Submitted by Lopez School staff
Chances are that if your student is returning home from school having constructed a storage shed or trebuchet, learned the finer points of bioethics, set up lighting on their own film, or practiced Wilderness First Aid, horseback riding, sailed to the outer islands and camped on Sucia Island they have been attending “Intensives,” a two week long course in the secondary and week long in the elementary that is offered at Lopez Island School District before Spring Break.
Woodshop and Social Studies teacher Anthony Rovente said, “On Monday I had a class and by Friday I had a work crew.”
The shed will later be sold as a fundraiser in order to make continual sheds. Six other students had their class at S&S Farm under the guise of English teacher Elizabeth Simpson. Students made cheese and bread, processed wool, learned about animal husbandry and created their own lunches from the farm. Eventually they found the time to make a chicken tractor. Junior Axel Rendon said that “It was practical and fun as the teachers are engaged and passionate. You’re learning something that you can use later in life.”
Marc DeArmond offered a filmmaking, course which is making a movie based on the This American Life episode “Switcheroo.” Students developed and honed leadership skills while editing and filming off campus at the Love Dog Café. DeArmond noticed that “shy students took the initiative and led others.”
Jeanna and Richard Carter along with Lisa Geddes took 12 students down the Cascade Range of a “experiential study of the iconic natural and manmade wonders of the Pacific Northwest” visiting Mount St Helens, Mount Hood, John Day Fossil Beds, then taking in the majesty of the Redwoods before heading returning via the Pacific Coast.
First and Second grade students have learned to draw using Northwest Native American art using the technique of burnishing. Students have learned to look with the “eyes of an artist” with the help of local artist, Abigail Prout. A gallery exhibiting the student’s work and learning was set up at school Friday morning to showcase their creations. Under the guise of Rachel Cochlain, elementary students attended swimming lessons in Anacortes – many visiting a pool for the first time. Students with Connie Holz made their own books with pages of their own poetry and stories and those with Alex Nellie fashioned their own wooden toys studying Math along the way.
Funding for certain courses was done though fundraising and grants through the Lopez Island Education Foundation. Chairperson Lexi Taylor said that LIEF was happy to assist as they “provide unique opportunities for both teachers and students to do, travel, and try out different real world activities not normally available.” Fundraising done by parents supported many of the courses. A tremendous thanks goes out to them and all the community support.
To quote Superintendent Bill Evans, “Whether a student is building a wooden shed and learning about construction trades, math, and careers, or if another student is learning marine biology by camping on an island and sailing to that location, the learning is significantly enhanced by a “fun-factor” that is hard to replicate in more traditional classroom setting. Such expeditionary learning has its roots in the legacy of teachers who are no longer with us and those who have passionately sought to keep the vision alive.”
