“Put away that umbrella,” chides Kary. “We don’t need umbrellas here!” The students laugh. “It was hard in the beginning,” one admits, “but now we’re used to it. We love it.”   On this afternoon they are learning about succession, how lichen on granite can give way to moss, then leafy plants, then grasses, then… 

Read More

Globicephala Algebra -or- Precalculus Is A Whale of a Good Time! -or- Cetacean Creation Yields Curve Verve Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki students recently noticed Science Fellow Kyle Wonser helping some visiting Outdoor Classroom students assemble a pilot whale skeleton. “Why can’t we do that?” they asked. Math teacher Katie Curtis heard them. “I thought… 

Read More

Each semester, there are typically a small handful of Latin students at Maine Coast Semester. What they lack in numbers, they make up for in die-hard fanaticism. This week, Latin teacher Steven Farrand’s Semester 61 students decided to concoct a Roman feast for the semester community, and their enthusiasm was palpable in the kitchen as… 

Read More

“Are you checking my math?” asks Maine Coast Semester teacher Liz Burroughs, turning from a whiteboard, where she’s solving a calculus problem, to face her students. Yes, they say, they are. Sun is pouring through the Ellis Room windows, creating a halo around the students in the back row. Satisfied, the soft-spoken, strong-minded Burroughs turns… 

Read More

The snow-dusted forests of Chewonki Neck are especially quiet this week, but the classrooms of the Elementary School at Chewonki are bright and busy, like an elven workshop, with students crafting beautiful items to present at the Holiday Craft Fair and online auction on December 11. “If you hear about children making crafts, you might… 

Read More