I recall growing up watching the Planeteers get together, combine powers, and tackle big environmental problems. “We’re gonna put pollution down to zero” is how the line goes I believe. This cartoon was such an inspiration to me growing up, I felt empowered to do anything! That riding my bike to school would make a real difference against the evil goblins behind the ocean levels rising, and the natural disasters that plague our societies. Now, older and wiser, I realize that there are not goblins to fight but human habit. How could Captain Planet be of any use now if he’s only a cartoon? Or is he?

GFA hosted a Friday speaker, whose opening line was a conch shell horn call, certain to get anyone’s attention. His second line was laying out a goal for the next ten minutes, “to change something about the way we are thinking.” Chris Maxey, part of the Island School program dedicates his time to making secondary education part of the environmental solution. He presented the students with a challenge: to purchase a solar power suitcase. This suitcase (pictured below) is not meant to move by solar power, but is a device that actually collects solar power. The benefit of such a small, compact, object is that it can be transported to some of the furthest locations in the world, solving not only a power shortage for a city that may not have infrastructure for more, but also makes use of renewable energy.

Mr. Maxey reminded me that while Captain Planet is a cartoon, there is some truth to being able to inflict small change to better the world around us. He makes change seem possible, not just an idea in a textbook. After the presentation it dawned on me that Chris Maxey might just be the new, and very real Captain Planet encouraging us to put our resources together to preserve the world where we live.

“And with your powers combined…”

-Rebekah Skoog, US French

“Be willing to dance with ambiguity, and live with a longing/yearning for more” In her eloquent opening speech, Janet Hartwell, Head of School, laid out the type of student that Greens Farms Academy’s teachers are aiming to shape. Her words brought me quickly back to a conversation I had with Anne Reynaud, MS French and Spanish. Over the summer Mlle Reynaud decided to do a cultural immersion program in Panama where she spent her days with local families, doing service work, and studying the language in context.

Mlle Reynaud did what most would consider “giving up” free time in the pursuit of knowledge and to ameliorate her own skills so she might be a better teacher. Rather, Anne sees it as using her free time to continue filling that yearning for more, and she plans to continue that pursuit in another exchange next summer.

Only a few days later, I discovered that Griffen Stabler, MS English and 8^th grade dean, has been using his summers to do a master in English with Bread Loaf at Middlebury College. In his own words Griffen Stabler describes his experiences at Bread Loaf, a program for people who would like to continue teaching during the year. Here are some of his own descriptions of his experiences at the end of his second summer.

It’s basically like summer camp for adult English nerds. You take two classes from world-class professors visiting from all over the country … They have campfires with poetry and fiction readings, themed Barn Dances, trips to town, basically all the stuff you’d do at a summer camp except instead of being thirteen, you’re twenty-seven and supposedly all grown-up. The fact that you’re surrounded by some of the smartest people around who share your love of books is the cherry on top. Knowing that at any moment you can ask someone what they’re reading and spend the next hour talking about your favorite books is a pretty unusual thing. I can’t think of a better place to spend 6 weeks of my summer. It has made me a better person and a better teacher. While all this may sound pretty hyperbolic, it truly is a special place. There’s none of the competition or negativity that sometimes pervades other top-tier academic programs. People are happy to be there and most are teachers, so you can compare war stories from the classroom and pick up new strategies and techniques to bring home to your own classroom. In short, it’s the best. I had a blast and can’t wait to get back there next summer. In the meantime, I’m excited to bring everything I learned back to GFA to share with my students.

Much like Anne, Griffin has chosen to put himself in a place where he can broaden his knowledge base and even reevaluate his teaching style.

Our final summer spotlight is Erin Thorkilsen, LS Kindergarden took advantage of her summer to be immersed in the culture of the Maasai people in Kenya.  Erin set out to make her experience into a single unit but found that her time spent with these people and student led to a much deeper understanding of respect and sharing. Erin writes,

What was most inspiring was the high level of respect that permeated the community.  Children showed constant respect for their elders, elders loved and honored the children, and everyone deeply respected the earth and their surroundings.  Everything was shared; many children at school shared one pencil for 5 students, ripped up a piece of paper so there would be enough for everyone, and even would break up a banana so there was enough for everyone in the village.  I’m looking forward to speaking about the Maasai on a daily basis with the kindergarten, sharing the stories of my experience, to instill the same kindness and respect in our community.

Erin took herself far from her comfort zone in pursuit of a new understanding about the world. Not only for personal growth, but to take that growth into our school’s daily life.

At the end of the World Perspectives Symposium last spring, Andrew Jones, US English and 10^th grade dean, stated that the expansion of perspective must begin closer to home than we realize, that the space behind the eyes and ears that we call the mind must continue to grow and have new experiences. The accomplishments of these faculty members are only the tip of the iceberg, and I feel fortunate to be part of a team where our goal is not only to instill a curiosity for the unknown, but also to continue in its pursuit.

And more to come…

-Rebekah Skoog, US French

*Special thanks to those who shared their experiences with me.

By: Lisa Waldstein, Upper School Studio Art

The Memory Project is a unique initiative in which art students create portraits for children and teens around the world who have been neglected, orphaned, or disadvantaged. Given that kids in such situations tend to have few personal keepsakes, we’re aiming to provide them with special memories that capture a piece of their childhood. As much as possible, we also want to help the kids see themselves as works of art.

To do this, art students receive photos of kids on our waiting list and then work in any medium to create the portraits. Next, we deliver the portraits to the kids as gifts. We also take photos of the kids holding the portraits so the art students can see the delivery in action.

These are the portraits completed by Studio Art 1 just last month.  They are en route to be delivered to the children in Guyana.

Deborah Kraeuchi, ’16

Ritozeh Saingbe, ’15

Jazmin Reyes, ’13

Georgia Bakes, ’16

Markus Wilson, ’16

Charlie Mounts, ’16

By Campbell Goldsmith ’15

The World Perspectives Symposium was truly an amazing experience and an opportunity to learn about global health issues, environmental challenges, medical research, and technology and societal change that affect the world around us. During Madison’s presentation, my eyes were opened to the overflow of information that the media is producing and imposing on society. Madison looked at the differences between domestic media and international media and which type of news we high school students were drawn to the most. In her conclusion, she found that high school students were most closely drawn to domestic news that most commonly affect our daily lives or places close to us. An example she gave was comparing the Boston Marathon bombing to a Taliban attack in the Middle East that both occurred around the same time. Madison illustrated how people were much more drawn to the news surrounding themselves and their home countries rather than international media and news.

In Margot’s presentation I learned about the environmental impact of plastic usage especially in regards to our oceans. Margot illustrated that many companies were solely focused on their economic status rather than their impact on the environment. She also discussed the effects of plastic pollution in macro and micro senses. Macro pollution includes large objects such as nets, plastic bags, lobster traps, and other waste. The consequence of macro pollution is marine animals getting stuck in debris, which caused injury or even death. Margot also described the micro pollution throughout our oceans, and how plastic can be worn down into tiny pieces of plastic that are similar to the size of sand. The problem here is our ability to determine between sand and plastic, which is nearly impossible. Margot concluded that to ultimately solve our plastic pollution problems throughout our oceans, we must reduce the amount of plastic we use daily.

Lastly, Caroline’s presentation discussed the ideas of Aquaponics in Haiti providing a reliable food and water source to both rural and urban villages. Caroline discussed how a system based on the use of Tilapia could ultimately grow leafy green vegetables such as lettuce.  Aquaponics would serve as a substitute to soil based crops and create the opportunity to conserve hundreds of gallons of water.

Through listening to each presentation I was able to gain a greater world perspective and understanding of the pressing problems and pressures that our world faces on a daily basis. The symposium has opened up my eyes to the greater challenges the world faces and as Mr. Jones said, rather than gaining a world perspective from traveling, I was able to take the opportunities right under my nose and develop my own understanding of the world.

By Jenny Ross ’15

I always find the topics, work and conclusions of the World Perspectives Symposium to be mind-blowing and this year was no exception.  Setting the tone for this day Mr. Jones discussed how geography could influence one’s global perspective.  Personally, the difference between the comfort and proximity of one’s “place”, and the undiscovered and daunting “space” of the rest of the world is what fuels my desire to discover the unknown.  Today, the audience was able to immerse itself within “space”, and gain a new perspective on the world. It is this balance of the familiar and unfamiliar that gives us a perspective on the social, economic, political, and environmental issues our world faces today.  Beginning the day with Rashad Nimr’s presentation on the oppression endured by Palestinian homosexuals, he highlighted their struggle to gain acceptance in their own land.  They are dismissed by their own society and rejected in Israel due to their heritage forcing many to leave their countries.

Shifting from a social crisis to an environmental issue, Margot Bruder analyzed the issue of Oceanic Pollution.  The ecosystems of our oceans have been harmed by the threats of micro plastic and macro plastic.   While larger pieces of plastic, macro plastic, create the potential problem of animal entanglement, miniscule pieces of plastic, micro plastic, can easily be ingested by animals, or also create a type of film on the ocean’s surface.

Society must realize the dangers of contaminating our waters with plastic, as it can limit our food and water supply. Caroline Vanacore presented the benefits of aquaponics, a method of providing mineral enriched water to the soil of crops.  This system would allow developing countries, such as Haiti, to increase their agricultural productivity, although it is important to note that aquaponics cannot completely solve all agricultural crises.

Lastly, Allie Anderson researched the harmful impacts that can be caused from the burning of biomass fuel inside the home in cooking stoves.  She focused her research in India, a country with some of the world’s worst air pollution.  However, Allie took her research into the domestic sphere of rural regions of the country, where it mostly impacts women and children.  She then engaged the audience by asking us to brainstorm efficient oven designs that could reduce indoor pollution.

This day is a unique opportunity that allows the student body to immerse itself into the unknown, expand their horizons, and tackle some of the most pressing global issues.