Spring 2014 Intensive Learning Options: Local
Improv with Issues
Students in Improv with Issues will start the week playing games and learning improvisational theatre techniques, including time spent in Philadelphia with professional actors. The rest of the week will be spent using those techniques to explore social issues chosen by the group. There is no theatre experience or interest required – we will not be doing any traditional “performance.” Previous groups have explored issues such as race, class, body image, HIV/AIDS, and drug and alcohol abuse. If you’re interested in trying a new way to “discuss” difficult but important topics, please sign up!
Bayshore Discovery Project
At Bayshore Discovery Project in Port Norris, MFS students learn about the Delaware Bay wetlands ecosystem and oyster industry and help restore New Jersey’s tall ship, The AJ Meerwald. The group provides hundreds of hours of service work aboard the Meerwald, scraping, sanding, painting, and varnishing the boat to prepare her for the next sailing season when she is used for fundraising and educational programs.
Habitat for Humanity
Students will work with Habitat for Humanity on site and at their Re-Store.
Introduction to Blacksmithing
We will go to the Harriton House in Bryn Mawr, PA to learn about blacksmithing on coal forges. Students will have the opportunity to design and make their own projects.
A Unique Pine Barrens Experience
The Pine Barrens Intensive Learning will provide an opportunity for students to learn the unique history and culture of the nearby “Pinelands,” the first National Reserve created by Congress. The area has also been designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve. We will spend time hiking and exploring the forest as well as learning about the intriguing history of the area, including the Jersey Devil and the indigenous “Piney” population.
Exploring Art
Students will explore the artistic process by getting back to nature. Literally. We will explore local natural habitats such as the Pine Barrens, Jersey Shore, and Fairmount Park — looking, collecting, and creating along the way (yes, a trip to the beach!). We will create art interventions in the environment, rooted in dialogue about ecology, land use, the history of earthworks, and public art. Artistic processes involved will likely include painting, sculpture, and photography, but may be as diverse as sandcastles and mapmaking. Students will be encouraged to synthesize their understanding of nature with various artistic process.
Quilting
Students will learn to make pillowcases, zippered bags and a quilt. Those who have not quilted before will be given a simple pattern that they can finish in a week’s time. Students who have some experience will be allowed to design their own quilt or learn new techniques to apply. The pillowcases will be donated to ConKerr Cancer, zippered bags filled with toiletry items will be given to The Ronald McDonald House, and the students can decide where the quilts will be donated: Quilts for Kids, Dooley House, Project Linus, Home of the Brave Quilt Project, etc. We will walk on Main Street to have lunch several days, and one day we will travel to Olde City Quilters in Burlington to machine quilt our projects. Students will also make a small project which they may keep.
Environmental Psychology: Prison Design
Laws codify the values and beliefs of society. Crime is a legal term that describes acts that cause harm by violating these values and beliefs. Society sometimes responds to these anti-social behaviors by forcibly confining individuals (putting people in jail) and denying freedoms (rights of citizenship, property, privacy) under the authority of the state. Prisons are designed to accomplish the goals of custody, rehabilitation, and reintegration of criminals. To explore how prisons reflect societal values and beliefs about anti-social behaviors, students will design prisons, read case studies of criminals, visit historical prisons, and watch movies about prison life. Just as society’s values and beliefs about crime have evolved, so too have our prisons.
Service in Camden
Students will participate in different community service projects in the City of Camden. This is a learning opportunity for students as well as an opportunity to engage in service. Students should be open and willing to learning about the history of Camden and the issues that surround the community, and they should be committed to doing whatever is asked of them by the organizations with whom we work.
Multicultural Experience in Philadelphia
Students will explore the many cultures of Philadelphia through visits to museums, walking tours, exhibits, and dining. While exploring Philadelphia, the students will examine the cultural influences present in their lives.
Spring 2014 Intensive Learning Options: Overnight
Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
Students will hike 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Gear will be transported to a new cabin each night.
Lacrosse Service Trip
Through the Tempe Friends Meeting, Arizona State University, Amy Silverman of Westtown School, and the Brophy Prep School Boys Lacrosse Team, MFS Boys’ Lacrosse teammates will conduct service work by feeding the local community in need, participating in team building skills through lacrosse and hiking, and engaging in service worship with Tempe Friends Meeting.
The opportunity to provide service to communities in need, specifically the homeless in Phoenix, will be an important part of the service component while in Arizona. Skill building and team bonding with the Brophy Prep Boys LAX team will provide an opportunity for team sharing and friendly competition The departure date will be Saturday, March 22, and the team will return Thursday, March 27.
Exploring Pueblo Cultures
Students will trace the history of the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and explore the culture of one of these nations within our nation, Zuni. The trip will start in Santa Fe, to gain a grounding in the history of New Mexico and an introduction to the arts and cultures of New Mexicans. Students will hike a nearby canyon and learn about the geology that has shaped Pueblo life, and they will visit Taos Pueblo, which is as close as one can get to seeing a pueblo as it might have existed several hundred years ago. Moving out from Santa Fe, students will visit Acoma Pueblo, which has preserved some of its early structures but, unlike Taos, continues to inhabit the sky-top village. From there, the group will go to Zuni, which has far less tourist traffic. Here, they can investigate the layers of history and culture that are the foundation for modern Zuni, and meet some of the Zunis who continue that history and culture. Students will stay in a bed and breakfast that has roots reaching back to the early 20th century, when the pueblo was visited by missionaries, anthropologists, and traders. On the way back, the group will stop for a service project at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, which works to mediate the space between what is still wild in New Mexico and the civilized world (that is fascinated by, but does not always understand, the wilderness). Finally, students will pull the study of Pueblo cultures together with a visit to the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, and then relax for an afternoon of exploring and shopping in Old Town before heading home.
Spring 2014 Intensive Learning Options: International
Costa Rica Service
Service and Adventure in Costa Rica. Students will enjoy adventures in the rainforest and a service project/homestays in a small Costa Rican farming village.
Spain: Granada, Córdoba, Málaga
Spend 7 days in the most famous region of Spain, Andalucía. The trip will begin in Granada with a guided tour of the stunning Alhambra Palace and the sights and sounds of the Albayzín. Students will then take a trip up to Cordoba to tour and visit the Great Mosque of Córdoba, the Mezquita. They will also enjoy a classic Andulsian lunch and have time to explore the architectural wonders of Córdoba by foot. Finally, they transfer back down to the Mediterranean and the city of Málaga before flying home. Students will earn 15 service hours on this trip. They will participate in service activities that include work at a daycare center, candle making to raise money, and English lessons for the community.
China
This trip begins in Beijing, by visiting the Temple of Heaven and two iconic Chinese monuments: Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Students will also participate in a scavenger hunt through the Olympic Park and bargaining in the night market of Wangfujing. They will then travel to Chengdu to visit the Giant Panda Breeding Reserve. Finally, the group will travel to the ancient village of Luocheng via steam engine train. Students will earn 20 service hours on this trip. Service projects include volunteering in China’s first and only orphanage for the blind and visually impaired, teaching English to local school children, and painting a home for the elderly.
London & Paris Math & Science Tour
Students will take a tour highlighting science museums and math challenges, as well as the usual cultural sights in London and Paris.