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"We are back from vacation! It seemed like a long 2 weeks actually but ready to get started again. We are working on the Project Video and Cloe is supporting us with this task by creating a document to help with directing the project. It is called a shooting plan template. Today we are going to meet in Las Catalinas because that is where we are going to shoot the video. The objective for today is to make sure that we are ready for next Wednesday. Cloe will be here to help us film the video and give us pointers on the process. We need to inform our cast of their role. They need to know when and where to be next week. We need to be organized so that shooting is efficient - we only have a finite amount of time. And we need to know our roles and be able to execute them. Spark: Discuss and write what is the explanation for the project. I am going to print out our shot plan and cut it up for them to organize in a way that makes sense for the day of the shoot. Nate and Eitan will work on this to fill out the shooting plan while looking at the shot list. They can discuss their ideas and fill out the form. They need to think about timing, lighting, location and the characters. Then Oliver needs to work on contacting the people that will be in the video. Explain why we are creating the video and what part we would like them to play in the video and why. Then we can ask them if Wednesday after 3:30 would work for them to come and take part in the video. If so, after Nate and Eitan finish the video, we can give them a very specific time and location for shooting on Wednesday. Oliver will be in charge of working with the actors next Wednesday - costumes and location. Oliver can also go and get some B-roll. B-Roll-(Trees swaying, waves crashing, shots of, active beach club, active copper and stone, active tennis courts) B-Roll--(Bright outdoor events—Beach picnic, plaza games. Closer shots of handshakes, laughter.) Nate - is the writer and the photographer and Director A commercial director is the chief storyteller who translates a script into a visual, branded experience, managing the creative vision from pre-production through final edit. They define the aesthetic (lighting, camera, set), cast talent, guide performances, and ensure the short video is aligned with brand goals. The production time and budget are also important.  Responsibilities of a Commercial Director: Pre-production: Storyboarding, scouting locations, selecting wardrobe, and designing shots. On-Set Leadership: Directing actors/talent, collaborating with cinematography and lighting crews, and managing the shoot schedule. Brand Alignment: Ensuring the final product effectively communicates the brand's message to its audience. Editing/Post-production: Guiding the final edit, color grading, and audio to ensure the story is engaging for the audience. Eitan is the Producer.  A commercial producer on set manages the overall production's success, acting as the bridge between creative vision (director) and business goals (client). They ensure the project stays on schedule, within budget, and meets technical and legal standards. Their primary role is overseeing logistical, financial, and creative details.  Key Responsibilities On-Set: Pre-production Planning: Breaking down the commercial script, creating the shooting schedule, and coordinating with production to determine required resources, cast, and equipment. Logistics & Scheduling: Producers monitor the daily filming schedule, ensuring that locations, crew, and talent follow the timeline. Problem-Solving & Decision Making: They handle higher-level issues, such as unforeseen delays, missing permits, or last-minute creative changes, allowing the director to focus on artistic execution. Budget Management: They manage day-to-day expenditures to ensure the budget is not exceeded. Post-Production Oversight: They make sure all necessary footage is captured for post-production and that the client’s vision is accurately represented for editing.  Assistant director - Oliver  An assistant director acts as the director's right-hand partner, managing set logistics, safety, and the shooting schedule to ensure the project stays on time and within budget. They create the daily production schedule, run the set, coordinate department heads, and call action/cut during filming, allowing the director to focus on creative decisions.  Key responsibilities of a commercial assistant director include: Pre-production Planning: Coordinating with production to determine required resources, cast, and equipment. Creating Call Sheets: Preparing and distributing the call sheet (daily schedule) which informs crew and cast of reporting times, locations, and shooting plans. On-Set Management: Running the "set floor," directing extras, and ensuring all departments are prepared for the next shot. Time Management & Safety: Monitoring daily progress against the schedule, troubleshooting delays, and maintaining a safe, organized working environment. Liaison Role: Acting as the primary communicator between the director and the cast, crew, and producers.  Let's make sure that we communicate with each other and the cast so that we are ready to roll right at 3:30 on Wednesday the 22nd with Cloe.        "

"Our second meeting was much less awkward after our first. Everyone was excited to be there and it just fell into place. Megan and Genesis got some snacks and settled in after school. Then we decided to dive right into the purpose of our day. We were going to think of projects that might be interesting to them. They had already taken the initiative to think of things that they might want to do and were excited about planning activities for people in their age group. Genesis' brother had a similar project when he was at La Paz before Covid. It was a teen center. Our area is rural and very often the teens are looking for something to do.  Because this still is an issue they are excited to come up with activities that teenagers from all schools would want to join. We also worked on our mission statement. We did the mission statement lesson. The mission statement that they wrote is as follows: To have a space designed and focused on teenagers. Other ideas: To create a fun experience for and space for teenagers. To organize a space for teenagers where they can have fun and make good memories with friends. To create a community for teenagers with organized activities and fun experiences. To foster an environment where teens can make friends, memories and experience safe, organized, outdoor fun. To connect teens with one another in a fun and community based space.   To launch a program that targets teens in hopes to accomplish a space where they can hang out and have fun. To inspire and motivate teenagers to have new experiences and have fun with friends. We had a ton of fun reading and analyzing the company mission statements that are on the lesson and then they spent some time with different mission statement words creating mission statements of their own. We decided to cook dinner together next week and their homework was to find a recipe that they would both enjoy and to invite their parents to our meeting."

"This is a recap of our third meeting. I will add a recap of the second meeting - just out of order. I taught Gantt Charts this week using a recipe. However, we discussed what they were used for in businesses, for example construction and did a couple of exercises where they created a Gantt Chart for a list of tasks that  a contractor might need to do. The reason for the Gantt Chart is to create efficiency over time and it is good to look at all the tasks and see which  need to be preceded by others and which task can be done while other tasks are going on. Once they understood how to make a Gantt Chart, they planned the meal that they were going to make for their parents. They read the recipe, wrote down the steps and then created the Gantt Chart.  They even thought about delegation as I was there with another former student, Sibley, to help out. They predicted that the meal would take them 30 minutes and they were only off by 5. The meal was a success. They worked together well, they understood the assignment and they executed the recipe perfectly. With all that planning and communication - it really couldn't have gone too wrong! We had chicken alfredo (the recipe that they chose) and a salad. Everyone loved the meal. It was an even bigger success because we brought their moms together for dinner and it was Megan's moms birthday the next day! So we made sure to have a cake!"

"The title doesn't really work. However, we are pausing our work on balance sheets and moving to get some things done this week. I have both Cloe and Mileidy here for the class! We are working on some fun things to do with the boys. Last week, we started to look at balance sheets and learned the formula for balance sheets. They understand what current and fixed assets are - what current liabilities and long-term liabilities are - and what equity is. We need another day to learn how to create a balance sheet and do some more work looking at Disney's balance sheet. We will do that when Oliver comes back. Oliver is in San Jose getting some errands done that can't be done over here in Guanacaste. So, we have Eitan and Nate to work with and we also have Cloe and Mileidy here! Cloe will work on the Project Video planning with Nate. I am attaching the document that they are working on so that the work that they are doing is available. Nate started with the outline of creating a project video from this lesson that we have on Project Wonder and then has been working with Cloe to refine these elements. Cloe is a filmmaker and brings knowledge and insight because of having a project herself in high school - so this is a great combination. Mileidy and I will work with Eitan to get some of the documents done for this page - like the Gantt Chart, budget, mentors and SMART goals. With the Project Video being completed at the end of next month - all we will need to work on is the feasibility study. I am going to push for a look into adding the Abriendo Mentes aspect to this feasibility study so that we can explore that element of supporting a community.  I am really looking foward to the next step of this project and group. As we all know it takes a while to get things done! Especially with the amount of time we dedicate to this project. I am anxious to have another event and make the video so that we spend more time with the boys in a week and progress even further!"

"Planning for this week’s class is tricky and I am being pulled in two different directions. I really want to teach balance sheets and the ratios that go with balance sheets. And planning for our next activity. (statement of financial position) The balance sheet formula is Assets = Liabilities + Equity. This is important to understand first. What are assets? Anything that you own. Why are there current assets and fixed assets and what are some examples of these? Current assets are cash, receivables and anything that you own that is going to be sold in the upcoming year. (some might call receivables debtors.) These assets are cash or will be turned into cash within the upcoming year. Fixed assets are the assets that you are going to keep such as property, vehicles or equipment.   What are liabilities? Anything that you owe. There are also current liabilities. These are any debts that the business needs to pay within the upcoming year. So, current assets are things like accounts payable (creditors) or anything else that needs to be paid. Long term liabilities are things that will be paid off in more than one year, like mortgages and loans.  What is equity? Equity is the value of the business. It is the difference between their assets and liabilities. Which makes sense! This shows the company’s financial health. Working Capital = current assets – current liabilities – this shows a company’s short term financial health and use of money. We will take a look at Disney and Comcast’s balance sheet and see if there is a positive or negative working capital and discuss what that means. After we discuss this and know our way around a balance sheet – we are going to split up and work on some things to get ready for our next event.  Nate will work on the feedback from Cloe and I about the project video.  Eitan will work on a budget and one of the gantt charts on the computer for the next 2 events – tennis tournament and cooking together. Oliver will work on setting goals and the gantt chart for 1 of the events for the organization. SMART goals for the next 2 events.   "

"Here is our work for today. I am adding this link because we were brainstorming our next steps. Eitan and Oliver were working on the goals and process for the upcoming couple of months. We need to understand our schedule and what we want to do with the project during these months. The boys have some good ideas for the next activities and we are working on how to execute them. Nate worked on updating our mission statement and worked on staging our project video. Here is the document with his work. In our next meeting, I will teach them balance sheets. Just the first pass. Then we are going to work on updating our documents on this site. I am going to ask Cloe if she would direct our video and shoot it. 🙂 The boys are excited about that element. We are still rolling forward and enjoying our time together. The boys have very large ambitious ideas for our next get togethers so stay tuned!"

"Our first meeting with the girls went really well because of solid planning, inviting Mileidy and Cloe to be a part of it, and the openness of the girls to open up and give real authentic answers to questions. We started with some questions in a bowl. (I have added them at the bottom of this reflection in case someone wants to use them.) Someone would pick a question and then answer it, then the next person would answer the same question. It helped us get to know one another right from the start and helped take away any of the awkwardness of the first meeting. Then we all took the strengthsfinder test - some of us for the second time. We discussed our strengths and our areas for growth (those things that were at the bottom of our list of strengths.) We had some similarities and some differences and that was interesting to discuss. We also mentioned that this is a snapshot in time and discussed the validity of this test in the moment. We all thought that it was mostly correct and we could use the results to better understand ourselves. Mine changed a bit from before - Kindness, Social Intelligence, Leadership, Teamwork, Gratitude were my top 5 this time. Social Intelligence is in the same place but Zest and Creativity were pushed out of the top 5. It is interesting that Kindness has risen to the top because I feel that it is more of a passive strength - where zest and Creativity are more active. I do believe that I am kind and strive to make everyone feel welcome and invited into a space with me. So, I am going to celebrate that strength in the upcoming days. Genesis has appreciation of beauty and excellence as her top strength. Megan has creativity as her top strength. I believe with the 3 of us in this group we can do something amazing for the community in the upcoming months. All in all the meeting was a success! What is one new skill you would like to learn? What are your goals for this school year? If you could invent something, what would it be and why? What is your favorite tradition in your family or community? Are you more of a planner or someone who goes with the flow? What isn’t a subject in school that you think should be? How would you teach it?  What is your favorite subject in school? Tell me about the best project or activity you’ve ever done in that subject.  If you could outlaw one thing in school, what would it be? If you could wake up tomorrow fluent in two other languages, which would you choose? Why?  Where would your dream field trip be? Why? What would you do there? Were you bored today? Why do you think that is? What do you think is the most important quality in a teacher? Why? What’s the best part of your day at school? Why? What’s the worst part of your day at school? Why? What’s something you’re really good at in school/life? Do you think homework is beneficial? If so, why? If not, what would you replace it with? This could be a good one to talk about what goals that they have with this project and how it can supplement school - or provide purpose… So change how we ask it…  What is a small thing that always makes you happy? Do you think social media helps make/maintain friendships? Why/ why not? What is your favorite thing about yourself? What superpower would you want to have? How would you use it? If you had one year to spend one million dollars, how would you spend it?  If you could create any law that everyone on Earth had to follow, what would it be? What would you want it to accomplish?"

"Starting a new cohort of young women in Costa Rica in 2026. Looking forward to their projects!"

"Today is about finance – we are going to analyze Disney and Universal’s profit and loss statement. We are going to calculate gross profit margin and profit margin and think about how the companies compare – and how they are different. We will also look at the companies from last year to this year and see what the differences are. We got our information from the 10Ks of both Disney and Comcast. Starting with reading the letters to the shareholders from each company and seeing what their goals are and their successes from the last year to see what might interest us in researching for the next few weeks. We also need to think about our next event. Ideas! Can we think of 5 ideas for our next event? What does it look like and how do we start planning now? And I would like to ask what the boys want to learn from me. I am working through finance right now but we can do many other things that might help us with the events… I will make sure to get their buy in."

"On Saturday, Feb. 7 we had a pickleball gathering for the community. We had 17 people including the 4 of us at the court. We arrived early - the boys, Allyson and I were there setting up for the day. Allyson had brought donuts, fruit and L'croix. We had a cooler for the drinks and plates, napkins and a knife for the pastries. The boys had set a budget of $70. Allyson spent $40 at Pricesmart on the above items. I knew we had a bit more to spend and without talking to the boys - decided to stop at Harlan's bakery in Potrero. I felt a little bad about doing that - but knew that the people that were coming to the event might like a good ham and cheese croissant or an amazing cinnamon roll. So, I did spend the rest of the budgeted amount. If the boys had said no I would have bought the items myself - but did admit to our team that we should be better at communicating. :) The players did love the upscale pastries. And I think that they understood that the audience was appreciative. In the end Eitan approved the purchase. We played rally points and the system had to be worked out in the beginning. We started with only 7 points and changed it to 11 points because we had a number of people and only 2 courts. Nate, Eitan and Oliver made sure that the courts stayed busy and people knew the system. There was a lot of chatting while not playing, enjoying each other's company and just getting to know each other better. The boys explained their project and people were very impressed with their idea and how they were executing it. We had a donation box and that was very successful. we gained about $200. The realization was that the first time we charged too little and should increase the prices if we do a raffle or sell items. When we didn't charge anything people were very willing to give to our cause with a good explanation and conversations. They worked on their communication skills, collaboration skills and organization skills. It was an excellent event that made all of us eager for the next one."

"Tomorrow we have a meeting at my house and it might be the only meeting for the month of Feb. as I am going to Spain for 2 weeks and then the boys are going to ski in Utah the last week of Feb. We will reconvene in March. I am a little worried about loosing the momentum but also am excited to spend time in Spain. We will start with a reflection of the Pawsitive Strides Event. The questions are as follows: What did I learn from this activity, and how can I use that learning in my life (at school, at home, or in future projects)? Did I surprise myself, inspire myself, or disappoint myself during this experience? What moments made me feel that way? What value did this activity create for me, my family, and my community? What would I do differently next time to increase that value? Next on the docket is to teach them about fixed costs and variable costs so that we can go over Profit and Loss Statements for the first time. Variable costs are costs that change with the amount of sales - this includes things like raw materials, commissions earned by sales people, packaging costs that are related to output and hourly wages of production staff. Fixed costs are costs that don't change with the amount of sales - this includes things like rent, insurance payments, salaries, advertising costs. Next we will understand the format of a profit and loss statement as you can see from above and do a worksheet that I am copying here. After that we will have a discussion about our next event which is on Saturday. We are thinking of having a pickleball event at Las Catalinas from 8-11. We need to market it, decide what is needed and schedule the morning, and we need to create a budget using the money that we have from our last event. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow!  "

"This weekend we held the first event hosted by TownFlippers. It was a dog walk to the next beach along with a raffle, sale of dog biscuits and some fun. Saturday morning, the boys were ready and exited for the event. They were all there on time and they had the necessary items that they were in charge of. The dog biscuits had been primed the night before and packaged. They brought the raffle tickets and I brought the certificates for the prizes. Eitan had written his speech and started the event off with some words of thanks and explanation. I actually think that it went off without a hitch. People showed up, all the dog biscuits were sold, we made some money for future events, people were very happy with the raffle prizes. We can definitely continue to think about ways to get people together and work on talking to adults in the community. We have some good ideas for next steps and I don't want to loose momentum but February has some challenges. This week, we are meeting with the new pickleball pro at Las Catalinas and playing pickleball. I am hoping that we can talk him into a night of dinks and drinks... We need to find a good time for that. We also need to reflect on the event. I think after pickleball we will go to Nate's house and do a quick reflection and a bit of planning before the evening is over. All in all, a great job by all people involved!"

"Yesterday the team got together right after school. The first thing that we did was to try the dog biscuits out on Nate's dogs. They loved the treats. They were so gentle but eat all of the bones. That was our first taste test. Nate then got started on making another 100 dog biscuits. While he was doing that, Eitan was working on the spreadsheet for the cost of the dog treats and finalizing pricing. I have copied the link here for people to see the work. We settled on 5 dog treats per bag and the price will be 1 mil colones. We are going to make a good margin on the treats and will use it for future events. Then Oliver was working on the awards for the raffle. They are as follows: free coffee at PVR free banana bread at PVR car wash a free dog walk when needed bag of dog treats Nate made a poster with the different prizes that will be available and Oliver made the raffle tickets. He will bring his bingo roller so that we can draw names at the end of the event. We also talked about Pawsitive compliment drawings. Some ideas for that are Best trail buddy Most Pawsitive Energy Photo of the day of the dogs Most hairy Cutest biggest dog So they are going to make the small cards for this on Friday. There are still things to do and Allyson, Nate's mom is going to help them with the list that they have on Friday night. The list includes: finalize the dog biscuits with the honey drizzle, make the pawsitive compliment awards, cut the raffle tickets, package the dog treats, think about what Eitan will say at the beginning of the event. That is where we are today! Looking forward to the actual event on Saturday."

"The meeting this week was in two parts. We realized through our SWOT analysis that there was not enough time to plan and execute ideas with just one meeting a week - so we have added a meeting on Sunday when we can do it. On Sunday, we met to work on our marketing plan. We discussed words that we believed connected to our project and described who we are and also want to be. These will help us differentiate ourselves from the others groups. Youthful, Enthusiastic, Active, Fresh Daring, Audacious, Courageous, Gritty Visionary, Idealistic, Noble Current, Relevant   The first word is the word that stands out to us and the synonyms are words that also fit the connotation that we are trying to match. We also worked on recipes for the dog biscuits and thought about packaging. They wanted to make sure that we don't use plastic for packaging and Nate will work on a sticker for the brown bags that we have sourced. We also practiced our small talk skills at dinner when we had pizza outside on the deck. We took the questions from the small talk lesson and asked each other different questions throughout dinner. It was a great exercise where we got to know each other better. On Wednesday, we were focused on learning about what a promotional mix is through watching videos of successful promotional mixes from winners of the Effie awards. Nate and Eitan wrote down different ideas from the videos and we discussed using some of them for our activity - partnerships, scavenger hunts, packaging, and signage. We will also use our social media and word-of-mouth in our promotional mix. Nate answered the following questions so that he had an understanding of the event and our motives. When someone participates in our events, we want them to feel, first of all connected with the community, and second of all energetic and actually excited to participate. “Community” in terms of our project is seen as the members/homeowners of Las Catalinas being able to come together and enjoy spending time together. We always want our participants to want away with the feeling of connection and want them to convey that feeling to other members of the community to bring them together even more. In our promotion, we can use either examples or pictures of what Las Catalinas used to look like and the community strength we used to have. We can control the opportunities for the members of our community to attend, however what we cannot control is the actual participation of these events. A second example, we can try and control what feelings the audience brings away from these events, what we cannot control is what people really take away or transmit, possibly bad attitudes toward our project. We can take note of participants and how much we see people talking to others who they don’t usually talk to. Additionally, we can write down how many treats we sell to see if we made profit. And we all made dog treats, which took longer than we thought! We also realize that we need to make more. Eitan is working on the math to find out how much each batch costs to make and we will use this to set pricing next week in our meeting."

"The meeting on Wednesday was extremely effective and efficient. We created a SWOT analysis for our first event. We created our outline for the event and made an agenda for our extra meeting on Sunday at Oliver's house. The extra meeting was formed because we needed more time together to get some things done. We started to explore the 7 Ps of marketing a service project. This was all done in an hour and a half with the boys being extremely focused!"

"January 6: Tomorrow we are meeting again to discuss our next steps. In the last couple of meetings, it has really helped to have an activity that is related to the work that we are going to do to start off. I think that I am going to teach SWOT analysis. Internal - Strengths and Weaknesses Focus on what we have to offer and ideas about what we will struggle with in the upcoming month to plan our activities in Las Catalinas. Identify both the Strengths and Weaknesses and how we will use the strengths and overcome the weaknesses. External - Opportunities and Threats Here we will need to do some research and we will fill out this document to identify some opportunities and threats using our research skills.  Then complete the analysis of how to use the opportunities and overcome the threats. We will fill out the document and then we will post on our wonderment page. After we have created an analysis of our group at this time, we will work on planning and marketing the event. We will need a date. We will need a location. We will need the type of activity that we are hosting. We will need a list of items that we need to buy and a budget. We will need to figure out how to market and talk to the other families in Las Catalinas to create awareness and excitement about our event. We will need to assign jobs for each of us to do in order to make this a success. We can start talking about marketing. Product, Place, Promotion, Price, People, Physical Evidence, Process We will also fill out our ideas about these elements.  "

"Purpose: Use the knowledge that we have gained to plan for January. Students will be able to show their understanding of Gantt Charts and a stakeholder map by planning a part of our project.    Eitan: Fundraisers Nate: sports tournament Oliver: Dog activity Amy: Beach potluck   After Eitan, Nate and Oliver had their usual banana muffin snack, we directly started to work - last week, I had played a game first and that wasn’t conducive to being serious the rest of the time together, so Eitan proposed that we just directly start working. So, I tried that and they were focused for the entire time. The lesson was well planned and had structure for them to complete steps as well, so that might have had a factor where last week was more about analyzing our data and that was not as structured.    The pictures of their work tell the tale. Eitan and Oliver were extremely detailed in their Gantt Chart - I think that Nate started one way and was deep into the structure and couldn’t produce another one - so he made adjustments to show the plan by week, not by day. They understand that tool very well.    The stakeholder map was also done well. They needed a refresher to fully understand the why behind the tool and then how to use the tool, but in the end they all made a clear stakeholder map with communication goals and plans.    It was a great way to end our 3 months together - by utilizing tools and planning for our next steps. It has worked out well and they are motivated, engaged, students that inspire me.   "

"November 24, Eitan, Nate and I had a meeting with the director of Abriendo Mentes this afternoon at 4. We all forgot to take a picture together with Grettel but I snapped this picture of the building as I was driving home. I picked the boys up at school and we went home to have a snack and to discuss the meeting. It was mostly a snack. :) I realize how important it is for them to have a quick break after school - with food - so that they can be ready for the next activity. We did discuss the questions and they remembered that they had made them a couple of weeks ago. The meeting was in Spanish. Once we found the building, it was a very informative meeting. We got a little lost because Grettel gave us the Costa Rican directions - La dirección es: de la iglesia católica de Potrero 200mts norte, casa a mano derecha con murales de colores. We had to walk down the road and ask some people for help. But we arrived! Grettel was amazing - she answered all the questions and gave us information about the organization and some ideas of where the boys could support. What came out of the meeting was that Abriendo Mentes was excited about the group doing something in the community. The group that we want to work with would start in August! That gives us time to get the Las Catalinas community project up and running and then we can incorporate the Potrero teenagers. It also is an excellent start to their CAS projects -  combining activity and service together. I am sure that we can get creativity in there too! Here are our questions for the director of Abriendo Mentes in Potrero."

"Purpose: Today we are going to focus on being prepared to engage with members of the community that are part of our stakeholders. Start with a word game: Make a story with the group by using “fortunately” to begin each sentence and then “unfortunately” to kick off the next person’s addition. And example: “Fortunately, the bear had a nice hat to keep him warm. Unfortunately, it was the middle of summer and 110°F.” Game play proceeds in a circle and we can make the story about living in LC. Stakeholder map: How to create a stakeholder map… And create one for our project. Create a Stakeholder map.   Make questions for the group.  Discuss how to listen and be interested in the other person’s opinion.  Questions for the focus group: So far, Ofer and Demian are coming to the group. How has the change in the community affected your business? What state is the community in now? We will need to ask this question with different parameters such as social aspects, for business purposes, for living. We will discuss it before asking… What parts of Charle’s vision is coming through or is it not moving forward? Have you seen any changes during the time you have lived here in the different aspects above. If so, what are they and are they positive or negative?"

"Eitan and I are meeting with Gretel from Abriendo Mentes on Monday November 24th. Here are the list of questions that we have so far. What has been Abriendo Mentes’ most successful initiative? How has the growth of the community and changes in the community affected your organization? What state is the community in now? What are some of the initiatives that you are focusing on and how do they help the community? What initiatives have you not been able to get to that are important to the community now? Can you think of ways that we can help your organization? If so, what are they and how can we fit in? We can think of others this week and I will add them."

"We had a solid class on Wednesday. Things that I am proud of in this meeting: We got to everything on our agenda. The boys made the rules that we will follow with one plus one from me. The boys took on their roles for the project. The boys articulated why they are in this group. The boys wrote mission statements and utilized my tools to help them. The boys are excited to be here! Things that could have gone better: Continue to work on more focused work and less talking over one another. I would say professionalism in our interactions. Continue to work on deeper reflection of their work, not take the first try. Continue to utilize what we learn to make our project improve. For me, the time goes very quickly. This time I did post the agenda on a large piece of paper so that everyone could see what we needed to do and it was clear. I love their enthusiasm and their understanding of the purpose of this group. They stated the reasons that they were here: gain CAS and business experience to prepare for the IB. And they are excited to help Las Catalinas. To have that awareness is important so that they are motivated. Nate went right home and created an instagram account for us and created a logo. To have that motivation to do things outside of our group is excellent and exciting. The final mission statement and name that we settled on for now is: Town flippers: We direct our efforts around genuine hospitality and educate our team to create meaningful connections with every guest who walks through our doors. We can definitely workshop that more. Also, we created rules for our meetings: Minimal story time Listening when others are talking Mindful and reflective about what is happening No touching people with your feet I look forward to Wednesday when we will learn about SWOT analysis before having a focus group with members of the town.    "

"Connection before content: Opening activity: Have cards on the table from the Ungame.  Remove any of the questions that you think you already know about everyone in the group.  Choose 2 questions from the table that you really want to know about your teammates. Listen to the answers.  I watched a video with Chris Littlefield. He is a psychologist and helps teams create more successful interactions.  We are going to work on professional meetings today. I want you to think about how you are going to show up for this meeting. Think like you are an employee and not a student. – How do you want to act today? How would you like to be in this meeting?  I want to be organized and be a good listener.  Meetings:  Clear agenda – with goals Roles – who is in charge of what and who will lead the different sections of our discussions? HR – Marketing – Finance – Operations Stay on Topic Summarize action items before leaving.  _________________ Monday the 24th at 4:00pm we have a meeting with Abriendo Mentes?  Who wants to go? What questions do we want to ask Abriendo Mentes in the meeting in a week and a half. We can send some questions before – so that they are ready. __________________ Mission statement:  This is the statement that will guide us through our project. It is a sentence or 2 that states the aims and values of a group or organization. It states what it does, for whom and its goals.  It can be specific to the project or can just be about our group – and show the potential and goals that we want to achieve.  Read the mission statements from famous companies from the file. What is your favorite? Why? Before we start writing a mission statement – you need all the facts! On a piece of paper write down: The name that we have chosen for our group or project The purpose of our project The stakeholders that we will affect The goal that we would like to achieve And check to make sure that this aligns with our values  Choose at least 3 of the characteristics of a mission statement from below to use when you write your mission statement.  Visionary  Broad Realistic Motivational Short and Concise Easily Understood   Let’s write our mission statement – I am going to give you 5 words and at first you are going to use those to write a statement. Then we are going to compare our statements and evaluate – and do it again with another 5 words….  Hopefully, we have a statement at the end of the time. ___________________ Our roles – if we are going to do an event in LC in December – what do we need to do?  Who can we talk to in LC to help us? Mentors – Maybe have the meeting out there next week and see if we can ask a couple people to discuss our ideas? If so, we need to have a plan.  What do we need to do for next week’s meeting? – we can also do a SWOT analysis or a stakeholder analysis next week and get ready for the next meeting. "

"We created a business plan this week. The way that we did it was to identify our project and the reasons behind why we were doing it. Then thought about the marketing, logistics, human resources, and the budget. We each had time to fill out the papers above and we were quiet while we were doing it. But then it became a little crazy with too much talking and interjecting other stories. It was successful because we had a good time and finalized the plan. Nate added everything to our document and we have a way forward. In the upcoming week, we are going to work on having meetings that are more efficient and productive. We still want to have fun but we are going to work on being more professional. We are also going to write our mission statement. And then decide on a plan for the upcoming events - when do we want to have them - do we need to do a fundraiser - and so how to move forward. (Budget, interviews for next week or gantt chart.) Here is our business plan. Introduction:  Purpose To bring people together To create lasting relationships Revive the community To repair some hard feelings. Problem  Not enough activities  People are not excited about life People are mean to each other Everyone's old and sad Too many empty homes  Solution More activities/events Fundraisers Stronger communication between people   Marketing:  Target market Tennis/pickleball community LC community/Home owners People looking to buy Market research ideas Surveys Interviews - Eitan Statistics  Money raised in events Number of home owners Success rate of past events How to communicate  LC Instagram Flyers/Posters around town Whatsapp   Team: Who are we? Nathaniel Sawyer Rappaport — Structure, REALLY different perspective/autism  Eitan Ketter — Energy/Zest, Brings the vibes Connected to the community, People person Oliver Mark Helman Delacoste — Support/Organization, Realism,  Amy Jacobs — Time, wise, Knowledge, Expertise   Why are we a good fit for this project We all have past experiences with how special a strong LC community was We are all established in the community.   Finance: Raffles -  Sunrise Sniffers -  MONATIZE THE DOGS Car wash -  Clean porches - gardening - water plants   Operations: Ideas for activities Sports tournaments (tennis, soccer, pickleball,  Full moon parties Hiking Biking Dance party Beach days Work outs Yoga  Dog meetup Movie nights"

"The last meeting where the boys and did some reflection and some walking around town we decided on a few projects that might work for our group. Eitan was actually sick that day so we need to get buy in from him this week, but one of the ideas that seems to be the one that they are excited about is to have some community events for the Las Catalinas town. At the moment the town is experiencing some growth issues where people are not as respectful or connected as they have been in the past. It has created divisions and really a lack of community. The boys have really noticed it and hear about it from their parents. As we walked around the seemingly idyllic neighborhood, thinking about how we could make a positive change, the boys started to remember times in the past where kids were playing together in the evening, there were get togethers on the beach, and the FEEL of the neighborhood was different. They then decided that they know the Las Catalinas town and the people that live there - so they can directly affect the feel of the town by holding events, getting kids to play together, or really just get people to spend more time together so that they want to work together to make the town feel more like a town again. They also brought up that there are bats in some of the roofs so maybe they could make bat houses for the bats to have a different place to live. That would be a more crafty project. They also noticed that the monkeys are not as prevalent in the town as they were. So they thought about creating areas of biodiversity for the monkeys to return. There is an issue with the road to Las Catalinas and they could work with the municipality to fix the road. This one sounds a bit more challenging, but can be tackled. I loved that they came up with this idea through a 30 minute walk through town. Their memories and feelings helped them tell the story and helped them identify something that is missing in their world. I am excited to start to plan and engage the community through market research to see where the project goes!"

"Holy peak"

"Oct. 15:   Which one of these 4 decision making tools will help us in the long run. Opportunity cost Will be used mostly for big decisions like deciding what project we are going to do for our project.   Decision tree  Gantt charts Will probably be used more times than opportunity cost but for smaller things to figure out timelines while working on our project.  morals/values   Did using these tools change the way that you think differently about decisions?    Learning these tools makes me think about what could be lost not only what can be gained. In the case of thinking about jobs in the future – if there is a job available to work on an oil rig and make a lot of money, there is also the loss of a normal life.    Are any of them challenging to use or apply?   None of them are really challenging – the most challenging is gantt chart. Understanding the timeline – where they have to be located on the chart. Now that we have done it once and made mistakes – it is easier to understand that you really need to focus on the timeline and where to put it in the graph.    How does knowing the values influence your decisions?    The values decision making tactic is not as conscious as the other tools. And therefore there is always a bias toward your values that have formed over time, through experiences. "

"Which of these 4 decision-making tactics do you think will be useful, or can these be useful, and why? Opportunity cost GANT chart Values Decision trees I believe that opportunity cost and decision trees are the absolute most important and useful decision-making tactics. Opportunity cost is especially important in big decisions to make sure you figure both sides of a choice and make the choice in a rational, educated mind to ensure validity in the selected choice. Decision trees are a more unconscious way of thinking, as you’re finding a quick way to decide on a situation, you unconsciously figure out all options before making your choice. It’s especially helpful when trying to make a decision with the knowledge of all the other choices you have before the final decision. Opportunity cost and decision trees are, in my opinion, interestingly similar as they can both affect your decision-making strategies as well as your way of deciding between choices as a whole. Both tactics force you to consider all your options, while making a decision tree you must think ahead and consider what choices you have now and what choices may come from your future choices, complicated, but I believe that with training your brain runs through these scenarios unconsciously. Whereas opportunity cost shows you your options where you need to then decide the better choice depending on what you gain and lose from choosing either one.   Did using these decision making tactics change the way thaty you think about/consider decisions?   When learning different ways to make decisions, you become able to think and analyze all your choices before deciding definitely. Before I learned these tactics I sort of unconsciously considered options when making a choice. Now that I have learned the brain process beind my decision making, I have been able to reflect on my decisions and if I make a mistake in my decision making process, I can then improve next time."

"This week we had a special guest to teach us about decision trees. Brandon comes from a background of professional gambler and today CEO of a crypto market company. He created a decision tree that showed how decisions are made at every stage of Texas Hold 'Em. It was fun to play cards with him and the boys while looking at the different decisions that could be made along the way - either on the flop, the turn or on the river. We all needed to make some decisions during the game and we needed to make those assuming different values. The boys were excited about the card playing and engaged with Brandon throughout. Once Brandon left, we did a couple decision trees - one about deciding which market to enter and then a fictitious one about should we go to college and used Oliver as an example. They know how to draw a decision tree and they know the formula for the expected value for each chance node. I would like to revisit this topic in a few weeks. However, next week, we are going to do a reflection of these decision making tools and see if they are helpful in daily life. Then we are going to go do some exploring in the community. We will start in Brasilito, then off to Flamingo and Potrero. I am looking forward to seeing what is out there to see."

"The boys all know how to do Gantt Charts. They successfully completed the IB Business Management practice case studies and know how to plan an event using time and tasks to understand time constraints and maybe delegation. :) They are quick learners and we used this tool for cooking so they saw it in action! We then moved to values and what is important to them. I had an exercise where I had scenarios for each value. I thought that it would be interesting to see how they would react in the scenario and then identify the value that it corresponded to, however, that was difficult - because it could correspond to many and the boys actually are very good kids and so they believed in most of the values. The whole thing was saved by Owen who was on the call and had some great insights for the group. The boys also responded in kind with some insights of their own. At the end of the day - the highest values on the list for Eitan were compassion, kindness and joy/play. For Oliver - family, joy/play and respect. And for Nate they were loyalty, contribution and integrity. I have written these down to use in future lessons and to reflect upon soon. This week Brandon is coming to discuss decision trees and using probability and statistics to make decisions. I think that this is our last decision making lesson but should be fun. I have a meeting with him tomorrow and will post the lesson plan then."

"I am planning our meeting for this week and working to make sure that the objective continues to center around decision making. In the past I feel like I have made the first month about the students and their strengths, values and passions, which I continue to add to these first meetings. But this time, I also am diving into decision making as the clear objective – with knowing oneself a means to making good decisions. They have already identified their strengths. That is always a good start. Especially for me to get to know them. But this group was excited to learn some business tools – so I went right into opportunity cost – and then Gantt charts. Slowing down, planning and really thinking about decision making is a good skill. This week my plan is to dive into Values. What are their values and how does that influence decision making. I believe that this works on a personal and business level so we can move right into Mission Statements either this week or next. Here is my plan: Gantt Chart reflection –  What did you learn last week?  What about the process? How did preparing the Gantt Chart help our cooking process? Give a Gantt Chart case study so that they can practice on a couple business case studies and draw the Gantt Charts. This way I can see their understanding.  _____________________________________________ Values? How does that affect our decisions? Read a scenario aloud or have them read them silently and choose from the answers below. Have students walk  to sides labeled: * Yes, I’d do that * No, I probably wouldn’t * Optional: Maybe / Not sure   Or choose one of the answers above. After they answer the question, Let them know the value behind the scenario. Have then note the values that resonate with them.  Can ask some reflection questions * Was this hard or easy to choose by answering the scenario? * Do you see yourself living this value in your life? * Were you surprised that this is a value that you exhibit when making decisions? 1. Family You’re in the middle of an online game with your friends, and you’re doing really well. One of your parents asks for your help bringing in groceries or setting the table for dinner. Do you pause the game to help? 2. Grace A teammate messes up during a game and costs you the win. Afterward, they apologize. Do you accept it without holding a grudge? 3. Loyalty Your best friend is being gossiped about by others in your group. Do you speak up to defend them, even if it risks your spot in the group? 4. Connection Your classmate seems quiet and always eats lunch alone. Do you go out of your way to talk to them or invite them to join your table? 5. Creativity You’re working on a group project and want to try a completely new approach no one has seen before. Your groupmates want to play it safe. Do you push for your idea? Your teacher assigns a project with clear instructions, but leaves some room for how it’s presented. Most students are doing slideshows. You have a unique idea—like making a short video, building something, or writing a story. It’ll take more effort and might stand out. Do you go for the creative option? 6. Diversity You’re placed in a group with people from very different backgrounds, interests, or cultures. Do you embrace the opportunity to learn from them, or stick with your own views? During lunch, some classmates are joking about a culture or accent that isn’t their own. It makes you uncomfortable, especially since you know students from that background are nearby. Do you speak up, change the subject, or stay silent? 7. Respect A substitute teacher gets some facts wrong. Your friends start laughing and mocking them. Do you join in, or stay respectful? 8. Generosity You’re doing a community service project at a local shelter. Most of your classmates are just going through the motions, taking photos for their portfolios. You notice one of the staff members is struggling to carry supplies. No one else offers to help. Do you step in quietly, even though no one is watching — and even if it means missing out on the “cooler” part of the activity? 9. Integrity You’re working on a take-home assignment that’s meant to be completed independently. A friend sends you their answers in a group chat “just in case you need help.” You didn’t ask for them, but now you have them. Do you ignore the message and complete the work on your own — or do you use what they sent to double-check your answers? 10. Love A friend is going through a really hard time. They’re acting distant and angry. Do you show up for them anyway? 11. Joy/Play You’ve been studying hard all week for multiple exams. A group of friends invites you to join them for a casual game of soccer or a silly TikTok video challenge just to blow off steam. You feel like you “should” keep working — but you also kind of want to have fun. Do you let yourself take a break and enjoy the moment? 12. Forgiveness Someone betrayed your trust, but they’ve apologized and seem sincere. Do you try to move on and rebuild the relationship? 13. Excitement Your school is offering a last-minute chance to go on a new, unexpected trip. It’s out of your comfort zone. Do you go for it? 14. Patience You’re teaching someone how to do something you’re good at, but they keep making mistakes. Do you keep calmly helping them? 15. Faith Things aren’t going well lately — with school, sports, or friends. Do you still believe things will get better, even if there’s no clear proof? 16. Wisdom You have a choice between what’s fun right now and what’s better long-term. Do you choose what’s wiser, even if it’s boring? 17. Beauty You see something really simple — like the sunset or a street performance — and pause just to appreciate it. Do you take time to notice beauty? 18. Caring A friend doesn’t say anything, but you can tell they’re not okay. Do you check in with them even if it’s awkward? 19. Commitment You signed up to help organize a school event, and the team is counting on you. A few days before the event, you’re invited to something else — a concert, game night, or relaxing day out with friends. It sounds more fun, and you’re tempted to cancel your original plan. Do you stick with your commitment, even if the other option feels more appealing? 20. Honesty You accidentally break something at school. No one sees you. Do you report it or stay quiet? 21. Adventure You’re offered the chance to try something you’ve never done before — like rock climbing, traveling, or performing. It feels risky. Do you go for it? 22. Kindness A classmate is being picked on. They’re not your friend, and no one else is stepping in. Do you show them stand up for them? 23. Teamwork You’d rather work alone, but your group assignment depends on collaboration. Do you make the effort to truly work as a team? 24. Communication You feel hurt by something your friend said. Do you bring it up in a respectful way or just let it sit and grow? 25. Learning You bomb a test. Instead of brushing it off, do you ask the teacher for help so you can actually understand? 26. Excellence You finished an assignment that’s “good enough,” but you know you could make it great with more effort. Do you go back and improve it? 27. Innovation Your club has always done things one way, but you see a better way. Do you speak up and try to change the system? 28. Quality You’re making something — maybe art, music, or a build — and you want to rush it. Do you slow down and focus on making it great? 29. Contribution Your class or team needs someone to volunteer time or effort. You’re not required to help. Do you step up anyway? 30. Strength You’re going through a tough time — maybe you’re overwhelmed with school, facing problems at home, or feeling isolated. Part of you wants to just shut down or pretend everything’s fine. But another part knows you need to talk to someone or ask for help. Do you find the strength to open up and keep going, even when it feels really hard? 31. Cooperation You’re paired with someone you don’t like for a project. Do you try to find common ground and work together? 32. Friendship A friend starts making choices you don’t agree with. Do you talk to them honestly, even if it might create distance?   33. Encouragement One of your teammates has been practicing hard but still struggles during games. After they make a mistake, you notice they look frustrated and discouraged. Do you take a moment to quietly offer some positive feedback or support to help them keep going? 34. Charisma You’re in a group setting and everyone’s being quiet and awkward. Do you step up and bring energy to get people talking? 35. Humor The room feels tense or people are upset. Do you try to lighten the mood with a joke or something funny — without crossing the line? 36. Leadership You see a group losing focus and falling apart during a task. Do you step up, organize, and guide — even if you’re not the assigned leader? 37. Balance You’re overloaded with school, sports, work, and social stuff. Do you set boundaries and create space to rest? 38. Courage You witness someone being treated unfairly or bullied at school. Speaking up might make you a target or cause problems with your friends. Do you stand up for that person anyway, even if it feels risky or uncomfortable? 39. Compassion Someone is acting angry or mean — but you know they’ve been going through a lot. Do you respond with compassion instead of defensiveness? 40. Gratitude You realize a teacher, coach, or friend has quietly helped you a lot. Do you take time to actually thank them? List of Values Some reflection questions – This value matters to me because…. If I ignored this value I’d feel…. What’s the long-term outcome? What’s the short-term outcome? What is an example of a decision that you have made that matches this value? And then at the end of the day – ask them which of these values feels like a guide for your decisions right now? And we will not have any time after this I am sure. I am hoping to have them add their values to the values path. https://thewonderment.com/opportunities/values/ Of course if we have time we will dive into reading and analyzing mission statements – but I don’t think that will happen – so I will just leave it here. Mission Statement? verbs  And there is always a chance that I have a guest speaker come and explain Gambling Theory as a way to make decisions. (I know a former professional gambler. And the boys are all interested in math.)"

"At the end of the day yesterday, the group was successful. Everyone understood what we were doing when we started cooking because of reading through the recipe and breaking it down. Each of the boys participated in the process so they felt a sense of accomplishment. They learned about a business tool that they can use in the future. It took us a little while to plan, make dinner and eat together, but it was worth the extra effort to be prepared for the task. The food was great and everyone had a great meal."

"Spark: Opportunity Cost - how did it go? “What’s a decision you made recently where you didn’t think about the opportunity cost — and regretted it?” “Is opportunity cost always obvious? Can it sometimes sneak up on you?” “Do you think adults are better at thinking about opportunity cost than teens? Why or why not?” Objective: To understand what is a Gantt Chart and then to be able to draw one to map out our cooking plan. Recipe - What is a Gantt Chart - How to draw one - Use the large paper…  A Gantt chart is a bar chart that shows a project schedule. We will use one to figure out timing for our recipes today.  We will make the chart and then discuss and then cook and see how it goes!"

"Today I am deciding what we will do on Wednesday. I am making power points for our video production tomorrow with Cloe and I just made one about the power of knowing your strengths and areas for growth. The boys have just identified their strengths so I would like to start out with that in mind. I am going to make a jar with questions in it about strengths in daily life. We are all going to answer questions while having our snack. What is something you’ve done recently that made you feel proud? When do you feel most confident? What’s one thing you do that feels easy for you but hard for others? Share a time when you helped someone and it made a difference. What’s an activity that makes you lose track of time because you enjoy it so much? When friends or family ask for help, what do they usually come to you for? What is one challenge you faced that showed your perseverance? What’s something you’ve learned quickly or taught yourself how to do? When have you felt “in the zone” and fully engaged in what you were doing? What is something others often thank you for? What is a compliment you’ve received that really stuck with you? When was the last time you showed courage, even in a small way? What kind of problems do you enjoy solving? What is one thing you do that makes people laugh or smile? When do you feel like a leader? What’s something creative you’ve done that made you feel good? What personal quality do you think your friends value most in you? What’s one way you’ve made your school or community better? What kind of group projects or roles do you enjoy most? When do you feel the most energized? What’s one habit or skill you’ve developed through practice? Share a time when you showed kindness without being asked. What’s one risk you took that paid off? What’s something you’ve accomplished that others might not know about? When do you feel the most curious or eager to learn? Then we can connect our answer to our VIA strengthfinder test by connecting our answer to the strengths on our test. _______________________ I would like them to fill out the strengths area of their Wonderment page. ________________________ Alex will come over to discuss opportunities at ACCAI _________________________ Then we will do the opportunity cost lesson. 🙂 And then we will wrap up the day by talking about decision making – using our knowledge of our strengths and assigning the homework of filling out the opportunity cost worksheet for 5 days after school."

"Here is what we did yesterday and how I ran the hour and 30 minutes that we had together: Before the meeting - I made sure that we had some food for them - banana bread and drinks. I created a scavenger hunt in our neighborhood with little stickers, candy... It was meant to see how students work together and who takes a  leadership position. I created a document with ideas of what we were going to do during that day. What happened during the meeting:    The students arrived and they had some snacks and we talked about what was needed for them to bring to each meeting and what our goals were. We did this very loosely because they don't really have too many expectations - they want to learn some business skills and put them into action. I had them sign into the platform with the Project Wonder link. That was a little tricky because we had an incorrect link to sign up in the video - which we are fixing... Here is the link: https://thewonderment.com/collectives/project-wonder/ Here is the link to the YouTube video just in case you have people that need to sign into the platform - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qBI0jAKzik. They created their profile and then we did the https://thewonderment.com/paths/strengthsfinder-activity/ which took a bit of time. They made their posters. But we were almost out of time at this moment and I wanted them to do the scavenger hunt. They did the scavenger hunt and then it was time to go. They worked well together finding the clues and figuring out where to go in the neighborhood. Next week: We will put their work from the strengthsfinder test on Project Wonder, take a picture of us  - then we are going to dive into opportunity cost - https://thewonderment.com/paths/opportunity-cost/ Because I want them to think about the decisions that they make during the week - they will have homework from this. I will add a couple games during this time related to their strengths. I will finalize these ideas on Monday. It was a successful first meeting. I need to write to their parents to explain how the day went. Let them know what we did and what we will do next week."

"Our cohort of inspired youth is ready to start working together to find ways to learn business skills and employ them in community projects. Here is the documentation of our progress."