Great Expectations School students preparing for trip to Costa Rica

Students in the “Otters” classroom at Great Expectations School in Grand Marais are excited to announce an ambitious educational adventure. The class of 17 seventh- and eighth-graders will be traveling to Costa Rica on March 10-17, as part of Global Education Squads.

Global Education Squads is an organization that works to improve education around the world by connecting volunteer schools like Great Expectations with host schools and communities in underdeveloped areas like Ghana, Honduras, and Costa Rica.

While in Costa Rica, students will help build needed infrastructure and will work with local students in a classroom or daycare setting. In the evenings, students will attend classes and activities to learn about the area’s culture, history, and environment.

For more information about Global Education Squads, visit their website.

To help meet the costs of this service-learning trip for the Otters, a Go Fund Me page has been set up. Information can also be found on the Facebook page for Great Expectations School.

A lively fundraiser is also planned for Sunday, January 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church in Grand Marais. There will be a chili feed, a bake sale, live music, a silent auction and the opportunity to meet the students working to get to Costa Rica.

The community is invited to “help support kids who want to make a difference.”

WTIP's Rhonda Silence sat down with two students who are making the trip, Grace and Sol. Here's more on the event and the upcoming fundraiser.