Red Cedar School

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noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:19:00 +0000

This blog was an active forum for sharing the goings-on at the school from 2007 - 2011. It now serves as an archive for that time period.

We are currently sharing photos and updates on Facebook. (Hit 'Visit us on Facebook' above to go directly to our Facebook page.)

Red Cedar Middle School Travels to New York City

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:04:00 +0000

At the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on the first morning.

Henry found the name of one of his ancestors at Ellis Island.

C, Henry and John on the ferry

Adrian, Parker, Brendan and John

At the United Nations

Parker with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Subway ride - one of many

Crys and Lena on the Wall Street Bull.

Evan and Aran at the Lego store at Rockefeller Center.

Rainer

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Lena - lunch at the Carnegie Deli

Talking in Central Park after a morning in the Museum of Natural History

We dressed up and ate a fancy dinner in Little Italy

Then went to the show 'Stomp'

Chinatown

On the steps of the Met

Lunch from a street vendor

Then a walk through Central Park on the first warm and sunny Saturday in April. Everybody was out.

Back to Penn Station to catch our train up to Albany, then home on the bus

Winter at Red Cedar School

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:28:00 +0000

Students participated in a school-wide Sharing of Learning in mid-February.

Primary and upper elementary students each undertook an independent study in an area of interest this winter. They focused on researching and recording information, and communicating their learning effectively and creatively through written reports, graphic charts and diagrams, models and artifacts, drawings, and oral presentation. Here Carter talks about a study he did on penguins.

The upper elementary group focused on human biology in science class. Amelia and Reid talk about a project they did on the digestive system.

Carter shares his independent study on the Civil War.

Bo talks with a parent about the project he did with Schuyler on the cardiovascular system.

Lexi with her study on desert foxes.

Lily reads a comparison chart.

Louis talks with a parent.

Middle school students all did an independent research project on a topic of choice in their Earth Science class. They each wrote a paper and created a power-point presentation which they shared with the community. Parker focused on physical geography with an emphasis on coastal geography.

Henry makes a presentation to the younger students.

The primary group performs music for their parents.

The primary group has been collecting a range of data on our hens and their egg laying activity through the winter. They have recorded and interpreted this information in a variety of charts.

Adrian admires the study that Lucas and Kosmo did on sharks.

We celebrated our annual Arts Immersion Week in February.

Isaac in a drumming workshop.

Chimie Bangoura, from Guinea, West Africa, who now lives locally, led a drumming workshop.

Rainer, Margot and C

Kosmo on the potter's wheel.

Parent Jes Berry led a pack basket workshop.

Rainer at work.

John and Henry

Ari leads a pottery workshop.

Lily at work in a fiber arts workshop.

Aran and Evan

Austin and Bill working on the barn door in an outdoor classroom woodworking workshop.

Eliot in the henhouse.

The edible products of a sushi workshop - ready to be shared with everyone for snack.

Charlie at work in a South American culinary arts workshop led by Brendan.

Reid, Michael and Nadine

Fresh lime drink

John and Patrick helped to build an outdoor grill for cooking the marinated beef.

The workshop culminated in a school-wide feast featuring all the dishes the group worked on and perfected. Brendan slices the grilled meat.

Michael introduces the desserts to everyone.

Nadine explains one of the dishes they prepared.
The menu:
Codfish and shrimp fritters
Rice and red beans
Marinated beef
Fried bananas
Lime drink
Guava sweet
Brigadeiro
Passionfruit mouse

Lissy Heminway of Vermont Dogsled led a workshop one day. Lily and Bailey are ready for a ride.

Lissy, Austin, Bo and Michael

Nadine and Isaiah with the dogs

Anoushka, Zave and Isaiah

In March, the upper elementary group went out to the Heminways' place for a day. Here they are in a yurt interviewing Lissy about her experience with her dogs and the business.

Isaiah and Lissy

Nadine and Bo carry a bucket of sap.

Quinn with one of the dogs

Zave, Schuyler and Isaiah

The middle school group did an overnight winter camping trip on the Heminways' land. Here Henry and John are in the sugarhouse, boiling sap

Rainer with one of the dogs

We cooked dinner over a fire: pan roasted potatoes with caramelized onions, and marinated leg of lamb. Also, Caesar salad, pasta and cheese, and a to-die-for baklava for dessert (made ahead of time at school). Red Cedar staff and students are foodies.

Crys, Jez and Lena

Parker and Patrick - around the fire after dinner, under a (almost) full moon.

Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the peace emissary of the Dalai Lama, (and a friend of RC parent, Chessy Kelley), visited the school for an afternoon in early March. He met with all of the students, who asked him many questions about his life and beliefs.

As part of their class study of human biology, Lillie and Amelia are viewing slides of human lymph cells and drawing what they see. The class looked at cells from various human body systems.

In March, the upper elementary group focused on comparative anatomy. They drew and dissected a cow heart, sheep heart, sheep brain, cow kidney and cow eye.

In March we went out to Crown Point to observe the progress on the Champlain Bridge.

We met with parent Gene Kensek, who is a shop steward for the the project. He talked about the many parts of the project and explained how they all come together.

Afterwards we visited the Chimney Point fort remains.

Images from the Fall

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 20:00:00 +0000

School begins - First day orientation

An older - younger pair-up game

Circus Smirkus did a week's residency as part of our orientation. Our hope in the beginning weeks of school is to create a strong social community of trust and respect, and to lay the groundwork for academic engagement, curiosity, risk taking, and sustained focus.

Charlie - learning to juggle scarves

Anoushka with hoops

Performance at the end of the week

The spinning plates!

Crys with devil sticks

Evan

Mind reading

Yes!

A middle school science seminar

Performing poetry

Bailey at work on a piece of writing

Primary group morning meeting

Darius and Lexi - Reader's theater

Husking corn

Lena and Jez in the gather up at the beginning of writer's workshop

Algebra class

Sharing a good book

The upper elementary group did a 2 day camping trip on the side of Mt. Mansfield at the end of September.
– Ari going over some safety information

On the trail

At Cantilever Rock look-out

S'mores!

Brendan at the Bristol Harvest Festival with our cider press

In the garden

Lily and Bill gathering seeds

Some of the harvest

Delights of the garden

Isaiah and Reid at work on the Monarch butterfly project

Butterfly with a mark-recapture tag

We send data to the Monarch Watch Program at the University of Kansas.

A butterfly emerges

Record of data

Cole at work on a math problem

Annie leading conversational Spanish with the upper elementary group

Alexis in Writer's Workshop

Lillie

Building - in the primary room

The middle school group did a 3 day backpacking trip in the Breadloaf Wilderness in October.
– 1st morning right before we head out

On Sucker Brook Trail

Sunset silhouettes

Skylight Pond

Leaving Skyline Lodge on the last day - in the snow!

We gleaned vegetables in early November for the local food shelf.
– Lily picking kale at New Leaf Organics in Bristol

We joined some of the Addison Gleaners from Middlebury College at Lester Farm in New Haven.

Older-younger mentor relationships begin
– Lucas and Henry

Crys and Bailey

Margot and Amelia

Anoushka and Zave

Right before the holiday break in December, we held a bazaar. Families sent in gently used toys, books and other items. Students set up a store and wrapping stations, and some parents set up cooking and craft present-making stations. Students then bought and made presents for family members and friends. The proceeds from the bazaar were donated to the Humane Society of Addison County.

End of Year Images

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:52:00 +0000

We raised chickens this spring. Alex draws one as a few look on.

Ezekiel and a friend

Quinn - in the chicken coop

Isaac, Sam, Willie and Alex planting seeds in the garden

Anoushka waters the garden

Middle school students in the intro to Algebra class built Adirondack chairs - Parker at work on his

Zave and Ari

End of Year Sharing of Learning

The middle school group shares reflections about their growth over the year

The primary group created a rotating mural to depict the cycle of gardening

The upper elementary group created an early 1800s village in the outdoor classroom after their trip to Sturbridge Village.

Jez, Anoushka and Lena at the general store

Bo at the forge

Zave at the 'stable'

Louise tries out the chair made by her son, Adrian

Izzie shares her portfolio with her mom

Nadine shares her portfolio with her mom

End of Year Family Picnic

Jezzie, Isaac and Evan

Manju and Rachel

A surprise shower for Brendan (whose baby, Maggie, was born this summer!)

Variety Show - last week of school

Adrian, Miranda, Evan, Eliot, Patrick, Margot, Aran, John, C, Kellen and Parker

John, Evan, Izzie and Lena

Isaac

Zave and Amelia

Louis

Anoushka, Isaac, Alex and Bill

C, Evan, Bill and Adrian

Charlie, Bo and Quinn

Margot

Resting for the summer

Students Travel to Boston and Old Sturbridge Village

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:34:00 +0000

The upper elementary group has been studying the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, and the early 1800s. We took a three day trip and traveled back in time.

We started in Boston with a guided tour of important sites from the Revolutionary era. Here we are at Granary Burying Ground near Boston Common on Tremont Street, a cemetary for many notable Revolutionary-War era patriots.

At the site of the Boston Massacre.

Looking up at the grasshopper weathervane at the top of Faneuil Hall

Next we went to Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum featuring early New England life from 1790 - 1840.

On the village green

At the cemetery

In a village home

With the young oxen

Exploring

Taking a break

Sitting you know where

Red Cedar Middle School Goes to D.C.

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:44:00 +0000

In early April we traveled with the middle school to Washington D.C. for a weeklong trip. We packed in many experiences including visits to Arlington National Cemetery, the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, the Holocaust Museum, several Smithsonian museums, a concert at the Kennedy Center, a tour of the Capitol, a day bicycling from old town Alexandria to Mount Vernon on the George Washington bike path, and an evening watching the Washington Nationals play the Phillies.

We went by train from Albany to D.C.
Mir, Linnie, Adrian and Eliot in Penn Station on the way down.

Evan, Aran, John, Margot, Kellen and C at the USS Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum during our afternoon in NYC.

Tour of the Capitol

Parker at the office of Senator Bernie Sanders

Morning Meeting in Lafayette Park across from the White House

Aran, Margot and Zoe, on the Mall

Margot at the National Air and Space Museum

John, C and Evan in the Metro station

Below the National Gallery of Art (photo by Zoe)

Zoe

Brendan and Jacquie on the steps of the Supreme Court

Patrick, Zoe and Parker

Bill and Brendan at the Nationals game.

Following the trip, the students created an anthology of writing about their experiences and presented a slide show to the school community. Eliot commented, “I feel that the trip helped me gain independence and confidence. The most interesting parts of the trip were the Natural History Museum, the Holocaust Museum and the Lincoln Memorial." For Evan, his experience at the Lincoln Memorial stood out as well. He wrote, “It looked so sturdy and old that you would think it was a monument to a god or something. It felt as if the weight of the Civil War was pressing down on my shoulders, just as it did to Lincoln.” Adrian stated that, “Traveling with my class is probably my favorite thing to do. You learn so much more … than if you just read about it in a textbook. Your experience is raw and unfiltered.”

Students Perform One-Act Plays

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:22:00 +0000

In March, we worked on one-act plays in our Language Arts / English classes. Some of the plays were written by students and others we adapted from literature and folk tales. We painted the sets for the plays and did our final rehearsals during Arts Immersion Week. We performed most of the plays on March 30th. A number of middle school students were sick that week, so two of the plays will be performed later in the spring.

Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like

Adapted from the book by Jay Williams

Isaiah, as the old man (the dragon) greets Han, the gatekeeper of the city, played by Louis.

The mandarin (Izzi), listens to the advice of the wisest of the wise men (Schuyler).

The messenger (Quinn), and the old man, listen to the Head of Merchants (Henry), and the Captain of the Army (Charlie).

The story is narrated by Nadine.

Band members Willy and Isaac create sounds effects for the play.

The old man transforms into a dragon to save the city.

Chris, Chris and Drew

Written by Parker (RCS student)

Chris (Evan), Drew (Adrian), and the other Chris (Miranda).

They meet King Richard (Parker).

Drew with Basil (Eliot).

Patrick, the narrator.

Not shown: C - Mr. Stinky Monster, and Zoe - Elmo.

Jacquie confers with Anoushka and Isaac.

The Revenge of the Babysat

Adapted from a Calvin and Hobbes story

Calvin (Sam), tells his dad (Alex), that he can't believe his parents are going out without him.

Calvin's babysitter (Xzavia), is furious that Calvin and his co-conspirator, Hobbes (Isaac), have taken her homework and are threatening to flush it down the toilet.

The Missing Hobbes

Another Calvin and Hobbes scene

Calvin (Ezekiel), is encouraged by his dad (Willie), to write a note to help find Hobbes.

Hobbes, meanwhile, is with Suzy (Anoushka), about to have a tea party in her garden. Calvin (Isaac) comes looking for him.

The Princess and the Bees

Written by Lena, Amelia, Jezriel and Xzavia

The Queen (Jezriel), the king (Nadine), the royal dog (Xzavia), and the minister (Amelia) discuss how to find the lost princess.

Chuck (Bo) bribes Clyde (Quinn) into pretending he is the lost princess.

Clyde finds a maiden (Lena) and brings her to the palace for the test.

Izzi as narrator

The queen and king

While sleeping, the maiden is attacked and stung by bees (Ezekiel, Anoushka, Isaac and Willy). She doesn't feel them and sleeps soundly through the night, proving that she is the long lost princess.

The set crew members for the evening were Jezriel, Bo, Charlie and Henry.

Red Cedar Undertakes Annual Arts Immersion Week

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Outside it was cold, muddy, rainy, raw, and even snowy at times. Inside, the spaces of the school were turned into art studios, the kitchen was given over to the cooking of Greek cuisine, a hot fire burned in the cob oven, the newly remodeled clay stove in the yurt was lit, and students dove into week-long workshops.

Sets for the upcoming One-Act Plays were painted.

Alex

Izzi and Xzavia

Aran and Patrick

The smells of olive oil, garlic, lemon, spinach and pastry floated out of the kitchen.

Henry, Bo and Izzi perfect their skills in working with filo dough.

Students learned how to make pita bread, eggplant mousakka, spanakopita, marinated roast lamb, tsatsiki, and baklava - all baked in the cob oven outside. They created a huge meal with each of these, along with cucumber-mint salad and classic greek salad, for a school community feast on Friday.

Izzi makes a spanikopita triangle from filo dough with spinach/feta/olive stuffing.

Eliot, Parker, Sam and Patrick.

Brendan and the chefs at work.

Alex and Zoe clean up.

The primary room turned into a pottery studio - for both hand building and wheel throwing.

Ari on the wheel.

Another workshop was wood carving and building - in the outdoor classroom.

Amelia

Bill with Lena

Chairs made by the woodworking group

Evan, Bill and Miranda - taking a break

In the afternoons everyone rehearsed for their one-act plays. The following Tuesday evening we performed the plays for parents. And this is how we got through mud season.

Red Cedar Students Share Learning

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:07:00 +0000

Students shared their learning from January and February with their parents and the school community.

The primary group regularly creates improvisational music. Parents listened in on one of their sessions.

Bill and Sam

Anoushka, Ezekiel and Bill

Upper elementary and primary students each presented learning from an independent study they did. Amelia shares her project on diabetes.

Charlie and his study on Coastguard Rescue

Anoushka's study on dolphins

Lena and her study on chemicals in cosmetics

Louis and his study on plumbing.

A drawing of the plumbing apparatus in his basement.

Ezekiel's frog study.

Nadine's study on ocean pollution.

Nadine's drawings of a sea turtle and a crab.

From Isaiah's study of Egyptian mythology - a comparison of two gods

Quinn's drawing of a viper fish for his ocean floor study

Middle school students each wrote a science research paper. For the sharing of learning they each gave oral presentations accompanied by Power Point visuals which summarized their projects.

Research topics for the group included: Adrian - Nanotechnology in the Medical Field; C - Human evolution; Evan - Reflective Nanotechnology; John - Viability of Wood Gasification; Kellen - Nanotechnology; Margot - The Deep Sea; Miranda - Robotics and Artificial Intelligence; Parker - Extra-Solar Planets and the Possibilities of Life; Patrick - Formation of Black Holes and the Singularity; Zoe - Large Hadron Collider.

Middle school students also designed and built bridges in math class.

John with his wooden truss bridge.

Margot with her trestle bridge

C with his bridge

The upper elementary group created large maps of regions on the United States.

Highlights of the Ski Season

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

We spent Thursday afternoons skiing during the winter. One group did alpine and snowboarding, and the other Nordic.

Zave at Middlebury Bread Loaf Ski Touring

Eliot, Patrick and Parker heading out

Willy and Ezekiel

Anoushka

Heading off for a run at Snowbowl

Schuyler

Bill, Louis and John

Nadine and Izzi

Red Cedar Middle School Students Go Winter Camping/Dogsledding

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Our middle school students recently took to the local woods and fields on snowshoe and dogsled, and experienced an immersion in nature writing. The students spent a morning each week on snowshoe at the Bristol Watershed Center, exploring the area and recording their observations. Back in the classroom, they read poetry and narrative focused on nature, and wrote poetry and narrative of their own.

The highlight of the experience was two days spent with Vermont Dog Sledding in Shoreham, run by Red Cedar teacher Bill Heminway and his wife, Lissy. The students directly experienced the partnership of working with animals, breaking trail, teamwork, and the chores of feeding the dogs and other animals on the farm. The group camped overnight at a cabin on the property, and cooked meals with food grown and raised on the land.

The group worked throughout the experience with Ellie Moore, a student intern from Middlebury College. Authors featured in the reading and writing intensive included Barry Lopez, Mary Oliver, Farley Mowet, Gary Snyder, Robert Frost, Annie Dillard, Gary Paulsen and Jean Craighead George.

Red Cedar Students Share Learning with the School Community

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:26:00 +0000

On Friday, December 18th, students presented some of their learning from the late fall to their parents and the rest of the school.

The upper elementary group shared learning from their Physics of Flight project.

Isaiah explains some of the project to his parents.

Schuyler explains his mathematical calculations on gravitational constants with Nadine's mom.

Students talk about their rockets designs.

Brendan and Henry prepare a rocket for launching.

The primary group shared learning about the process of scientific investigation. Each student presented a planned experiment.

Sam demonstrates how fluids of different temperature and density interact.

Alex demonstrates how the center of gravity rules balance.

Ezekiel demonstrates levitation with magnets set to opposing poles at Willy's "Magnetic Act."

The primary group also presented two Reader's Theater pieces.

Xzavia and Sam in a presentation of Dr. De Soto by William Steig.

Alex in Dr. De Soto.

Anoushka in a presentation of Pierre by Maurice Sendak.

Willy in Pierre.

The Middle School group has been working on debate in their social studies class.
Aran, Patrick, Margot and John debate the pros and cons of plastic shopping bags in Vermont.

Zoe and Kellen debate the issue of censorship.

Parker, Adrian and C on the opposing team.

Lindsay, Eliot, Evan and Miranda debate the issue of space exploration.

Three new collections of student writing were published by the Red Cedar Press.

More from The Physics of Flight:

Red Cedar Students Glean Produce for Local Food Shelves

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Red Cedar students participated in a service project this fall that contributed produce to local food shelves and raised money for the school’s scholarship fund. Three area farms opened their fields to the students to glean vegetables as the fall harvest was winding down. The students gleaned potatoes, broccoli, spinach, chard, carrots, and radishes at New Leaf Organics in Bristol, Elmer Farm in Middlebury, and The Last Resort Farm in Monkton. The produce was delivered to the Addison County Emergency Food Shelf in Middlebury and to the John Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes.

The upper elementary group meets with Jill Kopel, owner of New Leaf Organics in Bristol.

Efforts are growing nationwide to focus attention on the value of gleaning—the gathering of edible crops that would otherwise be left in the field—for providing fresh produce to community food shelves. Our project was assisted by Addison County’s gleaning coordinator, Corinne Almquist (corinne.almquist@gmail.com).

The group heads off to the fields with Jill.

Schuyler, Isaiah, Lena, and Izzi dig carrots.

Red Cedar families created a three-way benefit for this project by getting pledges from relatives and friends for the project. Through the pledges, the school raised $3,000 for its scholarship fund. All students joined in the gleaning as a community service project. The students picked 366 pounds of vegetables.

Henry and Charlie at work

Isaiah washes radishes

Radishes in their glory

Red Cedar Students Bid Farewell to the Champlain Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:45:00 +0000

Last week each of the groups went to Middlebury to see the new bridge under construction, and out to Crown Point to say good-bye to the historic Champlain Bridge (or as it's known locally - The Crown Point Bridge). Along the way we also took note of every bridge we saw or crossed. It was a bridge kind of day.

Crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Otter Creek in Middlebury, below the falls.

We stopped at Frog Hollow to draw the old stone bridge above the falls.

Nadine

At the construction site for the new bridge. A set of the huge girders had been delivered and put in place a few days before.

Drawing at the new bridge site.

Heading back through town, Zave leads the pack, about to cross over the stone bridge.

Snack at the Marble Works, by the falls.

Out at Crown Point, at the renamed (as seen on the sign) 'No Bridge Restaurant.'

The middle school group by the Crown Point bridge. The bridge opened in 1929. The bridge will probably be demolished before the lake freezes this winter.

Bo helps to keep the bridge up for now.

Good-bye beautiful Crown Point Bridge.

Thanks, Everybody, For a Great Party!

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Red Cedar Students Start Year with Hikes and Wilderness Trips

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:35:00 +0000

The middle school group spent the first three days of school backpacking on Mt. Mansfield - three days of endless conversation, bantering, catching up with each other, welcoming the new students, exploring, enjoying what good shape we got in over the summer or suffering because of how little we'd done. Warm sunny days, clear nights, no bugs.

Miranda, Adrian and Parker by Cantiliver Rock

After a trailside dinner on Sunset Ridge

Group at the summit

Late afternoon

Margot at the edge of the world

S'mores after dinner

Evan the porter

Dirty, tired and glad to have our packs off

The whole school hiked Mt. Philo on Day 4 for an orientation day with group games. Classes began on the 5th day.

Ari leads a game

Patrick and Lena

Jez, Amelia, Ezekiel, Evan and Willy

In mid-September, we all hiked Camel's Hump one day.

Bill and Amelia, at the summit

Even our youngest student, Anouska, made it up

Lindsay, Isza and Zoe

Evan, Anoushka, Jacquie, Lena, Jez and C

Beakie and Amelia almost fall off

In late September, the upper elementary group did an overnight camping trip at Branbury State Park.

Setting out for the Falls of Lana

Along the way
At Rattlesnake Cliffs, overlooking Lake Dunmore

Brendan

Looking out to the west

Crossing Sucker Brook

End of the day

Bo and Charlie, cooking over the fire

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Red Cedar Middle School Students Send Postcards from Summer Travel

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:23:00 +0000

E-Postcards from Patrick and his family. Patrick has been spending time
this summer hiking throughout the Green Mountains. Patrick sprouts wings on Camel's Hump.

Patrick muscles his way to Silver Lake overlooking beautiful Lake Dunmore.

Patrick and Parker at the Montreal Museum of Archeology and History Point-a-Calliere.

Parker and Patrick at the John Brown Farm in Lake Placid, New York.

Red Cedar Science Teacher Spends Summer Studying Rare Mountain Thrush

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Waking before dawn amongst the clouds and mist of New England and New York's highest peaks has become a way of life for biologist and Red Cedar science teacher, Brendan Collins. For the past seven years, Brendan and a team of biologist from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), have been visiting these montane forests in search of the elusive Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli). The Bicknell's is considered one of North America's most rare and range restricted songbirds and thus has become the focus of Brendan's avian research.

Sadly, nearly a third of the nation's 800 bird species are either endangered, threatened or in significant decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation brought about by human development, invasive species and climate change. The Bicknell's is no exception. Being considered somewhat of the canary in the coal mine when it comes to the health of Vermont's high elevation forests, the Bicknell's Thrush is a harbinger of the ecological shifts brought about by climate change. The Bicknell's Thrush has come to represent VCE's commitment to understanding and protecting high elevation forests as well as conservation across political boundaries.

The focus of this summer's research has been the attachment of solar geolocators to adult male Bicknell's Thrush across its breeding range. These tiny light gathering devises are harmlessly attached as backpacks meant to collect geographic information over the course of a full year.

The technology is actually pretty old in that researchers are simply using time and day length to geolocate the bird's position in relation to the sun. They do not work in real time but instead collect and store the data such that when they are recovered next year, VCE researchers will be able to calculate where the bird has been on any given day. The research promises to shed important light on the timing and location of Bicknell's Thrush migration as well as connecting breeding populations with discrete wintering sites in the Caribbean.

Brendan has spent the majority of his time working on the summits of Mount Mansfield in Vermont and Slide and Plateau Mountains in the Catskills of New York. He has seen many beautiful sunrises and sunsets but has also been soaked to the bone on more than a few occasions.

Sunrise from the summit of Mount Mansfield, Vermont July 2009

Brendan releasing male Bicknell's Thrush on Slide Mountain in the Catskills of New York on July 9th.

For more information and details of Brendan's summer research visit the Vermont Center for Ecostudies webpage:

http://www.vtecostudies.org/

and Blog:

http://vtecostudies.blogspot.com/2009/07/bicknells-thrush-bonanza-on-slide.html

Red Cedar Chickens Move into Five Star Coop

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Greetings Red Cedar School community. I am pleased to announce that the 22 chicks we hatched this past spring are doing exceptionally well and have moved into their new coop at Brendan's house. While the coop was being built they took up temporary residence in the garage. Brendan's son Quinn adores the chicks. He spends lots of time with them each day. Please feel free to swing by and say hello at some point this summer!

The initial pen set up in Brendan's garage.

Coop while under construction. The coop is located under the barn with a ramp leading to the run.

The chicks quickly out grew the first pen. Yes those are baby gates!

Chicks exploring the new coop for the first time.

Peeking in through one of the three windows. All accounted for and safe for the evening.

The chickens are free range and secure from predators...(aka. the dogs)!

Ramses thanking Brendan for building such a nice coop and run.

The outside of the coop is complete with access to the nesting boxes, feed bins, chicken folk art, and Red Sox calendar.

Most of the chicks have undergone a molt and begun showing signs of being either male or female. At last count it seemed as though we had 10 hens and 12 roosters.

"Hello Red Cedar Students. Thank you for doing such a great job of raising us when we were just little chicks!" Scarlet and Gonzo.

Quinn with the rooster Ninja.

Upper Elementary Group Travels to Plimoth Plantation

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:02:00 +0000

The upper elementary group has been studying Native Peoples with a particular focus on the local Abenaki this year in social studies. They are beginning to explore the contact period and European settlement. We decided to take a trip to Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts where we could see living replicas of Plimoth Colony, a Wampanoag village, and the Mayflower.

Lena and Schuyler watch a Wampanoag woman cook frog legs over a fire.

Checking out some dugout canoes. We got to see a tree being hollowed out with fire.

Charlie, Xzavia, Lena, Jez, Quinn and Schuyler in front of a wetu.

Quinn and Bo are descendants of John Alden, one of the original passengers aboard the Mayflower who settled Plimoth Colony. They are sitting in a replica of his house.

Walking down the main path of the village.

Nadine and Isaiah watch the village blacksmith at work.

Bill and Charlie look at a cannon.

Bo helps with the work.

At the end of the day we headed into Plymouth - the bus spent its first night at a motel.

After checking in we walked along the harbor - past 'The Rock' - to dinner.

In the park

After dinner at the Lobster Hut something strange happened to Quinn and Nadine.

Breakfast at a diner - it doesn't get much better than this!

Talking with the captain's first mate on the Mayflower.

Charlie's grandfather, Jim Fox, is a boatbuilder and lives in the next town up the coast. He joined us at the Mayflower.

On the beach before we headed back north to Vermont

Middle School Backpacks in the Adirondacks

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:35:00 +0000

We set off early Wednesday morning for the Adirondacks with our packs and food for three days.

The bus takes its first ferry ride - crossing Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga.

Gathered up by Putnam Pond at the edge of the Pharoah Lake Wilderness, ready for our six mile hike to Pharoah Lake. Photo by Parker.

Harrison

C, Patrick and Eliot

Five miles in - Evan and Miranda take a break on the trail.

We arrive and set up camp. Margot, John and Kellen do some fishing.

Adrian, Patrick, C and Miranda - hanging out in the lean-to by the fire.

Bill and Eliot

Kellen and John - filtering water

The next morning we set out to hike the circumference of Pharoah Lake. Brendan uses audio playback to show students a pair of Blue-Headed Vireos.

Thursday night cooks, Miranda and Parker, sit by the fire waiting for the water to boil.

Split Rock in the early morning light

Rock 'n' Roll Ball a Great Success

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:38:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who helped make our 20th Anniversary Celebration Rock 'n' Roll Ball such a huge success!

Our bus driver, Bernie Perron, brought folks from up north to the Ball in Red Cedar's stretch limo.
Parents Liz and John Levey of the Big Basin Band rocked the house.

Teacher Bill Heminway and his band, Savant Gourde, kept the energy high.

Checking out the silent auction items.

Auctioneer Louise Rosales leads live bidding on a hammered copper weathervane crafted by coppersmith Larry Stearns.

During the auction

Fish Swim on the Red Cedar Campus

noreply@blogger.com (The Red Cedar School) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:58:00 +0000

In celebration of our 20th anniversary we created an environmental art project that symbolizes both the strength of the community and the uniqueness and voice of each student at Red Cedar. Parent and sculptor Larry Stearns suggested the idea and provided the support to make it possible. He milled 200 fish and fitted them with glass eyes. The students and staff hand painted them. The fish project was installed on Friday, April 17, at the end of our annual Arts Immersion week.

Fish once swam where Red Cedar now stands. 12,000 years ago Lake Vermont, formed by glacial melting, lapped at the foot of the Green Mountains. Fish are now swimming - in the wind - where the waters once flowed.

Larry and some of his crew pound in stakes for the fish. Evan starts to attach fish on dowels that stick above the stakes. The fish swing freely and move with the wind.

Gabe and Isaac working with Larry.

Sam helps to hammer in a stake.

Anoushka and Gabe push some of the boxes of painted fish over to the hillside.

Margot attaches a fish.

Swimming uphill into a northerly wind.