Newsletter #1 June 2012

TIDE Academy

Total Immersion of Life through a Dynamic Education

Newsletter #1 June 2012

www.tideacademy.com

Welcome to TIDE! See what we've been up to...

INSIDE:

-  Founder's Note

- Course offerings

- Year achievements

--Growth

--Partnerships

- Community Outreach

--Events/Charitable Contributions

Founder's Note:  

Welcome to TIDE Academy!

Founder Chelsea Lisaius

With summer on the horizon , I can hardly believe it's been a full year since TIDE first opened its doors in September, 2011. It has always been a dream of mine to open a small, community-focused school and with the support of the wonderful Tamarindo community, TIDE is quickly becoming more than I ever could have hoped for.

Our philosophy is to provide a high-level education that incorporates community involvement and extracurricular activities as well. I want the students to become independent learners and apply their education both  in and outside of the classroom. 

Course Offerings

- Math

   -- Middle School

   -- Algebra I & II

   -- Geometry

   -- Pre-Calculus

- Science

   -- Middle School

   -- Earth Systems

   -- Biology

   -- Chemistry

   -- Human Physiology

- History

   -- Middle School

                                                                                       -- World History

                                                                                       -- Costa Rican History

                                                                                       -- U.S. History & Government

                                                                                    - Language Arts

                                                                                    - Spanish (Beg. - Adv.)

                                                                                    - Peace & Diversity

                                                                                       -- Global Modules

                                                                                    - Surfing (Beg. - Adv.)

Founders Note (cont...)

In order to foster this philosophy, TIDE features a relaxed and holistic learning environment. We focus on close personal attention by working with each student to create individually-tailored lesson plans and extracurricular schedules to meet a variety of different needs.

Additionally, TIDE works with a unique and close partnership with the Global Village School, based in California, and with Champlain College, based in Vermont. With extensive homeschool curriculum plans, we are proud to say TIDE is now also the umbrella school for several professional surfers who are homeschooled in Costa Rica. 

Please let me know if you have any questions and we look forward to welcoming more students next year! TIDE is currently accepting applications for the 2012-201 academic year - for more information visit www.tideacademy.com or call Chelsea at 86581171.

Pureheart,

Chelsea Lisaius

Meet our Staff!

Austin Stringfellow (Costa Rican History, Spanish):

Austin has been living in Costa Rica for the past year and a half. He graduated from University of Hawai'i Manoa in 2004 with Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. He did post graduation study in 2009 at Cal State San Marcos in southern California. His focus was Education. He worked for the State of Hawai'i Department of Education for five years. Since moving to Costa Rica, he has been working as Spanish tutor and also teaches surfing in Tamarindo. His goal is to provide his students with a culturally unique and meaningful educational atmosphere. He has spent his life between Los Angeles, California and  Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Year Achievements

Growth:

• After a modest start with just two students enrolled at TIDE in September, TIDE has more than tripled its student body with a growing number of students from both the United States and from Costa Rica. In total, TIDE sees about 10 students on a daily basis and caters to many more through its online and homeschooling programs across Costa Rica. More students brought the need for more staff. Currently, TIDE students work with three teachers, each with a different academic specialty.

Partnerships: 

• Global Village School: Without TIDE’s main partner, the Global Village School, the school probably wouldn’t exist. Global Village School is based in California, but works with partners around the world to provide progressive and customizable k-12 homeschooling curriculums. TIDE courses are accredited through Global Village, meaning our students graduate with the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma. Global Village has all of the values that make for a perfect partnership with TIDE Academy. Both programs focus on creativity, diversity and flexible approach to learning with emphasis placed on the individual. 

•  Champlain College: A small liberal arts college based in Burlington, Vermont, recently joined TIDE as its newest academic partner. This spring, high school students had the opportunity to participate in Champlain’s Global Module course. Our students received the same work as their Champlain counterparts and the students crossed cultures by using a shared web space to post response and discuss the various films, readings and other material. This was a great opportunity for students to learn about another culture and current social issues in a personal and relatable manner. TIDE is looking forward to exploring even more partnership opportunities with Champlain next year.

Meet our Staff! (cont...)

Suzanna Lourie (English, U.S. History & Government):

Suzanna recently moved to Costa Rica to teach English and History to students at TIDE. Like Chelsea, Suzanna also attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor’s in Intercultural Communications with a focus on International Government and Sociology. Before moving to Tamarindo, Suzanna worked at a daily newspaper in Saratoga Springs. Her goal is to help students develop a solid literary skill base so they can be active consumers of the media and worldwide current events. By reading and writing about a combination of English, current events and History, Suzanna hopes to offer students an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to education. While in Costa Rica, she also hopes to pursue her writing career and teach yoga. She is originally from Middlebury, Vermont.

Guest Speaker - Adventure Author Peter Lourie speaks to TIDE students!

Community Involvement

Living in a tourist-based town like Tamarindo often loses the feeling of having a “true” community, and, as a result, it is sometimes difficult to realize our community needs us. TIDE Academy wants its students to learn to appreciate their town and show their support for the community as well. Community involvement is extremely important in becoming a better student and a better person. At the end of this year, each student will have participated in 50 hours of community service including time spent helping out at the following events dedicated to making Tamarindo an even stronger community. 

TIDE Community Outreach 2011-2012

September: Students volunteer mentoring children at CEPIA (others at Nanny Garden in Tamarindo).

October: Set up haunted houses at La Paz community service.

November:  Volunteered at the 2011 "Run for La Paz," in partnership with the La Paz School. 

December: Planned and orchestrated TIDE's first gingerbread house contest with a special guest appearance by Santa himself to raise $150 for Arboles de Angels, a Costa Rican Christmas charity dedicated to providing low-income families with holiday gifts across Guanacaste. 

Coming Up...

This summer, beginning with a first-aid clinic at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp on July 16, TIDE will implement its new first-aid and lifeguard program to increase beach safety across Guanacaste. High School Junior Kylie Carter recently had an article about the program published in the Howler Magazine - 

Students collect trash on a field trip to Playa Grande!

“In collaboration with Witch's Rock Surf Camp, TIDE Academy plans to offer local high school students and other residents the opportunity to become certified in CPR and Lifeguard safety. Anyone interested in participating will need to be certified before the program can begin. TIDE and Witch’s Rock plan to launch the combined lifeguard and CPR course beginning in March open to the community for just $75.”

“The second part of the beach safety program includes assembling large first-aid kits that will be equipped for almost anything that could happen while on a beach surfing or swimming.”

Read More at: http://issuu.com/howler/docs/howler1204april

What's Next...

Although TIDE's first year is wrapping up, TIDE is just beginning with a plethora of upcoming events and exciting opportunities for children and families around Tamarindo. 

First up is TIDE Summer Camp... Stay tuned for upcoming details!