September 26, 2008

 Weekends here at HMI are nothing like at home. There is never a point where you are sitting around, wondering what to do. From train-rides to Rockies baseball games, there is never a dull moment. This past Sunday, we loaded up the vans and hit the road to Denver, for the Colorado Rockies last game of the season. Though they lost miserably, it was still tons of fun. They even put "Welcome HMI XXI" on the big screen for everyone to see.

But we don't always have to leave HMI to have an amazing time. The past few nights, we have had fun activities planned by our Cabin Reps. We have played board games, had dance parties, and star gazed out on the front porch in our sleeping bags. On deck for evening hangouts, we have planned a new game for all of us: Nalgene bowling in Who's Hall. Weekends are never dull at HMI!

Weekdays aren’t boring either, as we’re always busy with activities or school. In fact, the workload has been a bit crazy this week as classes wrap up before the second expedition. Pre-calc two and three finished and presented their hybrid cars project on Wednesday. We all learned a lot about the cost efficiency of hybrid cars, and we were able to make personal decisions about whether or not we thought that buying a hybrid was a worthy investment. In science we completed another lab, this time comparing the presence of animal scat in sagebrush and aspen environments. Our lab write-up is due Sunday night, and many people have been working hard during their free time to get it done. We also received our expedition homework in science, which includes a field study, species account, and a reading.

AP US History had their first test and “Document-Based Question” (DBQ) this past week on the colonies and the American Revolution. The first paper for English, an analytical essay on Gretel Ehrlich’s The Solace of Open Spaces, was due Wednesday night, and we spent much class time this past week working on developing strong arguments, and peer-editing one another’s papers. Both French classes had a test on Tuesday on the grammar that we have covered so far this semester, while the Spanish classes had a “Word Market Auction” in which students bid their new vocabulary words on prizes. Advanced Spanish also had their first symposium on immigration issues in the United States, and all Spanish students are working hard on their first essays of the semester. As the week winds down we are all eagerly anticipating the second expedition and glad to move our classroom from campus out into the backcountry again.

In terms of academics, this week’s update features history class. As far as we can tell, HMI’s history class is unlike any other class at any other high school. The atmosphere is more like a discussion than a lecture and this is due, in part, to the way it is taught. Matt has a very relaxed approach to teaching, and he encourages participation from the entire class – not that RMS students need an invitation to speak their minds. Our natural inclinations toward chatter and active learning also contribute to the great atmosphere.

For history class this past week, we were broken up into groups of two or three and assigned a state. Then we had to try to “sell” the state to an imaginary immigrant named Jimmy. The activity was set in the time period when the original 13 colonies were just forming, and we were colonial real estate agents. This activity was exciting because it allowed everyone to get psyched up and give really entertaining presentations. Later in the week we had a special guest visit to talk about European feelings towards the Indians (it was our apprentice Harrison in a pilgrim suit! Priceless). It’s this kind of activity that keeps everyone engaged and participating, and it's a really effective way to learn!

Classes concluded on Wednesday (until after the next expedition) so we could wake up early Thursday morning to jump into Project Day. We were all super busy doing various projects around campus. The whole campus was buzzing with excitement and music all day. As we worked we sang and danced to various genres and artists, from Britney Spears, techno, to more modern artists, such as Vampire Weekend. Our projects were mainly aimed at maintaining and improving our beautiful campus for future students and visitors. We stained picnic tables and the front of Who’s Hall, washed windows, filled in pot holes, cleaned up the paths, scrubbed the kitchen, cleaned the grease traps, moved firewood, stained cabin porches, sewed curtains, cleaned and organized the equipment room and built storage sheds for firewood, among other things. All in a good day’s work!

After a long day we were all pretty exhausted, but we somehow managed to get schoolwork done during a shortened study hall. Afterwards we had a game party in the library and stargazed on the porch. Jenga and Cranium were the main attractions in the library, which dissolved into massive fits of laughter. Overall, the day flew by like our time at HMI has so far. Now we have a weekend of CPR and Wilderness First Aid to look forward to!

By: Will Thacker, Claire Barbagallo, Sam Davidson, and Rebecca “Smitty” Smith