Farm and Wilderness Girls Visit The Meeting School

From July 9 - 12, TMS hosted eleven 11 -12 year old girls and two counselors from Farm and Wilderness camp (http://www.farmandwilderness.org).

They were the first of three Farm and Wilderness groups we will host on campus this summer. The campers typically spend 3 - 4 days doing gardening projects as part of the camp's service component. Other camp activities include hiking, canoeing, and art projects.

Thanks to their visit, we have now reclaimed our squash and corn. The campers also picked apple droppings, inventoried the food supplies on campus, sampled the remaining strawberries, helped out with chores and got to view the milking process.

Bringing in the Harvest

Weeks of rain have given way to several days of sunshine, and The Meeting School harvest is in full swing.

To date, staff and interns have harvested and put up more than 50 lbs of spinach, 5 lbs edible pod peas, and 24 lbs of strawberries for the upcoming school year, and have taken 10 heads of lettuce to the local food pantry. Bruschetta, the School's milking cow, is producing approximately four gallons a day and the chickens are laying 1/2 dozen eggs a day.

Farm intern Joan Johnson has been busily picking potato bugs off of the potato plants; it took her almost ten hours to pluck them all off over the weekend and she will be feeding them to the ducks on campus.

We have also harvested scapes, which are part of the top of the garlic plant. Scapes can be used very much like the garlic root bulb.

Here are some garlic scape ideas:

• Add sliced scapes to any stir fry recipe
  
• Chop and add to softened cream cheese
• Sprinkle on bruschetta (the food, not the cow) or pizza
• Slice and sprinkle over any pasta or sauce recipe
  
• Chop into guacamole and fresh salsa

The Meeting School featured in Monadnock Living

The Spring/Summer 2009 edition of the New Hampshire magazine Monadnock Living features an article about The Meeting School on p. 10.

Many thanks to Sheila Garrett for her help with the piece.

Here's the text, just in case you can't read the 1 point font in the image...

The Meeting School
Experiential Education At Its Best
by Jonathan Allen

For over 50 years, The Meeting School in Rindge, NH has been preparing teenagers for life beyond high school with a unique balance of traditional academic study and experiential education. Founded by Quakers in 1957, the school encourages its day and boarding students to live in a close-knit community that demonstrates simplicity, integrity and equality.

Much of the coursework is project-based and hands on. “Students learn with all their senses,” explains Sheila Garrett, member of the senior faculty. “They can focus on subjects that they are particularly drawn to, and therefore enjoy a deeper learning.” Grades are issued on a pass/fail basis, accompanied by detailed evaluations from teachers, thanks to small class sizes that rarely exceed 10 students. In addition to traditional college preparatory courses, students learn by working on the organic farm and preparing meals.

In March, students returned from Intersession (a month-long, off-campus educational project) with a rich mix of educational experiences. Five students who traveled to India had the opportu- nity to live with a Tibetan family, meet with former political prisoners, and attend an event led by his Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Other projects ranged from ecology work and research at Lake Champlain, to psychology research and kayak building in Vermont.

The Meeting School’s unique educational program attracts students from all over the country. Many go on to attend colleges such as Drew, Smith, Earlham, Warren Wilson, and the Universities of Massachusetts, Montana and Vermont. Alumni have pursued careers in finance, teaching, medicine, architecture and social sciences, as well as farming and the arts.

Junior Jack Langerman Revives TMS Nature Trail

Have you ever noticed the occasional dilapidated sign leaning sadly near a tree at TMS? Well, those signs were the remnants of our nature trail, which had fallen into disrepair. The long-forgotten nature trail has gotten a new face lift under the leadership of junior Jack Langerman, who decided to renovate the trail to satisfy the leadership requirement of his Boy Scout Eagle award.

Students, faculty and family members spent well over 150 man and woman-hours clearing the old trail, identifying trees and painting more than 56 signs. Some of Jack's former dorm mates from Putney School's G-Haus even joined in on the project!

Now community members and visitors will be able to tell a Black Locust from a High Bush Blueberry. All identifications were kindly confirmed by a former faculty member and retired forester. Look for the Trail Head behind the office where you'll find the trail map and a list of featured flora. Enjoy your walk!

The Meeting School Graduation 2009

"You, who are on the road,
Must have a code that you can live by
And so, become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye"
-Graham Nash

The Meeting School graduated five students this morning: Jack A. Stewart, Sarah "Faith" Margaret Jochum, Robert Roy Farmer, Burch Davis, and Luke Langdon Brown.

At about 10 am, after singing several songs together, the community settled into meeting for worship listening to the sounds of birds chirping and flying about in the rafters of the barn. One by one, friends and family stood to talk about the graduates, and the meaning of both the day and the role TMS has played in the graduates' lives.

The challenges students and faculty at TMS faced over the past year were acknowledged in several of the reflections and in the song selections.

"Sometimes, in our lives
We all have pain, we all have sorrow
But, if we are wise, we know that there is always tomorrow"
-Bill Withers

The themes of love and letting go were also prevalent. Faith's mother spoke of her daughter as "breaking the rules in a way to change the world." Luke's father meditated on a line from the graduation opening song by Dylan - "The Times They Are Changin' - "And don't criticize what you don't understand/Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command."

After meeting the minutes for each graduate were read. It was here that I, as a newcomer to the school community, felt the celebration and appreciation of these young people not just as students, but as whole human beings:

Jack, punk in plaid, his appreciation of Black Flag, and his love of simple pleasures and nature; Faith, her acceptance of others, and early to bed and rise, her love of social justice and homeopathy; Robert, his love of art, nature and philosophy; Birch (his minute was read as a rap and I didn't get it all) - something about potatoes, chillin' with Elijah, and guaranteed to fly wherever he lands; and Luke, with his logical mind, and encouragement to look inward to be great.

"There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and dark of night
And where you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone"

Jack, Faith, Robert, Burch and Luke - congratulations on achieving this milestone, and we wish you well as you take your next steps in the world.


















Today was experienced by different people in many different and very personal ways - we encourage you to post your thoughts and feelings (and pictures) about the day!