Wow, thank you guys so much for your suggestions!
Based on what you have told me, I have put in an order for a Rode shotgun mic (based on some reviews, it seems to be a pretty good deal), I like the idea for the lanterns for some soft indoor lighting, I will definitely be stealing it from you :P, I have also invested in a tripod, and will be renting a wide angle lens (tokina 12-24) and a Samyang 35 1.4.
I like your idea for the love story as well, so I'll be making 2 videos now... 1 of the older students, where I will stick to the present story line, and 1 of the kids having (supervised) fun in the Canadian wilderness, eating interesting food, and kayaking. I'm going to make the latter video into a sort of video journal, filming everything and including the best parts. The former will be more scripted and acted out with a storyline.
I promise to post any of the work I do on this site so you can ridicule my noobness :D