# data[].attributes.body
Selection process for day/night groups

A variety of activities for day group

Activities were interactive and physical

Lunches were good and mostly served on time and enough for everyone

Buses were well organized and on time

Drivers knew where they were going

Communication with service providers was good. They were ready and expecting us and well-organized

.

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Bonded

Learned

Perspective change--transformational learning

Beautiful natural setting

Stars

Nice balance of academic and fun bonding experience and time to relax

Staff collaborated well with the challenges that we had

Staff kept smiles even when things were not going as planned

Students did really well on showcase

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Plus (+)Teaching English; Attieke (mixed bag: good for some - kids involved in the entire process & families open to suggestions; kids wanted to be engaged in the activities); Entire hotel for the group (one compound); Hotel meals were on time; Good organization for the trip; Having a French Speaker; Chaperones flexible & positive when plans changed; Participation in English was great (Planning lessons, something to look forward, opportunity to adjust lessons, chance to repeat lessons); Individual hotel rooms for teachers

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service project did not happen, so no interaction with the community

trip leader ended up in the hospital after wasp stings

activities didn't match our expectations and schedule

"surprise activity" was not planned and service learning we had to plan on the spot

food- needed to vary

bathrooms in the room and only 2 for many many people

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1. Good site seeing and worth exploring

2. The activity schedule from Bon Plan was clear

3. Phone use policy went well

4. Accommodation was great

5. Bon Plan did a good job

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Four days of activities with a focus on each activity each day.

Mon - Ropes Course - kids loved it

Tues - EEFY - task was meaningful and helpful to the community

Wed - Songon Park - fun activities, time to relax

Thurs - Carpentry - kids enjoyed it and all left with a product

Fri - Presentations - showcases were complete and shared their learning

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Pre Trip, and During the Trip

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Ropes course

Ziplining

Having a third party lead to miscommunication and unclear expectations (itinerary, tent partners, number of tents, food preferences, number of bathrooms)

Unnecessary waste of time with some activities (tent set-up, buckets for bathing)

Lack of organized activities

Variations of food

Lack of preparedness of students (sensitivity, expectations, sustainability)

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1. Cooperation from the students

2. Each day was well organized

3. Opportunities to serve and learn

4. Team work

5. Desire the kids to serve at SOS Village painting the walls.

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The site visit worked because it helped us to foresee possible challenges.

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When lunch was provided, it was excellent. Students wanted more!

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Timing was off

Meals were never on time

Food

Orientation coming from us to the organizers needs to be more firm next time

External agents not used to time management Western style

Outcomes that external providers wanted was different from the outcomes that staff wanted

No fresh fruit "at every meal", water took awhile to be out,

One of our students had to pay for coconuts (should have been provided.)

No one mentioned that there was no electricity during the day and no running water

No toilet seats (and had thought we would have toilet seats).

No good communication prior to them arriving to the bus drivers or security guard. (and we hadn't realized this.)

Monday IB boot camp was perceived by students as being a waste of time. Students felt like it would have been better to work on extended essay.

Food provider was an issue--way they spoke to us, no halal, hiding food

Students felt underappreciated. Parents didn't show up, students felt like grade 11 had more of a spectacle with the media and being at the basketball courts. Our students felt isolated in labs.

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Minus (-)Disparity between groups during attieke (Esre group); Hotel space was too big, too much area to cover, too easy for kids to sneak out of rooms; Site visit must be earlier in the year; Too much to do in one day (rework the schedule, better flow); Too early in the school year, especially if CAS; Let us dismiss kids once back on campus, don't wait until 3 pm; Need gathering spaces after activities / Clear activity endings; Timing and making use of space and amentities (do this better next time, easier to address with an earlier site visit) ie boat rides?; Felt too rushed; Teachers didn't have time to process the trip beforehand; Hotel too far from village for multiple back and forths

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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communication with leader and site leader- to make sure we are all on the same page

ropes course- commute was a bit long for a short time and too many students

purpose behind group- agreements (possibly do a retreat for time with groups) more time to communicate with students

one idea for small group- escape room

service learning- learn about it before and embed in curriculum

theme or purpose for Week Without Walls

get the Friday off (we were beat!)

more equity between groups (hotels, camping, sites..etc)

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Some confusion about what we were doing and what the activities were until last minute

Director of Caveoquiva wasn't happy with the work was done

Treasure hunt was confusing due to language translation issues

Carpentry needed a bit more prep work beforehand

Wasps at the ropes course

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1. Tree planting activity needed clear organization

2. More social time for students

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EEFY - kids swarmed our students and no direction or help from EEFY staff. Definitely unsafe situations

Ropes Course - limited number of harnesses for 100 people. Wasps nests present and providers were blase.

MasterChef - electrical outlets weren't able to accommodate the hot plates

Carpentry - really difficult task in a very limited time frame!

Showcase Day - too much time in the classroom

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Please specific examples so we know what to focus on.

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Students enjoyed some of the down time

Students were able to come up with some of their own activities

Not having a cell phone encouraged some of the bonding

Tents seemed decent quality

Students had time to bond

Having a French speaker on the trip

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1. First day - Confusion with the schedule and the timings

2. second day - Each day we left at 9:00, except Thursday.

3. Toilets: no water or toilet paper

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For us the overnight trip was fantastic.

The only issue was with the activities in Bonoua.

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AIM was good . Students acted  very good during their service

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AIM was good . Students acted  very good during their service

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Safety concerns with the ropes course... Wasps, maintenance. training for staff.

Drivers did not always know where they were going.

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Showcase grade 12 showcase

Use collaborative projects to create future service learning opportunities

Have a male who speaks local French as the trip leader

Clear communication for how to best provide for the bus drivers and guard

Have college counselor attend the grade 12 trip

Use the ministry of tourism who attended last time (and emailed Maipelo) rather than the providers we used. They were better organizers

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Improvements/Suggestions

Speak with Apka to make sure every group does what MHP's group did

; Maybe Apka goes with another group/family next year and talks through the activities like he did with MHP's group;

Do 1 day trip at the beginning of year for "belonging" and then have WWW later in the year;

Clear guidelines for consequences about breaking curfew or other rules;

First morning (IB bootcamp time) - explain purpose of WWW / CAS alignment, that WWW is still school just school in a different setting (experiential school); Need to prepare students for daily reflections, CAS showcase ahead of time; Add goal setting ahead of time;

Need a lot more preparation before trips (for teachers & kids);

The WWW coordinator needs to be hands on throughout the entire process (all logisitics, all supplies, even day of trips leaving) ex. water;

Kids could plan more of WWW experiences;

Substance use prep;

Better medical prep (example - wasp stings, more practical things that we would encounter in our locations);

More situational prep;

Schedule WWW to be the week before October break (more time to prep, allows teachers to recover, and kids will still participate because they want to)

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We got to know the students and build relationships.

Staff bonding and rapport

Students grew, got out of their comfort zones, developed their interpersonal skills, risk taking, and got to know each other in a different context.

became a place of inclusion- no one was left out

unstructured learning ended up being an asset

students learned it was ok to be themselves

phone contract- giving students voice (voting on uniform)

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What Should We do Differently Next Time?

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What Should We do Differently Next Time?

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Connect activities to curriculum

Let Team know what the activities are a couple weeks in advance so they can plan it with students

Do site visits more in advance

Communicate more clearly about what is wanted/expected from service activities

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1. Enough breaks in between activities

2. Chaperones should be involved in the planning and communication of the site host

3. Planning the team building activities differently.

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CLARIFY with Providers the time constraints.

Don't send ICSA students to EEFY while their students are there.

Limit the number of people at Bonoua Ropes Course to 60 or so. Find another Ropes Course if possible who understands safety concerns.

On Friday - team building for all students! Make them work together for at least part of the day.

There was no closure for just our group. or for all of week without walls.

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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Give examples to support discussions.

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Equity of trip for students

Equity of trip for teachers (about 40 extra hours of work for the week, could this somehow be acknowledged, compensated, coffee, massage voucher, CCA credit or a day off?)

VERY Long week with showcase on Friday. Having either the day off or half day would have felt more sustainable.

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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The scheduling of the WWW can be moved to the final week before the Octover break!

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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More preparation before we go. For example, for the service component, make sure the students are aware of the issues and expectations so their behaviors are appropriate.

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Ensure hotel tables are stable and do not repeat collapse on students; More time to do full security briefing on hotel site and ask for adjustments; Overall the kids had a good time; This could become a more meaningful service project with more thought

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Showcase grade 12 during the showcase

The ministry of tourism showed up. Use them next time instead of the activity providers that we used. They were better at actually organizing the site visits and calling people.

No strange people EVER around camps. NO ONE should be there (child safeguarding)

We need someone who can speak local French and they need to be the identified leader.

Maybe have a male as the leader because of local issues.

Let us know about guards and drivers and where they fit in and what the expectations are when working with them.

Tem should come with us because these are the kids who need to be ready for college so college counselor should be present.

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Showcase grade 12 during the showcase

Use the ministry tourism people who showed up rather than the providers we used.

Use a male who speaks local French as the trip leader

Better communication for providing for the staff and security guards

College counselor should be with grade 12

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1. WWW should proceed with the Midterm break

2. Maybe Stipends for the Chaperones?

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Schedule for this year was an improvement than last year. More organized as well.

If providers note they will translate, they should be held accountable for that. Ropes Course and Carpentry, our students were expected to translate. If that is the case, we can ask during our pre-trip sessions for volunteers rather than the provider grabbing a kid to do it on the spot

Food does not need to be fancy. They do not need to be served! Our kids are easy on that. Just on time please.

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Any or all?

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Move WWW the last week before the October break!

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What didn't work well: The workers at Village Kiyi were not ready. Instead of worksops it was only activities. Some kids got easily board. Lavatory and restrooms door at the Cocoa revolution farm. Bonoua : No Safety protocol. Wasps . Grade 7 & 8 combined was a large (Big  group)

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What didn't work well: The workers at Village Kiyi were not ready. Instead of worksops it was only activities. Some kids got easily board. Lavatory and restrooms door at the Cocoa revolution farm. Bonoua : No Safety protocol. Wasps . Grade 7 & 8 combined was a large (Big  group)

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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Next time, the day for the reflection could be a half day.

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What shoud we do differently next time? Find a theme for WWW. So kids know what to work on. Also Trip leader should be in contact with site in advanced before coordinate program at AIM at on point kids were a bit lost

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What shoud we do differently next time? Find a theme for WWW. So kids know what to work on. Also Trip leader should be in contact with site in advanced before coordinate program at AIM at on point kids were a bit lost

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Students involvement was really felt at the SOS village Yamousskro & other activities organized. It was awesome!

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Any notable observations or feedback? Safety for places where we go to avoid risk for our students and staff.

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Any notable observations or feedback? Safety for places where we go to avoid risk for our students and staff.

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Team work was formidable; students participation was incredible.

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Food was awesome. There was enough for everyone and more. We did love that.

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What should we do differently next time?

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What should we do differently next time?

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1. better organization of the schedule - planning the day with more clarity.

2. Every bus leaves at the same time.

3. Better organization of food ( considering veg options as well )

4. The Ropes course activities should be verified a day before.

5. Have a paper with guidelines for pictures in English/French to give to the host.

6. Work on some possible scenarios.

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What needs to be done differently next time

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What needs to be done differently next time

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More end of the day reflections for students

More team members on a site visit

More contact and context to the service

More attentive accommodation for food needs/dietary restrictions

More of a limitation of snacks brought (perhaps a large ziplock bag size)

Confirm medications and allergies in advance (making sure required medicine is carried)