The Meeting School E-News
Progressive Quaker education that transforms lives
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TMS Senior Volunteers at Orphanage in Ghana
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 Senior Victoria Kasilowski recently returned from three weeks of community service work in Ghana. During the month of January, all Meeting School students left campus to pursue experiences in an area of special interest to them as part of the school's Intersession program. Intersession is an opportunity for students to find, design, and participate in their own project. It might be an internship, travel, a service project, or some other educational opportunity they can take part in full-time.
Victoria, who has always been drawn to African culture and cultural differences generally, jumped at the chance to travel to Ghana for her Intersession project. The purpose of the journey was to gain first-hand experience and insight into an African culture, to live like those in the neighborhood she was serving, and to give back to the community. After doing some research, she decided to work with the the group Cross Cultural Solutions, a group that specializes in short-term volunteer opportunities around the world.
While in Ghana, Victoria volunteered at the Christian Orphanage in Hohoe. There she spent four to five hours a day working with a wide range of children, from toddlers to fifth graders. She taught reading, writing, art, and social skills, as well as shapes and numbers to her youngest pupils. "I was gratified by how much they loved to learn," she says, " and how they thrived on individual attention."
In addition to her volunteer service, Victoria, a photographer, was able to find time to build her art portfolio.
Victoria's Intersession has changed her life. "Living in Africa for three weeks, away from the influences of materialism and popular culture, has helped me put my life into a new perspective. I have a better sense of what is truly important, and of the power of human connection. The stories of the orphans were extraordinary, and I was amazed that despite the general poverty, I was among the happiest and most hardworking people that I have ever met."
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Model UN Course Prepares for Dartmouth Conference
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Our Model United Nations course, one of TMS's social studies offerings, has helped increase the presence of a global perspective on campus. The course, taught by Frederick Martin, is a  wonderfully experiential, simulation-based experience for students. We will be representing the country of Iraq at the regional conference organized by Dartmouth College on April 9 - 11. At the Model UN Conference, each student will play a diplomat in a UN committee. Han Lee, one of the students taking the course, is representing UNICEF, and is focusing on Iraq's official stance on child soldiers and child labor. He reports that his research has been very "challenging, interesting and rewarding."
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TMS Has a Strong Presence at Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) NH Winter Conference
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 On Saturday, March 6, faculty and students led two workshops at the NOFA-NH Winter Conference in Concord, New Hampshire, attended a number of workshops, and had a booth at the "Green Market." TMS' two workshops focused on our gardens and our work study program. They were led by faculty Frederick Martin, Sheila Garrett, former faculty Craig Jensen, and students Wally Kolenda and  Andrew Gibbons. One of the jewels of the conference was the sourdough bread objet d'art made by TMS' Fine Art of Baking class.
We brought a selection of dishes made with ingredients at the farm to share with workshop participants, including pickled scapes, pesto, raw milk, and bread made with rye grown in our gardens.
Stud ents and faculty also had the opportunity to visit workshops on many different topics, including permaculture, apple growing, aquaponics, and beekeeping.
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Summer Getaway 2010
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Enjoy An Alternative Vacation This Summer
July 12 - 25
While the snow is still on the ground in Rindge, our  annual Summer Getaway will be here before we know it.
TMS invites you, your family and friends to visit the campus for
a day, a week, or as long as you would like during this time period. In exchange for a small donation, we
invite you to work along with us in the garden, help maintain and
improve our physical plant, care for animals, pick berries, or make
hay. We encourage you to explore the Monadnock region with hiking,
swimming, canoeing and enjoy the many cultural offerings of nearby
Peterborough and Keene. You will plan your activities on campus in
consultation with our Summer Getaway coordinator, Zane Knoy, a
former member of the Board of Trustees.
Accommodations will be in student housing. Tents and small travel
vans are also welcome. A kitchen will be available to you during your
stay to do your own cooking; some meals can be provided or shared by
planning with the coordinator. Restaurants and grocery stores are nearby.
Children are welcome, but since we are a working farm, participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Depending on attendance, some participant-guided activities may be planned.
To sign up, contact Zane Knoy at 603-669-0449, by email or online. Reservations for a dorm bed or camping site are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Call (603) 899-3366.
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Alumni Updates
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We want to hear from you! Please send your updates to anne@meetingschool.org.
Elley Jordan Schopler '77 lives
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is a maternity nurse and Lactation
Consultant at UNC hospitals. She also helps out at the school where her
kids have gone, Carolina Friends School, and is currently teaching an
Adolescent Health Class. Elley has three boys: Scott, who is attending
Earlham College; Sam, who taking a year off before going to the College
of Wooster; and Eric, who's in 10th grade.
John Hetherington '02 is currently living in Oklahoma, and is looking into programs in organizational psychology, a field he's been inspired to go into for a long time, one which he directly relates to all of the leadership opportunities he took advantage of at TMS. What earns the daily dollar isn't that exciting, but he's the President of the Board of Trustees for a bicycle cooperative non-profit in Tulsa called Tulsa Hub Syndicate. The Tulsa Hub Syndicate has two major programs. One provides refurbished bikes, traffic skills education, locks, lights, helmets, etc., to the homeless population in town or those who are looking for work yet do not have personal transportation. The other is a great youth program, where kids are taught how to ride safely in their neighborhoods.
Adrienne Delibert '07 is at Drew University. She's been selected for Alpha Kappa Delta, a sociology honors society, and has been also been asked to serve as an academic mentor for the incoming freshman class. She says that her greatest challenge at the moment is to stay grounded and humble. She thinks about TMS often and misses those at the school who touched her life.
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Remembering Dan Rippe
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We are deeply saddened to communicate that Dan Rippe, a TMS graduate from the class of 2001, died on Saturday,
February 20 in Puerto Morales, Mexico, in an accidental house fire. There will be a memorial for Dan in New England later this spring. We will share information as it becomes available.
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The
Meeting School is a co-ed Quaker boarding and day high school with a
working organic farm in Rindge, New Hampshire. Our small classes,
supportive faculty, and welcoming community prepare students for
college and for a life of self-discovery and active global citizenry.
Visit our website, facebook page, and blog to find out more.If you forward this email - and please do! - make sure you do so by clicking on the "Forward email" link below.
Sincerely,
Anne Miller
The Meeting School |
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