Project Week, 2021
Our annual Project Week was a smashing success. Students gathered together with their classmates across the grades and worked on creating art, writing stories, upcycling fashion, cooking, knitting, fly fishing, sampling international cinema and exploring paths to happiness. Each group had a teacher or two as a sponsor and for 5 days they enjoyed this opportunity to experiment, collaborate and create. Each project was designed to provide a fresh, focused opportunity for learning and discovery.
Project descriptions:
Exploring Color & Time in Nature with Ms. Churchill
The week was spent making art and learning more about the qualities of color. This included learning about color identities, and looking at tone, hue, temperature and saturation. These skills are useful in both art and design.
Upcycled Fashion & Fabric Design) with Ms. Casey
Working with the raw materials of used clothing or donated fabric, students collaborated on a number of techniques and skills to alter, embellish, redesign, or copy a design that they already love, in order to make at least one “new” article of upcycled clothing, costuming, fabric art, blanket or bag.
The Art of Fly Fishing and Fly Tying with Mr. Myers & Ms. Rem
This project was for those interested in the time honored art of fly fishing and fly tying. Students spent time learning how to tie knots, practice casting techniques, and tying their own flies! They took the MAX to the river to practice their skills, familiarize themselves with the gear, observe and collect insects.
Practices for Living Your Happiest Life with Mr. Daulter
This group explored many different wisdom traditions to distill down a few key thoughts and activities that, when practiced regularly, can make people more immune to the ups and downs of life and create space to live fully in joy, peace and inspiration. Students worked with material from the books, “Practicing Happy”, “Sacred Relationship”, “Inner Engineering”, and “Tao Te Ching”. They did energy and breath work, meditation and shamanic journeying, some light stretching and yoga, a few crafts, and time in nature to strengthen supportive energies in their bodies and minds.
Knit or Crochet Your Way to Kitchen Donations with Ms. Kimes
Nice, hand-made things for the kitchen are awesome! Students made and donated dishcloths, potholders, scrubbies, and more. At the end of the week they compiled their wares for donation to a local food bank.
Cooking 101: Tasting Food; Finding Delicious Ways to Connect with the World: An Introduction with Mr. Bates
What a tasty week this was! Each morning students prepared various dishes in the kitchen. They cooked up curry, pizza, soup and Mediterranean food, and shared with other project groups on campus at lunch time. For homework, students prepared at least two meals for their households during the week and shared favorite dishes and ingredients with their classmates.
Not Your Typical Hollywood Productions with Frau Fretz
This was an opportunity for students to dive into the fascinating world of international film productions. Dark, sinister, or outright absurd. Many international film productions pride themselves by being different and not “mainstream”. Students watched a featured film each morning, discussed some of its themes and connected to it through an artistic exercise, before ending the day with a short film.
Story Writing Workshop with Ms. Fortner
Students spent the week writing children's stories. For inspiration, they worked in the library, workshopping their drafts.
