We were thrilled to welcome students onto campus for Summer Session on July 9th. With a great mix of new and returning students, it is wonderful to see the group start to make connections with one another as they dive into their activities and learning.
In the mornings, students begin their days with some physical activities, such as yoga and walking, followed by a mindfulness activity. Next on the schedule, students and staff dive into their unit on Children’s Literature. Over the course of the four weeks of the Summer Session, students are working to develop a knowledge of children’s literature, specific to illustrated books geared towards elementary ages. Students are learning about the history, purposes, and common trends in children’s literature. They are also exploring their own relationship to children’s books, recalling and writing about favorite books of theirs as younger children. At the end of the session, students will have produced their own Children’s book and have the opportunity to read it to elementary-aged children!
We are so grateful to have several Children’s authors coming to school to share their knowledge and experience with writing and creating books for kids throughout this unit. During the first week, Tanya Lee Stone visited and shared her perspective on writing books focused on the untold stories of real people. Stone has written books for all ages of children and teens on everything from the first female doctor to the history and cultural impact of the Barbie doll. It was wonderful for students to explore her books and see the wide variety of ways to include non-fiction stories in books for young people.
Of course, we have not been focused on academics ALL the time. Students have been spending time together trying new activities, exploring Burlington, Vermont, and getting outside whenever the weather allows! Students visited Church Street in Burlington and checked out all the local shops, ending with an ice-cream cone at Ben & Jerry’s. We also enjoyed sailing with the Community Sailing Center and look forward to getting out on the water again each week (as long as there are no thunderstorms!). On Saturday, we spent another day on the water and took the ferry across the lake to New York State and tested the ice cream there ... just for comparison. Even hanging out in the dorm has included new experiences like making dumplings for dinner!
Zinnia (grade 10) reports, "This week has been great. The new students seem to be doing well … even though the first week is always a little hard. There are so many great activities, and it is so nice to be constantly engaged." There are so many more adventures to come this summer, and we can’t wait to tell you all about them!