Take Flight
Take Flight’s next destination: NICARAGUA Spring Break 2012
Trip leaders: Teachers Kate Dean & Lacey Boland
Student applications will be available in the Fall. In order to apply, you must:
- Be an ICS 7th grader during the 2011–2012 school year
- Have no “Needs improvement” in citizenship on your June 2011 report card
- Have no Ds or Fs on your June 2011 report card
Look for more info in September!
The mission of Take Flight Scholarship Travel Program is to provide international trips for ICS 7th graders who have had little or no international travel experience. All ICS 7th graders who meet the qualifications listed to the left are eligible to apply. Ability to contribute financially is not a factor. Financial aid is available. The group for this trip will consist of approximately 14 students.
7th Graders Traveling to Ecuador
Congratulations to the following 7th graders who will be traveling to Ecuador from April 18 to 25:
Soledad Alfaro-Allah
Ilker Erkut
Matthew Gaffney
Dillon Hershey
Daniella Hing
Sydne Hopkins-Baker
Gabe McCarthy
Ava Olsen
Michaela Prell
Anais Rivera
Rasheed Wilson
These students were selected based on their everyday citizenship, answers to essay questions, an interview, and previous travel experience. Applicants with less travel experience had an advantage over those with more. Whether a student could contribute financially to his or her trip was not a factor. The size of the travel group was determined by the amount of money raised through fundraising events like ICS 365 and calendar sales. To date, ICS will contribute 75% of each traveler’s costs and the travelers’ families are exploring ways they might contribute financially to their student’s trip.
While in Ecuador these students will explore the effect of zero degrees latitude at the equator, share two school days with local students, visit a cloud forest, a glacier, and an arts market. ICS teachers Andrea Ringklib and Kristen Long will lead the group.
Our eleven travelers are currently preparing for their trip through weekly team-building sessions and current-event studies. They are considering blogging during their trip and they are beginning to think about their post-trip presentation to the ICS community.
ICS teachers interested in leading an international trip in 2012 will submit proposals this spring and before the end of this school year, we’ll announce the 2012 Take Flight destination for next year’s 7th graders.
Finally, in order to continually increase our international travel group size, next year, the Take Flight program plans to add a banking opportunity so families can begin saving for an international trip as early as their students’ Kindergarten year.
Support these students and make a financial contribution to this year’s trip or to the Take Flight program’s general fund.
