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Updates like these make all of the efforts worth it:Hi, Kelly,
Life is fantastic right now! I am settled in to my dorm (my roommate is awesome) and have had two days of classes (already five hours spent on homework). I have met up with a lot of my old friends and I am hanging out with another NSA grad often, he’s doing great as well. We went on the same backpacking trip and saw a bear less than 15 feet away, walking toward us! It was a really fun trip and we had perfect weather with a full moon and blue skies.
I had a full time job this past summer as a dish washer with 50-hour weeks (roughly). I managed to go to three concerts through all of that: Rebelution, Guns n Roses, and Blink 182. At the Blink 182 concert, I caught the drummer’s drumstick!
I was sick right when I moved back (figures) but it only lasted a week and I’ve been healthy ever since. There already parties almost every day up here and I’ve managed to stay sober so far so that’s good, still having fun though.
I have no idea what I want to study but I think that is a good thing. I feel comfortable on campus and around all these people, everyone is really friendly up here.
I know I’ve said this before, but in times of reflection, I think I should say again that I am forever grateful for NSA and how it helped me turn my life around. Without it I would not be in college right now and maybe not even have a high school diploma. Then there’s all the emotional knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained, but I won’t go on about that (although it’s really important/advantageous). But the most important skills I learned at NSA were how to live with people, solve conflict, and open up as a person. I am so comfortable around everyone here, and it helps others be comfortable around me. It’s quite an experience to look back on, and I wouldn’t change a thing if I could.
Thanks for all your hard work.
P.S.
Feel free to share this with people and I will write a letter to Martin ‘cause he deserves one and he helped me so much.
Life is fantastic right now! I am settled in to my dorm (my roommate is awesome) and have had two days of classes (already five hours spent on homework). I have met up with a lot of my old friends and I am hanging out with another NSA grad often, he’s doing great as well. We went on the same backpacking trip and saw a bear less than 15 feet away, walking toward us! It was a really fun trip and we had perfect weather with a full moon and blue skies.
I had a full time job this past summer as a dish washer with 50-hour weeks (roughly). I managed to go to three concerts through all of that: Rebelution, Guns n Roses, and Blink 182. At the Blink 182 concert, I caught the drummer’s drumstick!
I was sick right when I moved back (figures) but it only lasted a week and I’ve been healthy ever since. There already parties almost every day up here and I’ve managed to stay sober so far so that’s good, still having fun though.
I have no idea what I want to study but I think that is a good thing. I feel comfortable on campus and around all these people, everyone is really friendly up here.
I know I’ve said this before, but in times of reflection, I think I should say again that I am forever grateful for NSA and how it helped me turn my life around. Without it I would not be in college right now and maybe not even have a high school diploma. Then there’s all the emotional knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained, but I won’t go on about that (although it’s really important/advantageous). But the most important skills I learned at NSA were how to live with people, solve conflict, and open up as a person. I am so comfortable around everyone here, and it helps others be comfortable around me. It’s quite an experience to look back on, and I wouldn’t change a thing if I could.
Thanks for all your hard work.
P.S.
Feel free to share this with people and I will write a letter to Martin ‘cause he deserves one and he helped me so much.
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In addition to beginning to study the Branches of Power and the Presidents Club from 1945 to 2017, NSA’s U.S. History class is taking advantage of the 2016 election that offers plenty of current political issues and controversy, as well as the current election process and interplay between congressional action, Supreme Court power and political makeup. This week, the class also spent time investigating candidates and their records and positions on pertinent issues. Using this information, students created ballot “cheat sheets” that could be used on Election Day at the polls.
This quarter in Literature and Composition, students are continuing their study of Shakespeare with “Hamlet.” As an introduction to the text, we have discussed several of the themes embedded within this tragedy and their relevance to current topics in politics, pop culture, and global citizenship. Students are looking forward to discovering the melancholy Dane’s influence on Disney movies, comic books, and TV shows among other works. By experiencing Shakespeare’s words themselves, watching the direct interpretation of the play, and analyzing several texts and films that recreate the story of Hamlet, students will gain a deeper understanding of the influence of literature in modern society.
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Arriving at a new place can be overwhelming for anyone, especially when that place is a new school, with a new group of peers, new staff, and different rules – and in an entirely foreign country!
In order to help enrolling students make the adjustment to NSA, our comprehensive Orientation program guides them in getting to know our community so that they can continue their processes of personal growth. From day one, an Orientation team – Experiential Education mentors, an Academic Advisor, a Case manager and peer mentors – help new students in these steps. Orientation students actually begin their stay by leaving campus – traveling to a nearby dormant volcano with peers and staff to review the student handbook and get an overview of the program.
Throughout the following month, students meet to review their Academic transcripts and course plans, learn about their learning styles and areas of attention, review and complete a quiz on the student handbook – steps designed intentionally for them to get their bearings and feel comfortable in their new, supportive community.
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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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In Costa Rica, and throughout much of Latin America, Columbus Day is celebrated - not for the "discovery" of the Americas - but for the diversity of cultures throughout the continents created by our shared history. New Summit Academy is unique among high schools in that our students enroll from all corners of the United States, and that our international staff come to us from Costa Rica, the U.S., Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and other countries.
Each year, our Cultural Coordinator Daisy ensures that students learn about this important day and the impact diversity has on Costa Rica and on the students' everyday lives. In celebration of the cultural melange that makes up NSA, Daisy organizes our staff to create and share food and drinks with our students which represent the cultures from which we come.
Each year, our Cultural Coordinator Daisy ensures that students learn about this important day and the impact diversity has on Costa Rica and on the students' everyday lives. In celebration of the cultural melange that makes up NSA, Daisy organizes our staff to create and share food and drinks with our students which represent the cultures from which we come.
This year, students enjoyed traditional Caribbean meat patties, Columbian arepas, chicharrones from Costa Rica, Thai massaman curry, and hearty mid-western chili.
Food is a window into and celebration of this variety of cultures (not to mention the best way to interest teenage boys), so many thanks to Daisy for facilitating this enriching event!
Food is a window into and celebration of this variety of cultures (not to mention the best way to interest teenage boys), so many thanks to Daisy for facilitating this enriching event!
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"Therapeutic Educational Experiences" (similar version published in We Are NATSAP newsletter October 2016)
by Dr. Heather Tracy, Ed.M., Ed.D., Executive Director at New Summit Academy & The Bridge – Costa Rica
During the admissions process at therapeutic boarding schools, there is no shortage of educational symptoms listed: Grades declined. Skipped classes. Suspended. Fell into a negative peer group at school. Bullied. Whatever the case may be, what happens at school is often framed as a symptom of a deeper clinical issue that is the true reason for seeking treatment. What is often not highlighted is just how integrated an adolescent’s educational and personal development experiences actually are. The up side to all of this is that education does not solely serve to alert us to symptoms needing clinical attention, but
rather educational experiences can be important facilitators of healing and growth as well.
What could be more therapeutic than...
Each and every one of these examples is representative of how New Summit Academy is not just filling up students’ days with scores on tests and credits on transcripts. NSA's teachers and administrators work tirelessly to create “therapeutic” educational experiences for our students. We do this believing that someday soon other schools will catch on to the idea that therapeutic education is not just healing what has “gone wrong” for our students; instead, it is what education is meant to be at its core – an experience that facilitates learning about ourselves, each other, and the world around us so that we might meaningfully contribute in our own unique and positive way.
by Dr. Heather Tracy, Ed.M., Ed.D., Executive Director at New Summit Academy & The Bridge – Costa Rica
During the admissions process at therapeutic boarding schools, there is no shortage of educational symptoms listed: Grades declined. Skipped classes. Suspended. Fell into a negative peer group at school. Bullied. Whatever the case may be, what happens at school is often framed as a symptom of a deeper clinical issue that is the true reason for seeking treatment. What is often not highlighted is just how integrated an adolescent’s educational and personal development experiences actually are. The up side to all of this is that education does not solely serve to alert us to symptoms needing clinical attention, but
rather educational experiences can be important facilitators of healing and growth as well.
What could be more therapeutic than...
- An experience with a teacher who takes the extra time to help you understand concepts or find a solution to a problem?
- A long-term project (you previously would not have finished) stamped with a grade you thought you could not achieve?
- An organizational system that finally works for you to stay on top of your homework and long-term projects?
- A curriculum that makes you feel respected as a learner who does not want to be babysat with busywork geared towards content memorization for a test?
- A schedule that recognizes and incorporates any human’s holistic needs for exercise, arts, socializing, and introspection?
- An extracurricular activity that values more than competition and winning?
- A homework study session driven by you and your peers rather than mom, dad, or hired tutors?
- A school where emotional and physical safety is not just preached but actually practiced?
- An individualized education plan that is not 20 pages of standardized prescribed accommodations written by people who barely know you but rather a unique, thoughtful attempt to engage your unique interests, talents, and strengths in ways that give you ownership and engagement in improving your areas of weakness?
- A teacher who believes enough in your capabilities to continue to challenge you by gradually removing scaffolding once you’ve mastered certain skills – just to show you that you are more than a diagnosis?
- A graduation ceremony that does not rank students according to GPA but rather celebrates each unique journey taken to reach a podium dressed in cap and gown?
Each and every one of these examples is representative of how New Summit Academy is not just filling up students’ days with scores on tests and credits on transcripts. NSA's teachers and administrators work tirelessly to create “therapeutic” educational experiences for our students. We do this believing that someday soon other schools will catch on to the idea that therapeutic education is not just healing what has “gone wrong” for our students; instead, it is what education is meant to be at its core – an experience that facilitates learning about ourselves, each other, and the world around us so that we might meaningfully contribute in our own unique and positive way.
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The month of September is a special time in Costa Rica, as proud Ticos celebrate gaining their independence from Spain on September 15th, 1821. Our Cultural Coordinator, Daisy, ensures that students take part in every aspect of this patriotic celebration.
Typical Breakfast Celebration
On the day before Independence Day, faculty and staff arrive to campus extra early to prepare a typical Costa Rican breakfast for our students. As students awoke to the sound of live marimba music, they found their teachers ready to serve them such traditional foods as gallo pinto, huevos rancheros, and handmade corn tortillas.
Staff (and some of our braver students) danced to classic Tico tunes, punctuated by “bombas” – short, comedic poems recited by everyone involved.
Staff (and some of our braver students) danced to classic Tico tunes, punctuated by “bombas” – short, comedic poems recited by everyone involved.
Making Faroles and Supporting a Local Elementary School
On the evening before Independence Day, Costa Ricans celebrate the gathering of citizens by lantern light throughout Central America as the call for independence was raised in 1821.
Children fill the streets, carrying homemade “faroles” or lanterns in the colors of the Costa Rican flag for a magical parade.
NSA students traveled to a nearby small village called “Altos del Monte” to work with the students at a humble elementary school to construct their lanterns.
Our students then took part in the parade, and further supported the school’s yearly fundraiser by purchasing plates of traditional food.
Children fill the streets, carrying homemade “faroles” or lanterns in the colors of the Costa Rican flag for a magical parade.
NSA students traveled to a nearby small village called “Altos del Monte” to work with the students at a humble elementary school to construct their lanterns.
Our students then took part in the parade, and further supported the school’s yearly fundraiser by purchasing plates of traditional food.
September 15: Independence Day Parade
On the morning of Independence day, students traveled to the center of town to witness the culminating event of the yearly celebrations: the Independence Day parade. The streets of Atenas are closed off to automobile traffic to allow for crowds of locals (and our school) to line the sidewalks, cheering as grade school students march in choreographed formations, as high school marching bands fill the streets with song, competing with the sirens of firetrucks and police cars. And of course, since a theme of our students’ Costa Rican cultural immersion is food, we indulged in traditional street treats including granizados (imagine a snow cone covered in condensed milk), churros and the requisite meat-on-a-stick!
Many thanks to our Costa Rican community for including us in their Independence Day celebration, and to Daisy, for organizing such a rich series of experiences for our students.
Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!
Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!
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Mother’s Day is a national holiday in Costa Rica. To honor our Costa Rican surrogate mothers, both staff moms and homestay mothers who provide our students with needed hugs and plates of delicious food, NSA holds an annual Mother’s Day Dinner.
This year, staff and homestay moms were treated to five-star service, receiving invitations to join students for a formal dinner on campus. While the gourmet meal was prepared by our chefs, our students did not sit idly by. NSA’s young gentlemen were each charged with hosting a different mother, serving and clearing her dishes, engaging her in conversation, and some brave students even hit the dance floor with their guests!
This year, staff and homestay moms were treated to five-star service, receiving invitations to join students for a formal dinner on campus. While the gourmet meal was prepared by our chefs, our students did not sit idly by. NSA’s young gentlemen were each charged with hosting a different mother, serving and clearing her dishes, engaging her in conversation, and some brave students even hit the dance floor with their guests!
Many thanks to the Experiential Education team and to Daisy, our Cultural Coordinator, for organizing this wonderful event to recognize just how important our Costa Rican moms are to our community at NSA!
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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
