Hi All! Just a heads up that the next meeting time for the trip is going to be October 15 at 7PM in Ms Baronoski's room. At this meeting, we will:
Have someone who has been on the trip before to answer questions
Likely have a group leader who has organized and led two trips down here (from FRHS)
Answer any and all questions
Have Jeff available by Skype
Accept $350 donations, and try to have computers available so you can fill out Info sheets on Amped's website
Regarding trip dates
Because this is around February break, flight prices are fluctuating at the moment. We have reached out to a travel agent, who Amped has worked with in the past, with the hopes of locking down dates soon. I have requested the following quotes from her:
2/20 - 2/28 OR 3/1
OR
2/21 - 3/1 OR 3/2
I was guessing that people were against missing two days of school for the trip. We'll have flight estimates at this meeting.
Lastly, if you attended the meeting, please send either one of us an email jeff@ampedforeducation.org or abaranoski@hatfieldps.net and let us know where you stand in regards to the trip. We certainly don't need a hard commitment yet, but it will help the travel agent to have a general idea of how many. Even if you're out, sending an email quickly saying so would help!
Hope to hear from you soon and see you October 15!
Hello all! The next meeting for our upcoming trip is on Wednesday October 15 at 7:00 p.m. in room 95 at Smith Academy. The purpose of this meeting is to ask/answer any more questions that you may have, as well as to collect deposits for the trip. By the time of this meeting we should have the dates of the trip finalized. See you then!
-Angie Baranoski
Hi Everyone- Thanks for coming out to the meeting tonight with Senora Baranoski! She relayed some of the questions to me after the meeting and I wanted to help answer anything that may have been at all unclear. I've included some answers below to questions that were relayed in our quick conversation this evening. However, my email address is jeff@ampedforeducation.org and I am happy to give my telephone number to discuss anything further. It is sometimes difficult for someone who has never been to answer all questions completely, so I want to assure you that Senora and I are in frequent communication and I encourage you to be in touch with both of us as well. Taking a service learning trip to Nicaragua is a different degree of decision for each family, but having seen the transformation that our student volunteers go through on these trips, I can't stress enough how much I want to share that with Smith students. The fact that multiple families attended the meeting who have had other siblings/kids come here in the past speaks to the experience that awaits here. The next meeting date, time and location will be posted here in a day or two - in a separate post. At that point, we'll begin collecting $350 deposits with your Volunteer Information Form. There will also be a question and answer session to clarify any lingering questions. We'll have a student who has traveled here with us before, as well as a group leader/teacher from Frontier who has taken students on two trips with Amped to speak to their experiences. I'll also do my best to be available during the meeting via Skype. In the mean time, please email myself or Angie with any questions and we can connect by phone if that's best for you. I've included a video that sums up the experience of our high school volunteers. Hope you enjoy it! Be sure to check below for answers to some questions from tonight..
Questions:
1) Immunizations, Dengue Fever, and other peculiar illnesses?
Our official policy is to consult your doctor or a travel clinic. Some families decide to get a myriad of immunization, while others feel that the risk in the area of the country where we are (Granada) is so low that they aren't necessary. For what it's worth, I made sure I was up to date on my Hepatitis shots and got a Tetanus shot. I do not take malaria meds here and have never met anyone here who has got Dengue or Typhoid Fever. Again, I recommend the CDC website or your doctor. (Thanks to the parent who reiterated something similar tonight at the meeting!)
2) Exact Dates? We'll have them at the next meeting. We're looking at either Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday. The only reason they are not decided yet, is that I've been monitoring flight prices to ensure the best deal for everyone.
3) How many chaperones will there be? Angie is leading the group to Nicaragua. I'd love for a/some parent(s) to join, but if none do, that's absolutely not a problem. Your children will see my smiling face as soon as they clear customs in Managua at the airport. From there, we have 5 other full time staff who are committed to the safety and overall experience that our volunteers have here with us.
4) What project will we be working on? We often have groups work on construction projects. While this is a good way to train for the Smith Academy baseball season, we also create authentic opportunities for students to work alongside Nicaraguan students both in an academic setting, as well as on excursions to places like volcanos, historical sites, national parks, etc. (These excursions where there is a mix of Nicaraguan and American students interacting is my single favorite part of any trip).
5) Itinerary? Because we are still a growing organization, we are able to customize each trip for the group. Once we have a group together who have paid deposits and we are "sure" are coming, we will put all of the options on the table: what excursions we'll do, do we want a day without volunteering in the middle of the trip to relax, etc. Angie presented a sample itinerary and most look very similar. Give Angie and I more questions via email - we're ready! -Jeff
Monday, September 22, 2014
Hi Everyone! The first meeting for Hatfield in Nicaragua will be Thursday September 25 at 7:00pm at Smith Academy in room 95. Parents and students are all encouraged to attend. See you then! -Angie Baranoski
This blog will be set up to give you any and all information that you need during the course of planning the trip, while on the trip, and after the trip. It will be updated periodically with meeting times, payment deadlines, flight details, etc. As a reminder: friends from other schools will be allowed to join this trip. Just for starters, included is a link to a volunteer booklet that has loads of information:
Many of your initial questions can be answered in this booklet. There will be dates and times posted for the informational meeting very soon. Until then, enjoy some of these videos and start to think about joining the trip to Nicaragua!
