Deep Diving Do's

This update comes directly from students in the Underwater Discovery Winterim.  This explains a bit about what they need to do in order to venture out into deeper water.

Greetings from Belize!

Today (Friday) every student learned the basics of scuba diving in the water, and what to do in emergency situations. In two groups we took a boat into a shallow part of the coral reef.  There we learned how to clear the water out of our masks in case they were flooded while we were underwater. We also learned how to control our buoyancy so we were parallel to the ocean floor. We practiced what to do in case we ran out of oxygen, which can be a very scary feeling. Along with all of this we saw an eagle ray scoping out the ocean floor. On Sunday we will be deep sea scuba diving through the reefs because we will know all of the proper techniques.

Maddy and Katie

P.S. Tomorrow we tackle the final part of our test, wish us luck!!

Monkeys, Dolphins, and Sloths! Oh my!

Warm weather and warm waters welcomed LA students to Costa Rica for some kayaking fun!

Photo of Playa Beach (not sent by group)

We have not heard directly from this group but according to their plans they arrived to San Jose, Costa Rica and then drove to the Central Valley Lodge on Monday after a full day of travel. On Tuesday they began their kayaking training and learning rescue procedures at Playa Blanca Beach. (When trying to find this on a map, Google Maps pinned a beach of the same name on an island off the coast of Morocco! We're sure they are in Costa Rica, but we can't seem to find them on a map!)

On Wednesday they did a paddle along the coast into the Playa Blanca Estuary (full of monkeys, sloths, reptiles and lots of birds).  Also they took a hike through the gallery forest after eating lunch at their base camp at the beach. They may have caught a glimpse of a white-faced or squirrel monkey. Thursday they broke camp at Playa Blanca Beach and paddled about 3 hours to their next destination - Cabanas and Camping at El Chontal.  They will stay here through Saturday morning. While here they have been learning about the Gulfo Dulce, with a focus on dolphins and whales. (We could find this on a map!)

Today (Friday) they were expected to be paddling into the estuary of the Rincon River. We hope this was a short paddle because tomorrow (Saturday) they will be taking an 18-mile water trek starting at 6:00 a.m., along the coast, stopping at the Magos Islands.  (They may spot dolphins tomorrow!!) By Saturday afternoon, they will have arrived at another camp (Saladero Lodge and Campground), a paradise with showers and a kitchen (and a Facebook page)!

Saladero Lodge - photo from web (so maybe not the right place)

Watch the Something for Nothing Players' Dress Rehearsal on YouTube

Check out the video of the dress rehearsal of the Something for Nothing players!

(The audio quality is a bit poor, sorry about that. We are still learning...)

Helen Haunts LEAD

Mr. Margraf, the LEAD faculty leader has limited access to e-mail and his cell reception is spotty at the YMCA Camp Takodah. However, he was able to send us a text update on Wednesday about how they are doing out in the woods of NH.  He'll get us some photos when they return for the weekend.

We are having a blast. The boys have been terrific. 

Monday was indoor-get-to-know-you games. Tuesday was building a snow shelter and starting/maintaining a fire in the middle of the woods. The afternoon was spent designing their connections board and deciding on a team name. They are - Fraternity of the Stealth Corner (FOTC). They had to spell the acronym on a white board using a marker in the middle with sixteen strings off it. Each boy pulled two strings taught and they worked together to write the acronym. Last night (Tuesday night) was singing in front of the fire and they put on a good skit. Today (Wednesday) we hiked around Lake Tully and will do knot tying this afternoon. Tomorrow (Thursday) is the low ropes and high ropes course. 

 We are working with two Irish interns (first time in the states; they are both 21), Marit, and Peter (our leaders). Food and lodging are great except the boys have convinced themselves that a ghost, Helen, resides in our cabin. Doesn't help when I hide in a sleeping bag and scare them when they come back from dinner. All for now!

We Can Do Our Winterim Work Anywhere - Florida Next Week?

Hey. Doing some work...

On Thursday, we, the Winterim Social Media Team, which consists of Nate Sintros, Edward Hacala, and Mrs. Poulin, decided to take the Commuter Rail into Cambridge. After the Commuter Rail, we boarded the Red Line towards MIT, and on the train, we ran into The System Winterim group. Edward, being a responsible Social Media Team member, took mental notes of our conversation and wrote a blog article later that morning.

Nate is pretty focused

Our main purpose for coming to Cambridge was to visit the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), which is on Broadway Street in Cambridge, MA. During our visit we worked in a private conference room, the Rangoon, that overlooked Kendall Square. Once we got over our initial giddiness of writing on a "white board" wall and being able to display our computer on a 60 inch wall-mounted TV, we got down to work creating internet content by blogging, tweeting, and posting Winterim news.

The Rangoon Room

After a quick lunch break at Za, (where Mrs. Poulin had the strangest looking salad) we met with the CIC Relationship Manager, Augie Llona. He lead us on a tour of CIC and explained the inner workings of the organization. We observed an open, modern space full of innovative people who were either starting or maintaining companies. As Augie explained to us, if someone has an idea, CIC offers them the space and resources to act upon it and turn it into a successful venture.

The wonderful Social Media Team

While our Winterim project is not about creating a business per say, it is about being creative and resourceful. We are using some of the same social media sites that new businesses starting up now must use in order to advertise their company. We were inspired by the space CIC has to offer to help these businesses be innovative and network.  We hope to do our work from there again next week as it was a good change of scenery and pace from Mrs. Poulin's classroom!  (And Augie is trying to set us up with a tour of Google!

Crushed into the subway train on the way home.
Can you "I Spy" some guy's little eye?

We hope you continue to read the blog! Also follow LA Winterim on Twitter and Instagram or "like" Lawrence Academy Winterim on Facebook!

Ua Mau Ke Ea O Aina I Ka

"The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness" - Hawai'i State Motto

A picture of the coast taken from the group's campsite

For the past week, the students and faculty on the Hawai'i Winterim trip have been spending their time volunteering at Kua O Ka La, a public charter school. During this time the Hawai'i Winterim group has been camping at the school, which is located at Pu'ala'a, Puna, an intact ancient fishing village.

While volunteering at  Kua O Ka La, the Hawai'i group has also been working on projects invoving forestry and agriculture as well as learning about the culture and history of Hawai'i.

Over the second half of Winterim, the Hawaii group will be travelling to places such as Waipo Valley, Kohala, Valcanoes Natural Park and Hilo, to hike up Akaka Falls.

Chess To Make It's Next Move

Over this past week, the Chess Winterim has spent time learning to play the game of Chess and all of the strategies that go behind it. The group has had times of free-play, where the students play one another in order to improve their skills, and also times of situation instruction, where the students learned strategies that can be used in different scenarios.

Leading some of the chess instruction is a highly rated player who once defeated a former Chess World Champion in a simultaneous exhibition.

Today, the students worked on worksheets that showed different arrangements of the chess pieces. From each of these arrangements, the students had to find the moves to secure checkmate.

Next week, the Chess Winterim will be holding a tournament in which all of the students will play through a bracket until there is one victor. For the competition, the group will be traveling to Harvard Square on Wednesday, March 12.

To see the results of the tournament make sure to check the blog following the competition late next week.