Thursday already?

On the fourth and final real day of our Florida trip we went snorkeling in the Keys. We left at 10:00 after a quick breakfast and then stopped at a cafe so the teachers could get their new favorite thing, Cuban coffee. After that stop and a lot more driving we got to the hotel that our boat was next to and got ready. While we were docked, we got a safety briefing and were taught how to use our life vests. On our way out of the technical no wake zone we saw the restaurant we had gone to for lunch the previous day. After we got into open water, the engines ripped and the spray nearly soaked my backpack. We got ready as the surprisingly quick thirty minute trip took us out to the only coral barrier reef in North America, which is home to over forty kinds of reef building stony corals (also known as hard corals). Once we arrived we got a two minute briefing on the area and then were prompted off the boat. At first we made slow progress, but as we got used to the snorkels and swimming in the vests we started moving. We broke off into partner groups and covered the corals slowly.

Trash for treasure

As we moved on, I came across a coral with a black plastic bag clinging on to it. At first I could only get a few small pieces off before getting called back to the group since I had strayed a fair ways away. I then went back with Violet and Shm nearby, and decided to just get as much off as I could after a few more ineffective attempts at untangling the bag. I headed back to the boat after asking my teachers. When I got to the boat, I saw the first mate and handed him the trash. The next thing he said changed my life. Well, not really, but still, a great gesture of kindness,

“Free soda!” I was thrilled with myself. I had just gotten myself a soda for trash, what a deal!

After I selected my soda (Starry, an obvious choice for me), I headed back to get the final pieces of the bag. I arrived at the coral after a few brief minutes of search. Somehow the plastic that was left had partially untangled itself and I was easily able to grab the last pieces. It was like taking the protective plastic cover off a new device or opening an iPhone box, slow and highly satisfying and infinitely rewarding. Even though I did not get a second soda, it still felt good, as both an experienced snorkeler and scuba diver, to get some trash out of the ocean.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Before we even knew it, an air horn sounded, a signal to get back to the boat. We made our way back and thirty minutes later we were back where we started at the dock, and surprised we were almost at the end of our Florida trip. With all the fun packed into three days, the time passed so quickly!

On Thursday, the Middle School went to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida. They rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles. The turtles who are rescued have many different problems. Some have eaten a lot of trash. Others have fibropapillomatosis, a disease that causes big tumors to appear. Turtles also get run over by boats. All the air in them rises into their shell. This means that they can not swim properly anymore. When people find them, they can call the Turtle Hospital and they will take them in. They try to bring the turtles back to a state where they can send them back to the ocean, and if they can not, they offer them a permanent home.

During our visit, we first listened to a presentation about the Turtle Hospital. Then we went to the permanent residents tank. We saw April and Bender. We also saw some of the current patients. The ones who were just starting their rehab were in side pools. The ones who were getting close to release were in a big tank. We got to feed fish food to some of the turtles. We also got to see their surgery room where they do procedures on turtles that need it.

Overall, this was a great experience and I hope that I can see another animal hospital sometime.

If you would like to learn more about the Turtle Hospital, go here: https://turtlehospital.org/ 

Middle School Florida Adventure: Kayak Tour Through the Mangroves

By Theo

Middle School Florida Adventure: Trail Walks in Everglades National Park

By Shm

Tuesday afternoon, after the airboat ride, we drove to another part of Everglades National Park. We walked on two trails. The first was the Gumbo-Limbo Trail and the second was the Anhinga Trail. The Gumbo-Limbo Trail was a very natural walk. The trail path was just dirt. There were a lot of Gumbo-Limbo trees, which is why the trail is named that. Gumbo-Limbo trees are smooth with a shiny reddish-brown color. It is nicknamed the “Tourist Tree”, because it looks like a sunburnt person’s skin. We also saw many lizards and a few birds. It was very hot and some of us wanted to go back, but we decided to do a second trail since we would only be in Florida for a short time. The Anhinga Trail was a wooden path. It went over Taylor Slough and saw many different animals. It was nice to see Taylor Slough because my project was about sloughs and it was cool to see them in real life.. We saw alligators, turtles, anhinga, fish, and other species. It was a very amazing experience and I hope that more walks like those are in my future.

Middle School Florida Adventure: Shark Valley Tram Tour

By Violet

During the Middle School Trip to Florida, we went on an educational tram tour of Shark Valley, which is a part of Everglades National Park. The way it worked was this: we rode along a skinny paved road that was raised up above the endless sea of sawgrass and little tree islands. The tram looked like a massive tan golf cart with four rows and an extra four rows attached to the first. There was nothing in between us and the Shark Valley, but a little chain, so we had a great view of the animals and plants. During the two hour tour we saw a wide variety of cool animals. Among these were the American alligator, Roseate Spoonbill, Soft Shelled Turtle, Black-crowned Night Heron, and Anhingas. The whole tour was narrated, so as well as learning about the flora and fauna, we learned about the history of Shark Valley, like the failed oil drilling attempts from before it became a part of the Everglades. The oil drilling is actually the reason that there’s a road in Shark Valley at all. The tour was really fun and we got to see tons of alligators–we couldn't even count them all!

In the second week of April, the Middle School went to Florida. This trip was inspired by our science curriculum. Prior to the trip, we did a project on biodiversity in South Florida’s ecosystems. Each student picked an ecosystem and researched the biodiversity levels there. Once we were done, we presented the projects to Professor Alison Hamilton from UMass Lowell. We used the money made from the Middle School businesses to partially fund the trip. We were in Florida from April 7 and left on April 11. For the next few weeks, the Middle School will be releasing small blogs about the trip, so stay alert.

MMUN stands for Montessori Model United Nations and it is a longstanding tradition that Oak Meadow Montessori School participates in the New York City conference every two years. MMUN is a conference to simulate the UN with real problems that have to be solved. Middle School and Upper Elementary students from around the world come to MMUN representing Member States and speaking on their behalf in four three-hour committee sessions that are spread over two days.

This year, I went to MMUN as a delegate of Costa Rica to talk about the Food and Agriculture Organization: Sustainable Development. My topic was Corporate Environmental Responsibility; basically “How do we get corporations to emit less fossil fuels?” For each committee, there are two topics that are discussed; my partner’s topic was green cities. In preparation for MMUN, every delegate has to write a position paper as kind of an entry ticket. The position paper is a short essay about what your topic is, what the UN has done about it and what the country you're representing has done about it. Every essay is also finished off with a solution that you suggest. 

During the committee, member states suggest and edit ideas for a resolution – an action plan the UN uses to combat whatever problem is being discussed.  In some cases solutions suggested by Model UN participants have actually been put into action by the UN! Anyway, after months of researching and writing our essays, sewing flags, and making poster boards we were ready to go!

After a long night of packing the Tuesday before last (I like to leave things to the last minute), I went to sleep with a full suitcase at the end of my bed. The next morning I hopped in the car with my mom and drove to school, where a small charter bus was waiting to take us to New York City! 

The bus ride was probably four or five hours long, but before I knew it, we were driving right into the heart of Times Square, next to the giant flashing billboards on the sides of buildings and theaters. There were so many people rushing around to get to something important or to get lunch. There were also tons of tourists sightseeing and shopping in NYC souvenir stores. 

The next moment, the fifteen of us were piling our luggage onto the sidewalk on the side of the busy street in front of the towering skyscrapers. You don’t even realize how tall they are until you stop for a minute and tip your head all the way back and squint your eyes. Luggage was passed from hand to hand off the bus and onto the sidewalk. 

After we got settled in our hotel rooms, we threw on our dress clothes and crammed into the glass elevators. Then it was down to floor five for the opening ceremony with a procession of flags held by delegates. At the ceremony, there were quite a few adult speakers, some of whom used to be delegates themselves. 

The next day, we got up bright and early to get ready for the first day of committee. On the first day in the Middle School FAO: Sustainable Development Committee A, we discussed my topic; corporate environmental responsibility. Delegates who had been assigned that topic gave their speeches about proposed solutions, things that have already been done and limitations. After all the speeches were done, delegates proposed subtopics–issues that they thought should be discussed–which were all put on a giant list together. After that, we sorted the subtopics into four subtopic groups, organised by similar subtopics. After lots of debate and rearranging of subtopics, we finally had four subtopic groups. We then spent a generous amount of time discussing, suggesting and debating names for these groups respectively. After that was done, it was time for informal consultation, small breakout groups–each dedicated to a particular subtopic group. These small groups looked at the list of subtopics for their subtopic group and began to write preambulatory and operative paragraphs, partial sentences stating the problems, and how we would address them. After this, subtopic groups one and two and subtopic groups three and four would work together to combine all their operative and preambulatory paragraphs to make working papers A and B, respectively. After the working papers have been created, it’s back to formal consultation and groups A and B present what they have made to the whole committee. We then dispersed back into informal groups and discussed the other group’s Working Paper. Then, we went back to the tables where edits were made, points were raised and questions were asked. Once everything is clarified, all of the paragraphs are transferred to an online document and we did one last read through to double check everything. Finally, delegations discussed and countries were asked by the bureau whether they would be cosponsors on this draft resolution. 

After six, long hours of committee, it was time for something a little more exciting–a Broadway show!This year, we went to see Wicked, which was amazing. It was pretty late by the time the show ended, so we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. 

The next morning, it was committee again, with the same process, but this time for my partner’s topic–Green Cities. After long hours of work, we finally created Draft Resolution 1.2. We also spent a small amount of time preparing things to present for the closing ceremony, where all of the committees present what their topics are, and what they accomplished in their committee.  My partner and I both got selected by our committee to be their representatives at the closing ceremony! 

I really enjoyed MMUN and feel like I gained a lot from the experience. Yes, it was intense and exhausting, but I had a blast participating in committee and getting to visit NYC. It’s really exciting to be able to actually be out there, working outside of a completely closed off environment, the way it can feel sometimes during school. MMUN is probably one of my favorite Oak Meadow memories, and I am really grateful to have this wisdom under my belt.

After everyone had left, we started cleaning up. I was washing some of the dishes, and Violet was drying them. Oh, I didn’t see you there, now I have to start all over again.  In order for this to make sense, we are going to have to go back in time. 

Every year, since the beginning of time, the Middle School has hosted a Staff Luncheon. Staff Luncheon is where the middle school acts as a restaurant and the staff pays to eat as a fundraiser for trips. On Wednesday, March 26, this iteration of the middle school hosted our Staff Luncheon. A week earlier, we had started preparations by creating a list of all the things we needed to do for the Staff Luncheon. Some of the things we needed to do were: decide what food and drink we were going to offer, figure out what we were going to charge for the meal, make a grocery list, and identify what our kitchen was lacking. Because we were short on time, we decided that we were going to keep it simple. We chose a grain bowl with chickpeas, peppers, and broccoli, plus a strawberry basil spritz as a drink and a cookie for dessert. We realised that it would be much easier if people pre ordered, so our teachers sent out a Google Form that staff could fill out and let us know what they wanted. Next we made a grocery list of all the things that we needed. Then on Monday, we went to Market Basket. Everyone was sent off with a partner and a list of what they needed to grab. It went flawlessly (not entirely, but more on that later). Then came the big day, Wednesday.

 In the morning while half of us were at Oakapellas, our school’s acapella group, the other half started to turn the Great Room into a fancy looking dining area. After that, when the other people got here, we started cooking. Violet and I were assigned to Cookie Duty. As you can probably tell, that means that we got to bake the cookies. We baked dairy and nut free chocolate chip cookies. And at the same time, everybody else, including our teachers, were making other parts of the meal. But when we were double checking to make sure that we had enough of everything, we realized that we didn’t have lemons (our trip to the store didn’t go as flawlessly as we thought). So one of our teachers went to the store and got lemons. They came back and we continued working. 

At around 11:30, the first guests started to arrive. During this time when there were people in the dining area, there were 4 main jobs. There was the receptionist (Finn) who greeted people and collected money. There were people (Wyatt and Theo) who would give them their spritz once they had sat down, assembling grain bowls (Esme and Mr. Waterhouse) and bringing them out to the guests (Me). The roles were pretty flexible. If there were no new customers, Theo and Wyatt would serve grain bowls to the people that didn’t have theirs. I would wash some dishes every now and then, and we would check if anyone was done with their bowls and wanted a cookie.  Then the people from the first wave left and the second wave arrived. After we had already done this process once, the second time was much easier. 

Finally, they all left and it was time to clean up. I was washing some of the dishes, and Violet was drying them. Wait, I think that we have made it back to where I started talking to you (Hooray!). Now that I have caught you up, let's continue the story. Around halfway through cleaning, our teachers let us take a lunch break. Because of the fact that we overestimated the amount of food needed, there were leftovers and we got to eat them. The cookies were so good (because I made them) and the spritz had a nice kick to it. Then we finished cleaning up and went back to completing our assignments. Helping run this event for the first time was really fun, and I hope we run a few more before the end of the year.

At Oak Meadow, our charters are rooted in how we want to feel at school. This is represented by a number of adjectives, each with its own list of actions. For example “safe” could have the action “Be in control of your body.” At the beginning of every year, teachers re-introduce the idea of a charter to their classrooms. Then, students brainstorm the prior mentioned adjectives, narrow them down, and create action guidelines. The hope is that OMMS’ charters will give students a sense of responsibility towards their peers and community, not only their teachers. In Middle School, the creation of our charter is almost fully autonomous. Students lead most of the brainstorming, focusing, and physical design. This, compared to most of the school, is a new level of responsibility, intentionality, and investment.

Sometimes, the values and guidelines we set as a community in our charter are broken. In most program levels, this generally leads to a group conversation.  In the Middle School there have been a number of minor disputes that violated the charter. When this happens, we employ a process known as Circle Justice to decide what to do next. Circle Justice takes its roots from Native American justice practices, and is used in a variety of settings including criminal justice, and at universities. Circle Justice aims to heal all members affected by a conflict and does this by bringing them together to talk about solutions. Circle Justice is held in a circle, consisting of a leader of the conversation, and the members affected by a conflict, along with a talking stick used to indicate who has the floor to speak. At the end of the group meeting, hopefully there will be resolution in the form of an agreed upon consequence or making amends for the perpetrator’s actions. If necessary, we also discuss additions to the charter. 

There are many interpretations of the charter, but I believe that our middle school’s version achieves what it sets out to do: give students an acute sense of collaboration with educators in the process of creating a socially, emotionally and physically safe learning environment.

Our first step was to research different methods of soundproofing rooms. The problem with this room is that it has a very tall ceiling, which amplifies the sound as it reverberates off of the walls. After our research, we put all of the possible solutions to this problem in a Google doc and assessed them one by one. In the end, we chose to use foam acoustic panels that would be attached to the door, preventing sound from exiting the room.

After the sound panels arrived, we started planning how we would attach them to the door. We tried many different methods including duct tape, push pins, and glue. We first ruled out push pins because we could not put them in the door. We then ruled out glue because we didn’t want to permanently affect the door. This left us with one option: duct tape. For over two hours, we cut and taped a lot of panels to the door. Everything seemed to be working until we came back the next day. When we walked into the Middle School, we saw that the duct tape had not stuck to the foam panels. We needed a better method.

The method that we came up with was rather complicated so I'll try to explain it as best as possible. On every soundproofing panel we cut small holes and slipped popsicle sticks through the holes, then we put duct tape facing up. Then we stuck the panel onto the door. As of writing this blog, this solution has worked perfectly. We had a few extra panels, so we used push pins to attach them to the wall of the inside of the room. As for the sound blocking capabilities, there is a noticeable difference and it definitely helped but the sound is still there. Our next step is probably to get something to put under the door to block more of the sound.  

My Climate Change Action Plan is based on lawn maintenance in Littleton, MA. There is a lot of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere from taking care of your lawn these days, and there are some very easy ways to reduce that number. I did some research and found out three easy ways to reduce your carbon emissions from lawn maintenance: My first suggestion was to use electric or manual lawn mowers instead of gas powered lawn mowers because they use a lot of gas. My second suggestion was for people to plant switchgrass on their lawns. For people who don’t know, switchgrass is an ornamental grass and would help by storing up to five pounds CO2 for every square foot. My third solution was to use organic fertilizer instead of synthetic fertilizer because of the amount of nitrogen in it. I created a poster to display in Littleton to advertise my suggestions. 

The Middle School students presented our projects to a panel of people including Jamie, our head of school, Don Maciver from the Littleton Sustainability Committee (LSC), and Kyle Maxfield from the Littleton Conservation Commission (LCC). They came to see our presentations, and gave us some really helpful feedback and some additional people to contact.

After the event was over and I was walking to my music class, I was thinking,”I did pretty well on this project. I could actually do this if I had to for some random reason”. Little did I know, that not-so-random reason was soon to be found: We would be taking this project to the next level. We would be trying to implement our plans! 

After I got some feedback from the panel, I changed my plan a little. I now thought that I should try to get the LSC and the LCC to endorse my project. I thought that when people saw that someone who worked in this area believed in the plan, they would be more likely to follow it. After being invited to present at a Zoom LSC meeting to explain my project, I received the official endorsement of the LSC and hope to get some more! I can now put this poster up around town. I think that this is a really cool project and is on the never ending list of reasons why I like Oak Meadow.

Now for the moment you have been waiting for: WYATT’S BLOG POST™. In this post, I will be talking about our 3D printing business which I am a part of. I will be leading you through a step-by-step process of how we run our business. But wait, I know what you're thinking. “Didn't Violet post about businesses already?” Yes, but not about 3D Printing. So, without further ado, let's get started.

First, we start by finding prints to sell. For example, say there was this really cool fish with glasses that Theo and I think would be a big seller. Let's name him Bob. We would first print one Bob and see how he looks in person. If we liked it, we would come up with a price based on the cost of materials and our time and how much profit we hope to make. In this example, it would be something like $3. We would then decide how many Bobs we think we can sell, and print that many.

Then, we put up some flyers and find a date that works for a sale and we sell 10 Bobs. Then, voila, we have 30 dollars! “Whoa whoa, whoa, how did he go from putting up flyers to getting 30 bucks?” Well, my lovely reader, this is called marketing. Marketing is when you make people want to buy your stuff. You need to do a lot to be a good marketer. Theo and I hung signs around the school, put out balloons on sale days, and went so far as dancing while handing out our flyers at our Halloween parade! 

Now we need to talk about profit. Profit is the money you gain from selling your stuff, minus what it costs to produce it. Let's go back to Bob. Say it costs us $1 to make a Bob and we sell ten of them. We would make $30, but only profit $20, because it takes $10 to make 10 Bobs. Because of our marketing, our 3D printing business is very profitable.

At Oak Meadow Middle School, the classes are half the size of that you would find in a public school. This means the staffing isn’t stretched so when you need help with an assignment you can get the help you need. Here, I can also explore my interests through the PBL curriculum. It’s amazing. The curriculum actually connects to real life. It doesn’t feel like you're in a prison disconnected from the outside. The projects bring in the world and the off campus trips put us out in the world. 

Getting a new van this year has expanded our horizons. Every other Wednesday, we go to Theo’s Market Gardens to do farm work. For more about our work at Theo’s, check out Esme's post. We have also gone on bigger trips including our 3 day trip to AMC Pinkham Notch and the Quabbin Reservoir. To learn more about our trip to the Quabbin, read Theo's post.

It’s going well so far for me at Oak Meadow. Some of my favorite things here: I love that there is a kitchen where I can heat up my food in a microwave and even cook my lunch on the stove (if I wash the pan afterward). Another part of the kitchen I like is the public tea bank. Another favorite that is part of the curriculum is businesses! I am in the coffee business and I love it. To learn more about businesses read Violet's post. The money we make goes to paying for school trips and expanding the business. Sure, I miss some old friends but I didn’t have many because I have different interests than most people. It is nice to be around more people like me here. 

To sum it up, Oak Meadow is a great school with a great community.The school has given me a new start and has helped me grow, especially in public speaking, which before was a challenge. Going to this school has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, truly.

In the Middle School, we run businesses that are an important part of our curriculum. They give us a great foundation of how businesses are run in the real world by teaching us what it takes to start a business from scratch on a small scale. We learn about expense costs, marketing, and profits. Businesses also help us to practice teamwork and problem solving, while fostering an appreciation for the people who run the businesses that help our communities to function. 

This year, the Middle School is running three businesses. However, there is a possibility that we will include more as we gain more comfort with our current selection. In addition to the ongoing businesses, we plan to run fundraising events for the Middle School trips that we go on twice a year; all of our business and fundraising profits help to offset the cost Middle School families have to pay for these trips.  

The business that I am helping to run is Can Recycling. Our goal is to collect empty cans from Oak Meadow Montessori community members and recycle them at the grocery store that we pass on the way to Theo’s Market Gardens biweekly. This way we can raise money while making it more convenient for people to recycle and help the environment.

Currently, we are painting the collection box that we will put in the foyer. We haven’t gotten our business off of the ground yet, but we hope to be in full operation by next Monday. I’m so excited for Can Recycling to get going! 

The MS’s other businesses are 3D Printing and Coffee Shop. Last weekend, at the Oak Meadow Parent’s Association’s “Trunk or Treat,” the 3D Printing team made twenty sales! Coffee Shop hasn’t been sitting idle either. They’ve been working on budgeting their expenses and learning how to use coffee machines. When the time comes, everybody will pitch in to help run Coffee Shop. 

We’ve spent so much time planning, so it’s exciting to start getting things done. After all that strategizing, we finally get to see a glimpse of the overall reward of being underway that we will experience for the rest of the year.