Class of 2019 Leaves a Lasting Legacy
5/24/2019
They may look like your average group of teenagers. But they are not. They are Superheros. The PNA 8th grade class of 2019 has left a lasting legacy in the Ruth Arcand Park Project. Over the last two years, These students put 476 hours into this project (~12 work weeks!). That translated to $11,424 in volunteer matching hours. When added to the hours of other volunteers, materials, and services, the project superseded its contribution to the matching grant of $20,000 by $37,860! When the Anchorage Parks Foundation realized the superhero efforts put into this project, they generously granted our project another $18,500! A valuable lesson for these Superheroes here is that paying it forward works! Most of the money from the grant last year went to the obstacle course equipment. This next windfall will go toward cutting an access trail from Lake Otis into the park. This trail will be built this summer by Youth Employment Program (YEP) and should help PNA tremendously by providing a closer, more usable access from the school campus. Last Friday, we began clearing the way for this process to occur. In two and a half hours, we managed to get a lot done. These Superheroes passed on some of their passion and work ethic to those up and coming superheroes of next year’s class. Their lasting legacy will not be forgotten! So Many Museums...
5/18/2019
When asked to reflect on our recent trip to Washington DC, students naturally focused on the many museums we visited. (High point of the trip? “The cool museums!” Low point of the trip? “So many museums!”) DC is the mother lode of museums, and we visited many of them during our visit. We all had our fill by the end of the week, but there is no doubt that everyone was enriched by the many, many exhibits we saw. Our current middle school project is designed to give students a chance to dig a bit deeper into any topic of interest that they learned about in DC. Student choice is the order of the day, and each student has chosen a topic s/he wants to research more deeply. The topics and styles of exhibits that students are researching and creating are wide-ranging and unique. Our recent experience in so many museums has given students a view of the myriad ways that museum curators design exhibits to enhance learning, spark questions, and ignite passion. In addition to doing research, students are working hard to make their exhibits unique and effective. They are excited and engaged, brainstorming and revising initial plans as new ideas pop up. Because they have chosen their topics, they are motivated and interested. We are looking forward to sharing their hard work this coming Wednesday, when the middle school hall and classrooms will become our very own museum. We can’t wait to show you!
A Living Museum - Williamsburg
5/11/2019
By far, a highlight of the 8th grade Spring Trip was the afternoon spent in Williamsburg touring the living museum of this important colonial town. We began our tour at the colonial capital building, sitting in the seats where the House of Burgesses met and discussed all things important of the day. Our guide, Mary, led us through mock decisions made by the burgesses as well as a trial that came before the high court. Mrs. Henke was found guilty of stealing Lilly’s silver and the jury convicted her because, duh, she sold the silver forgetting that all items with any value back then were marked with the family name. Poor Mrs. Henke was sentenced to 99 years, but since it was her first offence (and she promised to knit Ms. Mariner, the judge, some new socks) she was set free - only after she was marked with a “T” for “thief” on the palm of her hand with a hot branding iron. Such was the brutal reality of keeping people in line back then! Mary continued to fill the tour with stories of crime and punishment. We visited the “haunted” jail and heard stories about the crimes that might land one there. The ghost of the jailhouse made an appearance by making some thumping noises above us and we were ready to get outta there in short order, not wanting to know the horrors of what may have happened to that poor soul. At Williamsburg, 8th graders were also able to try out “Hoop and Stick”, an entertaining colonial child’s game - far superior to the video games of today! They also helped to mix the clay - a step in the fascinating process of making bricks for the construction of houses. Students also solved the hedge maze at the governor’s palace, learned about muskets, saw the daily drum and fife procession, and generally just enjoyed being set back in history. Anna decided that she would attend William and Mary College and become a colonial baker at Williamsburg! We all decided that we could have spent many more days exploring the 550+ buildings, 88 of which are original buildings from the 18th century! Check out more if you have never been there: Colonial Williamsburg. Catching Up On DC News...
5/3/2019
Day 3: On Wednesday, after checking out the White House and the White House Visitior’s Center (they now DEFINITELY know the difference between the Capitol building and the White House...), we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the newest Smithsonian: the Museum of African American History & Culture.
What a fabulous place this was! We took a huge elevator down through the years and started working our way from the dark times of the 1400s and slavery up through the decades until we emerged into the light and current times. As we walked the exhibits, we saw so many things we’ve been studying this year. Students took part in interactive activities to try and simulate things like a sit-in in Greensborough; we walked through a segregated rail car; we saw Harriet Tubman’s hymn book that sustained her though her many dangerous times on the Underground Railroad; we read and listened to the painful stories of Jim Crow laws. At the top of the exhibits we sat in the “Contemplative Court,” a peaceful fountain area to sit and reflect on what we had seen. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words gave us something to think about: “We are determined...to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” After a rest and dinner at the hotel, we headed to Nationals Stadium, where many experienced their first ever Major League Baseball game. We had such fun! Keno, after repeated attempts and with some help from the voices of his whole middle school class, got the outfielder to toss a ball our way after warm-ups; but it bounced off one of us and landed a few seats away. Keno fought hard to grab the ball, but it was not to be. All joined in for the seventh inning stretch, and we made our way home happy and laughing all the way! Day 4: If the museum of the previous day wasn’t meaningful enough, we had plenty to give us pause at our first destination on Day 4, the Newseum. This state of the art museum about all things First Amendment was a highlight of our week. We saw historic newspapers and documents all the way from the beginning years of our country; pondered what a precious right “freedom of the press and speech” really is, and were sobered at the Berlin Wall and 9/11 exhibits. We then headed over to the National Archives to see the actual documents that guarantee our rights: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We ended the day with a visit to the Museum of Natural History, where we were grounded for a bit while a thunderstorm raged. Everyone was happy to have a quiet night at the hotel afterward! Day 5: We got an early start to visit the National Zoo today. The day was sunny and warm - again - and we wanted to beat the crowds and the heat. We weren’t too successful with that, but we did love seeing the pandas and elephants and baby gorilla. The little misting showers along the paths were very popular! We finished our day by dressing up in our fancy duds (boy did everyone look sharp!) and enjoying a fabulous performance of “Into the Woods” at Ford’s Theater. It was a small enough venue to allow us great views fo the highly talented cast, and we all agreed it was an amazing performance! Tomorrow we’ll head to Dulles early so we can check out some more aviation history before we head to home sweet home. It’s been a very busy week, and these kids have put some miles on heir tennis shoes! We are certain they’ll have lots to share...once they catch up on some sleep! |
Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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