Little School on the Prairie

On September 28th, students in the Green Lake Global and Environmental Academy had the pleasure of spending the afternoon at the Green Lake Conference Center, learning about prairie plants in a hands on setting. Local experts Tom and Wendy Schultz led the activities by showing students the different types of plant life that commonly grow in the prairie and how to identify them by their unique characteristics. After the lesson, students were each assigned their own plant let loose in the prairie to try and find their plant among all of plants growing free on the land. Students were completely engaged and excited to find their plants, and many of them constructed bouquets from the plants they collected. The weather couldn't have been better; blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and vibrantly colored plants added to the perfect day. Seventh grade Austin W. said, "I loved this day! I wish we could do this entire unit again so that we could go back." "It was a fabulous experience for our students and their teachers--who are also pretty fabulous," stated Wendy Schultz. If you see a GEA student, be sure to ask them about their prairie plant and how to spot it in a field!

Ecological Awareness

The 7^th and 8^th graders were treated today with a speech by keynote speaker Margaret Swedish, founder of Spirituality and Ecological Hope and author of “Living Beyond the End of the World; A Spirituality of Hope.” She took students on a journey through the Earth over time, showcasing our ecological footprint over the span of her life. “In just 62 years, the Earth has changed dramatically. We’ve done a lot of damage to this place we call home.” Showing the students photos of how Earth appears from outer space, they were amazed to see that even though the United States isn’t the largest country on Earth, we the largest ecological footprint. They also learned that if every country had the same standard of living as us, we would need almost 5 whole planets to support the usage. “We are now at a point that we are living beyond the ability of the Earth to support us, “Swedish explained.  “We are in debt and we are spending more than we currently have. We are in debt with the planet and the planet can not replenish it.”  She then challenged the students to think about things in their lifetime that they could do to help diminish their ecological footprint. Danny suggested finding new ways to recycle plastic and safer ways to mine resources. Students were shocked to find out that plastic never breaks down. Swedish stated: “Think about how much plastic you use…..you go to the store, you get something in a plastic bag. You buy bottled water and soda. Every 5 minutes of every day in the United States, 2 million plastic bottles are used.  It’s one material that the Earth is not able to break down, ever. If all the humans disappeared from the earth today, 10 thousand years later there would still be plastic. Where the plastic ends up is forever.” Seventh grade student Sully D. remarked; “we need to start cleaning up the world because it’s a big mess. Soon, we’re gonna run out of resources.”

Danny K explains his suggestions on reducing our ecological footprint

Jamaican Sensation!

Green Lake GEA was privy to a rare treat on April 12th. Damian Anderson, a 5th grade teacher from Kingston, Jamaica, came into the class to talk and answer questions about his country and how students differ between Green Lake and Kingston. Students listened to a brief introduction by Anderson before they could no longer contain their questions, and hands were raised all over the room. Students asked questions that spanned a wide variety of topics, such as what Jamaicans liked to eat for dinner, what kinds of sports are preferred, what the main income source was for residents, what kinds of technology do Jamaicans have, and what role to government plays in their everyday lives. They were stunned to learn how one US dollar is worth almost 100 Jamaican dollars, and Jamaican currency goes all the way up to a $5000 note. “I would love to go to Jamaica!” Exclaimed Travis. Some other aspects of Jamaican culture that was discussed was how hard it is to go to school there. “Most people have a hard time just getting their children to middle school,” explained Anderson. “It’s very difficult to reach college. Only about 1 in 20 students make it that far.” Transportation is sometimes hard to come by, and schools are often times poorly made. “I can hear the other classes right through the walls of my classroom. Sometimes it’s hard for students to concentrate because they can hear the other classes just like we were in the same room with them.” After the visit, students were asked what they thought about Anderson and what they learned about Jamaica. “I thought he was awesome,” said Max L. “Just in general, he was awesome!”  Travis thought he was “beast!" Because "it’s kinda hard in Jamaica to go to college and get a job, yet he got enough to become a teacher.” Kylie’s favorite part was his accent. Damian Anderson is currently staying in Ripon and has offered his help in coordinating pen pal relationships with his students and ours.

Beads!!

Welcome back Lakers! Spring Break has passed, which means the end of the school year will soon be upon us. Even after a week of relaxation and freedom from the classroom walls, excitement is still running high in the Charter room. Students hug and smile as they greet their classmates back, sharing stories of places they went or things that they did. The vibe is positive and the kids seem recharged.

Before break, students participated in an event that happens once every 3-4 years; the celebration of the Beads! The Charter beads represent the IB learner profile characteristics practiced in our school; Risk takers,Communicators, Principled, Thinkers, Balanced, Open-minded, Reflective, Knowledgeable, Inquirers, and Caring. Periodically throughout the year, students were able to share stories about how they practiced those different characteristics. With each story, a scoop of colored beads that correlated with each standard was poured into a large glass container in the room. “When the container is full,” explained Mrs. Hunter, GEA’s Humanties teacher, “we will celebrate by getting all of the past and present Charter kids together to share a meal and reflect on how we got to this point.” This tradition of scooping beads has been being practiced since the Charter school first opened it’s doors in 2008. “It took us 3 years to get it done, but we finally did it!” Students met during lunch on the last day of school before break and consumed over 15 pizzas ordered in from the Gooseblind, a local business in Green Lake. “It was cool to have all the Charter people together,” said Kylie Pischke, 8th grader. “It’s also really cool to see the beads all done. It’s a creative way to show that we’re dedicated to being International Baccalaureate students.” The bead container sits on a shelf in the Charter room as a constant reminder of their combined accomplishment.

Ocean Awareness Day

With another week behind us and one more week closer to Winter Break, it’s hard to think that an activity in the classroom could be exciting enough to even periodically take the student’s minds off their break from school and the anticipation of the holidays. While these thoughts were undoubtedly still circulating in their heads, during last week, every mind was focused on Ocean Awareness. It all started with a visit from speaker Lindsie Wallenfang, who is an active environmentalist in the Green Lake area. She often visits the Global & Environmental Academy to help with different projects and share her travel adventures. She has spent time abroad in places like the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador. and has seen first hand the effects of pollution on our oceans. “Being exposed to what is normally out of sight out of mind has been the driving factor in what I am doing right now with the Charter class. Sharing what I've learned with them sets the stage for them to become advocates of environmental awareness and awakens their roles as responsible stewards,” she says.  While assisting the students with their IEarn Composting project, she mentioned that Friday, December 10th was National Ocean Awareness Day, where people around the United States wear blue to show their support of and to attract attention to the current state of Oceans. The students were instantly intrigued, and decided that they were going to take part in this special day by spending class and home time collecting recyclable materials to make posters, signs and displays to raise awareness around our school. They also wrote informational messages that they read during class announcements every morning. All of this, on top of their normal homework, school and extracurricular obligations. All over the school you could find posters painted on scraps of cardboard, or even painted on old shirts. Diorama's were made out of used boxes, recycled trash and bottles were formed into unusual pieces of art. “Our poster was made out of recycled cardboard, because we’re trying to save the oceans.,” says Max Linse, GEA student. “Right now there is a big vortex in the middle of the ocean, where a lot of trash accumulates. It kills the fish and ocean life, and we need those fish for biodiversity.” It was a huge success, and certainly accomplished the goal of raising awareness. Friday at school was a sea of blue shirts and hoodies as students showed their support for the state of the oceans. “It was really cool seeing everyone wearing blue,” says Max. “It’s fun to see how people get together.”

Holiday Folk Fair

There are certain field days that all GEA students look forward to every year. The first being the Sailing trip taken in the first few weeks of school, and the next being the annual trek to Milwaukee for the Holiday Folk Fair. Housed on Milwaukee’s west side at the State Fair Exposition Center, students have the opportunity to meet and greet hundreds of people from countries and cultures all over the world. Each student was given a Passport that they could get stamped for every country or culture they “visited,” and energy was high as the kids streamed off the bus and congregated in their designated groups. The fair was set up into four different sections. The outer ring was lined with booths decorated specific to their occupant’s origins, most complete with traditional dress, artwork, music, toys and historical information. Conversing with the occupants gave students a peak into the past, as well as insight into the present conditions that different people around the world face every day. Inside the ring of booths were a shopping center, a food bazaar, and several performance and workshop spaces. In the shopping center, students purchased unique items made from all corners of the globe. Mrs. Hunter was able to find many different patterns of socks from Latvia spun from pure wool and knit by the same person who sold them to her. Kylie bought a winter hat lined with fur from the Philippines, Claire purchased a bindi from India and chopsticks from Japan, and Brian purchased a Mexican sombrero and a whistle from Belize. The workshop section offered mini lessons in languages, dance, and cultural crafts, as well as exhibits in art, photography and global pastimes. The food bazaar, which was my favorite section of the fair, was filled with delicious treats and foods that our students may probably never have been able to try anywhere else,  unless they traveled to those specific countries. Diana tested a Philippine Manapua, which is a cooked chicken baked inside sweet bread. Brian ate an entire string of Greek ribbon cookies, and Andre sampled some French Crepes. “My favorite part of Folk Fair was the food!” Says Kristen. “I like looking at what each culture eats.” Brannon’s favorite part of Folk Fair was also the food, “because I was able to eat things from countries I’d never even heard of.” In the performance area, students were able to see traditional dances and musical numbers performed by people in costume, many of them the students’ own age. “I liked watching the dancing,” says Savannah, “because the boys and girls dance together and it’s very fancy, not like it is here.” All of the performances were set in front of a large American flag. This was a powerful message not only about our cultural diversity but also our bond and unity as Americans. I’m sure it was meant to say that no matter what country or culture you hail from, we are all one people.

Bye Mr. Baker!

Even with the shortened classes due to exciting WKCE testing, we still managed to have a busy week here at GEA. Students presented their animal extinction power points during science, showing off their knowledge of prehistoric life forms that used to rule the Earth. We learned about the giant sloth, the wooly mammoth, and the giant beaver, just to name a few. Students used their power point skills to add photos, videos and animations to their presentations.

In English, our time was focused on completing our Wisconsin projects, which included a report and poster. This finished up our theme for October, which was Early Wisconsin History. By looking at a census from the early 1900's, students were able to see what kinds of jobs people held, what they made at their jobs, when they died, and what diseases ravaged the people. It was very interesting and informative.

In Humanities, our time was spend working with Mr. Baker to pick an iEarn project. iEarn is the world's largest non profit organization aimed at connecting teachers and students around the globe. With these projects, students are able to work with other students in schools all over the world. This enhances our global perspective and allows us to see how education is similar and different all over.

On a sad note, this was Mr. Baker's last week with us here at Green Lake. He is moving on to student teach in Ripon and will be missed by the students and staff here at GEA. We wish him all the best!