooke has designed a course in which students focus on the grammar and construction of the English language, and then show mastery of their studies in the most effective way possible: teaching.
Each Friday, students convert their grammar studies into dynamic English language classes, teaching our non-native English speaking staff from the Operations department. By teaching, students not only show mastery of the English language and its often complicated and convoluted grammar -- they are also developing critical organizational, time-management, and public speaking skills.
Each Friday, students convert their grammar studies into dynamic English language classes, teaching our non-native English speaking staff from the Operations department. By teaching, students not only show mastery of the English language and its often complicated and convoluted grammar -- they are also developing critical organizational, time-management, and public speaking skills.
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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.