Arts Immersion Week 2008

Arts week is our antidote to mud season. During the last week of March, each room of the school and some outside spaces were turned into art studios, and arts workshops were offered through the week. Students helped with the planning. Highlights of the week included metal working, screen printing, kite making, felting, painting, a one act play, an improvisation band, small house making, batik, video making, block printing, tin foil printing, paper mache, beading, mechanics and wood carving. Each morning a cooking workshop was also offered and a meal was prepared for the school. We
had cob oven pizza, Stone Soup with homemade bread, and meals from India, Colombia and Japan. Workshops were led by teachers, parents, students and community members. Recipes for some meals are below the photos!

Molly - acrylic painting


Evy painting


Jude and Isaiah work on pinatas


Leyla - video filming


Matt at the screen printing table


Eric and Nathan work on screens for printing t-shirts


Nadine - felting


Zoe and Margot - metal working


Kellen and Lonny - metal working


Amanda at work


Ainaka and Evan prepare a Colombian salsa


Kite making


Sam - working on his kite


Toby - working on his kite


Nadine gets her kite up


Reading script for one act play


Vasily - woodcarving


Working on the set for the upcoming Variety Show


Louis works on his small house


Amelia with Manju in the Indian cooking workshop


Xzavia - painting


Gabe at work


Block printing workshop


Comida Colombiana

From Ainaka
Please note, I do not have exacts amounts of each ingredient, so trust in your senses and test, and play with the ingredients.

Arepas

Masa harina (sort of corn flour, you can get it at the Middlebury Co-op)
Water
Milk
Schreded Cheese (mozarella or cheddar, the best is queso blanco, but difficult to find)
Salt (quarter teaspoon per cup)

We can prepare the vegan option with tofu and soy milk

For each cup of masa harina may be 1/2 a cup of warm liquid (But this is not accurate!). You can use only water, or milk or both. It depends on your availability, in Colombia sometimes you just have water and salt and this is enough! Add the cheese or tofu finely scrambled. Add the salt

Kneed with you hands till the mixture is soft but firm. Make a 1/2 inch round tortilla, the size or your hand (2 inches width)
Put them in a flat pan that has been previously greased with oil or butter. Once it has been toasted on one side and is crunchy and hard, brown but not burned, flip it over and toast the other side. Add butter on the top, sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper, spices and yum...!


Salsa

2 Tomatoes
1 Onion
A handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 spoon of olive oil ( I used a bit of apple cider vinegar because did not have oil)
Salt
Paprika or red hot chilly (optional)

Finely chop all the ingredients, combine them and enjoy. There is not right amount here, just your senses.



Chicken

1 onion (red or white)
2 or 3 tomatos
3 or 4 or more garlic cloves
Red capsicum
As much as you want of salt, pepper, cumin, (ginger, thyme, or other spices if desired)
Usually for a meal for 4 people we use about a half tablespoon of salt
1 pound of chicken or beef or tofu or mixed veggies cut in big chunks; or nothing and just add this salsa to potatoes or rice and it's delicious.

Cut the onion, tomatoes, and capsicum in half inch squares, mince the garlic. Saute the onion and the garlic till they are transparent, add tomatoes and capsicum and add spices. When veggies are soft and juicy (the salsa is ready) put the meat in and saute, add 1/2 cup of water. You can add veggies if you want. Cover and leave in medium heat till meat is ready, about 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice if you want.

Through the Lens of a Microscope

Miranda and Nimaya look at various substances and materials under a microscope in science class, and draw what they see.

Surprise Visit on St. Patrick's Day

Winter's Last Hold

The telephone wire runs,
Black and vain,
Before the gray winter mountains,
Like an X across the Mona Lisa.

Miranda Selinger, age 11


Snow

The refreshing feeling of waking up
to fields full of snow
trickles through the body of a young girl.
Purity is in the air.


Snow Star

I watched the snow
Touching the earth
As though it was
A child. It looked as
Though the sky
Was felled. Everyone
Was cloaked with
Snow. I watched it happen
So, from afar, as
Though I were a
Star.

Kellen Hopwood, age 12

Students Share Learning with Parents

On the morning of March 13, primary and upper elementary students shared learning from the past months with their parents. The primary group has been studying the human body in science and shared models, drawings and diagrams, writing and experiments. They have also undertaken a 'Northern Studies' humanities exploration and shared writing and artwork from this integrated study.

Gabe tells his mother about the dog sled visit while looking at pictures of the expereince.


Nadine shows her project to Amelia's mom.


Nadine's drawing of the brain


Amanda reads her writing to her parents.


Amelia shares her project on the human heart with her grandparents.


Amelia's model of the human heart - which she made from duct tape, balloons, paint and plastic tubing


Louis's project on cells




The upper elementary group shared their science models as well as personal narrative stories, essays, poetry and fiction writing they have done this year.

Adrian demonstrates his Wright flyer with circuits and small motors.


Miranda, Zoe, Nimaya and Jezriel demonstrate their steam engine boats.


Kellen demonstrates his magnetic guass rifle.


Margot with her alternative energies project.


NImaya's dad, Ark, reads her fiction story.


Evan and C demonstrate their levitating magnet model.


Sean and John prepare to launch the film can cannons.


POP!

Vermont Dog Sled Visits Red Cedar

Lissy Heminway (partner of teacher Bill Heminway) brought a dog team to school on Monday, March 3rd.

Getting set up




Lissy


Willow


Adrian with Glaston and Willow


Sean with Gilly and Leo


Heading out




Another kind of team