A Solid Beginning
8/31/2018
The Middle School Retreat at Solid Rock Camp is an essential part of setting the stage for a successful year of middle school. This three day experience early in the year prepares us for all the learning and work we will do together in the coming months, as we build trust in the learning community. Students must work together, try new activities and games, get to know their new classmates, take on new responsibilities, and be independent and resourceful. Whole group games and initiatives such as Capture the Flag, Magic Shoes, and Traffic Jam; campfire fun, archery, boating, mountain boarding, and bungee run; journaling and compliment writing: all provide each student with challenge, excitement, and fun. Eighth grade students step forward to plan and lead games, supporting their classmates and enjoying the comfort of being the “veterans;” seventh graders take their first steps into leadership; sixth graders get their first taste of the uniqueness of being a middle schooler. This year students were asked to connect our activities and experiences to the PNA mission of "educating exceptional learners and independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity." Through whole group debriefs and personal journaling each student articulated what our mission looks like in action. On the last day, students individually prepared a creative way to share a lesson they learned during the trip. Pictures, journal entries, and stories were shared as each person expressed what the retreat meant to him or her. Each voice was heard, and so many unique lessons were learned! We close this week’s post with some samples of the reflections and lessons written by students during the retreat. Their own words show that they are reflective, courageous, inclusive, caring, and ready to take on the year! I learned that it is ok to be afraid of something and try it anyway. With experience trying new things, it will become easier. And if you have friends that will be with you when you do something hard, it will be a little easier to do it. I learned something about myself: just because I’m not liking something doesn’t mean I’m scared of it…and a lot of people use these assumptions interchangeably. This game was intended to build trust, courage, and teamwork, but it ended up meaning more to me…All this support had me thinking about how lucky we are to be a part of such a trusting and kind environment. A community that both literally and figuratively supports the people that are in it. I think I am more of a follower than a leader, but I don’t think that’s bad. If everybody was trying to lead and nobody wanted to listen or follow along, everyone would try so hard to be heard, but they wouldn’t actually hear. Today I learned a lot about myself. I learned to let others take the lead even though it can be hard sometimes. I also learned that even if something doesn’t go as planned, you learn from it. Today I tried something new: mountain boarding. To tell the truth, I was terrified from start to finish. Would I do it again? Sure! What I’ve learned so far: I am the best me when I’m around these people: I get excited to do things I wouldn’t usually do and I’m comfortable. Traffic Jam can be a pretty confusing game for people. It takes patience, skill, and most importantly, teamwork. Many people have said the saying, “Life is full of ups and downs,” and when I was up on the Solid Rock yesterday, it had me thinking about how that saying could be applied to mountains. Every day we are climbing a mountain. There is always something we are working to achieve or get past, and the further we are from it, the steeper the peak looks. Yet when we actually reach the top, it is much more stable than it looked. The game really brought us together because of the partnerships, and we now know each other in a different way. Since this is a totally new group of students, I am really excited to see how this PNA year will pan out. The whole experience was very fun. I liked how there were games that required teamwork and problem solving. I think today was quite special, because most people tried something new, and we all learned a lot. I learned to face my fears. The whole trip was successful, but I think my favorite part is hanging around the campfire with everyone, because it is a chance to be social and be yourself. Today was a fun day. I tried a skateboard contraption. It was scary at first, but I got used to it. I am proud I tried something new today. Today was full of team building activities, some of them way harder to accomplish than others. I spent a lot of time trying to get my voice heard, and I think that tomorrow, I’ll try to listen more. Today’s activities weren’t as much about teamwork and more about physical ability. You had to step out of your comfort zone and try something new and maybe look silly doing it. My favorite part of this week was boating. I am normally terrified of water and boats. As my group paddled out to the other boats I started to relax. When my group headed back to shore, I got a single kayak and saw 3 loons. In the end, Mrs. Henke called us back to shore, and I had conquered my fear. What I learned from this game is to be open and share your ideas with your team, to work together and include everyone in the game. The game also taught me about thinking a few steps ahead to reach the end goal, encourage people to not give up, and listen to other people’s ideas. Panthers might pick fights, they may hiss and growl, but in the end we know if we’ve gone too far. We travel in packs and make sure no one gets hurt. We are one. And at Solid Rock, all of that shows. Standing there, wiping the dust from my eyes, I realized that all along I’ve been part of something bigger. A community where you can be anything; a community that will always be there, and I will always be a part of it. The Puzzle is Complete!
8/31/2018
As we close the second week of school, students have settled into routines and started digging into academic work. But at PNA we make this transition with care. In these first weeks of school it is critical that we take the time to build a community of learners and help students prepare for our learning journey. Last week students collaboratively developed a list of middle school guidelines that reflected the values of PNA and their own ideas about what kind of learning community they wanted. This week several students volunteered to create posters of these guidelines so we could have them in sight at all times to remind us of our commitments to each other. Each member of our middle school team signs the posters to indicate that she or he is in agreement with the guidelines. Throughout the year the posters will serve as a reminder of what we’ve all agreed to do as learners and friends. This week we also focused on our hopes and dreams for the coming year. We combined this goal-setting process with an art project that is designed to represent who we are, who we hope to become, and how interconnected we all are. Students (and teachers) created their own individual puzzle pieces, decorated the front with images and symbols to represent themselves and their aspirations, and finished by writing their hopes and dreams on the back. All of these pieces were then combined into one large class display that we know you will love seeing at Curriculoum Night. In this large display we see an interconnected team of unique, creative individuals, each person made stronger by his or her connection to others in the class. When we are together, the puzzle really is complete! As we head to our annual Solid Rock Middle School Retreat next week, this stellar team of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will continue to discover each other’s strengths, interests, and commonalities as they work and play and live together. We’ll return to PNA ready to take on the year and all it has to offer! Have a great three-day weekend! First Week Fun!
8/25/2018
Wow! What a great start to the new school year!
Middle Schoolers did quite a bit all together in this first week as they were (re)acquainted, learning the new building and schedule. The start of a new school year in a new building offers students the opportunity to make the space their own while together deciding what works and what doesn’t. Students had an opportunity to discover the MANY books in the MS suite library as they worked together sorting them by genre. 8th graders played a role in Friday’s Convocation Assembly, demonstrating PNA’s dress code do’s and don'ts. Students also created and discussed the guidelines they feel are important to establish within a group at the start of the year. All in all, it feels like we hit the ground running! |
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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