Canvassing Landscapes

The Visual Journaling on the Edge of the World Winterim group has been diligently sketching and painting in Portugal during these past two weeks of Winterim. They have traveled around Portugal to Lisbon, Evora, Olhao, and Sintra, all while painting the landscapes and life that they see.

They have tried to keep up with their daily updates on their blog. They tell of their adventures in the city, the countryside, and the houses they have stayed in during their time in Portugal. They plan on returning to Boston tonight (Thursday) at around 8:00pm. We wish them safe travels on their return back and we hope that they come back with entertaining stories and beautiful paintings.

The Later Bird Gets the... Plane Back Home?

With the last few days of Winterim having come, travel groups who spent two weeks in places all around the world are now starting to arrive back at Lawrence Academy.

The trips returning today (Thursday, March 13) are:

- Adventures in Sailing will be returning to Boston at around 9:30 AM

- From the Ground Up will be returning to Boston at 3:31 PM

- Visual Journaling on the Edge of the World (Portugal) will be returning to Boston at around 7:30 PM

- Dominican Service Project will be returning to Boston at 9:26 PM

The trips returning tomorrow (Friday, March 14) are:

- Sports Journalism will be returning in the morning

- The System will be returning in the early afternoon

- Project Peru will be returning to Boston at around 3:30 PM

- Hawaii will be returning to Boston at 5:05 PM

- Kayaking in Costa Rica will be returning to Boston at 11:45 PM

- Underwater Discovery will be returning to Boston at around 12:00 AM

The Can You Dig It? group will be returning to Boston at 7:35 PM on Saturday.

On behalf on Lawrence Academy, we wish all of the Winterim groups a safe return.

Note: Times are based on the limited information that the Winterim Social Media Team has access to. Times are also subject to possible changes due to delays.

The Guinea Pig Eating, Stove-Builders Return to LA

Last night we received word from the Project Peru Winterim group as they arrived in Cusco after having spent the past five days in a rural Peruvian town:

We are back in Cuzco after an incredible 5 days in the tiny rural community of Patabamba. We spent most of our days building mud stoves for the members of the community - 11 total - and totally immersed ourselves into the Peruvian culture, including eating a feast of guinea pig, which garnered a new appreciation for making something "from scratch." We will have plenty of stories to tell and experiences to recount but for the time being I've attached a few photos that should hold you over until our return home on Friday. We start our long journey from Cuzco tomorrow -- it's bittersweet to be leaving as we are sad to depart Peru but excited to see you all back home!

The Peru group will be traveling from Cusco to Lima this afternoon and will depart from Lima later tonight. The group will be arriving back in Boston on Friday morning.

Critically Critical

Everyone's a Critic has been writing about each of their visits to theaters and museums.  Read all of their critiques and view all of their cool candid photos on their own blog. 

For this week their plans included visits to the following places while they continued writing about their experiences on campus:

• Museum of Contemporary Art in Western, MA
• Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
• Boston Lyrics to see "Death of a Salesman"
• Huntington Theater to see "The Seagull" 
• Arts Emerson to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
• Boston Symphony Orchestra to hear "All Beethoven"

The Dance Fever is Heating Up

At first students in the Break It Down Winterim had to learn from each other. They created dances based on their limited understanding of movement.   However over the past few days they have learned legitimate moves and techniques from some highly qualified professional dancers.

The Copoeira is form of dance which combines Brazilian marital arts with dance moves.  They were instructed in this style late last week.  Check out this video of one of their teachers.

This week the focus has been on hip hop and break dancing.  When asked about learning this, one student commented that the teacher is very good.  He knows what he is doing and he has really helped the group gain some specific skills for this type of dance style.

A final dance performance will happen at 1:00 pm, Friday (3/14) in the Black Box Theater. 

Wall Dive - Profound and Vast

We received another detailed summary from the Underwater Discovery Winterim Group.  Words can't describe the underwater world they've experienced, so we look forward to seeing more photos and video from them when they return.

Tanning With Tanner at South Water Caye, Belize.

A week and a half ago, we arrived in Belize. None of us imagined the experiences that we would soon undergo. It’s a shame that it will all be over so soon but all good things have to come to an end. Yesterday we completed our dive training. After a series of open water dives and some academic class work we have finally become certified open water divers. Today (Wednesday) was our first free dive. As a group we descended to around 70 feet.  We were wall diving which means we dove along the side of the reef wall. The marine ecosystem on the wall is profound and vast. It would be impossible to write down everything that caught our eye, but among some things that stood out we saw a sea turtle, lion fish, trumpet fish, moray eel, and tubular sponges as high as four feet. After our dive today Tanner and I put together a video of our experience on the island. We have learned so much on the island and most of that is because of the wonderful staff here at IZE. Everybody is engaged with one another and that has made it very easy to befriend the locals and develop relationships with them in such a short amount of time. And obviously we have all been getting tanner with Tanner. Special thanks to Winterim models Craig Waldie and Erik Ekberg

Sincerely, Adrian and Tanner

Part of a Greater Good

This past weekend, the Special Olympics Winterim group facilitated a basketball skills clinic for the Special Olympics at the Yawkey Sports Training Center in Marlboro, MA. Students helped the athletes develop their skills in basketball and team building.




















This skills clinic was one of many venues throughout New England that hosted the Special Olympics this past weekend and the students in the Special Olympics Winterim group were part of a vast effort to help out the athletes and the Special Olympics in general.

Final From the Ground Update

The From the Ground Up Winterim group sent us this final update about their last day in the Dominican Republic and their reflections on their time there:

Hello everyone!

It's hard to believe this trip is almost over! This will be our last update from the DR, as we are heading out early Thursday morning and heading back to the States. It's hard to imagine that we are coming back to snow after the wonderful sun and warmth we have been experiencing. If only we could take the weather back with us!

Our last day here was nothing short of amazing. The group woke up early to experience a spectacular sunrise together overlooking the ocean. We then headed out to La Laguna GriGri, where we took a boat through a mangrove estuary and saw not only the mangroves but some wildlife as well. We swam at two beautiful beaches, enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh lobster, fish, chicken, rice, beans, and platanos, and enjoyed the warm weather as much as possible before heading back to the snow and ice that awaits us back home.

As we headed back to the Beach Comber, we were pleasantly surprised by a visit from LA alum Maritza Menjivar ('07), who is currently in the DR as well! She worked at LA in 2011-2012, so she knew many of the students, and they were excited to see her. She stayed with us for dinner, and then we had our final reflection together as a group. First, the students said a very heartfelt and thoughtful good-bye and thank-you (led by the seniors) to our guide, Luis, who has been with us the entire trip. Then, the students thought about their overall experience and journaled about their five biggest "take-away" moments from the trip, as well as how they would take what they learned from the trip and apply it to their lives back home. Their responses showed just how much they have truly grown during this trip, as well as how much their work in the community genuinely resonated with them. We will further discuss their plans for action on Friday when we have our last day on campus. As the students put it themselves, it is important we hold ourselves accountable to making a difference even after Winterim ends, and we very much plan to do just that.

To say it has been a pleasure being on this trip with this particular group of students would be a gross understatement. The bonding they have done, the work they have executed, the overall experience they have created for themselves, and the communities they have worked with is truly remarkable. It has been a Winterim that the students, as well as the leaders, will remember always.

Hasta manana,
Kacey and Rob