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Costa Rica Study and Leadership Experience
May 2012

Introduction
Spend a month making a difference!  Lakeside International School is a small, bi-lingual, k-12 school located in beautiful Costa Rica.  Class sizes are small, students are diverse and learning is the focus. 

There is no better place to prepare for your teaching career in a unique and challenging environment.  You will work with students who are at varying stages of English Language Learning, students from a diverse cultural and socio-economic background and students with special needs all in a highly differentiated environment.

The school is located on a 160 hectare farm with abundant wildlife and flora and fauna. There will be a wonderful opportunity for interns who enjoy environmental education. There is also the traditional school building and because the school is small we are going to encourage student teachers to do a variety of tasks that may take you out of your comfort zone. You will become a better teacher as a result.

Costa Rica is also a perfectly safe country that does not even have an armed force since it would be redundant. It is also world famous for its abundance of wildlife and interesting geographical regions in such a small country.

Adventure Learning Experiences
This program is being coordinated and offered by Adventure Learning Experiences (ALE) in conjunction with Lakeside International School in Costa Rica.  ALE has been providing such programs since 1996. All of their programs are governed by four conceptual cornerstones: Learning, Leadership, and Service within the context of safe Adventure. 

Participants

Youth
Approximately 10 teacher-candidates will be selected for admission to this program.  Participants will be selected according to the following criteria:
 
            1.        Trustworthiness and reliability
            2.        Respectfulness of other people and cultures
            3.        Adaptability to new experiences
            4.        Fitness
            5.        Pleasant disposition
           
Interested students will be invited to submit an application and two letters of reference attesting to their suitability according to the criteria cited above. 

Code of Conduct
Each student will be expected to pledge commitment to a Code of Conduct,  which will be designed to ensure that respect for each participant, his/her property, and well-being is safeguarded.  This code will preclude harassment and abusiveness and will prohibit the use of alcohol and drugs.  Above all, the rights and responsibilities of all participants will be clearly defined so that the objectives of this program may be achieved within a healthy and safe environment. 

Interviews
Each applicant will be invited to a private interview with the Directors to assess his/her suitability for the program. This will also give the applicant the opportunity to determine if the program serves his/her needs and interests. Students will be asked to bring their letters of reference to this meeting.

Program Design
The program will consist of a learning program, conducted before departure, followed by the trip to Costa Rica. The pre-trip program is meant to sensitize participants to issues involving this part of the world, develop rapport between participants, and deal with health and safety concerns. Participants will be asked to select and explore a topic of personal interest related to a Costa Rican theme (history, politics, geography, habitat, wildlife, spirituality, etc.) and share it with the group. This is not meant to be burdensome but rather is intended to give participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Costa Rica and thereby maximize their experience. There will be 4 meetings arranged according to the following schedule:  

Reading List: A short reading list will be provided at a later date.

Journaling: Daily journal writing will be an essential component of the program. A composite journal with volunteer submissions from all participants will be compiled and offered to all participants at the end of the experience as a memory of our shared experience.


ACTIVITIES
In addition to teaching and taking part in extracurricular activities at Lakeside International School, there will be a number of optional learning and service opportunities made available to participants. These will include some of the following. Some of these will require a fee.

Travel Arrangements

Travel Dates:  April 30 - May 25, 2012


Flight Itinerary:

Transportation
Local transportation will be organized and provided by the coordinators at Lakeside International School in Costa Rica. Professional drivers from reputable local providers will be used. Air travel will be provided by a reputable international carrier.

                                              
Accommodation
Accomodations will be provided by the officials of Lakeside International School. The group will stay together in a local hotel or dwelling recommended by our coordinators in Costa Rica. The dwelling will be safe and clean and located in close proximity to the school.

Finances
Participants will be charged a single fee of approximately $3395, which will cover return airfare from Toronto to Costa Rica, all travel expenses within the country, meals and accommodations.

Payment will be made by regular installments according to the following schedule:

            $   395            Deposit accompanying application
            $ 1000            December 6, 2011
            $ 1000            February 13, 2012
            $ 1000            April 23, 2012

Note: Participants are asked to submit a series of postdated cheques according to this schedule. Cheques should be made payable to Adventure Learning Experiences Inc.

Fundraising

Fundraising activities will be supported by the authors. In particular, the principal endeavour will be a booklet, which will describe the features and participants of the program. The sale of advertisements in the booklet will be directly subtracted from the fee charged to individual participants, with a nominal charge for the cost of printing the booklets. Schools may also undertake their own local fundraising initiatives as well.

Refund Policy

For withdrawal before January 1st, 2012, a refund of $300 from the original deposit will be provided.

For withdrawal between January 1st, 2012 and February 1st, 2012 a full refund minus the deposit will be provided.

For withdrawal after February 1st, 2012, no refund can be provided due to the advance purchase of airline tickets and prepayment of trip costs.

Other Costs

The only other costs that are not included in the above price are the following :

            Passport (this must not expire within 6 months of departure)
            Out-of-country health insurance                     
            Inoculations (depending upon one’s private insurance coverage)
            Private expenses

Health and Safety
Careful attention to sound health and safety practices will be an important part in the preparation of the program.  This will involve mandatory immunizations, learning  healthy eating and drinking habits, and understanding effective illness prevention practices. For maximum benefit it is recommended that participants, in general, be in good health and achieve a sufficient level of fitness prior to the trip.  Physical and dental check-ups are highly recommended prior to the departure date. 

Immunization

a)           The following are ordinarily administered through one’s family doctor in the course of               normal Ontario health care.  All participants are asked to ensure their protection               with inoculations against the following diseases:

               Tetanus – Diphtheria - Polio
               Measles-Mumps-Rubella

b)            Protection against malaria is by tablet and is taken on a regular basis prior, during, and                following the trip.  The exact regimen will be prescribed by a travel clinic. 
               

c)            Inoculations against the following may be required: 

                        Typhoid
                        Tetantus
                        Hepatitis A
                        Hepatitis B
                       

The cost of these inoculations are not covered by OHIP but may be included in private health plans.  Each participant will be expected to visit a travel health clinic for professional medical information and inoculations and prescriptions.

Precautions

As indicated above, careful preparation prior to departure about safe eating and drinking habits and illness prevention practices will be undertaken.  Participants will be expected to purchase “The Travel Doctor” by Dr. Mark Wise (Firefly Books, 2002) as part of this preparation.  A close working relationship has been developed by the authors with Dr. Mark Wise.  Dr. Wise is a family physician in Willowdale, whose medical practice includes a travel clinic. He  is considered a leading authority in tropical and parasitic diseases.  Dr. Wise will conduct a 90 minute training workshop about preventative health practices for our students prior to departure and will make recommendations about appropriate inoculations.

Our groups will greatly benefit from the local contacts which the authors have established in Costa Rica with the officials of Lakeside International School. Each participant will be expected to purchase out-of-country health insurance.

It is most strongly recommended that each participant seek proper medical advice for all potential health concerns at a Canadian travel health clinic prior to departure. 

It is advised that each participant complete the Consent to Medical Treatment Form in the event that urgent and emergency care is required.

• Develop Your Leadership Skills Through Service
• Experience Costa Rica's diverse habitat while studying biodiversity and ecoconservation
• Visit Monteverde Cloud Forest, coral reef, volcano, waterfall and more