This week’s IDEAL School newsletter shows how we are transitioning from summer (gardening) to fall (leaves). Also, see who had a birthday this week. Open up the PDF file to get all the details.

The IDEAL School Newsletter 1.3 (PDF file)

In this exciting exclusive issue of the IDEAL School Newsletter hear about grapes, gardening, and good times at school.

The IDEAL School Newsletter 1.2 (PDF file)

In this exciting first issue of The IDEAL School newsletter you will hear about our new student and the other interesting things we’ve been doing lately.

The IDEAL School Newsletter 1.1 (PDF file)

Summer Camp 2009

Dates: July 2 – 23

Duration: 3 Weeks

Location: Home School-The IDEAL School

462 Upland Road, Washougal, WA, USA

Camp Features

Time:

Price:

Email for best price

Includes:

• Classes
  
• Lodging
  
• Food
  
• Excursions and Trips
  
• Internet
  
• Calling Card (Limited Time and Duration)
  

• Information study@the-ideal-school.org
• More information can be found on our website. http://the-ideal-school.org

  
  

  The IDEAL School is a Home-School for students who want to learn English in the USA.
  

  The Home-School concept is most revolutionary for quickly acquiring the English language and culture. It involves living with an American Family made up of your teachers and their children.
  

  Both Lisa and Greg are trained to teach English as a Second Language. Lisa is a licensed Kindergarten through Grade 12 teacher. Greg has a Master´s Degree in TESOL and is an official evaluator for the TOEFL, the test to determine readiness for English-speaking universities and other institutions. In addition, Lisa and Greg have more than 16 years experience each in teaching international students.
  

  Some of the benefits to you are:
  

  • Rapid improvement of your English where you learn and practice all day long in an environment that is comfortable, safe, and familiar.
    
    • You do not have to travel to go to classes; everything is in one place.
      
    • You’re with others with similar objectives.
      
    • You live with your teachers.
      
  • An individualized and personalized study plan based on your needs and goals.
    
  • Getting to know the customs and traditions of a typical American family – the food, holidays, and celebrations.
    
  • The beautiful nature that surrounds the school, the pure air, and the incredible view.
    
  • Share your experiences and knowledge with Americans and other international students.
    

  Activities
  

  Optional Activities (Free)	Time per day
  Sports: Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball, Ping pong. Indoor Soccer & Softball once per week	2 hours
  Arts/Crafts	1-2 hours
  American Cooking	1 hour
  Intro to Music: Guitar, Piano, Violin	1 hour

  Trips & Excursions:
  

  Included Outings	Per Week
  Portland: Shopping, Parks, Museums, etc.	2-3 times/week
  Washougal River (with the possibility of Rafting)	2 times/week
  Disc Golf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtP-6HuAxbM	1 time/week

  Itinerary
  

  Thursday 2: Arrival

  Friday 3: Washougal River

  Saturday 4: Visit Portland, Japanese Garden & International Rose Test Garden, Party

  Sunday 5: Mt. Hood

  Monday 6: Disc golf/ Archery, Washougal River

  Tuesday 7: Indoor Soccer, Visit Portland
  

  Seattle Trip
  

  Wednesday 8: Water Park.

  Thursday 9: Seattle.- Music History Museum, Pike Place Market, Space Needle.

  Friday 10: Museum of Flight, Bamboo Garden

  Saturday 11: Zoo or wild animal park.

  Sunday 12:

  Monday 13: Disc golf/ Archery, Visit Portland

  Tuesday 14: Indoor
  Soccer, Visit Portland

  Wednesday 15: Washougal River

  Thursday 16: Visit Portland

  Friday 17: Washougal River

  Saturday 18: Visit Waterfalls, Hike, Party

  Oregon Coast Trip
  

  Sunday 19: Beach, shopping

  Monday 20: Beach, Aquarium Sea Lions, shopping

  Tuesday 21: Beach, shopping

  Wednesday 22: Indoor Soccer, Visit Portland

  Thursday 23: Farewell Party

  Excursions
  

  Mt. Hood – Alpine Slide	Sunday 5 1 day
  Bungee jumping from 30 meters Alpine Slide Go Karts Trampoline Etc. http://www.skibowl.com/index.php?page=attractions

  Wild Waves Water Park	Wednesday 8 1 day
  http://www.wildwaves.com/

  Seattle WA.	Thursday 9, 10, 11 3 days
  Space Needle http://www.spaceneedle.com/ Music History Museum http://www.empsfm.org/ Pike Place Market http://www.pikeplacemarket.org Monorail http://www.seattlemonorail.com/ Museum of Flight http://www.museumofflight.org/

  Oregon Coast	Sunday 19,20,21 3 days
  Visit different beaches, with the possibility of riding a horse on the beach (rental price not included) Stores and Shopping Centers Aquarium and Sea Lions http://www.aquarium.org/

Shooter left ‘will’; victims were random – OregonLive.com

Many international students have said over the years that they consider Portland a safe place to live and study. Generally, this has been true, but as the events of this past weekend show, violence does happen here.

Yes, the victims were random–these students from other parts of the world and their friends, but a question remains. Where do random acts of violence take place? Do they happen up in the mountains? On farms? Outside of the metropolitan areas?

Not typically. Why not? Where are concentrations of people? Obviously, in the city. And suburbs to a slightly lesser degree.

Does this mean that these victims were at fault, that they should have known better than to hang out in the city? Definitely not. However, as international students ask for advice about where to study and what activities to engage in, I encourage them to think about the safety factor.

The host families of high school students need to know where their students are at all times. Some of these students are used to having a lot of autonomy and don’t always like to communicate their whereabouts. As we see with this tragedy, however, communication between students and host families is essential.

Some parents from other countries that we have worked with prefer to have their children receive more supervision and live farther from the higher population centers. This is something young people should keep in mind, which is not to say that they should avoid crowds altogether or not go do some of the things they enjoy doing. Like these victims and their friends, international students need to go in groups when they do venture out.

As Commissioner Saltzman said in Bernstein’s article, “our thoughts and prayers are with” all of the friends and families of these two young ladies and, I would add, with all the international students here in the Portland metro area.

Estudiar inglés se puede hacer en muchos sitios y de muchas maneras, pero realmente convivir con una familia americana durante un tiempo, hablando y escuchando inglés todo el día, eso es realmente lo que te hace mejorar de una manera rápida, natural y sencilla. Y si a todo eso le sumamos la preparación y experiencia en el campo de la enseñanza del profesorado que imparte las clases hace más interesante esta opción.

Es probable que alguna vez fueras a una academia donde pasaste  sentado 3 horas semanales delante de un ordenador  o con aburridas clases. O si por el contrario fuiste al extranjero como a Inglaterra, Malta, Sudáfrica o los inclusive los EE.UU y pasaste más tiempo hablando tu propia lengua o incluso otras, antes que el inglés.

El concepto de Home-School es de lo más revolucionario para un rápido aprendizaje del Inglés. Consiste en convivir con una Familia Americana, que a la vez son tus propios profesores.

En este caso Lisa y Greg son Licenciados en English as a Second Language. Greg tiene un Master´s Degree TESOL y actualmente es evaluador oficial de TOEFL, la prueba de nivel de inglés para Universidades y otras instituciones. Además Lisa y Greg poseen más de 16 años de experiencia cada uno en la enseñanza para estudiantes Internacionales.

Las ventajas de este sistema son:

• El aprovechamiento del tiempo para aprender y practicar el inglés de forma constante en un ambiente confortable, seguro y familiar.
  

   

  • No tendrás que hacer ningún desplazamiento para ir a clases
    
  • Estar con gente con el mismo objetivo que tú
    
  • Convivir con tus profesores
    

   

• Tendrás la oportunidad de conocer muchísima gente, Greg y Lisa te ayudaran a hacer nuevos amigos y podrán presentarte a sus amigos y conocidos, con los que podrás poner a prueba tu inglés.
  

   

• El plan de estudio es individual y personalizado a las exigencias del estudiante.
  

   

• Conocer las costumbres y tradiciones de una típica familia americana, sus fiestas, comidas y ceremonias.
  

   

• La hermosa naturaleza que rodea la escuela, el aire puro y sus increíbles vistas.
  

• Compartir experiencias y conocimientos con otros estudiantes internacionales.
  

El gran abanico de posibilidades de ACTIVIDADES es impresionante.

• Sky, Snowboarder.
  
• Golf.
  
• Rafting, Ca yak, Sky acuático
  
• Montar a caballo
  
• Deportes tradicionales: Baloncesto, Voleibol, Fútbol, Ping-pong, Tenis, etc
  
• Visitar ciudades, museos, parques de atracciones, zoológicos, parque acuáticos, etc
  
• Senderismos, Acampadas.
  
• Asistir a partidos de Baloncesto de la NBA, Fútbol Americano o Baseball.
  
• Teatros y Conciertos.
  
• Y muchísimas más. Sugiérenos tu plan de Visitas y/o actividades.
  

Si lo deseas, puedes sugerir tu propio plan de actividades y visitas que gustosamente te ayudaremos  a realizar.

  Si tienes pensado estudiar una carrera en los EE.UU. te ayudaremos a mejorar tu inglés para aprobar el TOEFL, visitaremos las diferentes Universidades en las que estés interesado, gestionaremos la documentación necesaria para solicitar el visado de estudio y realizaremos los tramites de la matriculación en la Universidad que tu elijas.

Muchos de nuestros alumnos internacionales han terminado la carrera o están en el proceso, aquí en los EEUU. Gracias a The IDEAL School.

La estancia en el impresionante entorno natural le da un valor adicional para aquellas personas que le guste ver por la mañana a levantarse una familia de ciervos comiéndose el césped de la casa (jejeje, es cierto) o ver simpáticas ardillas desde la ventana mientras desayunas.

Si por el contrario si solo quieres venir a pasar tiempo con nosotros, solo por la experiencia de estar en los EE.UU para conocer su cultura y costumbres,  visitar ciudades y conocer nuevos amigos,  eres bienvenido.

Aquí tenéis el website  http://the-ideal-school.org

Best Wishes for 2009

It is now 2009. It’s hard to believe it!

2008 Highlights

2008 went by so fast, but we wanted to share some of the highlights from last year. We had a number of guests in 2008. Here are some of their pictures.

The Müller family (Klaus, Heike, and Fabian) came from Germany in January to meet Simon, who had been studying at Portland Adventist Academy.

Taiwanese university students Hankuang & Hanlun Lee were so excited to watch an NBA game live in Portland.

Japanese university student, Noriko Tsuji, visited at Easter time.

Jingmin Yang came from Taiwan and made great friends at Riverside Christian School.

Liwen (aka Vincent) Yang learned to waterski at summer camp.

Portland area high school students came to The IDEAL School with their host families for a fun party. Here Amy Hasada is shown with the Mears family.

School friends, the Canadays, celebrated Easter at The IDEAL School, where we had both a young kids’ Easter Egg Hunt & an older kids’ one along with a delicious brunch.

Danbi, Sanghoon, and Jinin had a wonderful summer at The IDEAL School, trying many new things and learning a lot of English. Friends Rachel and Susan spent a significant amount of time helping out at the school as well.

Korean mother, Jaeran, came with her children to The IDEAL School for summer vacation. In this picture, you can see students Mayson (7th grade) and Allysa (5th grade).

We had a White Christmas this year. We got over 3 feet of snow in the 2 weeks before Christmas. It was beautiful, but it was very difficult to get around much. We sledded and made snowmen and had snowball fights. Everyone had lots of fun. It was a great way to end 2008. We love and appreciate all of you who have visited The IDEAL School. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for 2009. We will do the same for you.

What’s New

We want to take just a few moments to update you on what is going on here at The IDEAL School. Since November, Victor Perez has been volunteering here at The IDEAL School. He has been helping us with many things around the house/school, including marketing to Spanish-speaking countries. His background is in youth ministries, guitar, and electronics. If you have any questions for him, you can email him at theidealschool(at)gmail.com. As a result of his great work, we have been getting many more inquiries about our programs. Please help us spread the word about The IDEAL School.

We also want to know what is new with you. All former students and/or friends of Greg or Lisa (Knight) Davis, IDEALS, and/or The IDEAL School are kindly asked to update us with what they have been doing. You can write to us by email (http://the-ideal-school.org/contact) or by leaving a comment here on our blog for all to see.

Special Offer

We are offering a special for everyone who has registered their email with The IDEAL School. In addition, if you know of people who might want to study English in the United States, we have a system in place to show our appreciation for your referrals. In order to see more about this and future specials, please go to http://the-ideal-school.org/phplist/ to sign up. We promise not to share your contact information with anyone else. We value your privacy.

The IDEAL School is proud to announce special Winter Language Camps for children (3 and over), adults, and families.

What: A language camp gives students a chance to learn a lot of English in a short amount of time. You know about summer camp, right? You have a lot of fun learning something new in a beautiful place during the summer months. The winter language camp is the same idea—only you do it in the winter and the thing that you learn is English. You will go on excursions around the Portland, Oregon area. If there is enough snow, we will play in the snow and possibly go Mt. Hood for skiing/snowboarding.

Where: You will stay at The IDEAL School with your teachers. You will live with other students who are trying to learn English, too. And your teachers live in the same building, so you can always ask a question or get help with any problems you might have. The teachers’ 3 children also live there (ages 4, 5, and 8). The school building used to be used as a retreat center, so it is very comfortable and beautiful. It has a gorgeous view also.

How will you learn: You learn by doing. Yes, there is time spent in the classroom. We will help you develop your listening and speaking skills (and grammar, reading, writing) through class activities. However, you don’t only sit in the classroom and study. You play games, listen to music, watch movies, play sports, help cook and/or clean, etc. The learning is very fast-paced and interesting. The time flies by, as we say in English. Besides the class time there are activities every evening—movies, holiday candy making, book club, etc.

When: During international students’ winter vacation in December-February. Some students’ vacation starts just before Christmas and ends in the end of January. Others’ begins the beginning of December and ends the first week of January. Contact The IDEAL School to see if there is room during your break time.

How much: Everyone wants to know how much it will cost. The answer is it depends. If you come with a group, it is less expensive. If you come by yourself, you will need to pay a little more. Contact The IDEAL School for more information.

How to contact The IDEAL School:    Phone: 360.837.2124    
    Email: http://the-ideal-school.org/contact     Web: http://the-ideal-school.org    

This is the first post of The IDEAL School blog.

We invite international students who are looking for a unique learning experience to visit us at The IDEAL School. You can find out everything you need to know about learning English in The IDEAL School at the-ideal-school.org.

If you want to learn English in a family environment, where you can see dramatic improvement because of individualized learning, you have got to study@the-ideal-school.org.