Greenfield Center School in the News!

Quest for knowledge of history

Greenfield Center School students research area to make public booklets

By ANITA PHILLIPS

Recorder Staff

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Center School sixth-grader Ella Deters never realized the communities she lives, plays and goes to school in had such rich histories until she began doing research for the school’s most recent sixth- and seventhgrade project — a quest through six different areas that will be offered to the public before the end of fall.

A couple dozen Center School students will spend the next month completing their research on Green River Cemetery, downtown Greenfield, downtown Turners Falls, Sachem’s Head on Rocky Mountain, the Greenfield Energy Park and their school.

At the end of October, the students plan to have a quest booklet that will include maps of the six locations, as well as clues and riddles that will lead participants to six treasure boxes, one at each location. In the process, people on the quest will share in historical knowledge the students have learned.

The teachers leading the groups, Cara Parchesco, Chris Sanborn and Barbara Lockhart, said they hope everyone in Franklin County and the valley, as well as visitors to the area, will participate.

Sanborn said the idea of questing is not a new one.

“People have been doing this for years,” he said. “Our students just participated in one in Keene (N.H.).”

The questing project will be an outdoor treasure hunting game of hide and seek. At the end of each quest will be a box with a notebook and pen inside. Each participant will be expected to sign their name and any other information they wish to share, as well as the date of the quest.

But to get to the box, participants will have to follow clues and riddles to different locations at each site.

“We hope people leave items in the box — it could just be something small, like a button or something,” said Deters. “It will be fun to see what we’ve collected when it’s over.”

The teachers and students have not worked out all of the details of the quests and are not sure how long they will go on.

Deters and Nick Wisnieski have been assigned the Green River Cemetery.

“We’ve learned the history of a lot of the people buried there,” said Deters.

“It’s a place most people wouldn’t think to go, so we’re hoping that changes,” said Wisnieski.

Deters said people on their quest should bring a pen or pencil.

“There will be a laminated letter at each stop of our quest,” she said. “People will need to record each letter because all of them together will provide the clue to the final stop where they’ll find our box.”

Seventh-grader Claudia Danford said clues will be given in a similar way at the Energy Park.

“People will learn the history of transportation and energy use as they move through our quest,” said Danford. “They’ll also learn about the plants in the gardens there.”

Sophie Hathaway’s group is studying the history of different landmarks throughout downtown Greenfield.

“People will be able to stop and read something about each of our locations and we’ll have lots of riddles and clues for them,” said Hathaway. “It’s been fun because we’ve learned a lot and gotten to talk to a lot of different people.”

Rabeya Alam is working with the group creating a quest at the Center School.

“People will get to know our campus, learn some of its history and learn about who the buildings are named after,” said Alam. “We’re pretty excited to share that information.”

Isabella Deherdt’s group is creating a quest for downtown Turners Falls and Juilian Burgoff’s group for Sachem’s Head. “We did a lot of brainstorming to come up with these places,” said Deherdt. “We’ve learned a lot in the process.”

Burgoff said there are a lot of “really cool, really old geological spots on Sachem’s Head.”

“There are some cool columns of lava flows up there,” said Burgoff. “There are also signs that there was an earthquake there.”

Parchesco said the school will keep the public informed. She said hard copies of the quest booklet will eventually be available at the school and the Greenfield Public Library.

The booklets will also be available online at: www.centerschool.net.

Greenfield Center School is a progressive, independent day school for students in kindergarten through Grade 8. The school integrates social and academic learning.
 

GREENFIELD -- Grunting and scurrying up a 45-degree cliff face, a group of eight men heaved and pushed a wooden platform back up on top of Sachem's Head on Sunday.

'OK. One, two, three -- lift!' said Will Savitri as he maneuvered a come-along, which helped winch the platform up the slope and kept it from slipping back onto the crew below. 'One more time! One, two, three -- lift! We're close. We're close to where we want to be.'

Once the platform got on the top of the cliff, it needed to be rotated about 90 degrees to fit on the footings.

Volunteers struggle to bring the platform back into position after it was found off its foundation stones at Sachem's Head in Greenfield on Sunday. Photo: Recorder/Peter MacDonald

Return to top

Taking lesson to the streets: Center School students protest Columbus

GREENFIELD -- Seventh- and eighth-grade students from the Greenfield Center School walked 2.4 miles on Monday morning to protest Columbus Day and to remember the nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi.

''We don't think what Columbus did was right because he killed and stole from people,'' said Aliza Fassler, 13, of Greenfield, while she walked on the sidewalk on Montague City Road.

Fassler said that the class decided to walk 2.4 miles to represent the 240 miles Gandhi walked across India over three weeks to protest British imperial rule. Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement, who believed in peaceful, nonviolent resistance.

The group of students are in Bob Strachota's social studies class and wore signs over their shoulders with messages scrawled in marker and decorated by them.

Fassler's sign said ''Columbus lied … the Tainos died'' on the front and on the back ''Gandhi freed India.''

The Tainos, according to Strachota, were the indigenous group living in Hispaniola, current day Haiti, when Christopher Columbus arrived. He said that when Columbus arrived there were 250,000 Tainos on that island and, that 50 years after the arrival of Europeans, there were only 200 left.

''Within 100 years of European conquest, they were all gone,'' he said.

Columbus was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, with the hope to find a route to India. He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504. The holiday is to commemorate his discovery of the Americas, although in recent years some people have instead focused on instances of brutality by him and his men in their explorations and of the European conquerors who followed.

Other signs said ''Be part of peace'' and ''Gandhi walked for peace.''

This was the first year that the private school stayed open on Columbus Day, which most Franklin County children have off in observance of the holiday. Last year, they called the day ''Gandhi Day,'' and had the day off.

The class had spent several days talking about both Christopher Columbus and Gandhi and took their discussions to the streets. The walk was optional for students.

''If you just talk about it in your classroom, it isn't going to change anything,'' said 13-year-old Micky Strachota while walking on the sidewalk.

Strachota said the march was a ''way to publicize what Columbus and Gandhi did.''

Return to top

How locally do you eat? Center School students want to know

The Recorder
Saturday, September 22, 2007
By DIANE BRONCACCIO
Recorder Staff

GREENFIELD – How many people buy locally grown foods? What's most important in choosing produce? Price? Appearance? Locally grown? Organic?

Fifth- and sixth-grade Greenfield Center School students are helping ClSA (Communities Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) find out these answers by compiling a survey about what people want most in their fruits and vegetables.

About 20 students polled roughly 400 people on Main Street this week, and will pre­sent their data to CISA next week. The information will allow ClSA to determine "what drives the purchase of local food," said Claire Morenon of CISA.

When asked what surprised them most about the survey, many students said they didn't know how many people buy local food

JHE of Northampton, J, 11 of Amherst and MF, 10, of Montague found that more people preferred local produce to that labeled "organic."

"I was surprised so much is grown in Massachusetts," remarked EV 11 of Greenfield. Part of the students' assignment this week was a "scavenger hunt," to find produce grown in different parts of the world, .in different parts of the United States, and foods grown and produced near Greenfield.

"I shop with my parents, but 1 didn't think about where (the food) came from," he continued. "Before 1 did the scavenger hunt, 1 would have said about 30 percent of my food was local. Now 1 would say 60 percent."

SS of Northampton said she was surprised that as many people buy produce at farmers markets as buy it in the grocery store. "Few grew their own," she noted. Her survey partner, OV of Amherst, said most people who buy their produce in supermarkets mentioned cost as their most important consideration. "I thought people would have liked 'organic' more," he said.

LB said she was surprised that most people say their favorite local produce is corn on the cob, rather than strawberries, tomatoes or apples.

"I interviewed a policeman, and he said he only ate 5 percent of local," B continued. "I must eat 80 percent local," said B, whose father farms in Gill.

Many Center School students will be taking a pledge next week to eat more local produce, with their parents' permission. For some, the pledge is to eat one locally grown fruit or vegetable per day, while others are pledging to eat "100 percent" local food, with the exception of spices, salt or some other "wild card" food exception, such as wheat or pasta.

Teacher Rebecca Golden said the purpose is to help educate children and their families of the value of eating fresh, local foods. She said the school's after-school snacks next week will be derived from local produce.

When asked if she plans to pledge to eat more locally grown food next week, LB, who turns 10 on Sunday, shook her head no. "It's the week of my birthday," she said. "I want to chill out and eat whatever 1 want."

Return to top

Pupils Pose Questions Pupils Gather Facts on Food

The Republican
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By CORI URBAN

GREENFIELD - Shel Ball, of Greenfield, was busy yesterday, but not too busy to take a few minutes to answer the survey questions a Greenfield Center School student asked her about food choices.

"Where do you usually go to buy groceries?" RF of Turner's Falls, 10, a fifth grader at the school asked. "What is most important when you shop for produce?"

He asked her about her favorite locally grown food and what percentage of her food is locally grown, among other questions.

Every year, fifth and sixth graders undertake a data project as part of a math class, usually tied to the science curriculum, according to Christopher L. Sanborn, a fifth and sixth-grade teacher and a member of the school's board of directors. They work with a local organization and a local issue, he said.

This year the students' focus is local food systems, and they are working with Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture in conjunction with the statewide initiative Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week.

Five groups of four students and a chaperone positioned themselves along Main Street from 10 to 11 a.m. and noon to 1 p.m.

Through the survey project, the students learn about math and analyzing statistics to see how the numbers of a survey can be represented in different ways, Sanborn said.

They can be effective in swaying people's opinions, he said.

The students also learn how to approach people, to gather information and the social skills involved with talking to people they don't know in a friendly, polite way.

RF, sporting a red T-shirt with the school name on it, said it was hard for him to go up to people he didn't know and ask them questions. But JB of Montague, 11, a sixth grader, said she thought it was fun. "It's nice- to know how people are shopping for locally grown, organic food," she said. "And it lets them know hey should."

Rebecca L. Golden, a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at the school, said the food issue is an important one "because our average food travels 1,500 miles to get to our plate." And in a world where oil and gas prices are rising, it's important to know where to get food locally and also to buy organic J food.

After collecting the survey responses, the students will crunch and interpret the numbers then create a report complete with pie and bar charts to take to the agricultural organization and interested town committees.

Last year, Greenfield Center School students surveyed nearly 400 people; they hoped for 500 this year, though some people indicated they were too busy. Nonetheless, "They get a good response. Adults seem to like to talk to kids," Sanborn a said.

© 2007 The Republican Company.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission.

Return to top

Greenfield Center School launches new teachers' center

Return to top

At 25, Center School celebrates, looks forward

The Recorder
May 12, 2006
By DIANE BRONCACCIO,
Recorder Staff

GREENFIELD — Laura Baker was talking about Greenfield Center School’s 25th anniversary celebration when an eighth-grader interrupted, asking for a garden rake, so he could do yard work during a morning recess.

Baker, the private school’s executive director, wasn’t surprised a student would want to police the school grounds on such a beautiful morning. She said students often pitch in when they see something that needs fixing, because they learn to see themselves as part of the school community.

Antioch New England receives the GCS Social Justice Award GCS Alumni share in the 25th anniversary celebrations! Center School Founders Proudly Display Their Awards - photos: Donna Elwell

“Often our kids will see something that needs to be done, and they’ll say: ‘Give me the stuff to do it,’” said Baker. “We want them to notice what needs to be done, to have the skills to do it, and the courage to do it.

“We’re a little unusual,” she admitted, “but on the really good side.”

Two decades before author Daniel Goleman wrote in his best-seller, “Emotional Intelligence,” that a child’s ability to relate to others is a better indicator of success than academic grades — a group of local teachers formed a private school that considers social and emotional development as essential to education.

On Saturday, the Greenfield Center School celebrates its 25th anniversary with co-founders, alumni and current students. The event will be held on school grounds on Montague City Road from noon to 7 p.m. Among festivities will be the burying of a time capsule filled with objects selected by students, to be opened 25 years from now. Co-founders Ruth Charney, Marlynn Clayton, Chip Wood and Jay Lord will be honored.

 Also, a new mosaic entrance sign, which was worked on by this year’s 140 students from kindergarten through grade 8, will be unveiled.

The goal in creating the school 25 years ago was to stress students’ social and emotional development as well as their academic skills.

“Empathy” is a word taught from kindergarten, because sensitivity to the feelings of others — knowing how others feel — is a basis of community-building, she explained.

“Even our school song is: “I Want to Walk a Mile in Your Shoes,” said Baker. She said empathy is the starting point for mediation and conflict-resolution. “You have to negotiate from a place of understanding,” she said.

Return to top

Students speak

“It’s kind of hippie-ish, but it’s a good school though,” said Owen Watrous, 12, of Turners Falls, who has gone here since kindergarten. His favorite subject is math, he said.

Henry Weis of Montague, 11, has only been at the school for a year, but likes it better than the public school he last attended in Amherst. “Everybody’s real social. We have a lot of free time,” he said.

Other students said they like the relative freedom they have at the school, compared to other schools they’ve attended. “You can do what you want,” said Camile Akey of Petersham, a sixth grader. Svyeta Reish of Sunderland displayed a hand-dyed, hand-embroidered shirt she worked on while reading a book called “Gathering Blue,” in which the heroine embroiders a quilt.

“This group goes on a lot of sleepover trips,” noted Tes Fortin of Shelburne. She said field trips are planned to Cape Cod and that one group is going to the Dominican Republic.

Center School graduate Misha Krushnic (1988), who now goes by the name Misha Collins, has gone on to become a successful film and television actor, landing roles in “Liberty Heights,” “Girl Interrupted,” “ER,” “Monk,” and “NYPD Blue,” among others.

Jesse Porter-Henry, a 1995 graduate, works for Rustic Pathways, which runs community-service oriented camps for teens around the world. Abby May, from the class of 1993, is graduating from Harvard Medical School this year.

In it together
The school year begins with a week of conferences, in which students create their own goals, then set class rules that will help everyone achieve theirs. “We talk about how do we create a community where everybody is reaching their goals, and how do we do it together,” Baker said.

The Responsive Classroom approach was developed when the Northeast Foundation for Children and the Center School were part of the same organization, and it’s now a model used by many local public schools.

Baker said the school is mission-driven, to integrate “high quality academics with ethical decision-making, to develop the skills and convictions for creating just communities.”

For instance, this week, the school held a “Sister School Festival” to raise money for a hurricane-damaged school in New Orleans, through “The People’s Hurricane Relief Fund.”

Student drawings about the tragedy of Sept. 11 were made into note cards, which the school has sold to benefit a group of Cambodian refugees that had been helped by Flight 11 pilot John Ogonowski. Before his death on 9/11, Ogonowski had donated land to the Cambodian immigrants and had helped them learn how to farm it so they could survive in New England.

Another way in which the school is unusual is that, instead of grades, students get evaluations and checklists from their teachers. “Kids do reflections,” said Baker. “I think it causes them to be very self-critical, analytical and reflective. It means we have to be clear about what we expect and are assessing for,” she said.

They have mixed-grade classes and they bring lunches from home, because there is no cafeteria. However, since lunch time is an important opportunity to develop social skills, no one eats alone.

“There’s this whole ‘lunch-invite’ process,” explained Josh Traeger, one of the Grade 5/6 teachers. “If you’re invited, you always accept, even if it’s not your best friend. Lunch can be a vulnerable time,” said Traeger.

Teachers will sometimes pick a theme that forms the basis for lunch partners. “Sometimes it’s boy-girl, or sometimes it’s a fifth-grader and a sixth-grader,” he said.

The school day begins about 8 a.m. and ends around 3:30. There is an after-school program of activities that run until about 6 p.m.

There are usually 16 to 22 students in a classroom, with two teachers per room. The tuition for the private school is $8,660 per year, but financial aid is available for families with incomes of less than $57,000 per year.

Art is taught, “both as a skill and as a way of showing knowledge,” according to Baker. “When you can translate knowledge into a different medium, you own it.”

Although they don’t get grades and don’t take MCAS tests, the students do well when they leave after eighth-grade and move on to high school, Baker stressed.

“We do our own standardized tests in the fourth grade. When they leave the eighth grade, they take SSATs (Secondary School Aptitude Tests) and go into high schools. About 60 percent go on to independent schools and the rest go to public school options, including charter schools in the area,” Baker said.

“They do very well when they leave here,” she said. “Our kids know how to learn, they know how to ask questions and how to engage with adults. They know how to write. So they do well. They’re good, reflective, hard-working, skilled kids who also know what it means to be a good person in the world.”

When asked about the school’s goals for the next 25 years, Baker said she’d like to see the school develop an endowment, to help sustain the financial assistance given to students. She’d also like for the school to be Spanish-speaking. “That’s a goal that ties closely into our social focus, because language is something that separates people,” she said.

“My vision is that, in the next 25 years, we will continue to change and adapt to our changing environment, and still be thoughtful working with children,” continued Baker. “And that our students are working toward making the world a better place — that that stays constant.”

Return to top

Anniversary Events Saturday

The Recorder
May 12, 2006

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Center School will celebrate its 25th anniversary all day on Saturday.

At 2 p.m., alumni and their families are invited to a reunion to reconnect with each other and the school.

At 4 p.m., there will be a special recognition of the founders, Ruth Charney, Marlynn Clayton, Jay Lord, and Chip Wood.

A first time GCS Social Justice Award will be presented to Antioch New England. This award is given to an institution whose work is aligned with the Center School's mission to “...integrate high quality academics with ethical decision making to develop the skills and convictions for creating just communities.”

Next there will be a moment of silence remembering people honored with plantings in the GCS Memorial Garden. A time capsule filled by students, teachers, and parents will be buried. The presentations will end with the unveiling of an 8-foot by 5-foot mosaic sign created by GCS children with the help of GCS teacher, Lee Oldenburg.

A potluck dinner follows with music by the GCS Chorus, Alumna Santina King '04, and the PVPA Rock Ensemble. Campfire songs and stories wrap up the festivities.

The community is invited.

Return to top

Greenfield Center School Celebrates 25 Years With Music, Events Throughout 2006

Greenfield/Athol/Orange Town Crier
January 20, 2006, p. 3
http://www.thetowncriers.com

What do Mel Levine, Sarah Pirtle, and Wild Asparagus have in common? They are all part of the January events planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Greenfield Center School.

For 25 years, Greenfield Center School (GCS) has provided area families with an educational alternative that has successfully combined academic, social, and emotional learning. Offering multi-age classes - kindergarten through eighth grade - with an 8/1 student/teacher ratio, Center School has graduated 327 eighth grade students.

Greenfield Center School has a long history as an educational innovator. GCS was founded in 1981 as a laboratory school of Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC). Together, the staff of the school and NEFC developed a new approach to learning called the Responsive Classroom. NEFC web-site states: "Thousands of classroom teachers and hundreds of schools and school districts have used the Responsive Classroom approach. In urban, rural, and suburban settings nationwide, educators using these strategies report increases in student investment, responsibility, and learning, and decreases in problem behaviors." The Responsive Classroom approach has been shared with all Greenfield Public Schools elementary teachers as part of GCS commitment to developing just communities.

In the same spirit of innovation, GCS has continued to develop new teaching methods emphasizing collaborative problem-solving, multiple intelligences, and diverse learning styles. The most current focus of the GCS staff is the work of Mel Levine, whose research on the human brain is instructive for teachers to understand the unique learning profile of every child. Dr. Laura Baker, Director of GCS, will be presenting Mel Levine's work to the Center School parent community during the GCS Annual Meeting, January 19, at 6:30 p.m.

Begun before the era of charter schools, GCS depends upon tuition paying families to fund the school. No monies come from the local towns, the state, or the federal government. GCS mission is to integrate challenging academics with ethical decision-making to develop the skills and convictions for creating just communities. The Board of Directors is dedicated to keeping GCS tuition affordable and offers an extremely generous financial aid program - current tuition is $8407. A third of the student body receives, on average, $3000 in aid.

Each year the school offers Admissions Open Houses in order for students and their families to explore the school and meet the teachers. GCS accepts applications on a rolling admissions basis, space permitting and encourages families who are interested in enrollment for September 2006 to apply by February 3, 2006. GCS has several openings in kindergarten, 1st, 4th, and 6th grades for next year and a few openings in other grades. For application information, contact the Director of Admissions at 413-773-1700 or admissions@centerschool.net.

GCS cordially invites everyone to the next Admission Open House on January 28, 10- noon;

10 a.m. singer Sarah Pirtle in free, fun, and interactive sing-along; 10:30 AM activities in Classrooms. K-4. Children are encouraged to investigate activities. GCS teachers will be available to answer parents' questions about academic curriculum, discipline, and social learning; 11:30 Birthday Cake and Pre-school Expo. Preschools will share information about their programs.

Sarah Pirtle has been performing for children and families for over thirty years and travels across the country bringing joyful music that builds community. She has received eight national awards for her children's music and is the main founder of the Children's Music Network. Pete Seeger has said, "If you want to hear some of the best songs out there today for children, listen to Sarah Pirtle."

Wild Asparagus. A 25th anniversary celebration wouldn't be complete without dancing, so GCS invites the public to a Family Contra Dance featuring Wild Asparagus. The proceeds will benefit GCS due to the efforts of band members, Ann Percival and David Cantieni who are Center School parents! Join the fun on January 22, 3-5:30 p.m. at the Guiding Star Grange. Tickets, $8/adults, $6/seniors & students, $4/kids 5-13 years, can be purchased at the door. "Dancing is Fun!" tee shirts, with original artwork by Ann Percival, will be on sale.

Wild Asparagus is a five-person band from Western Massachusetts. Drawing upon music from New England, the British Isles, and Canada, as well as classical sources, Wild Asparagus takes an original approach to the traditional dance music of our folk heritage. Using their unique blend of instruments, creativity, and skills, they offer a sensitive and powerful performance. Since 1984, Wild Asparagus has been highly successful in bringing their music to dances and concerts throughout the United States.

Weekend events: Saturday, January 21, 10:00 a.m., Admissions Open House; Sunday, January 22, 3 p.m., Family Contra Dance.

Upcoming Celebrations: March 8, 4 p.m., A Tea Party for prospective parents and GCS teachers; April 13, 6 p.m., The Center School Museum: An Exhibition of Student Work. May 13, morning 'til night, 25th Anniversary Community Celebration.

For more information about Greenfield Center School, call (413) 773-1700 or visit http://www.centerschooI.net

Return to top

Pupils Celebrate Life of Einstein

The Republican ( link )
Sunday, December 25, 2005
By BETSY CALVERT
ecalvert@repub.com
Photos by: Donna Elwell

GREENFIELD - Pupils at Greenfield Center School are celebrating the life of Albert Einstein this month by exploring the world of motion, electricity, magnetism and creative learning.

Special activities in recent weeks ranged from hooking up wires and buzzers and batteries to making pizza. The pizza part was to honor the period in Einstein's youth when his family moved to Italy, and he reportedly ate pizza, said Wylie Earp, 12, from Shelburne.

The year 2005 is the 100th anniversary of three papers the 26-year-old Einstein wrote that changed the course of science worldwide. One of the papers introduced the famous equation, E=MC and the theory of relativity, although Einstein published a later paper expanding the theory.

The year 2005 is also the 50th anniversary of his death.

The Center School is a 25-year-old progressive private school with 140 pupils from kindergarten through grade 8. Its approach is part of the Responsive Classroom trademark program, originally piloted by the Center School, where social and academic learning is integrated. Several public schools in Greenfield use the same model.

Studying how Einstein lived in Italy as a youth was revealing to Wylie. That's because Einstein struggled in school after his family left, Wylie said he learned from reading a biography on Einstein. His approach to learning was so creative, his teachers did not all approve. Without his family's support, he had to leave school and join his family in Italy.

"He stayed in Germany so he could finish school. Sadly, he got kicked out of school, because of his bad attitude," Wylie said.

Wylie and two other middle schoolers were helping two 7-year-olds to cook the pizza.

"It relates to Italy somewhat," Wylie said of the pizza.

"He likes to play violin. His favorite food is pizza," said 7-year-old Maya Watson, of Whately, reciting what she'd learned about Einstein.

Maya added some intriguing details she had learned not at school, but from her mother.

"They took his brain (after he died) to see if it was different from other people. When they found it wasn't, they tried to put it back in the grave, and it was stolen," she said, accurately recounting odd parts of American history.

Older pupils taught younger pupils during much of the month on Einstein.

"It's less about them learning about Einstein and more about them teaching," said fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Josh Treager.

Eleven-year-old Emma Marsters, of Ashfield, explained.

"When you're teaching somebody else, like, you should know it," she said.

"It's really fun teaching them," said Wylie.

Asked what she learned new about Einstein, Emma said, "I didn't know that he didn't like school at all."

Wylie said they tried to explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity to the first- and second-graders, but he couldn't quite remember how, adding that history was his main interest rather than science.

Emma recalled that they shared with the children a compass experiment and the story of how Einstein's father gave him a compass when he was 5. The response of the compass needle to the Earth's magnetic field entranced Einstein, he later wrote, foreshadowing his lifelong fascination with the laws of the universe.

"We had a bowl of water and a compass needle and a cork," Emma said, describing the homemade compass.

Over in another classroom, fifth- and sixth-graders were teaching first- and second-graders how electricity flows through certain materials, such as metal, to power devices such as a buzzer or a Christmas tree light.

Henry Weis, an 11-year-old from Montague, asked his first-grade charge if she wanted to explain how the wire and battery made the buzzer sound, but she was too shy, so he took over.

"The electricity uses the juice from the battery and takes it all the way around and turns everything on," he said.

Einstein was the person who made the link between electricity and magnetism, said fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Rebecca Goldman.

Kindergarten teacher Brian Sabel explained the educational strategy for the younger children.

"They're asking exploratory questions about electricity," he said. "They are also interacting with older kids."

ABOVE: Uppers (7th & 8th) students teach Middles (3rd & 4th) students about the equation F=M x A (Force = Mass times Acceleration) by devising an experiment with balloons. The older students attached string across a classroom on which a straw was threaded. The younger students blew up a balloon, held the end and taped it to the straw. Letting go of the balloon, they could witness the force and ponder why. RIGHT: 3rd & 4th grade students drop a ball from the loft into a pan of sand. Jay, an 8th grade student, measures the depth of the crater. This was one of three experiments designed by the Uppers class to demonstrate F=ma.

Return to top

Students Help Warm the Children

By PATRICK O’CONNOR, Recorder Staff
The Recorder
Greenfield, MA
October 29, 2005, pp. 1 and 7.

GREENFIELD — Lee Oldenburg gave her third- and fourth-grade students a challenge: they needed to make the most beautiful pocket scarves and then give them away.

As students from Greenfield Center School began to complete their multi-colored and multi-use pocket scarves, they began to feel more attached.

“It’s really hard to give away your best work,” said Renna Snow-Earp, a third-grade student who was focusing on pushing embroidery floss through the eye of a needle to continue sewing in her classroom Tuesday.

“But,” she added, “it makes you feel even better when you are giving it to people who need it more.”

The center school’s students are making the pocket scarves for Warm the Children.

The Recorder, which sponsors Warm the Children, has a goal to serve 1,500 children. Each child, 12 and under, receives $100 worth of clothes. Wilson’s Department Store, a co-sponsor, has already ordered clothes for 1,500 children.

Volunteers create a store in the Second Congregational Church’s function hall. Social agencies refer families, who then shop at the store on Nov. 16, 17 and 18, before the extreme cold of winter begins.

Two classrooms of third- and fourth-grade students are making 36 scarves, one per child.

Each scarf has two pockets on its ends.

Photo: Donna Elwell, October, 2005

“So we’re not just warming their necks, but we gave them a place for their hands,” said Snow-Earp, as she continued to work on her green, red and orange polar fleece scarf.

In the second-floor classroom, students sat around tables, where they stitched cutout designs of cats, trees, a Halloween bat, flowers, an arrow and other patterns onto the pockets.

Seamus Hawks, a third-grader, stood in the center of the classroom with her classmates, Kai Sweitzer and Sophie Letcher. They all had their scarves hanging around their necks.

It’s been a challenging project, Hawks said. To make the pockets and the sewn-on designs, they needed to learn to do a running stitch, a whip stitch and a chain stitch.

“It feels good to make stuff for people who cannot afford it,” Hawks said.

Oldenburg organized the classroom project with three other teachers, Terry Kane, Emily Cross and Grace Bianciardi.

The project is part of the socialization component of the curriculum at Greenfield Center School, which is a private non-profit school that has 140 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

All the material was donated.

“I think they’re really proud of their work. They worked really hard,” Oldenburg said about students. “I just wish we could have made hundreds of scarves because I know the need is huge.”

Since September 2004, the community has raised $130,000 for Warm the Children.

So far this month, $28,528 has been donated. The First Baptist Church of Bernardston, which closed, contributed $11,225 on Oct. 12.

The United Way of Franklin County’s Women’s Way group gathered 100 pairs of boots at an event at the Brandt House Thursday. People who want to donate boots can still drop them off at the United Way at 51 Davis St.

Upcoming events include a spaghetti dinner and raffle Nov. 5 at the Greenfield Elks Club at 2 Church St. Local businesses are providing food and DJ Bobby C. will be playing music.

Tickets cost $6 for adults and $3 for children. Children 6 and under get in for free. Tickets are available at the front desk of The Recorder. For more information, call Norma Lovett at 774-4014 Ext. 151.

The Recorder and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office are sponsoring the event.

The Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center at 102 Federal St. is hosting the third annual Warm the Children Break-A-Thon Dec. 3.

David Johnson, owner and master instructor, said center members receive donation pledges for each board they break in two hours.

Last year, they raised $3,625.

If people want to pledge a donation or make a straight donation, call Johnson at 774-5395.

The public is welcome to attend the Break-A-Thon.

People interested in hosting a fundraiser can contact Jane Kane at the Recorder at 772-0261 Ext. 204.

Those who want to volunteer at the store may contact Pat Maleno at The Recorder at 772-0261 Ext. 241.

People who want to publicize fund-raisers or if you have a story to tell, contact Patrick O’Connor at 772-0261 Ext. 280 or write poconnor@recorder.com.

Return to top

Raising the Bars at Center School

In Local/Region
The Recorder
Greenfield, MA
June 7, 2005, p. 5.

It looks a bit like a xylophone from another planet and the soft, resonant tones do sound otherworldly, but the newest addition to the Greenfield Center School's play area is a custom-made instrument called a Pegasus Metalophone (http://www.freenotes.net/Outdoor/outdoor_pegasus.html).

The Greenfield Kiwanis Foundation, which has a long history of supporting children in the Greenfield area, donated the money to purchase the metalophone, and members of the Greenfield Kiwanis Club installed the instrument over Memorial Day weekend.

According to Holly Brooks, vice president of the club, "Helping provide safe and fun play equipment and structures for kids is one of the most rewarding things I do with the club. It's not just writing a check, it's being a part of the creation of the project and being there to see how happy it makes the kids. The motto of our club is 'We build.'"

The metalophone was custom made with 23 resonated aluminum bars with mirroring scales of C major and A minor. The Freenotes Co., which designed the instrument, promotes accessible music for children by specializing in instruments that are made to be installed outside in parks and playgrounds.

Return to top

Center School fund-raiser a cut above

In Just Plain Neighbors
The Recorder
Greenfield, MA
Friday, May 13, 2005
By Irmarie Jones

Greenfield Center School certainly surpassed its pledge of at least 180 inches of hair for Locks of Love [http://www.locksoflove.org/], during the lineup of 30 pupils, parents, and staff on Wednesday morning. They are sending 506 inches to the organization in Lakeworth, Fla., that provides custom vacuum-fitted human hair wigs for children with medical baldness, from burns or radiation. Some children are born with alopecia areata, a baldness for which there is no known cure.

The process went quickly at the school with students from the Franklin County Technical School (http://eagle.fcts.org/) cosmetology department and area beauticians volunteering to do the clipping.

I asked students why they had let their hair grow for 12 months for this special day.

I know it will always grow back and it cannot impact my life," said Zoe Cavanaugh-Green, 11, "It's for a good cause."

Locks of Love Hair-raiser at the Center School "Some kids will never really have hair and they're uncomfortable with out it. That's why I wanted to do it." - Hannah The school donated 506 inches of hair to Locks of Love!

"Some kids will never really have hair and they're uncomfortable without it. That's why I wanted to do it," said Hannah Wulkan, 11 "I know mine will grow back." Coco Moore, 10 told me at first she didn't want to have her cut, "But now I did, because I'm luckier than other people. I learned about children who don't have hair." More than 1,400 children have been helped by Locks of Love since 1997.

Return to top

Learning about laws with special visitor

HAMPSHIRE/FRANKLIN PLUS NEWS
Sunday, October 10, 2004
By DENISE FAVRO SCHWARTZ
dschwartz@repub.com

GREENFIELD - It was a politician's dream audience and a chance for an entire classroom of fifth- and sixth-graders to learn how to make the rules their class will live by from a person who helps make Massachusetts law.

At Greenfield Center School students decide on the rules for their classroom each year. State Rep. Christopher J. Donelan, D-Greenfield, was recently invited by teacher Jane Stephenson to help her students learn not only how to create class rules, but learn about the legislative process at the same time.

A full circle of students sat on the floor of their classroom, eagerly awaiting Donelan's arrival. They had studied legislative procedure and were fully prepared.

As their state representative slid onto a chair and faced the group, Stephenson reviewed how the morning's program would be conducted: Donelan would explain how a bill becomes a law, she said, then questions about that process would be answered. After that, "bills" that students wrote would be submitted to the "legislature" of classroom students and the process Donelan had described would be followed to move the bill into law.

Donelan launched into an explanation of the legislative process with the savvy of a gung-ho teacher, weaving into his talk examples that the students related to with smiles and laughter.

"If I had a good idea for a law that made every student in Massachusetts go to school every day until 5 o'clock and through the month of July, this is what I would do," he said, outlining the steps from writing the bill, going to committee, debating on the floor, repeating the process in the Senate, and going to the governor to veto or sign. Every young face was on the representative.

"There are a lot of ideas out there," Donelan said, "some good, some bad. Is it a good idea for them all to become laws? Probably not. Our founding fathers made it take a long time for a bill to become a law on purpose."

What is the weirdest law you passed?" a student asked.

"The state cookie law," Donelan answered. "It's chocolate chip."

A thoughtful boy asked a question that made Donelan and the teacher smile: "In a way, do you have more power than the governor?"

"I would say, 'No,'" Donelan answered. "The system is set up so we are co-equal. We make sure no one person becomes more important than the laws we have."

Donelan suggested that he take a look at the bills the students had prepared. These would be voted on to become class rules. From an inch-thick stack he pulled out a paper.

"Ah," he said. "The Bill of Musical Rights." Donelan read the bill that asked for the right to listen to music during quiet time in class.

"Who wants to be on this committee?" he asked. "Who wrote this bill?"

In the end, by majority vote, the committee moved the Musical Rights bill to the full House of Representatives.

"Now we are all House Reps," Donelan said, as excitement rose in the room. After thoughtful debate, Donelan called for a vote. Another majority vote moved the bill to the Senate. Students cheered, seeing the possibility of listening to music during quiet time becoming closer to reality. "You have taken the first step towards making a law," said Donelan.

Standing and sounding official, teacher Stephenson made an announcement. "As Governor," she said, smiling, "I can tell you that I will most likely veto this law!"

Copyright 2004 MassLive.com

Return to top

Teaching the social skills that help kids succeed

Chris Harris, editor
Supplement to The Recorder
Greenfield MA, April 26, 2004, p. 3

"It's important to teach social skills because we are a social world," says Laura Baker, Executive Director of the Greenfield Center School. "When we look at the issues that affect us as adults in the world, primarily these are social issues. People need to have the skills and the tools to meet social issues in order to really succeed in the world, in order to make a difference in the world, in order to have relationships they can count on in the world. We tend to think that people need no practice and no instruction in social skills," Baker says, "and yet our own experience in looking at our world shows us that, in fact, these are real issues for which people needs lots of practice and lots of instruction."

Dr. Laura Baker, Executive Director

GCS offers lots of opportunities to practice social skills. "Kids bring their excitement, their fears or their grief to the sharing circle," Baker says. "They learn to speak in front of a group and listen carefully. After the sharing is completed, students in the circle learn to offer empathetic statements. It's not, 'Oh, once I had something like that happen to me …' and then they start telling their own story. It's really meeting the student where they're at."

Understanding behavior illuminates traditional subjects at GCS. "Literature is all about character, about what makes a person do something, and history is the same thing," says Baker. "History is the story of people and when you're looking at history as the story of what has occurred, you're looking at social interaction."

Sixth-grader Rosie Marsters of Ashfield is keeping a journal in the voices of two Colonial-era characters. "I come to know my characters [through journaling], but I also find out more about what went on back then and how they thought, Rosie says. "We had to write about the Boston Tea Party and what people thought about it. My character was really mad because she liked England and she didn't want to go to war."

Journal conversations have to be historically accurate, explains Rosie. "My conversations were about maybe a cow getting loose in someone's pasture, or someone finding out about the first shot fired."

In literature, students read books with themes that reflect their own development. "In the fifth and sixth grades, the big theme for most kids is identity," says teacher Jane Stephenson. "So one of the books we read is Julie of the Wolves, which is a story about an Inuit girl who is trying to figure out how she fits into the modern world. Our kids are often able to say, 'How do I fit into my community? What parts of my community do I not fit into?' and the classroom is one of those communities."

Social learning happens in science class too. "Our class studied praying mantises for about three months, and we talked about the ethics of keeping animals in the room for the purpose of study," Stephenson says. "The kids really wanted to make sure that they could justify it. They did a lot of research about how to create environments that were healthy for the praying mantises, and they worked hard maintaining that environment."

The social skills students practice at the Greenfield Center School hold them in good stead when they graduate. "I've always heard that kids who leave the Center School are able to advocate for themselves when it comes to anything they're doing academically," says Stephenson. "So they might not have covered a specific topic that other kids have, but they feel comfortable going to the teacher and saying, 'Hey, I need some help with this.'

"I've also heard that Center School kids are really interested in how the world works, which is another pillar of the Center School curriculum," Stephenson continues. "We don't tell them how the world works; we give them opportunities to discover how the world works. When they leave the Center School, they're really interested in the systems and structures that make the world function, and they're prepared to participate.

Return to top

"Art just makes things more interesting!"

Chris Harris, editor
Supplement to The Recorder
Greenfield MA, April 26, 2004, p. 3

. . . says Claire Councilman, who lives in South Deerfield and is an eighth-grader at Greenfield Center School. Claire has made a pastel on black paper of trees in a flood plain for her geography class; she made a three-dimensional garden to illustrate the concept of fractals in math class. For a class called "Self and Other", she paired up with a student she didn't know very well and together they made a collage of things they had in common. "I learned about all the things that are important to her," Claire says, "like friends and horses."

Bob Strachota, who teaches 7th and 8th graders at Greenfield Center School, is a passionate advocate of using the arts as teaching tools "because everybody has different ways of showing what they know. If we stick to pencil and paper, we are just scratching the surface, especially for children who are challenged around literacy."

Jared made his own guitar for his independent project. "It's completely a dream guitar," he proudly concluded.

Strachota cites as an example a student who has a very hard time talking in front of a group, so he created a computer program that would talk for him while he was acting on the stage. "Purely in the academic sphere, if they understand more deeply about themselves through these projects, then they are more capable of representing themselves in the standard pencil-and-paper types of tasks because they have more access to who they are."

Every eighth grader writes their own one-act play. They then cast that play with fellow students, direct it, and perform it for an audience at the Shea Theater. "Whatever they write about," says Strachota, "will show who they are at this point in their life. So there're kids who write about really tragic kinds of things, and there're extremely light works as well. It really stretches them to bring out something meaningful."

"This year one boy felt he had to write four separate plays before he could get one that he felt good about," says Strachota. "He wound up writing a piece about parents in which he would have little asides that would say, 'Yes, I know why they're doing this. I just have to fight them because I'll need that ability to fight later in my life.' And it wound up being a very successful work, in fact."

A culminating experience at Greenfield Center School is the Independent Projects of eighth graders. "I say, 'The world is your oyster: whatever you do will be great.' And then I explain that they have to create something and then present it to a body of parents, teachers, and community people who will critique their work. I've seen students do everything from learning to roll a kayak to making a web site to constructing a guitar to doing an oil painting. Some people have played music. Two students actually served their critique people meals because they had done cooking over the past two months. It's very, very impressive. They have to take themselves and their work incredibly seriously, and they have to become confident enough to show it in its best light."

"All of my projects are oriented toward having students understand who they are and their capacities, and to bolster their confidence," Strachota says. "I want kids to walk out of here thinking they are great, that they are competent people who can produce in a huge variety of ways."

Return to top

Independence Day At Greenfield Center School

Adam Orth, Recorder Staff
GREENFIELD, MA (04/12/2004)

Wednesday was Independence Day at Greenfield Center School. That's the day the K-8 school finalized purchasing its buildings for about $700,000.

"The staff is celebrating at my house, right now. As we speak, we are all here," said Executive Director Laura Baker, when reached by phone at around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Established in 1981 to test innovative teaching techniques developed by the Northeast Foundation for Children, the school originated Responsive Classroom approaches used locally and throughout the country.

It separated from the foundation in 2002 and has been planning for its future ever since. It considered but rejected the possibility of moving, which led to the decision to buy the buildings from the foundation.

"We've been in the black for two years. Certainly the bank thinks we're a good risk. I do, too," Baker said.

Helping the school with its planning work is an anonymous donation that three years ago started covering the $30,000 annual cost of a part-time development director for five years.

"That's one of the most wonderful things," said Baker, who adds she and others have no idea who made the donation.

The school has been located at 71 Montague City Road since 1988. It now owns the Brick Building, formerly the Abercrombie School; the Finer Building, which was built in 1991; and the foundation's current office building, which is known as the Yellow House.

The foundation has two years to find a new home, Baker said.

She said a capital campaign is planned to raise money needed to renovate the buildings, both to improve them and to create more classroom space.

Currently, the school has 144 students in Grades K-8 and in a post-graduate program that follows eighth-grade. In the next few years, it plans to gradually increase to 156 students.

Previously, a lack of classroom space prevented the school from reaching 156 students, which Baker said would stabilize the school's population to about 18 students for each grade.

Parents and students interested in learning more about the school can attend its annual open house on April 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tours and examples of student work will be available.

The school is a nonprofit and has scholarships available that are based on financial need.

Weather permitting, there will be a schoolwide celebration of the purchase on May 1. Billed as a working celebration, events planned include painting inside walls, planting a new garden and adding on to the playground structure.

Additionally, children and adults will form a singing circle around the school.

"Then, there will be a potluck dinner and a dance," said Baker. "It's just very exciting, and we are so worth it."

Return to top

They've Got the Drive

Return to top

Center School Students Find Ways to Cook Up the Perfect Project

Adam Orth, Recorder Staff
Greenfield, MA (December 23, 2003)

In stark contrast to the people milling aimlessly around the room, eighth-grader Ruby Reiser's movements had undeniable precision and purpose.

Soon a panel of judges would weigh in on her independent project. It had taken her two months, and she wanted those judges to be happy.

So, naturally, she was making them dessert.

Recorder photographer, Peter MacDonald

A tall and lanky 14-year-old from Shelburne Falls, Reiser attends Greenfield Center School. When it came to doing an independent project, she didn't hesitate: cooking.

The result was a cookbook and the meal she was getting ready to serve up: Thai barbecue chicken, teriyaki rice, and -- of course -- dessert.

"I've always had a passion and stuff for cooking," she said. "If it was a person, I'd marry it."

Reiser and 14 other eighth-graders had been given free rein when it came to organizing their independent projects.

They could do whatever they wanted.

But, there was a catch.

It had to be challenging.

This is how their teacher, Bob Strachota of Colrain, says he laid it out for the students: "You've got to aim really high here. You need to make sure this is ambitious, that it really stretches you."

On a recent evening, around 70 parents and community members gathered at the independent elementary and middle school to see just how far these youths could reach.

Each student made a presentation on their project and got some immediate feedback from a group of community judges assigned their project. Some examples:

* Jonny Cochran of Guilford, Vt., taught himself with his father s help to roll a kayak and documented it on video.

* Querita Jones of Greenfield researched poet and black activist June Jordan and brought her back to life with a passionate reading that stunned those listening.

* Emma Sweitzer of Montague learned to be a blacksmith. She didn't particularly like it, but now she knows how to hammer hot metal into useful objects. There s not a lot of things I'm passionate about, she said. And, I learned blacksmithing isn't one of them.

*Jake Sweet of Northfield said he both disliked and liked his project, which involved making a movie about a middle-aged rabid guinea pig on steroids.

As was typical of the students, Sweet was up front about the challenges he faced. One of them was getting people to trust him with a camera. Sweet has a poor reputation around breakable equipment.

His guinea pig, which appeared in the film to be about the size of the Goodyear blimp, needed a town to eat. Sweet picked Aspen, Colo., because people there are living under bridges and begging for food while others nearby live in luxury six-story homes.

"I don't like that, so I think a couple of them should be eaten," he said.

Filming a six-minute movie turned out to be tough. There's a lot of stuff to coordinate. "The funny part about it was that, while I was doing it, it wasn't very fun," he said.

The payoff was in the editing, in finishing the movie. "You get to make your own world, just the way you want it," he said. "That was nice."

Will Bander of Turners Falls and Harlin Glovacki of Greenfield |couldn't claim to have finished their project.

"We're so close, but we haven't quite done it," Glovacki said.

In fact, they even forgot the outline they needed to make their presentation.

They'd also planned to bring a propane torch and some bread to demonstrate how they'd learned to make toast.

Where was all that?

"In the rush to get down here, we forgot that," Glovacki said.

"Along with our outline," Bander said.

Nevertheless, these guys were a hit. They'd spent hours trying to revive a 1930 Model A that hadn't actually run in 50 years.

Glovacki was born 13 years ago, which is when his father bought the Model A for $75. It's been sitting in a garage ever since. Just moving the stuff packed around it took days.

Only two of its tires held air and one of those exploded when the boys started to pull the car out of the garage.

Actually, calling it a car is a bit of a stretch. The main frame was there, so was the engine, a steering wheel, the drive shaft. It had most of the parts that few people see, and few of the parts that most people see.

" The guy before used it as a tractor. And, before that, it was a truck or a roadster," Glovacki said.

" We can't really tell," Bander said.

"We can't really tell because there's no body to it," Glovacki said.

Working in borrowed shop space, the boys starting taking things off, inspecting and cleaning as they went. They developed a system to keep track of all the parts.

A scratch was found inside a cylinder wall that had to be dealt with. Also, it turns out Model A's have something called Babbitt bearings that are formed by pouring melted metal by hand.

Finding the money, and somebody to do this specialized work, took a while.

Once that was done, the boys reassembled the parts, now clean and painted. Cranking the engine over by hand, they went through the tedious process of adjusting its eight valves. That took hours.

They even got off school early the day of their presentation in hopes of getting things finished. You see, everything was back together, but the dang thing wouldn't start. The engine turned over -- they had a short video clip to prove that -- but it wouldn't fire up.

Neither the judges nor anyone in the audience could have cared less.

One of the judges, a young man himself, summed up the general reaction. "I think it's a wicked cool project," he said.

By this time, only about half the presentations had been made. Hours had passed, but nobody seemed to have noticed. More hours were ahead, but nobody seemed to care.

Next was Jesse Sobek-Rosnick of Conway. Dressed all in black, a baseball cap pulled low to his ears, he addressed the audience.

"For my independent project," he said. "I chose to make a computer."

Return to top

Greenfield Center School Students Travel to Ecology Camp in Maine

Donna Elwell, Admissions Director
Greenfield Center School
Greenfield (November, 2003)

Did you know that Star Fish are really called sea stars and that their stomachs come out of their bodies to digest food? Elita learned that "a radula is a type of tongue that some sea creatures have that help drill wholes into its prey and suck food out of its shell."These facts and many other reflections are being shared and further explored by the Greenfield Center School 6th graders who have just returned from spending three days at Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco, Maine. When Sashi was asked to name one thing he did, he said, "I saw a fox on our night hike!"

"They not only saw a fox", said their teacher Alison Ryan, "eleven of us were absolutely silent as a red fox with its big fluffy tail approached us, studied us, and walked by us."

Greenfield Center School classes focus on a science or social studies theme for approximately three months. The 6th grade class has been studying ecology. In September they collected crayfish from the Green River and analyzed their habits, eating preferences, and physical characteristics. Each student had a specific crayfish, which he/she diagramed. Cory's was named "chlorophyll". Some students created mazes to test the agility, speed, and dexterity of crayfish. A month later and after discussing the ethical implications of removing an animal from its habitat, the 19 crayfish were released to the same location of the Green River.

On October 27, 2003 through October 29, 2003, these students participated in the Ferry Beach program. Through the study of coastal ecosystems and field ecology, students learned about how natural communities work and how humans can impact those environments. The site at Ferry beach includes seven miles of sand beach, a coastal forest and State Park, an organic garden, several acres of salt marsh and access to the Saco River. The students also visited the rocky shore where they participated in a hand-on, scientific study of tide pool ecosystems.

The students were divided into small groups and assigned a naturalist. Each day consisted of several lessons based on studying the interactions of living and nonliving things in these ecosystems. The Ferry Beach curriculum is designed to be sequential. Concepts like nutrient cycling, resource availability, animal and plant adaptation and habitat are studied and compared in each ecosystem. Jeff, one of the instructors said, "I have never had a group with so much background knowledge of ecology - I was able to teach (the Center School students) much deeper concepts."Songs and skits in the dining hall helped to incorporate ecology into all aspects of camp. In addition to academics, the students were able to spend their recreation time on the beach or one of the playing fields. They also participated in community living such as sharing bunkrooms with their friends, helping to serve family style meals and cleaning common dorm areas.

The three days culminated with a lesson called "Connections"that reviewed larger concepts and also examined the role humans play in these ecosystems. Students looked specifically at their individual impact on the environment and then strategized ways to minimize that impact and to educate others to do the same.

"We filled out a survey to find out what kind of impact we have on the earth", explained Jobi Dan'Sy, the other sixth grade teacher. "It asked questions like: Do you reuse plastic bags?

Then we got a 'earth friendly' score." Dan'Sy concluded, "It was a marvelous experience!"

For more information, contact Alison Ryan, Jobi Dan'Sy, or Laura Baker at Greenfield Center School (413-773-1700).

What Ferry Beach Ecology School
says about Greenfield Center School.
Click here

Or contact
Ferry Beach Ecology School
5 Morris Avenue
Saco, ME 04072
207-283-9951
email: fbes@fbes.org
Web site: http://www.fbes.org/
Drew Dumsch, FBES Executive Director

Excerpts from this news clipping appeared in an article titled: Greenfield Center School Kids visit Maine to study ecology, human impact. (Local/Region, The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass, Wednesday, November 5, 2003, p. 4)

Return to top

Students warm up to helping others with knitting, music

Karen P. Johnson, Recorder Staff
Greenfield (October, 2003)

Joe Skutnik, 13, and Jarad Weeks, 14, had self-interested intentions when they asked their teacher to show them how to knit mittens for their elective class at Greenfield Center School.

They were going to use the mittens to promote their band, Lost Mittens, and were hoping to sell them on their Web site.

It turns out mittens are too hard for beginning knitters to make, so Kathleen Gorke, who teaches seventh and eighth grade, taught them to make hats and scarves instead.

It also turns out Skutnik and Weeks are more interested in helping others than helping themselves.

After studying the inequities of society in their social studies class, their teacher Bob Strachota's suggestion to donate their knitted hats to The Recorder's fall charity, Warm the Children, sounded more appealing than helping themselves.

"We found out about it from our teacher Bob (Strachota.) We got really into the idea," Skutnik said. "I think it's a really good idea."

"I knew about (Warm the Children) because every year our school does something for it. This is our (grade's) first year doing something for it, so it's pretty cool," Weeks said.

This is Warm the Children's 13th year providing families with new winter clothes. Each year, The Recorder solicits donations from individuals and organizations, some of whom in turn have fund-raisers to donate money. The Recorder absorbs all administration costs, so all donated money goes directly to provide clothes for the children.

Laura Baker, director of the Greenfield Center School, said the school has a tradition of giving to Warm the Children. Last year, the second- and third-graders sewed polar fleece scarves and donated them to the Warm the Children store.

"It's a tradition of the school to work to make a difference in the world," Baker said.

Gorke said about 15 students started the knitting class, but only eight are still doing it. She thought it was a wonderful idea for the kids to donate their work.

"The school is always looking at social justice and how we can be active in the community," Gorke said.

Joe Skutnik on drums and Jarad Weeks, eight-grade students at the Greenfield Center School, have formed a band called Teller Extent and are among students knitting hats and scarves for Warm the Children

She wants the students to learn empathy to help them "understand the world and choose how to make it better."

Weeks said he is disgusted to know that parents, even in Massachusetts, can't always afford warm clothes for their children.

"I think it's really sick and twisted," Weeks said. "I don't like it at all. I wish more people did stuff about that."

She said it only takes a couple of days for some of the students to make a hat -- many work on them during their other classes. But, she isn't sure how many they will end up giving to Warm the Children.

"Some folks are getting attached to their first projects," Gorke.

"This hat is going to be mine, but I'm going to make more hats. This one didn't come out right," Weeks said, while fingering a loose string secured to his hat with a safety-pin.

Lost Mittens, which recently changed its name to Teller Extent, has two members who don't attend Greenfield Center School: Chris Reid, 14, who plays bass, and Rosie Walunas, 14, who sings and plays lead guitar.

Skutnik, who plays drums, and Weeks, who plays guitar and bagpipes, started playing together four years ago. Weeks sold his bass to Reid and taught him how to play, and he joined the band last year. Walunas joined about six months ago and was the one who encouraged the name change.

"She thought it was too kidish," Weeks said.

Skutnik said he can't put Teller Extent's sound into a genre, but Weeks called it "punk-rockish."

Rachael Nordstrom, 13 and a student at the Center School, is the band's manager. After hearing about a Nov. 1 Warm the Children Benefit Concert, she decided Teller Extent should do more for Warm the Children by performing at the concert.

Nordstrom spoke with concert organizer Michael Slahetka of Northeast Talent and Booking, and she said, he told her the band's punk style would not fit in with the crowd he expects at the Stillwaters Restaurant concert. But, he said he would help her organize a Warm the Children Benefit Concert for teenagers.

She said she already contacted a couple of bands for it, and has looked at a few places for possible sites for the show. She plans to charge a cover at the door and donate all of it to Warm the Children. Anyone interested in helping her with this should call her at 773-8411.

For more information on how to get involved with Warm the Children call The Recorder at (413)772-0261.

For information about Greenfield Center School, which has been teaching children and teachers since 1981, contact Admissions at admissions@centerschool.net or call 413-773-1700.

Return to top

Greenfield Center School Spreads the Joy of Learning

Greenfield Recorder
June 30, 2003

Picture a meeting of 141 students and their teachers. Five students sit in front of the group, raising their hands for the few seconds it takes for the group to be silent. They introduce themselves and announce, “Primes have sharing.”

Accompanied by their teacher, four students from the kindergarten-first grade classroom go up and read the stories they wrote as a culminating project during their study of boats. Masumi reads her story, The Animals on the Ship. “I am ready for questions and comments,” she says.

Masumi reads her story The Animals on the Ship at graduation

She calls on Oliver. Oliver says, “I liked the part where the animals helped each other.” “Thank you.” Masumi calls on Beth. Beth asks, “Did you write your story before or after you made the clay boat models?” “After,” Masumi responds. The audience claps, the readers return to their seats, and the student leaders announce the next sharing.

At Greenfield Center School (GCS), this meeting occurs every Wednesday morning, offering a forum for students to share their understanding of a topic. Next fall (September, 2003), GCS will share this and many other ideas with the teachers of the Lamprey River School in Raymond, NH as Lamprey teachers redesign their program.

Greenfield Center School (GCS) has been awarded a three-year contract with the State of New Hampshire to work with the Lamprey River School using the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). The goal of Coalition Schools is to help young people develop the habit of using their minds well. “This is a terrific opportunity for our school as we expand the number of students we can serve,” said Dr. Laura Baker, Director of GCS. “We are a Coalition School and in that role will now be able to lead other educators through the process of creating a school that is both effective and joyful.” GCS staff will run a workshop in August for the NH teachers and administrators. Once a month, the NH staff will visit the Center School to observe GCS classes.

For information about Coalition Schools see http://www.essentialschools.org. For information about Greenfield Center School, which has been teaching children and teachers since 1981, see http://www.centerschool.net. For GCS admissions information contact Admissions at admissions@centerschool.net or call 413-773-1700.

Return to top