Session 4 Kicks Off!

Greetings from Beeman! 

We had a great kick off to our fourth session of ELP last week. We have a crew of 18 girls in grades 3-6 who are participating in Girls on the Run this year. Our curriculum for GOTR does not start until the week of March 20th so we are spending these first three weeks together team building. Courtney Allenson is guest teaching for the first two weeks and leading us in a variety of awesome jewelry projects. Girls last week made hand painted animal pendants for silver necklaces, rubber band braided bracelets, dollar bill rings and gemstone rings. It has been so fun to bond the team through these awesome and creative projects that Courtney has shared with us.

Also debuting last week was a cooking club with Middlebury College mentor Erjzsie Nagy. Students in grades K-3 are working together to learn about healthy snacks that they can learn to prepare for themselves and their families. They made apple smiles last week and will be making hidden veggie smoothies this week. 

Shawn Kimball is joining us on Thursdays for a part two of his film club. Students were eager to see Shawn again and he has a collection of new and past students. They began work on animation last week and will be working on their own videos this week using chrome books. Stay tuned for more pictures :)

Kicking Off Session 4

Movies, Comics, and Games to name a few!

I can't believe we're into the 4th Session of ELP already!  This year has zoomed by and spring is around the corner.  We have some cool new workshops that will hopefully be utilizing the amazing outdoor spaces we have here at Robinson as the weather starts to turn towards balmy.   

We are happy to welcome Andrea Tremols back as an ELP Leader.  Andrea took Session 3 off but she's back with a vamped up Spanish workshop as well as her new Games Galore class.  This week I saw clashes of Star Wars Monopoly and a round robin tournament of Battleship!  Kids can't wait to see which games she pulls out of her sleeve next!

We are also excited to welcome Shawn Kimball back for his Lights, Camera, Action workshop.  Shawn will be guiding seven young aspiring director/actors as they devise their own plot, characters, and costumes for their first feature film.  I was able to sit in on their brainstorming session today and I think some spooky monsters and funny twists are in store.

Matt Senecal joins us this session with his awesome Comics Drawing Club.  Matt is a veteran when it comes to devising super heroes and we've got an eager crew of artists rarin' to get started on their own.  I'm excited to see the story boards they produce.  

That's it for Week 1 and stay tuned for more as our Poetry, Travels to Africa, Crazy 8's Math Club, and Chess Clubs start to heat up.

Have a great weekend!

John

Wrapping Up Session 3

Well, it’s that time again… The time when we wrap up and ELP session and reflect on all of the AMAZING learning and community that occurred over the past six weeks. Film club wrote, produced, planned, performed, and filmed several movies this session.  The outdoor club braved many fierce winter adventures in the snow. Speaking to any of them they have a variety of Macgyver-like ideas  to survive and thrive in any winter disaster ;)

Enjoy the photos, I feel like they really say the most.

Blog Quickie: Student Choice & Voice at Monkton

Today, students in grades K-6 who are participating in Mrs. Kuzio's wildly popular "Minute to Win It!" workshop were taking a break from the fast-paced, adrenaline rush that they are used to. Instead, they were researching other MTWI games that they would like to play during the last two days of Session 3.

This led sixth grader Maia J., who is on the MCS Student Council, to come up with an idea for a schoolwide event. Maia plans to bring her suggestion of different MTWI challenges in all nine of the different homerooms for a fun fair before April Break to the Student Council, which meets on Thursdays in Mrs. Gagner's room. Let's wait and see if this plan hatched at ELP can bring joy to the entire MCS community!

Stay tuned!

        Mid Session at Bristol

This time in our workshops tends to be the sweet spot for every body.  We are a few weeks in and it is so fun to watch the students hit a comfortable stride. They are settling into their most creative and expressive selves and it is showing!!!

Shawn Kimbal is leading a film workshop where the children wrote, and are now performing in their own feature film. The excitement is palpable!!!!!

Across the hall Kristi Bedard is leading a Reuse, Recycle, Create art class where the students use recycled materials to let their imagination run wild. Cities are being built, games are being created, there is even a few fairy houses being built!

In the library, sounds of the violin are beginning to take shape. These students have been working very hard on their form and tone. Catch them for a short performance this Friday at 2:10pm at our monthly Celebration of Learning!

The Wonder of Watercolors

Students at LCS have been busy watercoloring this winter!  We have been reading several books by Holly Hobbie, including Toot & Puddle, where the brave and daring Toot travels around world and writes home to tell his best pal Puddle all about his wonderful adventures.















Students were asked to think of an adventure that they have been on to create their own "Adventure Painting"!  Some of their adventures include sliding down the slides at Jay Peak water park, going down the slide at Button Bay State Park for the first time, exploring a hot tub at a hotel, and many, many more!  (Can you tell that we are dreaming of warmer weather?!)  

Students practiced sketching their outlines first with pencil, going over their lines with Sharpie, and then filling it in with watercolors.  Students shared their completed pieces with each other and had the chance to ask questions or give comments.

Next project, "Animal Painting"...!!!

Catching Up at Beeman

We have been up to all kinds of fun and interesting work this past week. Students in the outdoor club have been working to secure a safe bridge for them to travel over after being stranded again in the wilderness! Outdoor club has really enjoyed practicing their tracking and camouflage skills in the woods. This group has proved some amazing stamina for braving the cold temperatures and problem solving through their various challenges that group leader Jared  Danyow throws their way. 

In film club students have been working hard to film their various movie projects. Last week an awesome parent took the time to guest star, with the family dog, in one of the films. Students have coordinated various props, costumes and commentary to make their films as fun and engaging as possible. It has been incredible to watch the fluency with which students are now handling the camera equipment.