Tag: school visits

Yesterday marked the final stop in my state of Maine mini-tour. Students from Blue Hill Consolidated School, Brooksville Elementary School, Adams School and Penobscot Community School (together known as Union 93) came together on the campus of the Maine Maritime Academy to celebrate the Maine Student Book Awards.

The focus of the day was the ocean environment and students were given the opportunity to visit an ocean vessel simulator (which showed them what it would feel like to be on board a cargo ship cruising at 30 knots), a plankton lab, the vessel State of Maine (where they learned how trash generated on board and at sea is handled) and a presentation by the Calvineers, a group of Adams School students participating in a right whale protection project. They heard a keynote address and several workshops by yours truly, too. It was an intricately woven, perfectly planned event that went off without a hitch, mostly due to the efforts of the amazing school librarians involved. Here are Rick Alexander, Pat Horton, me, Helen Grakowski and Beth Jackson along with an assortment of Calvineers:

The weather was sunny and warm here on the coast and the students reveled in the freedom of good weather and a good field trip. Here they are back indoors, in the Delano Auditorium, waving TRACKING TRASH cards:

At the end of the day, librarian Pat Horton announced the winner of this year’s Maine Student Book Award (drum roll, please)…

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, by Jeff Kinney

(Congratulations, Jeff!)

After the MSBA festivities ended, I had some time to explore the town of Castine, and then for a lovely dinner with Rick Alexander and his wife-to-be Debbie (good luck with all those wedding plans, you two!). The Alexanders gave me a driving tour of Blue Hill, and it struck me along the way that seeing some local vistas at sunset on the first true day of spring Downeast was the perfect ending for a storybook week in Maine.

Thank you, Union 93!

 

Freeport, Maine, makes some people think of LLBean. As of yesterday, that town will forever make me think of Mast Landing School and its vibrant, bustling and enthusiastic third through fifth graders.

Librarian Julia Colvin organized my day, part of which was spent touring her library space. It is a two-story, sunshiney place with lots of nooks for curling up with a good book. Take this red couch, for example, where a group of Mast Landing students snuggled up with, um, well, you know …

The library felt like a community center to me. Students roamed in and out, returning books, checking out new ones, flipping through options in a comfy chair. Those at a loss for what to read need only look to the wall, where Mrs. Colvin had displayed the Maine Student Book Award nominees:

Another highlight of the day was my lunch with students. Let’s just say I would still be there answering questions today—and probably still would not have eaten my sandwich!—if these saavy kids had their way. Their questions were interesting and the intensity with which they examined my answers was delightful.

Thank you to all my new friends at Mast Landing School. I hope we will meet again soon!

Edited to add: Do you know which book won the Maine Student Book Award this year? The votes have been tallied and I got the scoop today. But as that announcement was part of today’s visits, you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear the news.

Edited even further to add: Okay, I’ll give you some hints: This year’s Maine Student Book Award winner is not trashy, but it is a bit wimpy …

 

For my regular blog readers, this might feel like just another post about just another Maine visit, but you have to trust me … my school visits here in Maine have been anything but routine! They continue to be unique and marvelous and full of lovely connections that I will never forget…

On Wednesday, outside the library of the George E. Jack School in Standish, Maine, I was greeted by this flotilla of duckies:

and this sign:

Throughout the day I spoke with fourth and fifth graders about the writing of TRACKING TRASH. The students were fabulous, and in the final moments of my final presentation, a sharp-eyed fifth grader among them pointed out some books in the background of a photo I have shown hundreds and hundreds of times in school visits. It was snapped at my book launch party in March of 2007:

He was pointing out THE LAST DRAGON, a book he adored. But his looking deeply at the image made ME look at it deeply, too … and I noticed for the first time that my friend Sara Lewis Holmes’ novel, LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL, is also in the picture. How could I have missed that? (Do you see it there, between our faces?) A special photo has suddenly become even more special.

Later, long after I had left the school, I had dinner in Gorham. I was sitting at my table reading a book and waiting for the check when a woman and her son sat at the table next to me. I heard them begin the age-old dinnertime ritual:

“So” Mom said, “how was your day?”

“Pretty good,” the boy said. “We had an author at our school.”

I stopped reading and started listening closer.

“Which author?” Mom asked.

“Well, I forget her name. But she wrote a book about trash called TRACKING TRASH and …”

“Hey! That’s me!” I said.

Or maybe I shouted? It sort of slipped out. It would have been embarrassing, except the boy, bless his heart, shouted right back, “Mom! That’s her! That’s the author who came to school!”

Oh, what a day. Heartfelt thanks to everyone at George E. Jack school for making my Wednesday day so lovely, and to Kevin and his mom for making my Wednesday night so memorable, and to Kris Zuidema for setting it all up.

 

I spent Tuesday in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, visiting with students at Loranager Middle School. Talk about a warm welcome …

Many thanks to Ali, Emily, and all their classmates who worked on these welcome signs; they are still making me smile. And I want to send a special “YOU ROCK!” message to Karly, who dressed up in a trash bag dress and a milk carton hat to bring attention to my visit and the subject of my book.

I took this next photo in the LMS school library, where students were reading and rating books nominated for this year’s Maine Student Book Award:

Can you see all those stickers under Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID? That means the Loranger students dig that book. They also dig Linda Urban’s A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT. (Who can blame them on either count?) TRACKING TRASH had four stickers, which may not seem a lot, but they meant the world to me. Blue dots mean the student in question thought the book in question was “the best ever”. If there are truly four students in the world who think that about TRACKING TRASH, well, then I am a happy girl.

Many thanks to the students and faculty at Loranger Middle School. My day with you was warm and bright, despite the remnants of winter swirling outside. Happy reading and thank you all!

 

Cool things that happened while I was in Glenburn, Maine:

I enjoyed a potluck dinner with teachers Deb Crocker, Doretta Callahan, Sari Ohmart, Janet Ecker and Jean Watts.

I spent the night at Serendipity Stables, hosted by Glenburn Elementary School librarian Val Rich; Val even let me help feed the horses!

I listened in as a classroom of seventh graders read TRACKING TRASH together out loud. Seriously!

I talked with groups of seventh and eighth graders about the writing and researching of TRACKING TRASH, and answered clever questions about the ocean, plastic pollution, and saving the planet.

I learned, thanks to those seventh and eighth graders, that it IS spring in Maine; shorts and flip-flops are appropriate. (Who knew? Note to my boys back home: I guess you CAN start wearing shorts to school!)

I had lunch with fifteen student writers. We talked about writing and researching and our favorite books. I read from a work in progress and got insightful feedback from these future authors.

Many thanks to everyone who made my time at Glenburn Elementary School so enjoyable!

 

On Monday morning I visited with the fifth graders at Major Edwards Elementary School in West Boylston, Massachusetts. This was an extra-special visit because I happen to live in West Boylston, Massachusetts. And although most of the schools I visit want me to talk about the science of TRACKING TRASH, this time I was asked to talk about the process of researching and writing a book of nonfiction. There were quite a few cool moments …

When I asked the kids how long they thought it took me to write TRACKING TRASH, the initial guesses were flattering: four months, six months, one year. I let them guess until someone finally guessed a timeframe longer than I actually needed, then I said, “Ten years? Come on, I’m not that slow … it only took me four years!” They thought this was hysterical. (I am not often mistaken for funny.)

After talking about revision and showing the students some horrifying editor-marked pages from my first draft, I hauled out my stack o’ drafts … all six inches (see photo above). The kids actually looked pained on my behalf!

I showed some early cover designs for the book and, as usual, the students all chose the cover I liked least as their favorite … just as the smart designers at Houghton Mifflin had said they would. That cover, with some tweaking, became the cover I now adore.

The best part of yesterday’s hometown visit, however, actually happened today, when I bumped into one of the Major Edwards fifth graders on the soccer field. She gave me a shy smile, and when I said hello, she lit up. I like to think she realized in that moment that what I told her in class yesterday was true: writers are just regular people. We’re regular neighbors, regular soccer moms, regular women who were once girls with a passion for reading and writing … just like her.

 

A huge shout out to the students and staff at Pine Hill School in Sherborn, Massachusetts. I enjoyed my time in your school yesterday!

Fist things first: I promised the Pine Hill Schoolers a look at the Great Burns Sneaker Pile. These are the sneakers my family and I recycled on America Recycles Day. If this is what one household turns out, can you imagine the pile the entire Pine Hill School will collect and recycle?

Here is a mosaic from the school foyer …

some art from the hallway …

and me with three Pine Hill students.

My visit was sponsored by the Sherborn Recycling Committee, a forward-thinking group that takes its role as an educational resource very seriously. Kudos to Ardys Flavelle and the entire Recycling Committee, and a hearty Thank You! to Kim Gregory, who organized my visit. Extra special thanks to the Pine Hill students who listened so intently and participated so willingly in yesterday’s festivities. May all your green dreams come true!

 

© Loree Griffin Burns

Last Wednesday Harvard University held it’s first Sustainability Celebration. Three days later, the Brookwood School in Manchester, Massachusetts held a similar event. And while Boston-area media outlets have waxed on about green being the new crimson in Harvard Yard, I’m here to tell you that the Brookwood community has been wearing green for decades … and they did these colors proud on Saturday at their second annual Sustainability Fair.

In all, I spent three days in the Brookwood community. On Thursday and Friday, I visited with eighth graders during their science classes, where we talked about TRACKING TRASH, science projects, science teachers, and protecting our oceans. I also addressed the entire student body during their weekly School Meeting, visited with a PreK class, answered questions for curious second graders, lunched with students and faculty, and sat in on a class of soon-to-be science teachers working with their Brookwood mentor. It was an incredible two days during which I gathered as much as I shared!

On Saturday I took part in the school’s Sustainability Fair. Students, faculty, and parents came together to share with their community tools and ideas for sustaining our world. From a coat drive to a Croc drive, from safe household cleaners to sustainable tea, from composting to coastwatching, the Brookwood community taught me a whole lot about going green. Check out these highlights:

© Loree Griffin Burns

Did you know that if your VCR is plugged into the wall socket, it draws a large amount of energy even when powered off? A super-smart Brookwood student told me all about it, and proved his point with this plugged-in-but-turned-off VCR connected to an energy register. According to Laurenzo, Americans could cut home energy consumption by 75% simply by unplugging unused electronic appliances; talk about a no-brainer.

© Loree Griffin Burns

A group of eighth-graders organized a “No Idling” campaign at Brookwood. Their mission is to educate parents about the evils of idling their engines and to convince drivers in the community to turn off their cars while waiting in the pick-up line. “A single vehicle dropping off and picking up kids at one school puts three pounds of pollution into the air per month.” Ouch.

© Loree Griffin Burns

I tried some of this Sustainabili-Tea and it was de-lish. The students who sold it shared their tea-brewing secrets with me: sun-power!

© Loree Griffin Burns

Got Crocs? It seems to me that most people do … these plastic shoes are everywhere. But what I didn’t know was that Crocs can be recycled. Soles Unlimited is an organization committed to taking old Crocs and turning them into new shoes for people who need them. If your looking for a green project of your own, consider a Croc Drive; the Greenwood folks had boxes and boxes by the end of the afternoon.

© Loree Griffin Burns

Folks from Salem Sound Coastwatch used this tabletop visual to show fair-goers how pollution moves through a watershed. There is nothing like a dribbling of cocoa powder (factory pollutants) and green jello (lawn chemicals) to make it clear why we need to be vigilant near our waterways.

For educating yourself and your family about sustainability issues, fair participants introduced me to the Eco-Bunnies and to Annie Leonard and her Story of Stuff. (If you only follow one link in this post, please make it this last one. It is truly a must-see.)

Many thanks to librarian Sheila Geraty, science teacher Rich Lehrer, Sustainability Fair organizers Ben Wildrick and Amy Henderson, and all the students at Brookwood School. It was truly a pleasure getting to know you … and learning from your bright green school community!

 

Yesterday I closed out the 2007-2008 school year with a visit to Marion, Massachusetts. It was rainy and dreary outside, but inside the Sippican School I spent a bright and busy day speaking with fourth, fifth and sixth graders about reading, writing, and TRACKING TRASH.

I was impressed with the inquisitive Sippican students and their obvious passion for the environment. Every grade had questions for me, some of them very tough to answer. A few students moved beyond outrage at plastic pollution in the ocean and began brainstorming—right there in the classroom—solutions to these problems. And their ideas, with research and refinement, could someday make a difference.

The Sippican fifth graders were particularly excited to share with me their recent project: an initiative to promote the use of re-useable canvas bags over disposable plastic ones. I saw for myself the results of their research (visual displays of the information gleaned from a community-wide survey on plastic, paper, and canvas bag usage) and the fruits of their labor (students set up a plastic bag recycling station which has been filling regularly).

You can read more about Marion’s efforts to go plastic bag-free in this Southcoast News article. And you can follow their progress on the MySpace page of parent coordinator, Terri Lerman. Of course, if you happen to live near Marion, you can attend tonight’s Band Blast event and pick up some re-useable canvas bags of your own.

Thank you, Sippican students, teachers, and parents. It was a pleasure to be part of your community for a day … and I wish you the very best of luck with your Plastic Bag Free Marion initiative!

 

… ROCKS!

And not just because my friend Kate Messner teaches there, or because the school invited me to visit this past Monday, or even because one of the Stafford science teachers won the microscope I wanted at NSTA.

No, Stafford Middle School rocks because its students are inquisitive and intelligent and spunky. The questions the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders had for me after my presentations were incredibly insightful and demonstrated the sort of critical thinking that makes me confident this world of ours is in good hands after all.

Photo by Kate Messner (Thank you, Kate!)

The young woman in the photograph above, for example, shared with me her theory about honey bee disappearances, and it was quite a good one. Another student challenged the theories scientists have put forth on the grounds that they could not explain the “suddenness” of mass honey bee declines. And someone else pointed out that honey bees cannot simply be reacting to the stress of migratory beekeeping practices, as some people believe, because we have been moving bees around the contry for decades. See what I mean about inquisitive and intelligent and spunky?

I also love that after an hour of hearing about oceans and trash and, then, just one single slide about honey bees, the Stafford kids went buzzy. Seriously. These kids know a lot about bees, and are very into the idea of learning more.

Thank you, Stafford. I’ll keep y’all posted on THE HIVE DETECTIVES!