Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Today was jammed packed with activities, so we have many student bloggers for our last evening here in Ashland...

• I wake up. I see a beautiful sun. But...someone's alarm went off. We all went down for breakfast then we left the hotel for OSF. Wayne T. Larr, also known as Caliban from The Tempest, talks to us about his career as an actor and the deeper meaning of the play The Tempest. 

A beautiful start to our day in Ashland! 

• Today we also took a tour of OSF. We went behind the scenes of the plays. Our tour guide was the star of The Cocoanuts. It was kind of weird to see him out of character. We learned that every actor has an understudy, or replacement. He or she is ready to take over the role if the original actor is hurt - say hit with a car. 

The outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre at OSF. 

• After lunch we went to the ScienceWorks Museum. We walked into the building and were greeted by a variety of hands-on exhibits including: interactive bubble exhibits, the momentum machine, and many more. Each exhibit allowed some sort of interaction while also describing how it works and what it is. We were all allowed to wander the museum for some time. Then we were called into a room for the second portion of our trip. We were introduced to a man named Chris. Chris told us that we were to engineer our very own roller coasters! Of course these were only made using small, cut up foam tubes and marbles. We were allowed a half hour to design and build our coasters, whether it be with your friends or on your own. After the half hour, there were three structures produced. The first being a very long track, with a few twists and loops in between start and finish. The second was a very twisty and bumpy track with a jump at the end. The third was a track making use of the vertical space, with the track traveling underneath itself. And finally, Chris brought us to the last portion of our tour. This was showing the power of static electricity and polarities. He showed off a machine that would launch metal rings into the air and how cold affected its height. He also used the audience as examples to show how charging your body with static electricity can make your hair rise, create small bolts of electricity out of your finger, and repel bubbles with your hand! Overall, it seemed we all enjoyed the tour, even if it seemed to be oriented towards younger audiences. So if you are ever in Ashland, make sure to visit this museum! 

Learning about strobe lights and movement with Barbies at ScienceWorks. 

• Before the play The Comedy of Errors, we attended a prologue class so we would understand it better. The prologue gave us a bit of a backstory to the play. 
• This evening we saw The Comedy of Errors. I will admit I was confused for some of it with the identity of the actors. It was very interesting though and it kept my attention through the whole play. In the end they found the other Antipholus and Dromio and all four of them were reunited. Everyone was happy and they all got back together again. 
• The food this trip has been a diverse experience. It was also very interesting to see what it is really like to pay for your own food and be careful with the money you spend. I think we will all leave this trip with a greater understanding of reality. 

The students were very excited to be able to dine out on their own this evening. The group split up into three smaller groups and explored Main Street and all it had to offer. They all did a wonderful job with their time management and thoroughly enjoyed this freedom. 

Grace & Courtesy in Ashland

I love when I have the opportunity to see our Montessori educated students in action in the real world. I'm not talking about them spouting off Pythagorean's Theorem in causal conversation or discussing the latest development in the Russian - Ukraine conflict (although those are wonderful moments). I'm talking about seeing a group of middle school students displaying grace and courtesy while out in public...

Today started off with breakfast at the hotel as usual. We then headed out to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) for our first workshop which focused on costume designing for the play The Tempest. The students were able to create their own costumes for major characters from the play after analyzing the text for clues as to their assigned character's personality.

We then headed out to Shakespeare Books & Antiques. It was here that the students became engrossed in the "banned books" section. It was entertaining to hear the students' outcry about The Giver and Animal Farm being on the banned book list seeing as we read and studied them both this year in class.

Lunch was made and consumed back at the hotel and then we headed out once again to OSF to see The Tempest.

Now, back to that grace and courtesy piece...

During the play, there was another middle school group sitting behind our students. Throughout the entire play these students were talking incessantly, laughing loudly, and kicking the backs of the chairs. The girls in our class had politely turned around and asked the offenders to please be quiet. The responses of the students were less than Montessori.

Snickering, rude comments, and more kicking of the chairs ensued.

Our girls were frustrated, irritated, and utterly appalled, but they chose to ignore them. Why? Because as they told me, they did not want to further disrupt the performance and coming down to their level was not an option.

Throughout this trip all the students have been extremely polite and gracious with the people they have interacted with. Pleases and thank yous, appropriate tipping at restaurants, sharing with each other, respecting all adults they have encountered - these are the things our adolescents are putting out into the world.

Now, keeping their hotel rooms clean is a horse of a different color...

Your children ROCK!
Mrs. Mac

Tranquil Lithia Park

An amazing evening filled with lively conversation and delectable pasta. 

The students were excited to find this peace pole on Main Street.

In the words of Harpo Marx, "honk honk"

Today we had breakfast in the hotel lobby then we went to Safeway to buy lunch for the next three days. Then we had lunch at the hotel. After lunch we had some free time so most of us went to Lithia Park. At Lithia Park we climbed lots of things like a rope structure. After Lithia Park we went to Southern Oregon University for a tour. Everyone agreed that SOU had an awesome library.

For dinner we went to the Standing Stone Brewery & Restaurant. Almost everyone had the burgers. At the end of our meal, we all got postcards from the restaurant - a very fun and creative form of advertising! After dinner we went to our first play called The Cocoanuts. The play was about a hotel in Florida starring the comedy of the Marx Brothers, which was very funny.

"I find television very educating. 

Every time somebody turns on the set, 

I go into the other room and read a book."

- A very fitting Groucho Marx quote for our student blogger, Rosalind

The oldest building on the SOU campus

The very tasty Standing Stone Brewery

Hello! 

"She smiled at me!!!"

Beautiful Portland, Oregon

The majestic countryside of Southern Oregon 

Today we spent a total of nine hours in the car. We all survived. 

Hamlet had a particularly exciting day... As we were driving through the beautiful hills of Southern Oregon, a car passed us and a girl smiled at Hamlet. Hamlet then excitedly turned to everyone and proudly proclaimed "She smiled at me!!!" Boys will be boys and they spent the next 20 minutes giving Hamlet a hard time. Apparently the wedding is taking place next week. :)

It must be noted that I, Mrs. Mac, do not usually do the blogging, but after nine long hours together, the boys were only able to come up with a blog regarding the incessant flatulence that filled our minivan throughout the day. On an unrelated note, or perhaps a very related note, I have lost my voice. 

Beatrice, one of our female students, chose to blog stream-of-consciousness:

Still in Gig Harbor. Running late. 

Crossing bridge to next city. Hope we get there by midnight. 

In Tacoma. Progress slower than a snail in a race. 

Going by mall. Romeo wants the car next to us, but Prospero thinks Corvettes are better. 

Prospero wants to find a "Q" on the side of a truck. 

Just saw a Hello Kitty on some guy's car...

A, B, C, D, E, F, G... Save me. 

Lumberjack looking fellow is driving a sports car. 

Radio turned on. Very cheesy song (93.3)

Going on barn route. Too bad I can't stop and see Krissy (my horse). 

Went past barn exit, sadly. 

It's amazing how fast the world goes by... from swamp to river to marsh to forest to field. 

New radio station. Happy...? (106.1)

Romeo saw another car she/he wants. Prospero says it looks like a prison transport vehicle. 

It IS a prison vehicle... 

Romeo wanted a squished car. 

Prospero wants to eat a gazelle. 

Wouldn't playing with magic be cool?

One hour in. 

Had lunch at attorney's office (yes - this is true.)

In Oregon. 

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,

That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Beatrice & Hamlet 

Shakespeare Doth be the Name of the Game

Hello to our HMS community!

Tomorrow the middle school class will take off in two very stylish minivans for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Make sure to check our blog daily for updates directly from the students about our Southern Oregon adventures and pictures.

Please also feel free to leave the students comments on our blog - they love getting fan mail. :)

As a reminder, we do not use any student names on the blog, so please keep this in mind if you do choose to comment. Students will be blogging using their Shakespearean alter-ego names.

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." W.S.
Mrs. Mac

As promised...

Before

After

The HMS Middle School trip to Washington D.C. was an absolute success! We learned a lot about our nation and its history, each other, and ourselves. Watching the students experience D.C. and Gettysburg was a thoroughly enjoyable opportunity for me as a teacher. Below are a few of my favorite moments of the trip. Be sure to stop and talk to the middle school students about their favorite memories next time you see them in Building B! 

• Walking Pickett's Charge in complete silence at Gettysburg. 
• Watching the students eat - they can really put it away!
• Feeling deeply connected as a group as we toured the Holocaust Museum. 
• Observing the students bond during their free time in the evenings. 
• Being in awe for the entirety of our three hour tour of the Capitol Building. 
• The "bird incident" in the van as we drove back to D.C. from Gettysburg. 
• Watching the students figure out the little things in life, such as learning that if you want to take the elevator, you actually have to push the button - it won't magically appear when you're ready for it. :) 

To the middle school parents - thank you for sharing your children with me; it was an amazing experience that I will never forget! 

Unit next time, 

Ms. B. 

One last post from D.C.!!!

Light art in the walkaway between the east and west National Gallery of Art buildings. 

Andy Warhol
Green Marilyn, 1962

Chuck Close
Fanny/Finger painting, 1985
This painting was done with ONLY Close's fingerprints. 

Vincent Van Gogh
Roulin's Baby, 1888

Representative Kilmer's office in the Longworth Building. 

The Capitol Rotunda
Painting at the top of the dome is titled Apotheosis of Washington
which depicts 13 maidens representative of the 13 original colonies. 

Hello everyone! Last day in D.C.!

Today we met Senator Patty Murray in the Senate Russell Building. We were able to get a group picture with her. After the half hour meet and greet, we ran into Senator John McCain - we said hello and good morning to him as we passed him in the hallways. 

Then we had a tour at the National Gallery of Art. They had many interesting pieces of art including one made of finger prints that looked very realistic. The tour showed us how modern artists are breaking the rules in art versus basing their artwork on absolute realism. Some pieces had odd colors like Van Gogh's green baby oil painting. 

After lunch, we were able to take a Capitol tour thanks to another HMS parent who put us in touch with Rep. Derek Kilmer - thank you VERY much; the Capitol tour was easily one of the top highlights of our trip! Representative Kilmer had two of his staff members take us on an extensive, three hour Capitol tour, but we were not able to see Rep. Kilmer much due to his busy schedule. The tour was awesome. There were many statues and paintings and every room was beautiful. The design of everything was great; it was symmetrical and full of detail. They even had a room dedicated to statues! Congress had recently put a statue of Rosa Parks in the statue room. We got to see the old senate house.

Today was an extremely busy day. Below are some more highlights / fun facts of our last full day in D.C.:

• We sat in the House of Representatives gallery and watched representatives debate the "Working Families Flexibility Act." We were lucky enough to hear Sen. Nancy Pelosi speak against the bill. 
• We saw the original Supreme Court chambers where the decision of the Dred Scott case was handed down. 
• D.C. was designed in a diamond shape - the center of D.C. exists in the Capitol and is referred to as the 'structural center of D.C.' - it is considered good luck to stand on this point and we all did. 
• Every state in our country has two statues that represent each state in the Capitol. Washington's statues are of Chief Joseph and Marcus Whitman. 
• One of the most controversial state statues is Mississippi's statue of Jefferson Davis - the President of the Confederate States of America. 

There were many things that we did, but my favorite was the art tour. That's pretty much all. Tomorrow we will be getting up at 4:00 am EST (1:00 am PST) to get ready before our shuttle picks us up at 5:00 am. We will be back in sunny Seattle at 10:30 am! Bye!

See you tomorrow, 

"Hewie" & "Bambi"