In April 2026 21 students will be taking the trip to Costa Rica. It will be led by Jessica Kaplan and Daniel Reyes, who have worked together to plan a nine day trip. They planned it in such a way that students can learn and have fun at the exact same time.
The trip will cover a variety of topics such as culture, communication, and service. It will span nine days, with students leaving on April 16 and returning on April 24. The trip is run by EF- Educational Tours who helped to plan the itinerary. The huge variation of activities for the students and teachers will leave no one bored.
The itinerary has a huge range of activities such as exploring the culture through dance, service hours, and just fun adrenaline filled activities. The days are full now with students leaving after breakfast and not getting home till dinner. The students will be exploring San Jose, the Central Pacific Coast, and Arenal Region. Day 6 in the Arenal region will include a zipline that most students seem excited about.
“ I am most looking forward to doing the zipline. That seems really fun,” said sophomore Catherine Dalzell.
There have been trips like this run by the Spanish department where they have taken students to the Dominican Republic in previous years, but Kaplan was set on going to Costa Rica in 2026. She’s taken students to both the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, but she thought that the students would benefit the students and she also felt that Costa Rica was better for this trip because she didn’t want seniors to repeat the same trip.
“We chose Costa Rica because it’s someplace I’ve been a lot… It was a destination I felt really comfortable with, and I knew it was a place that we would really enjoy going to,” said Jessica Kaplan, 5-12 world language chair.
The students besides the fact that they chose it to be fun, they also want the service hours. What they are doing isn’t quite set yet, but there is talk of planting mangrove trees, but it is uncertain. The goal of this is to learn about the methodologies and how the natives work. They will be working in protected areas and getting to know how other people live. It can also appeal to the college aspects of things.
“It’s a service trip. .. So I thought it would look good for college, because … you’re going there and doing service,” said Dalzell.
They will spend a lot of time outside and exploring the culture in the culture. This is a huge benefit instead of just learning about it in a classroom setting.
“We are going to a volcano, national park, San Jose, just a bunch of places,” said Sophomore Leah Gebbie.
Next time when a school trip comes along, consider jumping on it. It can provide amazing opportunities and a great way to spend a break. If you enjoy learning about culture, nature, and doing service to help a good cause, try to get on the next excursion.
