Flying High

I took a deep breath. Then I said to the man that I was ready and I was pushed over the edge of a cliff. However I was strapped to a zip line, so I soared toward another landing platform. As wind was blowing in my face, I gazed out at an active volcano and a giant river. In a few moments, I was cruising in the next landing area. The guide slowed me down using a rope that caught the cable. I stepped down from the small ladder that had been placed so my cable could be detached. I had flown through the air for about 20 seconds and traveled over one half mile and I was alive. Then, after every member of our group landed, I stepped forward to travel on the next zip line.

Nathan Terry

white water rafting

Hi,

Yesterday we went white water rafting for four hours. It was a lot of fun and the other guides were trying to push us into the river. They also kept on splashing us and they tried to get me in the river but they did not get me but they did get Andrew and it was very funny. We got to go swimming in the river too and it was very warm a lot wormer then the ocean down the Cape. It was awesome! The guides made our lunch and it was very good. After lunch we had to traval 2 more hours but it did not feel that long and surprisingly my arms are not hurting that bad but I did get sunburned a little. Can´t wait to see you hope all is well. Happy birthday Adam and Maggie. See you Friday.

Love,
Justin H

A Day at The Beach

After a nice refreshing lunch at the Sandbox school, our little troop headed to the beach. It was not very crowded. In total there were only 15 people there including us. The breeze was slight and a bit cool. Surprisingly warm, the water was a great way to have fun. Especially throwing a hollow coconut at Andrew. I got bored of the water and started to build a small pool for myself. Eventually Brian started to help and then Sarah. We had a decently wide and deep pool when Mr. Musselman gave us the idea to make a channel connected to a small river behind us. Our little group was about half way done with that and we had to leave to go back to the hotel. It was very depressing to leave, but it was fun while it lasted.

Don Juan's Farm

We visited a farm for two nights and the owner's name was Don Juan. At one point we got to take a tour of the farm. Our guide, Roberto, had to speak translate for us because Don spoke very little English. On the tour, Don showed us many plants including a coco bean tree, which doesn't look anything like chocolate by the way. He even tricked us into having terrible tasting plants. Twice! One was extremely spicy, called amanato. The second thing that he fed us smelled like crap. However, we got to eat some things that didn't taste too bad. Spinich, which didn't tase anything like the way my mom cooks it, thank god. We also got to eat the coco bean. The third thing we got to taste was sugar cane. The juice tasted like canalope juice with sugar. The inside of the skin didn't taste like anything but Roberto said it was good for cleaning teeth. The inside seed tasted like a blast of sugar that you couldn't bite down on because it was too slipery. The inside of hat seed tasted a tiny bit like chocolate but not that much. Some of the things that we got to do on the farm were fertilize some plants and feed some cows. Don had three cows. Two of them actually being alive with one of the cows pregnant. Some of the food was like nothing I had ever tasted before. The rice that wa served there had such a different taste than rice I would eat at home, it was much better. We also had chicken with an O.K. sauce on it. My fvorite dish however, was pasta alfredo with ham and coen. I had four servings. After two days we had to go, to my sadness. It was probably one of the nicest places that we stayed at on this trip so far.

La Fortuna

We´ve arrived safely in La Fortuna at the base of the active volcano, Arenal. We spent the afternoon at Don Juan´s farm learning about organic ways to grow your food. Our students helped Don Juan fertilize plants, feed the farm´s two cows, pull some casava out of the ground, pick lettuce and spinach for our dinner, and everyone tried some very interesting, shocking and amazing leaves and other plants.

We´re now in the town of La Fortuna for an hour of shopping before heading to the other side of Arenal to try to catch a glimpse of the lava flow. It´s a clear night so luck is in our favor.

Tomorrow: Zip-lining! Miss Connolly can´t wait and I think everyone else is pretty excited, too. Here´s to finding another Internet cafe soon!

As always: Pura vida!

Breakfast!

Day 1: Up at 7!

We've Landed in Costa Rica!

After our adventures in the air and in Dallas, we've finally made it to San Jose, Costa Rica!

We're tired and excited...

And ready for a week of exploration, learning and fun!

We're not sure when we'll be able to blog again, but know that we are safe in our hotel with our guide, Roberto and driver, Mario. Pura vida!

Introducing the 2010 Eco-Club Travelers!

Exploring the Volcano

The one event that I am looking forward to most on our trip is our visit to an active volcano. This will be thrilling for me because I have never seen an actual volcano in person, let alone an active volcano. Though I may not see the volcano erupt, I will be satisfied just to be there to explore the area surrounding the volcano.

Nathan T

Fuddrucker Night

The Fuddrucker night was a success! We raised over $212 from the raffle and bake sale alone. We have no idea how much we raised from the restaurant itself, but it's probably a lot. Thanks to everyone who supported.

Fuddrucker Fundraiser Night

On Thursday, February 11th our Eco-Club will be hosting a fundraiser at Fuddruckers in Reading between 5:00 and 8:00pm. Any Parker friends or famiy interested in supporting our club’s service and adventures during our trip to Costa Rica should attend. To participate, bring the coupon available on the Parker Edline website and present to the Fuddrucker staff at time of purchase. 20% of your bill will go directly to the Parker Eco-Club! There will also be a drawing for a fantastic IMAX gift basket with two tickets to a future IMAX movie of your choice. This basket is valued at over $50 but can be yours free if your ticket is selected. A bake sale will also be held.

Falalalalah The Festival of Trees

The Festival of Trees was a big support to the RTEF or the Reading Technology Education Foundation. It is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the technology. Every dollar spent went to the total sum of money to buy technology for every school in Reading. This foundation has bought laptops for the Parker Middle School. Other than just trees being bidded on, there were silent auctions that were going on. Some of the items included gift cards to various places. You would get 1 ticket for $1. For $5 you would get 6 tickets. If you won then you would get the tree and what was on it.

There were many jobs at the festival that kept it running. For one, there was a snack bar that supplied refreshments to the people who came there. Second, people handed out voting slips for which tree was the best and scavenger hunts that could be turned in for a free ticket. There were some people who helped people make cookies for anyone who wanted one. At the table for the Mission of Deeds people ran the table for a bed for a child. People would donate a dollar and every 90 dollars, one bed could be given to a needy child. Last but not least, there were people who ran the check-in table.

At the Snack shack, we sold a variety of foods. We sold popcorn, chips, candy, pizza, water, and soda. We charged one dollar for each of the items. Business started out slow, but after an hour or so, people began to buy food and beverages in case they got hungry or thirsty.

Kyle's Voice Thread

Nathan's Voicethread

Here is my Voicethread. Enjoy!

Voice Thread

Publishing Voice Threads

Our goal today is to create a 3 picture VoiceThread that contains the following information.

1) A picture of yourself with some basic interests (nothing too personal!)
2) A slide describing a Costa Rican habitat (caribbean coastline, cloudforest, rainforest canopy, Costa Rican freshwater river, etc.)
3) A slide describing one type of animal or plant species that can be observed in the habitat described in slide two

Our goal will be to embed our VoiceThreads onto our blogs at the conclusion of the club meeting.

Club Activity #3 - Using Voice Thread

Today, students will be making 3 slide voicethreads and commenting on one another's voicethreads. The objective:

1) Create a login for voicethread.com

2) Find information and photographs on either cloudrainforests or the costa rican caribbean coastline.

3) Post audio and text comments including facts on their photographs

4) Comment on fellow classmates voicethreads.

5) Post voicethread on to our blogs.

Club Activity #2 - Blog Setup!

Today we are jumping in to the blogosphere and getting ourselves up and running with students very own blogs. Each student will be setup with their own blog through edublogs where they will be able to document their learning through the Eco-Club and their investigations of the country.

Today's goals are as follows:

1) Setup each student with a blog
2) Investigate widgits and have students setup their own widgets
3) Read a Costa Rica blog post that interests you and write about what you learned and why you feel you find it so curious!


Here are some blogs to get you started, but feel free to find your own as well!

Tamarindo, Costa Rica daily photo blog - Each blog post has a curious photo and summary regarding the picture.

Yo-Yo (You're-On-Your-Own) in Paradise - An individual explorers blog about their exploration of the country.

A New Life in Costa Rica - The daily diary of a family who picked up all of their belongings in the "Estados Unidos" and moved to Costa Rica to enjoy a new life of exploration!

Fall Registration Still Open for Costa Rica Trip April 2010

Hello, Travelers!

The deadline for Costa Rica Trip April 2010 registration is October 2nd, 2009.

Please click on the first link below to register for the trip.

Please refer to the packet available online by following the second link below to review FAQs such as the itinerary, overall costs, due dates, Eco-Club attendance, and others. Please email Sean Musselman (smusselman@reading.k12.ma.us) or Norah Connolly (nconnolly@reading.k12.ma.us) with any questions not covered in the packet or for a copy of the packet. Pura Vida!

** There will be a parent and student 2010 Eco-Club and trip meeting Thursday, September 17th at 6:00 in Mr. Musselman's Room 214. ** Please contact Miss Connolly in the Library if you cannot attend: nconnolly@reading.k12.ma.us **

Remember: If you register for the trip you are also committing to bi-monthly Eco-Club meetings in Mr. Musselman's Room 214. Schedule will be posted at the evening meeting on September 17th.

Click here for the registration form

Click here for the Costa Rica Eco-Club Information Packet