Spring Model UN at The Meeting School

"In Model UN, students step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization's agenda. Students make speeches, prepare draft resolutions, negotiate with allies and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the conference rules of procedure - all in the interest of mobilizing 'international cooperation' to resolve problems that affect countries all over the world." - from the website of United Nations Association of the United States of America

On April 1 - 3, three students from The Meeting School participated in Dartmouth College Model UN Conference. Led by faculty member Frederick Martin, it was the second year in a row that the School has taken part in DartMUN.

Each of the three TMS students who attended DartMUN represented a different country. Simbi, a sophomore, earned the Honorable Mention (3rd place) for her committee at DartMUN representing Yemen. Saro, also a sophomore, represented the Czech Republic. Both were in the UN Development Program, in which one of the topices discussed was HIV/AIDS. By good fortune, their overnight host was Peter Wright (husband of board member Penny Wright), who is a Dartmouth Medical School professor and doctor who works for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Haiti. Saro and Simbi learned a lot by talking with him.

Layla, a junior, represented Lithuania in a historical simulation of the League of Nations; she gamely jumped in with excellent research.

TMS also took part in the High Mowing School Model UN in March. Students had the honor of representing the United States in the General Assembly; however, it was a challenge because one topic was the International Criminal Court, which the US has still not signed on to.

Students have received an invitation to the by-invitation-only Bentley University Model UN, but won't be able to attend because it falls during graduation weekend.

Thanks to Frederick Martin for his significant contribution to this entry.

Rise Up Singing!

On Friday, March 25, The Meeting School welcomed Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, editors of the popular Rise Up Singing songbook, on campus for an afternoon of singing and music education. Students and faculty belted out their favorites in the Hayden Room, including "500 Miles Away From Home," and learned about the social and political history behind a number of the songs. In addition to hearing about Peter and Annie's soon-t0-be released songbook, we also got to share our home-grown songbook of music not in Rise Up Singing.

In the evening, Peter and Annie performed with an enthusiastic crowd of over 100 people at the Peterborough Unitarian Church before in a benefit for The Meeting School. Many thanks to Peter and Annie for their joyful presence and to faculty member Sheila Garrett for her organizing efforts.

To learn more about Peter and Annie and their tour schedule, please visit their website.

Getting into college, getting into the groove

Bliss house went to ZUMBA last Thursday night as their house activity and everyone had a blast.
Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends international music with a step aerobic program. It is like dance fitness and the one we attended at the local YMCA also uses light and heavy weights alongside it. It was totally goofy and fun but also a really great workout.

Also, seniors Andrew and Amanda both got their acceptance letters to Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. As you can see, they are both thrilled! Another senior, Tiana, has already been accepted early decision at Simmons College.

2011 Intersession Adventures!

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 a project with a cultural, vocational or service focus. After their return, students give a presentation and write a paper about their experience. Intersession is an integral part of The Meeting School curriculum.

This year student Intersession adventures were interesting and varied. They included travel to Japan and Costa Rica, as well as volunteer service at a NYC Catholic worker house, Human Rights Watch in NYC, a local hospital, participation in a bronzing workshop, and an internship with a jewelry maker.

Student Bennett Sewell chose to visit Japan because it "is on the other side of the world, a place completely different, and the birthplace of anime." While in Japan he studied Japanese and embraced Japanese culture, which included trips to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and a studio dedicated to the work of anime filmmaker Hayao Miyzaki. While Bennett reports feeling the influence of American culture, he also strongly felt the uniqueness of Japanese culture, especially the emphasis put on honor. When asked how the trip changed him, he said "I know I want to live there someday."

Maggie Zavgren and Liz Stillwell went to Monteverde, Costa Rica, a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The town of Monteverde was founded by the pacifist American Quakers who left the United States in opposition to the Korean War. They chose Costa Rica because it had no standing army. In addition to founding a school, practicing agriculture, the Quakers founded the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. While in Monteverde, Maggie and Liz studied Spanish, absorbed the culture, and volunteered at a local library.

Tiana Withers spent her Intersession working with a jewelry artist in Massachusetts. During the internship she learned a great deal about color, the technical aspects of jewelry-making, and running a small business. She reports that she was "very excited to finally get a chance to work in an art studio, and experience the feeling of truly creating art for other people to enjoy."

Important News From The Meeting School

Dear Friends,

There have been times in The Meeting School’s history when we have surmounted great challenges and the School has emerged stronger than ever. We are again on the cusp of one of these times.

For the past several years the School has actively confronted difficulties presented by the extended economic downturn and rising financial challenges. A careful assessment of the realities presented by declining enrollment and escalating financial aid need has led us to understand that responsible fiscal stewardship requires that we take a sabbatical year in 2011-12. The secondary school program will be suspended during this time. We will continue to offer our current students a quality educational experience for the remainder of this school year.

We are grateful for our generous donors and the many people who have assisted with student recruitment. We continue to be blessed with able and motivated faculty, staff and students who make us proud of our vibrant academic community. At the same time, shifts in the educational environment suggest that our educational model—as excellent as it is—may no longer be economically viable.

The Board of Trustees is investigating alternatives to our current program that include growing to a size that is attractive to today’s students, becoming a semester program, or some exciting possibility that is yet to emerge. We want you to join us in a structured visioning process on the weekend of April 1 – 3, 2011. We will host a conference for you and other members of the extended community to envision what our transformation might look like and what resources will be required. We will carefully explore the intersection between what we have to offer and the realities of the world today.

We ask all who want to participate to commit to staying for the weekend, which will begin on Friday with supper and end Sunday afternoon. All attendees will receive an agenda and preparatory material to read in advance; conference registration is required. Register online by Sunday, March 20, at www.meetingschool.org. You can call or email us at office@meetingschool.org with questions. If you are not able to attend, you can register for the advance materials and contact us with your thoughts.

We are upheld at this challenging time by our knowledge that the Spirit that is alive in The Meeting School is not bounded by time or place. We are energized by the opportunity to bring The Meeting School mission into the 21st century in a way that the academic learning, the farm, and the loving Quaker community continue to nurture our young people and that is also economically sustainable.

We invite you to join us on this adventure.


Jeremiah Dickinson
Clerk of Board



Jacqueline Stillwell
Head of School

Towards a Sustainable Agriculture with Meat Rabbits

A new litter of bunnies has been born on Thomas Farm! They are the next generation in the meat rabbit project that Meeting School Farm Manager Ben Casiello brought with him when he came to the School last April. Ben became interested in raising meat rabbits after bringing breeding stock to Honduras after hurricane Mitch (through Heifer International) in order to replenish lost livestock.

Rabbits are an extremely sustainable form of agriculture. They reproduce quickly, are compact, and can be raised completely on grass. At The Meeting School the meat rabbits are seasonally pasture raised and during winter months are fed a combination of grain and hay. Rabbits grow quickly and the meat is very nutritious. It has higher levels of protein and lower levels of cholesterol than beef, pork, or chicken. Rabbit manure is nutrient dense and is one of the few manures that can be placed directly on plants (without composting) without causing harm. In areas without electricity (like parts of Honduras) the compact size of rabbits is an advantage. Having large meat animals leads to more waste since there is no refrigeration. A rabbit can be eaten entirely by a family for a meal.

Despite still being in an early stage of development, Ben hopes that this project will soon become an integral part of our agricultural program.

Sesquipedalia and Sewing

This past weekend Meeting School students were involved in the arts and crafts.

Saturday's forum featured Sesquipedalian Puppet Productions. Meeting School faculty Burrett and Rhu McBee, Sesquipedalian's founders and puppeteers, gave a lively lecture demonstration about their artistic journey, explaining the creative and problem-solving process behind their art before presenting the show, “A Medley of Children’s Stories.”

Sesquipedalian is Latin for “world of foot and a half tall creatures or things.” The 40 puppets in the troupe are mostly hand and rod puppets with some shadow puppets as well. Rhu designs and builds the puppets, props, and backdrops, while Burrett oversees the technical aspects of the show. Together they write the scripts, and Burrett directs the shows.

The event was presented in conjunction with The Meeting School’s Small Business Class, which is selling hand-crafted holiday ornaments (felted wool Earth globes) and fabric gift bags. To learn more and/or to place an order, contact the office at (603) 899-3366.

Parents Weekend at The Meeting School

It's Monday morning - and what a wonderful Parents Weekend it was!

Parents came on Friday to participate in the life of the School with the school community. On Friday about sixty people enjoyed an incredible pre-Thanksgiving dinner replete with turkeys from the farm, and homemade everything else - stuffing, rolls, pies, and green salad (with nasturtiums from the green house).

Following dinner and Parents Meeting there was a Coffee House in Hayden Room, which featured a puppet show, a performance from the theater class, as well as a visit from Lady Gaga. After the Coffee House, teacher Hannah Berardi's partner Dan performed with his amazing band, The Brothers McCann.

The small business class sold sheep and felt globes ornaments and eco-bags for wrapping gifts.

On Saturday morning parents and students attended Opening before taking part in classes that included physics, The Art and Literature of Theater, and Peace Studies.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the weekend. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone!

Class Gets a Taste of the Performing Arts

Last Thursday The Meeting School's Art and Literature of Theater class visited Plymouth State University's Silver Center for the Arts, the major cultural arts center in central New Hampshire. Meeting School faculty member Burrett McBee, who is also an adjunct professor at Plymouth State, organized the trip. Students spent time exploring Hanaway Theater and extensively touring the performing arts center - in the photo they are holding line sets, the lines that control the many scenic units that come in and out of the fly loft, the space above the stage. A highlight was listening the the costume designer for the upcoming performance of "Little Women" speak about the pattern for a period costume that she was designing and building from scratch. Perhaps some students at The Meeting School could see themselves designing costumes one day!

Saturday forums at The Meeting School provide students with the opportunity to learn more about a range of topics that are not typically covered during the school week.
Held on Saturday mornings, a forum usually involves a guest speaker or practitioner, or travel off campus to a special event. Forums often have an applied, or hands-on component.

Students may also occasionally design their own individual forum. Last weekend Bennett, a Meeting School student, designed and participated in an alternative forum focused on the work of Andy Goldsworthy.

After studying his life and work, he created his own designs from the nature around him.

"I found this art project kind of calming," Bennett says, "but also kind of sad because it's so temporary and wears away in such a short time. This kind of art is more difficult than you might expect because the leaves don't stick to the rocks...there is a real materials challenge. Experiencing this challenge makes me respect Goldsworthy's work even more."

Bibles and Empires

This semester a The Meeting School is offering a social studies course called Bibles and Empires, which takes a critical look at the tension between creation and empire that threads its way throughout the Old and New Testaments of the bible, and the theme of "forgetting" the importance of God's creation in the pursuit of empire.

The course's texts include God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now, by John Crossan, and Come Out My People: God's Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond, by Wes Howard-Brook.

Today's class included an exploration of the different kinds of bibles and the conversation ranged from a discussion of the effect of the printing press and literacy on the the use of the Bible, and the consequences of no longer being in relationship with the bible primarily through an oral tradition, in which stories were passed down through the context of one's culture.

Teacher Landis Brown illustrated this point by quoting from theologian Stanley Hauerwas' book Unleashing Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America: "No task is more important than for the church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians." Hauerwas suggests that the bible has become so accessible that it no longer means what it once did, and has lost its power to communicate its prophetic call to care for God's creation.

You can read more at Landis' blog.

The Meeting School Means Business!

This posting comes from Moon, a member of our Small Business class...enjoy!


This year faculty member Craig Jensen is teaching a social studies class called Small Business here at The Meeting School. The class functions as a cooperatively run and consensus-based business. Part of the course's curriculum includes deciding on a product to create, market and sell through discussion and consensus.

We finished our first project about three weeks ago. The project acted as a sort of practice run in working collaboratively together and as an opportunity to learn and further develop a craft. The class hand made embroidered name-tags for all of the faculty working for the school. We presented the name-tags as a gift to the faculty during Community Meeting.



The name-tags were very much a collaborative effort, and each member in the class had at least a small part in each of the name tags. Everyone did at least some embroidery - even class members who had little or no experience with a needle and thread. There were many components in the making of the name-tags other than embroidery, including measuring and cutting cloth and sketching out lettering and designs on the cloth in pencil to act as a guide for the embroidery.

The class has started to move forward in the past week with discussions about what we want our business to be. We have started to draft a mission statement and talk seriously about what sorts of products we could make efficiently and well. The class continues to be full of lessons ranging from new crafting skills and cost and profit constraints, to the consequences of late work on the business and developing a sound business plan.

This experience is incredibly valuable. The class emphasizes accountability and a high standard of quality, as the success of our business depends on these factors. Students can use those skills in any situation that life may hand them in the future, even if they do not intend to pursue crafting or small business after the class.

Hamlet Is You

Last Saturday actor Christian Camargo and his wife, actor Juliet Rylance, starred in one extraordinary Meeting School Forum.

English teacher Burrett McBee commented that it was "an English teacher's dream" to have a professional Shakespearean actor in front of his students who could engage students, honor the text, and open up a larger world than existed before.

Christian deconstructed Hamlet's first soliloquy - it was much more than an analysis of the speech, and students got a sense of how hard one has to work to understand the depth Shakespeare.

One of the questions students had for Christian was "How to you keep a part alive?" Christian talked about the imperative to find oneself in each part - that if one is able to do this, the part will stay vibrant and true.

Please see the article below from The Monadnock Ledger Transcript.

And a postcript for all of the Twilight fans out there - Christian has been cast as Eleazar of the Denali Coven in upcoming "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2."


Sharing Shakespeare’s words

Actor Christian Camargo speaks to Meeting School students

BY ROBERT MICHAELSON

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

RINDGE — Students at the Meeting School got a lesson on Shakespearean acting and a glimpse of the television/ film industry over the weekend.

Actor Christian Camargo, best known for his role as the Ice Truck Killer in the Showtime series “Dexter,” shared how he developed a love for Shakespeare with students Saturday morning.

“When I first read Shakespeare, I wasn’t interested at all. I really didn’t like Shakespeare, but then I became fascinated by it, then obsessed by it,” said Camargo.

The actor had been taught by Meeting School teacher Burrett McBee at the Harvey School in Westchester, N.Y. He said McBee introduced him to Shakespeare and even helped him with his audition for the Juilliard School of Drama.

“Its always wonderful; you never know where students will end up,” said McBee.

Most recently, Camargo has traveled worldwide to perform Shakespeare as part of The Bridge Project.

In Rindge, he performed a piece from “Hamlet,” showing the students how to appreciate and work with the, rhythm, expression and language in Shakespeare.

“You can’t be lazy about words you don’t know,” he said. “There is a texture to these words that we take completely for granted.”

He also spoke on developing as an actor in the entertainment industry, mentioning the dangers of being typecast.

“In Hollywood, when you play one part, that is all they see you as. You play a serial killer, you’re screwed,” he joked in reference to his role as a killer in Dexter.

His wife, Juliet Rylance, who is also an actor, was present and shared one of her favorite scenes of “Hamlet.”

Camargo told the students that acting was less about trying to be somebody else and more about finding the character within.

“Acting is about you, at the end of the day, Hamlet is you,” said Camargo.

Below the Bark

Last weekend, students enjoyed wonderful weather, hiking, a campfire, a cookout and camaraderie on The Meeting School's first camping trip of the school year in the shadow of Mount Monadnock.

Students and faculty split into two groups and hiked Mount Monadnock on either the White Dot and White Cross trails or the Pumpelly Trail.

For some students, it was the first time ever putting on boots to go hiking or camping out overnight in a tent.

Not only was the camping trip a new experience for some, but students and faculty trip leaders also played a game new to many: Zoogle. Zoogle is a game that involves standing in a circle, a stick (that one wants to catch below the bark), community decision-making (if one catches the stick while touching the bark), and a whole lot of fun (not adequately captured in this description but fully present during the game).

Many thanks to our campfire musicians and trip organizers!

TMS Connections with the Cathedral of the Pines

The Cathedral of the Pines is an interfaith outdoor chapel and war memorial located here in Rindge, on a hilltop with beautiful views of Mt. Monadnock, like the one pictured above. It's one of the tourist destinations that puts Rindge on the map, sponsoring events throughout the summer. As students return to campus, the Meeting School will be co-sponsoring an event at the Cathedral called "Ghandi: the Man and His Teaching" by University of New Hampshire professor Donald Johnson. Our Peace Studies teacher Landis Brown expects it to fit perfectly with his course plans. It's on September 9th at 7:00pm, and the public is invited.

Last weekend, TMS history teacher Frederick Martin spoke as a representative of the local Quaker Meeting at the Cathedral's 65th anniversary service. An interfaith celebration with representatives from eight diverse religious traditions, the event was filled with moving prayers for peace and reconciliation. Frederick's prayer was "that we will honor and compassionately remember all those who have worked and fought for that better world, in their own way -- since all have that Spirit, that seed of goodness within them." His full remarks can be found on his blog. Seen below is Frederick speaking next to the Cathedral's alter, with religious symbols from five of the religions represented.

Introducing New Faculty -- part 3

Faculty have been hard at work all summer preparing their courses, and Hannah Berardi has been bringing quite a flair to her planning. She will be teaching math and science courses -- Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Geometry, and Physics in the fall. Hannah holds a BA in Mathematics from Northeastern University, and worked in their Academic Assistance Center tutoring mathematics while she was an undergraduate. Even better, she taught math and science for two years at The Island School in the Bahamas, and most recently was an instructor at the Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco, Maine. As we've been working together, we've seen her infectious enthusiasm and excitement for hands-on experiential learning that's also brainy and intellectual -- the perfect combination! She is particularly happy about living on TMS's farm, where she can pursue her interest in environmental sustainability in education, and she's looking forward to leading backpacking and canoeing trips. Even though she's been here half the summer already -- welcome, Hannah!

Help Increase the Peace Workshop

The Help Increase the Peace Project is a workshop series for high-school aged youth offering training in leadership for reducing violence, building community, and addressing prejudice in schools and other groups. Developed by the American Friends Service Committee, it is now widely offered in schools, churches, and community organizations all around the country.

We were excited to host a HIPP workshop as one of our summer activities. Organized by Molly Messenger at the New Hampshire AFSC office, and featuring Will Hopkins, Iraq vet and director of New Hampshire Peace Action, the weekend was a great success! In this photo, attenders listen to a presentation by one of their fellow participants in the School's Hayden Room.
For more information on HIPP, click here.

TMS's weekly "technology sabbath" -- ahead of the curve?

A recent NPR segment on Morning Edition interviewed author William Powers about his new book Hamlet's Blackberry, which questions our society's need to be connected 24/7 to the online world of Internet, texting, iPhones, and all. He began to see how information overload --too much screen time-- affects our relationships and our emotional and mental centeredness; he concluded that "connectedness serves us best when it's balanced with a little disconnectedness." As a result, his family has an "Internet sabbath" over their weekends as a way to slow down and reconnect with each other.

We agree! The Meeting School has had a "technology sabbath" since 2006, when a class in Appropriate Technology brought a proposal to the students and faculty in Community Meeting suggesting that we turn off all the computers for 24 hours each week (Tuesday night to Wednesday dinner-time). Of course, exceptions happen as needed for schoolwork, but teachers try to assign homework for Wednesdays that doesn't require a computer. Living in Thomas House last year, this blogger found that students and faculty talked to each other more on Wednesdays, and students would plan events to happen on Tuesday nights --and ended up socializing more!

For more information about TMS's Community Meeting, click here.
To hear NPR's segment on Hamlet's Blackberry, click here.

Piano Moving!

At TMS students and faculty work together to keep the campus running. It's real work, and fun can be had! As new faculty moved into their houses, we decided to move this piano from Helios House to the Hayden Room so that we'd have more music options where we sing every day. Well, moving a piano takes ingenuity, teamwork... and a bit of craziness:



(Yes, this is a posed picture... proper safety procedures were observed while the piano was actually in motion. But Thomas Road has seen its fair share of rolling music -- like Jack Stewart '09 skateboarding down the road while playing his accordian.)

Introducing New Faculty -- part 2

Our next installment in the introductions of new faculty focuses on the farm, and by this time in the summer none of them are really "new" at all -- and some of them are veteran TMS folk already!

Ben Casiello has been a whirlwind of activity on the farm since he began as Farm Manager here in the spring. He comes to us most recently from Hardwick, Massachusetts, where he was the herd manager for a grass-fed beef cattle farm, the Rotokawa Cattle Company, which was featured in a Time Magazine article this past January about how grass-fed cattle farming can be sustainable and carbon-friendly! He has also been the camp coordinator at the Heifer International Summer Day Camp in Rutland, Mass, and holds a bachelor's degree in Animal Science (Livestock Management) from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Ben is excited to be taking leadership of the TMS farm, where farming and education are so well integrated.

His wife Cathy Casiello will be houseparenting with Ben in Thomas House. She works in the Athol-Royalston (Mass.) public school district as a speech-language pathologist. She is sharing the work in the gardens this summer, and looking forward to sharing her hobbies of folk-dancing, contra-dancing, and singing with the TMS community come Fall!

Lauren O'Donnell will be our Farm Intern for the 2010-2011 school year, and started up this summer. She is an airplane mechanic and automobile mechanic, and holds a Student Pilot Certificate: she was an apprentice aviation maintenance technician at Sandhill Aviation in NH. She has also been the repair shop coordinator at a lumber store, the cheerleading coach and choreographer for the Derry Demons Youth Football Association, and all sorts of jobs in between. She is excited to learn about farming, ecology, and business management here at TMS as she contributes her numerous maintenance skills!


Our other summer farm intern is Devin Green, TMS class of 2007 and a rising Marlboro College senior, who can be seen speaking about farm wisdom at an earlier age in the TMS video of 2006. As we were haying the Bartlett Fields in June, Devin was driving the truck pulling the big hay wagon, and I spotted a dog-eared copy of the philosopher-critic Michel Foucault on the seat next to him -- part of Devin's preparation for his senior independent work. It sparked a conversation about the difference between deconstructionists and post-modernists, as we tossed hay bales. It's good to have Devin back around the place.