~Sorry to all~

Sorry to everyone for not posting anything on the Costa Rica trip. We had Internet troubles and we were very busy. I will be posting some blogs on what we did on the trip and how it went. It may take a few days but they will be up and ready soon. Sorry again for the delay on my blog.

~Today is the Day~ YAY!!!!

I can't sleep right now and I felt like blogging! I will be driving to my school in a few hours to meet up with my peers and staff members so that we can drive to the airport together. I am getting so anxious but excited.I don't want to leave my family behind but I really want to be in Costa Rica now! Also I would like to give a shout out to my mother, Tammy and step father, Charlie. I will miss you both so much and can't wait until I see you again! I love you. Just for the information, I will be blogging once a day while in Costa Rica telling everyone about our adventures that day and what an experience it was or I will be blogging about what we are planning to do for the day. I will definitely keep everyone updated!

~Thank you to all~

I just wanted to thank everyone who attended our Celebration Dinner! It was great. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve this goal. You have really helped make seven teenagers' dreams come true. We all thank you so much for everyone's participation with everything. At our dinner we each spoke and thanked a few specific people. But we weren't the only ones that spoke. Bryan Mascio, Nancy Roy, and Bob Lister also spoke. If you go onto Bryan Mascio's blog, it will explain everything about the dinner. I would also like to say that I am proud of everyone in the Costa Rica Class for their participation and growth. We have all come a long way since the beginning of this class. The people that I am proud of and that are in the class are Brittney F, Mariah, Hailey, Kristine, Winston, and Joshua. Let's all have a good trip!

We Get to Meet Kay and Wolf!!!

So I just found out that we are meeting Kay and Wolf when we go to Costa Rica. I am so excited that we get to meet the Author of Walking With Wolf and the main character of the book Wolf. Not to mention, Wolf was one of the creators of the Moteverde Cheese Factory which is part of my research project. He will be able to help make my research project more factual because he was there when the Moteverde Cheese Factory was created, so he will know the history behind it. I am still amazed that I get to meet Wolf and Kay.

~Costa Rican Dinner~

I just wanted to inform all of you that the Costa Rica class will be hosting a Costa Rican dinner at our school, Robert J. Lister Academy. This school is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We will be hosting this dinner on Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 6:30 pm. If you plan on attending this dinner, leave a comment saying that you will be attending and how many others you will be bringing if any. By the way we have seven days until we leave for Costa Rica. Thank you for everyones help. We couldn't do it without all of you. P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/or our class, please visit our Facebook page or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio - 35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there

~Even more Information on my Topic~

I have changed my research project, yet again. Now I am researching the differences between Stonyfield Yogurt in New Hampshire to the Moteverde Cheese Factory in Costa Rica. I will be learning about how they make their products and the history behind these two factories. I will be visiting both the Monteverde Cheese Factory and Stonyfield Yogurt to recieve the information as well as looking these two places up online. This is all I know abouut my research project but I will keep you updated. P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/or our class, please visit our Facebook page or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio - 35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there

More Information on my Topic

I know some more about what I am doing for my research project. I will be comparing the grocery stores, restaurants, and homes, as well as a local food producer in Costa Rica versus New Hampshire. I am doing the cheese factory for Costa Rica and Stonyfield Yogurt for New Hampshire.

In the book Walking with Wolf it talked about the Guidon family helping to start a cheese factory. When we go to Costa Rica in April, we will be going to the cheese factory so I can do some research on it. I might compare the cheese factory to Stonyfield Yogurt but I’m not sure yet.

Last year we went to Stonyfield Yogurt as a school field trip. It was so fun and interesting. I loved it. We might go there again to refresh my memory and so I can learn even more about Stonyfield Yogurt. Ever since that field trip I asked my family to switch our yogurt to Stonyfield Yogurt and they did.

That is all I know so far about my research project. I am so excited that I will be able to use Stonyfield Yogurt as part of it. I am also excited to go to the cheese factory that we have been reading so much about. I can’t wait to find out what I am doing for my final research project.

P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/or our class, please visit our Facebook page or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio - 35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there

A Look back on the fall fundraising experiences

This is a video where I talk about what we did over this fall to fundraise. All I got to say is that it was a lot of hard work to fundraise the money we have gotten so far.

My Research Project

This is a video of me explaining my research project. This research project is part of the cirriculum.

My Walking with Wolf Review

This is a video of me giving a review of the the book Walking with Wolf. We read this book in our class for part of the curriculum.

My Plans for the Research Project

My topic for the research project is the difference between how people eat here, in New Hampshire versus there, in Costa Rica. As part of this I will look at the grocery stores, homes, and restaurants. I honestly don't know how to turn it into a final project afterwards but I will keep you posted on any new information I recieve or create.

P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/or our class, please visit our Facebook page or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio - 35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there

Earning Money

In the book walking with wolf, we learned about the ways that they built industry and an economy in Monteverde. A thing that they had built that relates to its industry and economy is the dairy farm. There were three reasons why they decided to create a dairy farm. They were because they needed a way to make money on their new land, it was a good use of farmland, and also because Wolf grew up on a dairy farm.

My way of earning money is by having a job at McDonald’s and making handmade earrings to sell. I have been working at McDonald’s for a year now and I have never been written up or never called out for anything, not even once. I have been making earrings since July of 2010 and will be continuing to create them for this fundraising until we arrive in Costa Rica. I will then be selling them throughout a different blog. I will keep you updated so you know when and where to check out my new creations.

If you would like to buy any of these wonderful earrings that I have created then you can contact me through commenting on the blog or sending an email to me at bnewell.student@gmail.com.

P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/or our class, please visit our Facebook page or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio - 35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there.

Some plans for our trip!!!

Recently, our class has started talking about our plans for our Costa Rica trip. We have just bought our plane tickets so we now know that we are definitely going to Costa Rica. This is making me feel very excited and anxious though because I want to go to Costa Rica but I've never left my family for this long.

Another thing we have talked about is what we will be doing while we arrive to Costa Rica. Some things we want to do is go horseback riding, zip-lining, and kayaking. Some things we plan on doing is going to the beaches in Costa Rica and staying in Monteverde with my teacher's friend, Rena.

P.S. If you would like to support me, our efforts, and/ or our class, please visit our FaceBook or send a check made payable to the Robert J. Lister Academy/ Costa Rica trip attention Bryan Mascio-35 Sherburne Rd. Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 or you can visit our PayPal account and donate there.

Papa Gino's Night

Our class is hosting a fundraising night at Papa Gino's. This will be taking place on January 20, 2011 at 2800 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth, N.H. 03841. We are doing this because we are trying to raise the last bit of money that we need and any money we earn will be very helpful to us.