Better late than never!

Wow, is it January already? Well, Audrey and I hit the ground running as two new teachers to the Ashley Bryan School in September. There was much to intimidate us as we began the school year: the outgoing legacy of two fabulous teachers, Donna & Lindsay, ongoing construction on the building that limited our access to our classrooms, and a student body in continual flux. Nevertheless, we were buoyed by an incredible show of support from the previous teachers (who provided us with a homemade handbook and who donated hours of their time where we peppered them with questions) and the community. We felt like celebrities, attending a welcome party thrown by our kids' parents, walking home with a basket of treats to begin the year as well as a binder full of names and numbers of those willing to help us any way they could and share their various talents.
The first day was magical. Melissa and Jim Amuso worked until the eleventh hour building bookshelves, removing construction debris and dust, and shining up the school until all of a sudden, there was a crowd waiting outside ready to sing and cheer our children into the building for their very first day! What a tradition!
And here we are. It's the middle of January and our kids are working away. Each day continues to be a lesson in island teaching--like no other kind of teaching. We have much to catch you up on, so a few photos will have to do instead of words.

Miss. Lauren

Doctor Fairy & Rockstar Fairy

Making change at the math store

Book groups with the TLC!

Cute but Deadly

When I started teaching P.E. in the fall, I asked the kids, "What would you like to learn this year?" The response was unanimous, barring one request for skydiving, and the sport of choice was... "Archery!" 
Archery is an Ashley Bryan School favorite and, thanks to our friendly neighbor and archery enthusiast, Ricky Alley, a yearly tradition!

The Expert: Rick Alley

Lucky for us, he agreed to host another archery session (on the day before vacation of all days)! He met us in the town field with a propped up Styrofoam billet with some balloons attached to it--the perfect target. After discussing bow safety and demonstrating proper shooting technique, we lined up to give it a try.

Fierce Concentration

Small but Mighty!

And, like in all things, our island kids were naturals! It was a bit harder than some expected, but nobody sent their arrows into the trees. We heard a few balloons pop before the day was out, even with our targets wiggling around in the wind.

Sharpshooter!

 

 

The Great Hunters

We could have gone on and on taking turns all morning, but unfortunately fingers and toes were frozen from that cold winter wind hangin' around. Happy April break ABS students and thank you Mr. Alley for this very special experience!

Miss. Lauren

Not Your Grandma's School

Not Your Grandma’s School--

or Even Your Mother’s--

or Even Your Big Sister’s for that matter....

We have not blogged for a long time!  Some of us have been a little busy....

And we’re delighted to welcome Baby Luciana!

Ms. Lauren agreed to step in and be our long-term sub while Ms. Eysnogle is on maternity leave. Yay!

So now we're ready to get back to our blog!


There is no such thing as a typical day at the Ashley Bryan School.

So here are some “snapshots” of what our school looked like today:

This morning, the first graders met with students from Cliff Island, Monhegan and Matinicus.  They  learned about Lewis and Clark and drew pictures of Sacajawea and her baby, Pomp. They enjoyed sharing their drawings on the Polycom/Tanbergs. 

Our fifth graders met with their book buddies from Frenchboro and Matinicus.  Ms. Ashley, the teacher on Frenchboro, is teaching them how to write a newspaper article.  They will be reporting on the events of the first five chapters of their book, “Mr. Tucket,” which takes place in the 1850s on the Oregon Trail.

The third graders are reading "Pioneer Cat".  But they skipped book groups this morning, because Ms. Ursula, our Guidance Counselor was visiting, and we hadn't seen her in awhile.  This group was making collages about, guess what....? THEMSELVES!--Their hobbies, their passions and their feelings.  We don't get to see Ms. Ursula too often, so her visits are very special!

 

Our fourth grader was meeting with her book group.  She gets to work with students from Cliff, Frenchboro and Isle au Haut.  They are reading "Sarah Plain and Tall".

Then this afternoon, something really special happened! 

We had a visit from Hawk Henries, Native American flute maker and musician, who awed us with the beauty of his instruments.  Some of the instruments sounded just like birds, and others sounded mysterious and eerie!  Hawk told us beautiful stories, too.

Then, just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any more exciting, Hawk Henries let us play his instruments!

Some of us were brave enough to try some really strange instruments like this flute that is blown with your nose!

Some of us enjoyed the sound of our own music making more than others.

We had another great day at the Ashley Bryan School, and it wasn’t even over at 3:00. 

After school, Ms. Eysnogle paid us a visit with Luciana while we were having fun at Lego Robotics with Ms. Amy and Ms. Melissa.

We can't wait for tomorrow, when Hawk Henries will be back to make flutes with us. But this blog post is already long enough!


Stay tuned...