In Their Own Words...

Our students were able to make their first calls in and share their experiences with our friends and family in los Estados Unidos! There is still one more group of students to share so stay tuned for more posts!

Fresh Fruit Stand

Our journey to Guanacaste was very long so we had to stop for some native treats!

Checking out the goods...

The search for the perfect fruit!

Madison and a bunch of plantains

Chris and Ryan with driver, Alberto

The Trip to Guanacaste

Museo Nacional en San Jose

"El rio sucio" is translated the dirty river. It is yellow from the sulfer found in the volcanic rock it flows from

En La Capital

Day 1 Photo Test

Troubleshooting in the Tropics

Forgive us! We've been trying to upload things from our cell phone but it seems to be giving us trouble! The next few posts may be a bit disjointed and impossible to take down until we return. We shall find out soon enough!

The Bandanas

During our trip each day two students will be given the bandanas for their good attitudes or deeds during the previous day. Our first pair is Sam and Lance! Sam showed great leadership when he flagged down a stewardess to inform her that a little baby had gotten sick on the flight to Atlanta. Lance helped out in a big way this morning when the bathroom to his suite with 7 other boys became locked from the inside. Lance persevered and picked the lock! Every day two new students will be picked.

Bandana Brothers - Take Two!

Bandana Brothers

The Flight to Atlanta

At the beginning it was fine, but at the end almost everybody either threw up or was about to. Our flight had a lot of turbulence! I sat with Madison and Sam. Madison threw up and it was gross. Thank GOD she had a bag. Next time I am going to make sure that i have pepto in my bag. We all seem to be feeling better now. On to San José!

-Jes

Patiently Waiting at Logan

Testing Mobile Image Posts

Google Voice Message Blog Posts

This is a test of our ability to leave voice messages that can then be embedded into blog posts during our trip to Costa Rica.

Online EcoClub Meeting

Please watch this video and then complete the form found here.

Planting Flower Bulbs

Today's meeting was spent planting bulbs in the mild (and a bit muddy) conditions outside Parker Middle School. The bulbs were given to us as an added bonus from our flowerbulb sales campaign to raise money for the trip. Students decided that the flowers would be planted to honor Miss Peach, our cafeteria head-of-staff currently battling ALS.

The EcoClub's next adventure is to participate in this year's Festival of Trees hosted by the Reading Technology Education Foundation to be held on December 4th and 5th after Thanksgiving break.

Thinking about our Environmental Impact

Today's activities are dedicated to thinking about our environmental impact on our world. Mr. Friedmann is visiting us from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to talk to us about an opportunity to do a Reading cleanup. We will then take some time exploring our "carbon footprint" and thinking about the ways we can help our school reduce its environmental impact.

We will be using the carbon footprint calculator on ZeroFootprintKids.com to help us get a rough estimate for our carbon footprint. Each of us will then submit our scores into a google form to see which students and their families are the greenest!

Carbon footprint calculator

Submit your results to our class google form here.

Once everyone has submitted their results we can brainstorm about what we'd like to do next to help EcoClub and Parker families reduce their carbon footprint and impact on our local environment.

Register Now for Costa Rica April 2011!

Please view the information packet below to learn more about next year's adventure. Even though it says "March 2011", we are indeed traveling in April of 2011.

Parker 2011 Info Packet

The earlier you register your student, the more accurate information we can provide to Costa Rican Adventures to determine trip costs as early as possible. All students who are strongly interested in traveling to Costa Rica should register by June 18, 2010. Please click on the link at the bottom of this post to register your child for the trip.

Students who travel to Costa Rica will also be enrolled in Parker’s Eco-Club. The club meets every other week throughout the 2010 - 2011 school year beginning in September and students must attend each meeting unless formally excused. During these meetings, we learn about Costa Rica through the use of various technologies, plan the nuts and bolts of the trip, and get to know one another better. Attendance at these meetings is vital to the success of this international trip.

Register Here!

Deposit Due:  The first deposit (non-refundable but exchangeable) of $300 per student will be due in October 2010.

To learn more about the trip from the student perspective, check out highlights from the 2010 Trip!

Costa Rica Photos on Flickr

Videos

What a Week of Wonders!

What a week it has been. The experiences have been breath-taking and educationally enriching. All of the students have had a wonderful time but are also anxious to get back to the comforts of home after a week spent out of their comfort zone! We'll see you all Friday night.

Arenal Volcano

On our trip to costa rica we visited a volcano named Arenal. It has been active since 1968 and its erruptions are not explosive. Its lava just flows down the mountain. There is no snow on the mountain due to the hot weather and climate.

Andrew

Our Service Project

Hi. We`ve been having a great time. Today on Tuesday we had our service proect with the students of the Sandbox School.  The students helped us plant trees at a nearby river bank.  Sometimes the river floods and can reach the school grounds.  To help we all planted trees.  The roots will mesh together to eliminate bad flooding.  There were two groups working.  One was closer to the river and another was further back.  I was in the group farther away from the river.  In our group we had five students and five eco club members.  We were each partnered up with a student.  We practiced our spanish and really got to bond and get to know the students.  The weather was hot and there wasn`t much shade but we made it through the hard part and then back to the school ground for lunch.  Roberto, our guide turned into a chef to make a great lunch.  After, we gave our school supplies to the stidents and got to play around with them.  Some kids kicked around a soccer ball, others played with a football and some used a frisbee.  I think we all had fun getting to know and helping the kids of the school.  I have had a great time so far and can`t wait for friday to get home. 

From,
          Sarah