The Ancona School https://anconaschool.org/ The new AnconaSchool.org Tue, 25 Oct 2022 13:26:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 “Dog berries” https://anconaschool.org/dog-berries/ Tue, 25 Oct 2022 13:23:51 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72372 It's become an annual tradition for third and fourth graders to harvest the berries of our Cornelian cherry tree (Cornus mas). The name is a misnomer; it's not a cherry at all, but a dogwood, albeit with enormous, pitted fruits. Americans don't know what to do with them, but in the Middle East, where the [...]

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]]> Camping again https://anconaschool.org/camping-again/ Thu, 25 Aug 2022 14:17:01 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72308 After a long COVID hiatus, a group of Ancona families went camping this past weekend at Camp Bullfrog Lake. A great time, though not enough sleep, was had by all!

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]]> Chicken change in 2022 https://anconaschool.org/chicken-change-in-2022/ Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:34:23 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72195 For the past four springs, we have hosted chickens in the Ancona garden. That will change in 2022, when we'll take a chicken break, at least for the spring. In the past, we've relied on 7-10 regular, non-teacher volunteers to care for the hens on weekends, holidays, and summer weeks when Ancona staff aren't around. Those volunteers have dwindled. [...]

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]]> Ducks come calling https://anconaschool.org/ducks-come-calling/ Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:40:45 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72069 We've been fortunate to have numerous animal guests over the years. Recently, Ancona sixth grader Marie Benson brought three of her pet ducks to the garden for a one-day residency. Nearly every student in the school came out to meet and feed them, and some came multiple times. We learned about ducks as a species, [...]

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]]> And the pumpkins go smash https://anconaschool.org/and-the-pumpkins-go-smash/ Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:32:08 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72063 One of our favorite fall traditions is to collect pumpkins from Ancona families and neighbors for composting. They're a huge amount of biomass that would otherwise go to waste! First, though, we give them a good a smashing so they'll decay faster. For a live-action look, download this nine-second video. It's well worth the time! [...]

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]]> Community composting at Ancona https://anconaschool.org/community-composting-at-ancona/ Mon, 25 Oct 2021 19:05:39 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=72004 Ancona has been teaching students to compost for two decades. We accept compostable goods from the school building, from students' homes, and from school neighbors. In a given year, we divert 2,000-3,000 gallons of organic waste from landfills. If you'd like to participate, here's a list of what we accept. And here's an Edutopia blog [...]

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]]> Volunteer salute: Johanna and Joel https://anconaschool.org/volunteer-salute-johanna-and-joel/ Mon, 30 Aug 2021 12:12:41 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=71957 Volunteers are the lifeblood of almost every garden. So it's a bummer when Ancona's best teacher-gardener, Johanna, shown here with her partner Joel, moves on to garden elsewhere. Johanna contributed buckets and buckets of compost from classroom and home. She devised bilingual garden labels. She imported seeds for Puerto Rican specialty peppers. She fed chickens. [...]

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]]> Historic day in Ancona gardening https://anconaschool.org/a-historic-day-in-ancona-gardening-history/ Thu, 26 Aug 2021 15:46:00 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=71945 For the first time, an Ancona alum has a personal plot in the school garden. Thank you, Val, for being a plant-loving role model for younger students. May many follow your path. Also, you have quite a lot of chard to harvest now.

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]]> Why don’t people like Swiss chard? https://anconaschool.org/why-dont-people-like-swiss-chard/ Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:54:06 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=71805 We grow lots of kale and collard greens in our school garden, and they're always easy to give away. We also grow many beets, which are equally popular. There's a similar crop that nobody ever wants, though: Swiss chard. Chard's lack of popularity is mysterious. Chard is actually in the beet family, so the taste [...]

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]]> Summer camp fairy house winner https://anconaschool.org/summer-camp-fairy-house-winner/ Wed, 14 Jul 2021 17:51:26 +0000 https://anconaschool.org/?p=71784 Kudos to Olivia, whose mug-and-pepper scene won her three freshly laid eggs.  

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