From Boston to Maine to Cooperstown

I guess that it's been awhile since my last entry.Schools on the east coast have been on spring break (some still are) as they seem to have their spring breaks later than the schools in Hawaii.Since my last entry Carolynn and I have been pretty busy.We've been to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, briefly back to Baltimore, on to the Boston area where we spent time in the Concord/Lexington area, walked part of the Freedom Trail in Boston, visited JFK's museum/library, and visited two schools (Buckingham, Browne, & Nichols and Shady Hill School), visited Maine for the weekend, and stayed in Cooperstown, NY (baseball hall of fame museum). So … there's a lot to tell you about.I know some of my blog entries have been long so I'll try to keep this a brief as possible.Let me start with the schools that we've visited.

On April 15th we visited two schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts: Shady Hill and Buckingham, Browne, & Nichols.Shady Hill is K – 8 School with 514 students (264 in the 5 - 8 middle school) located on about 14 acres of land in Cambridge, Massachusetts.They were in the middle of 'Flex Week,' which meant that both the 7th and 8th graders were off campus. The 7th graders were doing community service in various public schools and the 8th grade was on their annual NYC trip.Grades 1-6 were enjoying a week of exploration on campus involved in a variety of activities including creating a garden and a rotation of science activities.The centerpiece to their middle school curriculum is what they call "Central Subject," a study of people in a time and place in history.This is a year-long integration between History, Literature, Culture, and Geography where each grade level studies a different area of the world.The 5th grade focuses in on China, the 6th grade studies Africa with an emphasis on rites of passage, the 7th grade studies Colonial America with an independence theme, and the 8th graders study the foundation of the United States with an emphasis on immigration (thus their annual trip to NYC).

All middle school students belong to a small advisory/homeroom group and a T.O.A.D.(Talks On Adolescent Development) with an advisor or a teacher.The' TOAD' groups focus on their personal development as (pre) teenagers so that they better understand their own development physically and mentally.In addition, the 5 – 8 middle school gathers every Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for student led meetings that includes announcements, student presentations (i.e. poetry readings), and student declarations.

The science curriculum includes a study of simple machines /Physics (using Legos) and understanding Energy in the 5th grade, Earth Science in the 6th grade, Human Anatomy / Physiology in the 7th grade, and a choice of IPS (Intro to Physical Science), Earth Science, or Physics in the 8th grade.

As far as technology is concerned, Shady Hill has a wireless campus with Macs in a computer lab and two sets of computers on carts.The science classrooms were equipped with smart boards and LCD projection systems. In addition, they have a room called 'The Garage' for the IT department to use in educating the teachers in technology.It is a place similar to Punahou's sandbox, where teachers can learn and explore new technology.

Shady Hill is a great little school with very caring and dedicated teachers.If I had kids, I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids there if I could somehow afford the tuition ($30,000+).

Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols (BB&N) is a Pre-K – 12 school of about 1000 students (170 in their 7th – 8th middle school, class size 12-14) that was the former school of colleague Joanna Osorio.BB&N was founded in 1889 and is located on three campuses (K-6, 7-8, High School) fairly close together in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Because their middle school advisory program is treated as a 'core' subject, we spent a majority of our visit finding out more about their advisory program.Because the middle school includes only 7th and 8th graders, much of the advisory program helps students negotiate transitions. The advisories are organized by grade level with two advisories (one 7th and one 8th) often paired with each other. For 7th graders, the advisory group is an important transitional step beyond the homeroom-based Lower School. In the eighth grade, advisors help cultivate and foster a growing independence and responsibility, which leads students toward greater autonomy in the later grades. The Advisory Program includes core programs taught by advisors on such topics as group dynamics, communication, current events, and social issues. In addition, the Advisory Program is composed of mini-courses on many diverse subjects, including an orientation to studying and the Middle School program, health education, serving others, their place in the community, sexuality and relationships, and drug and alcohol education.Although the advisory is ungraded, advisors make comments about the student's progress on report cards.

The science curriculum in the 7th grade includes a physical science / natural science course that emphasizes measurement, scientific method, various forms of energy, and Newton's laws of Motion. The 8th grade is an introduction in Chemistry where developing lab techniques, atomic theory and structure, the periodic table, classification of matter, chemical bonding and reactions, and acids and bases are emphasized.

It is easy to see that BB&N is an excellent institution that serves its students very well!

In addition to visiting these schools, Carolynn and I spent a week with her family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where we enjoyed some relaxing 'down time.'It felt great to see beaches again (although very different from Hawaii's beaches) and be able to sink our toes into the sand and take long walks exploring the beaches.It was nice to be able to celebrate CC's dad's 80th birthday and connect with CC's family that we don't get to see very often.

Our Boston experience was terrific!We enjoyed seeing the 'Tea Party" members (and a few protestors) in Boston Commons while we waited to go on the Freedom Trail tour of Boston.It was a beautiful day with a lot of'crazy people' watching as they were leaving the Commons after a Sarah Palin speech. The Freedom Trail tour was excellent as we learned more about the beginnings of the Revolutionary War.

While in the Boston area we also saw the Lexington and Concord area and learned more about the 'shot heard around the world,' about Paul Revere's (Dawes and Prescott too) ride, and the running battle that the Colonists and the British waged between the two towns.Once again, I felt like I must have fallen asleep during my American History classes, as I learned a lot that I probably should have known …. a bit embarrassing!

We also were able to slip in a visit in to the JFK museum and library just before leaving Boston.What a terrific setting for a museum that displays JFK's accomplishments both before and during his administration.It is truly amazing to see all that he accomplished in just 1000 days of his presidency before he was assassinated.

On our way to Maine, we stopped and spent a night with a former pastor of Central Union Church, George Harris and his family in New Briton, Conn.Although it was a short visit, it certainly was great to connect with George and Lourdes again and to see how much Abigail has grown.

In Maine, we stayed the weekend with Bob and Nancy Hallett where we enjoyed the beautiful coastal area of Harpswell.The Hallett's house is on the water located very close to Brunswick (home of Bowdoin College).Being on the coast of Maine gave us an opportunity to get fresh lobster for our first of several memorable meals with the Halletts.Bob is CC's former boss during her time teaching at St. Paul's Boys School in Baltimore.Bob is now the executive director of the E.E. Ford Foundation that does such great work in providing funds for independent schools who are creating new innovative programs for their students. It was a chance for me to get to know both Bob and Nancy a bit more and to be able to 'pick' Bob's brain for what he has seen in the 50+ schools that he visits annually.While in Maine, we spent a rainy afternoon driving to Waterville to visit Colby College where CC went to school.A beautiful setting!

After visiting Maine, we took a long beautiful day driving through New Hampshire and Vermont to Cooperstown in upstate New York.It has been a long dream of mine to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown.Many of you know that I am a fantasy baseball nut (CC calls me sick!), so being able to spend a day in the museum was fantastic for me.Cooperstown is a beautiful town nestled in Cherry Valley not too far from Albany, N.Y.Much of what we saw was baseball related, but the town itself was very picturesque.If it weren't for all the snow and cold weather that I know it gets, I could live in Cooperstown.

Yesterday (4/21), we spent a very long day driving from Cooperstown to Columbus, Ohio.Here we are staying with Dr. Ken and Shirley Doolittle who are long-time friends of Carolynn's dad.Ken is a retired doctor who graduated from Punahou School in the 40's.We will be here with them for a couple of days before we continue our way west. We will go back through Minneapolis (to pick up our camping gear and bicycles and to catch a Twins game) before we set out in the direction of the National Parks of the southwest US for some camping before we head home.More about those adventures later.I hope that this blog entry finds all of you well.Please feel free to email or click on the 'comment' button to send me a message.