Intensive Learning @ MFS
The World At Your Fingertips
Today we visited a school in Chengdu called Dujiangyan yucai high school. We were welcomed by a banner hanging outside of their school and some students who were eagerly awaiting our arrival. The students we met were all juniors because the seniors had to study for their upcoming college entrance exams. After a tour...
Continue reading
Today we woke up in the village to a nice breakfast. After breakfast, some of us played majhong while the others went on a hike and shopped in the streets. We had lunch at our hotel, and we discussed our plans for the school we will be visiting tomorrow. We practiced the songs and...
Continue readingDay Five-and-a-half We started the morning with Cole’s pancakes. We completed and fixed up the rockets from the first grade classes. We spent the last hour of the day with the first graders helping them to launch their rockets. The week went wonderfully. Thank you to all of the students for their positive, can-do...
Continue readingDay Five We spent our last day at the Harriton House completing projects. Some students finished turning wooden handles for their work while others finished bracelets, canes, etc. Justin Brandon joined us for part of the morning and tried his hand at making a hook. When we returned to MFS for sports, we helped...
Continue reading
As we settle back into our lives in New Jersey and look back at the past week, we would like to offer a very special thank you to our wonderful host families from Costa Rica. They welcomed us into their homes and families. They showed us how to dance, fed us well and definitely stole...
Continue readingToday was the last day of our Intensive Learning experience at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Today we put the finishing touches on helping them move to their new location. We demolished some walls, shredded (again), removed letters from a door and did some final packing. While this was going on, there was a...
Continue reading
Today, we ate breakfast at 7:30 and were on the bus by 8:00, headed towards BiaJiaoGou. At 12:30 we ate lunch in the mining village of JiaYang, before boarding the only remaining steam train in the world. The train took us through beautiful mountain landscapes and performed several shows for us. By 3:00 we...
Continue readingA discussion of aggression, a personality inventory, a list of possible college courses for prison populations, and chocolate chip pancakes were followed by an assessment of learning over the course of the week. Bon appetit!...
Continue reading
Students are working in groups today to create final presentations. Summary of our IL: The Bayshore project was an overall success for the A.J. Mirwald and restoring the building. We started the week by taking a tour of the site, learning what we would later be doing on the ship. The boat didn’t...
Continue reading
This morning we sat outside at the foot of a volcanic escarpment and wrote about the journey we have taken together over the last week. Here are some excerpts: The following day was probably my favorite. This day we hiked down 800 feet to the bottom of the Rio Grande Gorge. That was one...
Continue reading
Day Three We started another amazing day in New Mexico with a bus ride up to the Puye Cliffs. Despite stopping at the wrong visitor center, we eventually made our way to the cliffs. Alex, our tour guide, taught us about the types of minerals the Santa Clara Pueblo people used to construct their...
Continue reading
Today our Exploring Art group spent our time in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. After we arrived in the Pine Barrens and had a quick tour of the lake, students began working on their individual or group projects. Regardless of the 30 degree weather, we were able to get a lot of unique...
Continue reading
Today was the day we’ve all been waiting for (especially Erin) … PANDAS!! We went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and saw both giant and red pandas. The red pandas were definitely more active and playful. The babies were super cute too. We also learned about breeding at the reserve...
Continue reading
Today was our last day in Bivalve, so we were busy at work finishing projects. The AJ Meerwald went for a sail in the morning with the coastguards. We couldn’t go, so we stayed on the docks. Some people painted a part of the wood (the centerboard) from the ship while on the dock....
Continue reading
Day Five Today we discussed the overt and subtle forms of racism that exist in society and in our school community. We specifically discussed the roles of aggressors and bystanders, and we focused on “jokes” and how they can have impact beyond their intentions. We used “sculpting” to create a scene dealing with one...
Continue reading