- Published on
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.
- Published on
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.
- Published on
Tapanti National Park – an explosion of green in Costa Rica’s cloud forest – hosted students and staff as they hiked, camped and rafted while studying ecological communities and biomimicry (looking to nature for innovations and solutions to human issues).
These senior students used this unique opportunity to reflect on their entire Aventura experience as well as their growth at New Summit Academy.
These senior students used this unique opportunity to reflect on their entire Aventura experience as well as their growth at New Summit Academy.
- Published on
Students and staff on this Aventura were extraordinarily lucky to witness an astounding array of wildlife in this biodiverse rain forest. While performing community service cleaning beaches and studying forest succession, students spotted Baird's tapir, deer, four species of monkeys, a two-toed sloth and – the highlight of the trip – a family of three pumas hunting spider monkeys!
- Published on
Students engaged in true experiential learning during a five-day kayaking expedition around the unspoiled “Sweet Gulf” in southern Costa Rica. When they weren't paddling, catching red snapper for dinner, and competing in the famous “Tent Partner Olympics,” students were studying the six different ecosystems they encountered (while up to their chins in mangrove estuaries), swimming in the pelagic zone’s 600 feet of water, and snorkeling over coral fringe reefs.
- Published on
The shores of the Osa Peninsula are ancient nesting sites for a number of different sea turtle species, and our students spent a week preparing for and aiding the nesting season.
Days were spent sifting sand to create safe sanctuaries for hatchlings and planting trees to conserve important beachfront land.
At night, students and staff donned red headlamps (which don’t disturb nesting mothers) to search for nests and relocate precious eggs to the new hatcheries to ensure that more hatchlings survive to return in coming years.
Days were spent sifting sand to create safe sanctuaries for hatchlings and planting trees to conserve important beachfront land.
At night, students and staff donned red headlamps (which don’t disturb nesting mothers) to search for nests and relocate precious eggs to the new hatcheries to ensure that more hatchlings survive to return in coming years.
- Published on
- Published on
This month, students, staff and alumni of New Summit Academy will embark on SIX different Aventuras! Next month’s issue will report in detail on these amazing experiences, but here’s a sneak peek:
-Building hatcheries for nesting sea turtles during the day, while patrolling the beaches of the Osa Peninsula by night, searching for turtle eggs to relocate to the safety of a sanctuary.
-Kayaking along the shores of the Golfo Dulce, studying mangrove and coral reef ecosystems, fishing for lunch and dinner, and participating in the ever-popular Tent Partner Olympics.
-Hiking through the spectacularly biodiverse Corcovado National Park, learning about the process of forest succession, while keeping an eye out for tapir, monkeys, sloths, anteaters and even puma!
-Trekking to the rustic but beautiful Monte Sky retreat, and then rafting through the high-altitude forests of Tapanti National Park, and studying the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the complexities of the cloud forest.
-A first-of-its-kind staff & alumni trip to SOUTH AFRICA, exploring the beauty and culture, and investigating possibilities for future young adult opportunities. (Pics to come...)
-A remarkable opportunity for Second Summit students to travel to CUBA, to interact with its people and learn from them about daily life and how the nation’s unique history has shaped it.
New Summit Academy’s one-of-a-kind Aventura program continues to shape tomorrow’s Global Citizens!
- Published on
This quarter, our Culinary Arts class made a decision: we would work together to cook only one meal, but every element of that meal would be made from scratch, using only whole foods and nothing processed.
This decision was inspired by our discussion of Michael Pollan’s idea that one “shouldn’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food" -- the opposite of our highly-processed western diet.
This decision was inspired by our discussion of Michael Pollan’s idea that one “shouldn’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food" -- the opposite of our highly-processed western diet.
After much debate, we chose a student favorite as our meal: Bratwurst and sauerkraut. Our first week, students studied the process of lactobacillus fermentation and applied their knowledge to begin making sauerkraut. We then learned how yeast and gluten work, and baked our own rolls. The following weeks had students spicing and grinding their own sausage, researching flavor combinations to mix mustards from mustard seeds, and stuffing their homemade sausage mix into casings.
The process will culminate in a feast the students are certain to never forget!
The process will culminate in a feast the students are certain to never forget!
- Published on
The staff and students – led by our Experiential Education mentor and health advocate Jaime – are engaged in a campaign to bring more mindfulness to the foods we eat at NSA. Our chefs have always prepared wonderful meals and are excited about the new opportunities for learning healthy, balanced recipes that include whole grains and brown rice, more plant-based proteins such as beans, lentils and garbanzos, and limiting meat to once a day.
Our Culinary Arts class joined the campaign by looking at food choices through this quarter’s Global Citizenship facet of Ecological Stewardship. Did you know that 90% of cleared land in the Amazon rainforest is used for raising livestock? Even our Botany class is helping by designing and implementing a new composting system, which contributes toward their goal of providing for more of our campus food needs with fresh, organic produce!
