Get Outside!

Greetings from Beeman!

We have been absolutely THRILLED with the warming temperatures and sunny skies. Both Girls on the Run and Outdoor Club have been  getting outsides and enjoying all of the beauty that surrounds our wonderful school. Students in outdoor club worked on getting to know one another last week through fun and high energy games such as Spud. This week they began working on outdoor camping skills, students worked collaboratively to pitch tents and problems solve tricky situations that sometimes arise when setting up camp.

In Girls on the Run we have been working to improve ourselves physically, emotionally and socially. There has been a great emphasis on empathy and friendship in the past week where we have spent time thinking about ways we can be more empathetic to people that frustrate us. We have also further explored what makes an ideal friend and what qualities we should see to embed in ourselves to also be good friends. The team is doing an impressive job of setting personal lap goals for themselves and really pushing themselves during conditioning work. Many girls have already worked up to holding a plank for 1 minute or more and are enthusiastic for core work and squats, what AWESOME habits to establish at a young age!

Starksboro Chess Team Represent!

Chess has been a big part of ELP since Mike Gray showed up with a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies and a dozen chess sets under his arm.  Mike has coached youngsters of all ages in the art of chess and we have been so lucky to have him as Starksboro's coach for the past 4 years.  Two weekends ago Mike and ELP's Jill Schoendorf led ten die hard chess followers to the K - 12 Vermont State Chess Tournament in Berlin.  They competed against kids in their grade from all over the state.  There were over 200 competitors and I believe that we were the only school with team shirts (and a coach with cookies)!  None of our kids had ever competed in a tournament like this before and they certainly held there own!

Check out these amazing photos from the tournament.

Stay tuned for more from Session 5.

~John

A Wrap of Session 4

The Photos Speak For Themselves

I have no words.  Well, I guess I have a few.  This was such an awesome week.  We had cyborgs chasing the mad scientists who created them, bobble head comic heroes being drawn, ancient African villages being built, patterns being woven, cows learning math, and so much more!  I'm so proud of all our kids, leaders, and staff.  Session 4 was a smash hit!  I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Stay tuned for more madness from Robinson ELP as Session 5 kicks off next week!

~John

Mad Scientists on the loose!

Our mad scientists are excelling at making messes! Each time they meet they are practicing the scientific method. They begin by forming a hypothesis, they test their theory, and finish by recording their findings.  The pictures below are from the "Bouncy Ball Experiment" where they tested to see if the materials would bind together. 

Then they moved on to outdoor paper mache volcanos!!  The best part of these bigger projects is the anticipation of whether or not it would work!!

Girls on the Run is SO Much Fun :)

Greetings Families!

We are having so much fun at Beeman launching off our Girls on the Run curriculum! Our focus has been on really identifying and checking in with ourselves and the world around us. Our lessons have included a concentration on the following; making positive and healthy choices, positive visualization, realizing inner strength, positive / negative self talk and how to combat it. 

The girls have done a phenomenal job making personal goals that are about both physical and emotional growth. I am so impressed with the enthusiasm, endurance and participation the girls have given so far. Many of them ran a mile or more on their very first day, amazing!

We did manage to get outside and run in the mud on Thursday, hopefully the weather will change quickly and we can be back outside this week :)