Seniors check out high school class rings

A representative from Herff Jones Inc. was on campus yesterday. He met with excited seniors about ordering class rings.

- Steve Galvan, Director of International Programs

Exploring Life After High School- Our College Acceptance List

Our students continue to explore their options and open doors for life after high school. We are proud of their many accomplishments. Below is a updated list of universities and colleges that our students have been accepted to in the past few years.

College Acceptance List

Suffolk University, Massachusetts

Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts

Salem State University, Massachusetts

Northeastern University, Massachusetts

University of Connecticut

University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Full Sail University, Florida

DeAnza Community College, California

College of the Siskiyous, California

Humboldt State University, California

California State University-East Bay, California

California State University-Long Beach, California

San Diego State University, California

Domingus Hills University, California

Central Oregon Community College, Oregon

Marymount College, California

Cogswell Polytechnic Institute, California

Butte College, California

Shimer College, Illinois

Marlboro College, Vermont

Hampshire College, Massachusetts

Foothill Community College, California

Chapman University, California

Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii

California Baptist University, California

California State Chico, California

Lewis & Clark College, Washington

Evergreen State College, Washington

California Lutheran University, California

Montana State University, Montana

Sierra Nevada College, Nevada

American River Community College, California

Monterey Peninsula College, California

Woodland Community College, California

University of Ohio

University of California–Berkeley

University of Southern California

University of Las Vegas-Reno, Nevada

University of the Pacific, California

Southern Oregon University, Oregon

Creighton University, Nebraska

University of San Francisco

Manhattan College, New York

California State University-Fullerton

University of Santa Barbara, California

Center for International Education College, Cebu, Philippines

Holy Names College, California

Texas A & M

California State University–Sacramento

Smith College, Massachusetts

College of the Redwoods, California

Menlo College, California

Shasta Community College, California

St. Mary’s College, California

Dominican College, California

National University-San Diego, California

American University, Washington D.C.

Student article published in redding.com

"Greetings from the International Academy in Ollantaytambo, Peru. I flew into Peru expecting a Latin American country like Mexico, I was immediately proven wrong.

We took a bus into the heart of the Andes mountains into a village as secluded as possible, which was a three-hour drive on dirt roads."

For the complete article, written by Casey Rhea, as seen in the Record Searchlight/redding.com, visit:

http://www.redding.com/news/2009/dec/27/nawa-students-go-to-peru-to-help-villagers-and/

Casey Rhea, is a senior at Nawa Academy and is in the school's international travel program. So far, his group has traveled to Baja, Mexico; Vietnam, and Peru. Next month, the group will be in India with one of our international partners, The International School of Bangalore.

Need a Change? Consider Mid-Year Enrollment

We seek students who think outside the box and desire to have a rewarding and challenging educational experience.

If this is you and you would like to consider transferring schools mid-year, check us out:

http://www.nawaacademy.org/Academics/WhichStudentsExcel.html

Spaces are available for mid-year enrollment. Email our Office of Admissions at: info@nawa-academy.com for more information.

Please note that our office will be closed during the holidays and will reopen on January 5, 2010. We will be checking emails during that time.

Gifts, Laughter, and Great Food- Winter Luncheon

The annual Nawa Academy Winter Luncheon was held on campus on Wednesday, December 16th, in our café. The luncheon featured a delicious meal and a gift exchange with poems and songs. Even old St. Nick himself made an appearance.

Our café was creatively adorned in festive colors and decorations by students Emily, Sophie, Autumn, Demitri, and Jake.

The festivities started with a delicious meal prepared by our chef’s Charelene and Becky. The menu featured prime rib, roast turkey, twice-baked potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, and cherry tarts for dessert. After everyone was done eating, and to much surprise, a voice could be heard “HO!HO!HO!”…Santa had arrived. The staff then took turns presenting their gifts and a fun song or poem.

This celebration was filled with fun and laughter, as the students got their wish- the well earned Winter break they were after.

Happy Holidays from the Nawa Staff!

written by: Terry Westmoreland

Our Peruvian Experience

Greetings from Peru,

We are in the last days of our adventures in Peru. Since the last update we left Ollantaytumbo on a journey to Machu Picchu via Santa Theresa. Instead of taking the rediculously expensive Peru rail we dicided to take a six hour bus ride over mountain passes and the low lying jungles. In Santa Theresa we enjoyed the lush scenery and waterfalls while we soaked in the hot springs which was the perfect interlude to our next day, Machu Picchu.

The following day began at 7am with a typical Peruvian breakfeast of fresh bread with butter and jelly which we ate in the car on our one hour, cliff side drive to the hydro electric building, other wise known as "la electrica." Once we arrived we set forth on our five mile hike along the rail road tracks through the beautiful rain forest along the sacred Urabamba River. Three hours later we found ourselves at Aguas Calientes where we met up with a bus which took us up to our final destination of Machu Picchu.

Switch back after Switch back we finally made it to the gates of Machu Picchu. Where we enjoyed a lunch of pan fresca, jamon de pollo, queso, y mayonesa. Refueled from our lunch we were ready to embark on our exploration of the political and spiritual capital of the Incan Empire from 1438-1471. Luckily it started to rain, warding of the hoards of tourists which would have otherwise been grazing all over one of the World Wonders. It seemed like we had the whole place to ourselves in the middle of the afternoon. From the guard's house, which has the most impressive view of the entire complex, we learned about the importance of symbolism in Incan culture. For instance, the condor represented the cosmos, the puma-the earth, and the serpant-the under world which were all evident from our vantage point. As we made our way thorugh the ancient Incan palace which was utilized for agriculture, spiritual getaways and living quarters, we couldnt help but notice the previlence of symbolism that ran rampant through every nook and crany of the Incan architecture. We wrapped up our Machu Picchu expedition adventure with a prayer circle lead by guest instructor Steve (who is an Apache medicine man) leaving some onlookers to stand in amazement and others participating. That day, although laborious, has been the highlight of my International experience thus far.

These last few days in Peru have been used to get cought up on reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman (which is a stupendous read) and any last second Christmas shopping for loved ones back home. We all can't wait to to spend time with our family and friends.

Thanks for Enjoying my Update,

Eduardo "Juni" Martins

Dinner Auction - February 27, 2010

Stay tuned for more information on the 2nd Annual Nawa Academy Dinner Auction.

Date: February 27, 2010 @ 6:00 p.m.

Location: Holiday Inn Redding
Cost for Dinner: $45.00 per person
Auctioneer: Mike Boardman
Honorary Chairman: Dean Edell, M.D.

Proceeds will go towards building a new campus dormitory.

Silent Auction + Dinner + Live Auction= Good Time!

If you would like to learn more, contact us: info@nawa-academy.com

EdVenture Visits Castle Lake

We wrapped up the fall portion of our EdVenture outdoor program with a great outing to Castle Lake, where the students practiced snowshoeing. We then headed to the other side of Mt. Shasta to go sledding at Snowman Hill. It was a superb day filled with activity and snow.

written by: Brian Stoudnour, Shift Supervisor, Instructor