Finding Our Mansfield!

Greeting House C Learners and Families!

Here we are on the eve of our trip to show Mt. Mansfield what House C is made of. To ensure a successful day for all full of challenge, collaboration, and celebration, please prepare in the following ways:

• Get a good night’s sleep. You need lots of energy for this hike.
• Eat a hearty breakfast. (see above for reason why)
• Pack the following:
• Water - 32 oz (one liter) minimum
• Proper footwear - sturdy, closed-toed shoes/boots, socks
• Clothing layers - t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, light jacket, light pants, shorts
• Lunch and snacks
• Sunscreen
• Backpack - it should only contain this list of items. As much as you’d love to do your humanities practice on the hike, please leave all non-hike materials at school/home.
• As of 9/15, the forecast for our trip is sunny, high of 79°F/low of 58°F with 0% chance of precipitation. This is warm weather for hiking, but you’ll notice the temperature drop as you ascend. Dress accordingly.

Please review the expectations as we discussed in class:

• No one hikes alone
• No one passes the lead adult for your group
• No one gets left behind
• If you need help, stop and wait for an adult
• Leave no trace
• Stay on the trail
• School rules and expectations apply

Remember, this trip is about both pushing yourself as an individual and about reaching out to others to help improve everyone’s experience of this trip. Let this make you and House C stronger.

Thank you for taking time to review this information. We look forward to see you all on the trail!

House C

House C's Summit in Sight

Jordan Romero suggests that we "find our Everest." House C is excited to announce our fall field trip on September 17 to see what we can see from the highest summit in Vermont: Mt. Mansfield. Your student should be bringing home a yellow permission slip for this adventure. If for some reason you have not seen said permission slip, here is a link to a copy (which also has more information about the trip)!

Please return the permission slip by Friday, September 4! We must have a permission slip on file in order for our learners to attend.

No Summit, Week 4: "On top of the world"

And so here we are: at the ending.

Order of Events

I'll be interested to hear what you all think of how the book is structured. It makes a certain amount of sense that the book proceeds in the order of Jordan's mountain climbs - at the same time, the Everest climb felt like such a climax that the final climb seems like an afterthought. I wonder if there could have been another way to structure it so we could end on that high, thrilling note. Or maybe the Vinson climb needed more detail. I found it surprising that there weren't more difficulties or details. How else could the book be structured?

That's the Power of Words

Something I've been thinking about since early on in No Summit is the support we sometimes need to tackle our goals. It's pretty clear to me that Karen and his dad are big supports on Jordan's journey, and there are often times where one of them says just the right thing that helps him keep moving and pushing himself. Could Jordan have completed his goal without the support, encouragement, and even the occasional shove of those two? 

Paul, Karen, Jordan & "King" Richard - image from kbhr933.com

Just as often, though, the words that come back to him are those of the guide on Kilimanjaro ("the mountain wants you to climb it."). This made me stop and think about the power of words. I doubt Samuel said those words thinking that Jordan would remember them for the next five years, but that is indeed what happens. As he's climbing Vinson, those words are coming back to him. Jordan is pretty lucky to have received such supportive, encouraging words from someone.

It made me think about the things we say to each other, the things that stick with us, even if the person saying them didn't mean for them to stay there. Here's a silly example from my life. 

A friend in college said that the way I eat ice cream cones was "disgusting." He said this, gasped, and averted his eyes. Years later (too many to count), that still sticks with me. To this day, I have to feel pretty comfortable with someone to eat ice cream in a cone in public. If I'm alone, no problem. But an offhand remark that someone said years ago still haunts me to this day. Did Joe mean for me to be thinking about this comment long after college? Probably not. If I asked him today, he probably wouldn't even remember the comment. But it has actively changed the way I relate to people (in an admittedly small, strange way).

You're probably guessing where this is going - what are the things we say to each other that don't go away? What are some things friends have said that have helped you in trying times? What about things said that still make you feel hurt, or angry, or bothered? How can we make sure that what we say to each other is positive and supportive? 

That's the thought I want to take away from this book as we start the school year on Wednesday: anything I say could have a bigger impact than I intended. I want to be aware and thoughtful so that those impacts are helpful. Not harmful.

I'll look forward to seeing you all soon! Perhaps even at tomorrow night's open house! 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a creemee. 

Three people in front of whom I can eat creemees.

No Summit, Week 3: "Yakety Yak"

Well, when I split the book into four sections, I didn't realize I would be leaving us on such a cliffhanger (so to speak). However, when we leave our dear Jordan, there are a lot of questions about how he'll proceed and how his father is doing. The avalanche that started the book finally makes its appearance, and, for this reader at least, it was a very engaging, nail-biting scene - even knowing that he obviously makes it out alive (since he wrote the book!).

This week, I found myself making note of some details I wanted to see. While I am finding that the book moves quickly, there are some images that I wanted to dwell on or have explained more clearly. Here are three examples:

Torma 
Romero identifies these as yak butter sculptures used "as offerings to the gods." Here's a picture of some torma.

Photo from www.explorersweb.com

Not My Favorite Way To Use A Ladder
Reading this scene (just reading it) made me queasy (I've never been known to be fond of heights). Unsurprisingly, it is just as queasy to watch...(skip to 1:21 for the nerve-wracking passage).

Did I Mention My Fear Of Heights?
Okay, the term "Tyrolean traverse" sounded intriguing to me. So I found this video of a Tyrolean traverse on the Carstensz Pyramid. It takes him a while to set up, but it's worth it to watch his traversing (especially the "look ma, no hands" part). 

The Final Countdown...
And with that, I leave you to our final week of our online book club. Let's get Jordan off Everest, shall we? If there is something you wanted to look up (or if you did look something up), post it below in the comments!

Enjoy the summer!!

No Summit, Week 2: "Against All Odds"

Welcome to page 199! If you are there, congratulations! From here, you are well over halfway through the book! If you haven't yet made it this far, there is still plenty of time.

This week, I was struck by the obstacles that Jordan has to overcome in order to reach his goal. There are the obvious things - like the mountains themselves - and the slightly less obvious things - like doubts from other people and officials denying permits. Then there is that inner wrestling that Jordan finds himself doing. Sometimes he is merely doubting himself while other times he might rather be skiing or playing with friends.

This made me think a lot about my goals and what obstacles I face. As some of you know, I enjoy writing poetry. On the computer I'm using today, there are at least 100 poems that I quite like. Eventually, I plan to put some of them together as a collection and try to get it published. But then the obstacles come in. They arrive in the following forms:

• self-doubt (are these poems really good enough?)
• what I think others may think about me (NOTE: this is not people actually saying my work isn't good; it's me worrying that they might not think it is good)
• distractions (I could put these poems together and find a place to consider them, or I could go for a walk, or read a book, or play a video game, or...)

So what are your goals?
What obstacles get in your way?
And...most importantly...what helps you overcome those obstacles? What do you see Jordan doing to overcome them?

So I was going to post a video of Phil Collins' super cheesy "Against All Odds" - as this week's treat. I thought about "Against All Odds" as a fitting title since this week is about obstacles, but then I saw something great. Watch what happens at 1:09 - Phil makes a mistake in front of this large audience. And then check out the way he handles it. What a pro. I never thought I'd say this, but...I want to be more like Phil Collins.

 Happy reading!

No Summit, Week 1: "Right, kid."

Right, kid.

Okay, so take this with a grain of salt, as I am an adult reading this book, but here's the first thing I was struck by:

How do the adults in Jordan's life let him do this!??!

As you certainly know by now, this book is told from Jordan's viewpoint. He seems to me to be a plucky kid, full of confidence and ready to challenge himself. I am intrigued by him, but my focus keeps falling to the adults in the book. I don't personally have kids, but I wonder how I would feel if my 10-year-old son asked to climb the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Or how I would respond to him if I were Samuel. What would I think of this boy telling me he wants to go the hardest route up Kilimanjaro? Would I let him? Or would I laugh at him and say, "Right, kid. If you wanna climb the mountain by that route, you're going to have to get yourself another guide."

What do you think of Jordan? In what ways are you like him? In what ways do you differ?

For me, when I was ten, I thought I pretty much had the answer to everything. I quickly found that not to be the case, but I don't yet see that happening for Jordan. I did chuckle at what happened when he turned down his father's help on Mt. Kosciuszko, and I appreciated his understanding that climbers younger than him probably climbed Kilimanjaro without being acknowledged. But I will be looking forward to see if he continues to be as cocky or if he finds a bit more humility as he continues his quest. 

Globe Trotter

I am particularly enjoying the global aspect of this book. As I read, I'm keeping my internet open and briefly researching any names of tribes or places. I have appreciated seeing the pictures of Elbrus and Kosciuszko, as well as learning about the Masai tribe that Jordan mentions en route to Kilimanjaro (I can't bring myself to call it "Kili"). This research is enriching my experience of the book (though it also makes my reading take longer), and I look forward to learning more about the other continents as the book progresses.

Inspirations

While I am not currently attempting to summit seven or eight different mountains, I am finding plenty of inspirational moments in this book. If you found a quote you found particularly inspiring, feel free to post it (with a page number) below. Mine for this week is:

"Shelter makes all the difference in a storm." - p. 71. I might talk more about why I find that inspirational later. For now, I'll just leave it there and look forward to checking in with you all after Mount Aconcagua and Denali (after page 199). 

A Little Something For You

As a gift for reading Week One's entry, here's a picture of me at rock climbing school (age 12). I thought of this picture when Jordan spoke of the "Kissing Wall." How Jordan describes his experience there reminded me of this moment (though I was much closer to the ground (though definitely not much cooler)). 

Happy reading!

No Summit - Blog Book Group

Hello everyone!

We hope the summer is treating you well and that you're enjoying every bit of it! As July is coming to a close, we thought it would be a good time to check in and make sure that everyone is making progress through our summer reading book, No Summit out of Sight. For those of you who have not yet started, or for anyone who is interested in refreshing their memories, we're going to start a No Summit book group right here!

What does it mean?!?!

Below, you'll find a reading schedule for the entire book. If you follow this plan, you will have the book read before we start school (in exactly one month!). At this pace, you'll read no more than 15 pages a day. Each Sunday, I will create a blog post sharing reactions or reflections on what we've read and inviting you to do the same! You can also use that place to post questions you might have about the reading or questions that you think might engage others!

Do I have to post to the blog?!?!

Nope! If you just want to follow along with this timeline, that's fine, too!
Or if you've already finished the book, terrific!
Or if you want to read the book all in one week, coolio!
The only requirement is that you've read the book before school begins.
 
Okay, Smart Guy, where is this schedule?!?!

By August 3, read to page 107 (Mount Kiliminjaro, Kosciuszko and Elbrus).
Average daily page count: 15 - the steepest part of our climb.
 
By August 10, read to page 199 (Mount Aconcagua and Denali).
Average daily page count: 13 - easing up a little, but still making good progress.

By August 17, read to page 278 (Carstensz Pyramid and Mount Everest (pt. 1)).
Average daily page count: 11 - a smaller page count so people can catch up, should they need.
 
By August 24, read to page 355 (Mount Everest (pt. 2) and Vinson).
Average daily page count: 11 - finishing at a nice, easy pace.


Happy reading! And I'll meet you back here after we've climbed Mount Elbrus!

MMS Summer Reading

June 2015

Greetings students and families of Milton Middle School,

As one year winds down, we are already gearing up for the next; can you believe it? Without rushing things, we do want to let you know about the summer reading expectations. We are excited to announce that we will be reading 2015-2016 Dorothy Canfield Fisher (DCF) selection, No Summit out of Sight by Jordan Romero. Students will be given a copy of the book by 6/15; this copy will be theirs to keep and annotate. With its connections to exploration and larger message about persisting, this title is a great fit with our upcoming curriculum. Students should bring in their copies, having already read them, on the first day of school. If your child is unable to receive his or her copy by this Monday, it will be available to pick up from the elementary school throughout the summer.

In addition to reading this title, we are expecting all students to continue their independent reading. Vermont's reading standards challenge students to read one book every two weeks.  Many students love to plunge in and read over the summer with all that free time.  Others need some structure, encouragement, and strategic planning -- plan regular time for reading, read with your child, listen to books on tape or digital recordings, read books then watch the movies, take trips to the library. In fact, the Milton Public Library is offering some fabulous summer programming under the theme Unmask. We have included a list of all of this year’s DCF titles on the back of this letter. Please visit the websites listed below for more information about the books, including recommended ages and descriptions. Additionally, the folks at the Milton Public Library are helpful resources for book recommendations. Families, this could be a wonderful opportunity for you to enjoy some excellent young adult literature, while supporting your child with his/her reading expectations.

When we return in August, in addition to school-wide celebrations of the book No Summit out of Sight, each house will have its own way of discussing and working with the books.There is also a chance that our school will be invited to participate with the Vermont Public Radio program Dorothy’s List. Keep track of those questions and talking points!

So, find a nice sunny spot, curl up, and get lost in some fabulous literature. If you have any questions, please direct them to the appropriate humanities teachers.

Happy Reading!

The MMS Humanities Team

For an annotated list of the 2015-2016 DCF titles:

http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/CBEC/BookAwards/DCF/DCFMasterlist15-16.pdf

For a list of books with high interest, background building, current trends for all the students in grades 5th-8th.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/284.Middle_School_Book_List

Trimester 3 Progress Reports

Hello families, Students received their progress reports for the third trimester on Friday 5/8. Please be sure to check with your child to review his or her science, math, and humanities reports. As always, feel free to contact individual teachers if you would like more information. Thanks!

Power to the People Celebration on T.V.

Milton Middle School Power to the People Celebration is on LCATV.