(I'm attempting to catch up on some very belated posts...)Every couple of years, Mike organizes a "trip" event for the school. The older UB Learning class (which is a general studies class that meets every Wednesday and is split into older and younger groups) chooses a country to study. The next 2 or 3 months are spent transforming the school into that country -- the walls are painted white and become a canvas for the students. They paint murals, flags, scenes from the country, important buildings. They're also studying famous people and events -- some of which will be acted out for an audience. It's pretty incredible to see how much time and energy goes into these trips -- the planning and studying and painting and rehearsing. At the end of their preparation time, they invite parents, family, and friends to come to the school for a trip.
This year the students chose to study Russia and though some of them have felt a little disappointed that the trip didn't turn out as well as their England Trip last year, I was stunned with what they accomplished.
We began our trip aboard a Russian airline, where we were each given an in-flight snack of one peanut and ended up crash-landing somewhere in Russia.
Fortunately, crash-landing didn't leave us without tour guides. They lead us to the station of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, where we boarded a train that was rumored to occasionally travel through time...
We learned about rebellion and Red October, the communist state and the imperialist czars; we saw peasants suffering in Siberia and met Catherine the Great.
Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, we were shown to some benches and invited to view a play that detailed the many political uprisings and downfalls in the history of Russia (in case you don't know -- there were a LOT!)
After the play, we stumbled into the aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad, which was not a scene for the faint of heart.
What does one need after a fierce battle if not tasty piroshki and borscht?
After our meal, we were watched a brief "fashion show" highlighting some of Russia's most accomplished citizens, followed by a production of the lovely and astounding
Nutcracker Ballet in 15 Minutes. Heather and her friend Naomi had choreographed the dancing, chosen snippets from each of the songs, and even managed to recruit a few of the boys to play the nutcracker prince, the mouse king, and the Russian dancers. It was an impressive piece of work.
The students did a great job preparing. The co-op was completely transformed (including my classroom, which had been decorated in a style befitting Catherine the Great -- can't complain about that). The skits were funny and the tour guides informative. The ballet was a lovely way to end the tour.
To echo a bit of what Mike has said ... this trip (and events like it) is one of the awesome perks that come with running a school like this. How many kids get the opportunity to repaint the walls of their school every year? How much undiscovered talent is there in our kids simply because they don't have to use it? So many of the kids in the school can hold their own with a paint brush and a drama production (among other things) -- they're a very creative group of kids, to be sure, but I can't help but wonder if
most kids have it in them to do much more than we would ever expect of them in this department.
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