WHS students strengthen Spanish skills through trip to Costa Rica

By Matt Pascarella

Windham High School students who passed Spanish 3 through Spanish 5 were able to attend a two-week trip in Costa Rica where they had the opportunity to interact with and immerse themselves within the culture there.

All 16 students from Windham High School's Spanish 3
through Spanish 5 classes gather in Monteverde, Costa Rica
on June 22. Students who received a passing grade in
these classes were given the opportunity to spend over
two weeks within the culture of Costa Rica. While there,
they did volunteer work, went sightseeing and had 
interaction with communities while working to improve
their Spanish through engagement with the culture.
SUBMITTED PHOTO     

The 16 students who attended stayed with host families, did activities, attended school and earned one Spanish credit, volunteered and worked on strengthening their Spanish through community interaction from June 14 to June 29.

Attendees included Chase Gagnon, Caleb Hayman, Sean LeBel, Renner Gerrity, Nico Hidell, Maddy Nugent, Ember Good, Maggie Soule, Ella Washburn, Maya Dries, Eilee Saxby, Brenna Small, Denali Momot, Isabella Thibodeau, Caroline Langerman and Sienna Ruth.

“Going into this trip I was very anxious and hesitant,” said Ella Washburn, who graduated before leaving for the trip. “Being sent to another country for 16 days and living with strangers sounds very intimidating. We were all told that the best way to learn a language was to be immersed in it. I learned a lot not only about their culture but also about myself. Volunteering in the local school ... and getting to feed sloths at the animal refuge league (were two of my favorite parts of the trip).”

WHS Spanish teachers Elizabeth Bubier and Tianna Burton were the trip chaperones. Bubier and Burton first heard about the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas or CPI from a language conference they attended years ago. With CPI, students stay with Costa Rican families and attend classes, volunteer, and get to do tourist activities.

Burton said the fastest path to fluency is experiencing the language, food, and music. When taking Spanish in high school, she says students get anxious about making mistakes and believe they aren’t capable of communicating effectively in Spanish. Costa Rica helps them to gain confidence. They are empowered to continue studying Spanish and their path to fluency.

For Burton, that is the most important takeaway from these trips.

“I have so many favorite moments on this trip, but two standout above the rest,” said Burton. “The first is on day two and three when a number of students were awed by the fact they had started thinking in Spanish. We assured them they could do it, that communication would get easier every day, but most didn’t believe us. On our walk to school the second day in country one student said, ‘I woke up this morning thinking about the conversation I would have with my Mama Tica over breakfast and then I realized I was thinking in Spanish instead of in English first only to translate it to Spanish.’ She was so excited and her confidence with Spanish only grew from there.”

The Windham students had school responsibilities with the expectation they would participate in all the activities. With their families, they were required to speak Spanish as well as in the classroom. There were everyday communications to buy snacks at the corner or in the local markets. After four hours of classes each day they went out to lunch at local restaurants. One day they came upon a festival, and many Windham students spoke with some older Costa Ricans and even danced with them.

“For us, the main goal of this trip is never just one goal,” said Bubier. “We want kids to get excited about speaking Spanish as well as experience a new culture and all its parts: family life, new foods, art, music, history, and everything that encompasses culture. We also believe that giving back to the communities in Costa Rica is important as well as having fun while you are doing everything the program offers.” 

Students did volunteer work at an elementary school, two animal rehabilitation facilities and a coffee farm. Windham students went on a city tour of San José, a hanging bridge tour of a tropical forest, zip lining, and a beach excursion to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific Ocean.

“This was my first opportunity to go on this trip,” said Chase Gagnon, a WHS junior. “Before going to Costa Rica, my Spanish was alright, but after being there for two weeks I was able to enhance my Spanish by not just our Spanish classes but also being around people who spoke Spanish and learning it from them. The surfing lessons and day at the beach was my favorite experience because surfing was incredibly fun and we were able to swim at the beach with all of our friends afterwards. We got to go to an animal sanctuary and help out. I enjoyed it because I was able to feed a sloth and I thought that was pretty cool.”

According to Burton, taking these trips with students and getting to see the students gain independence, self-confidence, global awareness, commitment to service, and to make new friends is the best part of her job as a language teacher.

“Both Tianna and I love this trip for so many reasons,” said Bubier. “We love Costa Rica, we love our students and we love watching them learn and grow. It is an amazing adventure for all involved.” <

Cyclist attempts 625-mile ride for Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing

By Ed Pierce

It’s hard to keep Bill Turner down for very long and despite experiencing pain in his knee, he’s launching a new long-distance cycling adventure to raise money for his favorite charitable organization next week.

Local cyclist Bill Turner will ride in the Full Bike Adventure
'Winter Western' trip covering 625 miles from the California
coast to Tucson, Arizona from March 2 to March 15 while
raising money for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center
for Housing. COURTESY PHOTO

Turner, one of the founders of the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing, stayed close to home last year after shoulder surgery and only cycled in Maine, but still managed to bring in a sizeable haul of pledges for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center chapter while only taking shorter rides.

But 2026 is different. Turner’s Fuller Center friend, Ginny Hughes challenged him to ride for two weeks with The Fuller Bike Adventure “Winter Western” trip covering 625 miles from the California coast to Tucson, Arizona from March 2 to March 15.

“The Physical Therapy I have been doing for my right knee has helped however it still talks to me when going down the stairs, so I will be riding my Fugi Mountain bike with a set of road tires.” Turner said. “For this ride 100 percent of the funds I raise will be split equally between the local Silver Valley Fuller Center for Housing chapter in Kellogg, Idaho and the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing in Maine.

He said both chapters focus on serving elderly residents, veterans, and the handicapped, by repairing homes to keep people safe while remaining in their homes. The Fuller Center for Housing raises funds through cyclists who commit to riding long distances and raising funds.

“This year my goal for the ride is $10,350,” Turner said. “As of Feb. 24, we are at $2,725.” Turner and his wife Lily will match $2,500.00 of donations during the month of March, and he says March is a month that he can win bonus dollars for the donations that are made, or the amount of funds that he raises in a given week and donations can be made through Oct. 1, 2026.

Preparing to undertake yet another long cycling adventure is certainly a testament to Turner’s determination.

In 2021, he underwent a prostatectomy, a surgical procedure to remove his prostate gland, and is now living cancer free. A surgery in 2022 replaced his right shoulder and he went through another operation to have his left shoulder replaced in 2024.

As an avid cyclist, Bill Turner rode for many years in the “Trek across Maine” with his children on behalf of the American Lung Association.

“At some point in 2017, I decided to see if I could bike across the country,” Turner said. “I began to look for trips and came across the Fuller Center Bike Adventure, and so I signed up for a trip from San Francisco to Santa Fe to see how my body would react. I am not used to asking people for money, but for such as good cause as the Fuller Center Bike Adventure, it seemed like the right thing to do.”

He chose to ride across the country with the Bike Adventure in 2018 and signed up to ride from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. Turner managed to ride the entire distance, and he also learned more about the national Fuller Center for Housing, a 501(c3) non-profit organization based out of Americus, Georgia. Its mission is to “promote collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide.”

After seeing first-hand the work done to help communities by the Fuller Center for housing, Turner thought that his church, Faith Lutheran Church in Windham, could become involved in a project locally to assist keeping elderly homeowners and veterans in the Lakes Region safely in their homes.

Together with Windham resident Lorraine Glowczak, Turner developed a PowerPoint presentation and met with churches around Windham pitching them about the proposal. Six churches came on board and founded the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing with Faith Lutheran Church, the Unity Church for Spiritual Growth, the North Windham Union Church, Windham Hill United Church of Christ, Raymond Village Church and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine joining to serve the towns of Windham, Raymond and Standish.

At the forefront of fundraising for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing, Turner trains year-round and has a fat-tire bike with studded tires that he rides throughout the winter months with his pal, Tucker, a black 40-pound rescue dog that the Turners obtained from the Texas shelter.

“Bicycling has been an important part of my life for staying healthy at this point,” he said. “The community has always helped our local riders accomplish their goals and help others throughout our country,” Turner said. “If your life allows, during these crazy times, donations in any amount are always very much appreciated by us and the folks on the receiving end.”

To make a donation to Turner, visit his fundraising page https://2026.fullercenterbikeadventure.org/btair or send a check donation payable to “The Fuller Center for Housing” with Turner’s name in the memo line and mail them to Attn: Bike Adventure, The Fuller Center for Housing, PO Box 523, Americus, GA 31709.

To learn more about the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing, visit https://sebagofullerhousing.org/ <