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When Planets and People Align

When Planets and People Align

(Photo Credit: Ehsan Sanaei)

By Deanna Meadows-Shrum, Hershey Montessori School Marketing & Communications Director

 

We are in a season in which social distance is not only recommended, but for many, a requirement. We have spent most of the last year physically distanced from our students, our colleagues, our friends, and even from much of our family. However, this is 2020, and it seems that anything is possible – the sky is the limit, so to speak – and it is exactly in the sky where, through the month of December, we will see two rebel planets appearing to defy their own social distance norm. Yes, although Saturn and Jupiter began appearing closer to each other this past summer, beginning mid-December, the proximity of these two rebel planets will greatly narrow and cause a spectacle you don’t want to miss.

On December 21st, these two giant planets will appear just a tenth of a degree apart, which NASA describes as “about the thickness of a dime held at arm’s length”! NASA goes on to explain that the two planets and their moons will be visible in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope.

Saturn and Jupiter are actually separated by more than 400 million miles, but in the night sky, they will appear closer than what has been seen in centuries. They will appear to touch and form one large, bright and brilliant star in the sky. This alignment is known to astronomers as a “great conjunction”.

Astronomers tell us that the last time Jupiter and Saturn were this close to each other was in July 1623. A conjunction also took place in 2000, but it was hard to recognize. A closer alignment between these two planets hasn’t been seen since March 4, 1226.

Interestingly, some are saying a holiday connection is also at work. Some astronomers have postulated that in Christianity, the Star of Bethlehem, said to have guided three wise men to the birth of Jesus Christ, was a conjunction like the one set to appear later this month — although no one can say which planets may have been involved.

In true 2020 fashion, isn’t it curious that we will see this historically close alignment of two planets, creating the appearance of the most brilliantly illuminated star seen in centuries? And, it is all happening on December 21st, which is the winter solstice, also known as the darkest day of the year!

Maybe this cosmic event is merely a celestial coincidence, but after all the world has experienced this year, it serves as a great reminder that light does overcome darkness and hope dispels discouragement. And like these two planets, our Hershey community aligns its light of hope for humanity and a better future to illuminate encouragement and inspiration to others.

I am ever so grateful for the light that shines through our Hershey staff, students, and families. May we all continue to shine brightly throughout this holiday season and beyond!

 

Note to fellow stargazers: the best viewing is said to take place in the southwestern sky 45 minutes after sunset on December 21st.

 

New Beings Are In Creation

New Beings Are In Creation

By Judy Kline-Venaleck, Associate Head of School and Huntsburg Campus Director

“The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.” ~ Dr. Maria Montessori

Dr. Montessori regarded the period of adolescence as a time of great vulnerability. She compared the years of early adolescence (ages 12-15) to the first three years of life. Just as the infant requires careful attention and diligence, so too does the young adolescent. For both stages of development, and as author Paula Polk-Lilliard writes…”a new being is in creation…”.

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating our societal (and political) climate seems to be metaphorically mirroring the development of the adolescent. Just as the adolescent is seeking to join society, many adults in our current social landscape are also feeling the push and pull of how to navigate a transition. Dr. Montessori stated that adolescence is a period of self-construction and they are seeking to “understand people’s behavior in the world as a whole…”

As adolescents are on their journey of seeking this understanding, it is the job of the guide, the teacher, the mentor and the parent to appropriately respond to the questions. HOW we respond matters. And within the response lies the opportunity to provide space, present possibilities and create safety for these young adults to continue to seek the answers in making sense of the world. And ultimately, this allows them to find the courage and confidence to share their own viewpoints and voice.

Order and Beauty Prevail

Order and Beauty Prevail

By Judy Kline-Venaleck, Associate Head of School and Huntsburg Campus Director

Order…things in their place. It means a knowledge of the arrangement of objects in the child’s surroundings, a recollection of the place where each belongs. And this means that he can orient himself in his environment, possess it in all its details. We mentally possess an environment when we know it so as to find our way with our eyes shut, and find all we want within hands’ reach. Such a place is essentially for the tranquility and happiness of life.” ~ Dr. Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

In the past several months, the Coronavirus has certainly turned our sense of order upside down. Covid’s impact — on how we educate our students, the economy, working remotely, juggling our family’s emotional well-being, racial strife and a divisive political landscape — is like nothing we have had to address in our modern society. Dr. Montessori emphasized order and beauty for children of all ages for a variety of reasons. For adolescents, emphasizing external order (the classroom, the adult, the response) allows the adolescent to establish their own internal order, which is an essential aspect in their development. Covid has encouraged (albeit forced) us to re-evaluate our established sense of order, so that we may continue to meet the adolescent’s needs and promote both safe and healthy social development. It has been a joy to see the students re-emerge from this displaced sense of order of the past several months to both re-establish, and continue to develop, their own internal order. As they do so, we will continue to be by their side guiding, encouraging, and fostering new pathways. These adolescents show us every day the resilience that is their foundation, the perseverance of their spirit and the essential pathway of hope.

Farm News –  Holy Pumpkins!

Farm News – Holy Pumpkins!

By Joyce Cole, Hershey Montessori School Farm Manager

 

Happy Summer! With this past week’s deluge of rain, I found myself with a little extra time to collect thoughts and pictures and announcements from the farm. I have been eager to share with you.

I hear stories of how the pandemic has afforded a new hobby, or a lifestyle change… Here on the farm, the pandemic has afforded preparation. Everything from the Animal Barn to the Wood Shop to the Bioshelter is experiencing a thorough going-over. The farm and facilities staff have poured their hearts into maintaining, reorganizing and reinvigorating our farm environments for the betterment of our adolescents. Here are just a few happenings on the farm.

 

The Bioshelter

This school year will mark the beginning of a regrowth and revision of our bioshelter. Now over 15 years old, our bioshelter was designed to be an energy-efficient, thriving greenhouse and classroom. It is an amazing resource for our students to learn about the inter-connectedness of life within an ecosystem. After thriving in this way over many years, the time has come to assess the whole system to determine what’s working, what needs improved, and what can be remembered about our original intentions for the bioshelter. We’ll start with rebuilding and realigning its structures – from the panels to the gutters to the raised beds within the greenhouse – bringing the bioshelter ecosystem back to thriving from its very foundation.

 

The Pastures and Barns

Some would say that our barns are pretty empty these days. In my past year as Farm Manager, we lost Harley the pony, and Bart, Tomas, and Tiger Bite – three of our farm cats. We let Ernest the buck go because it was time to mix in new genetics. We raised and harvested chickens to feed our community and refresh our laying hen population. Now we have one horse and six goats sharing a barn and pasture, and two large pigs in the Goat Barn! Well, as with the bioshelter, sometimes we need to take a step back and think about how to move forward. This summer we replanted and electrified the inner horse pasture. When students return, they will have the opportunity to help with wiring the fences for ease of pasture management and animal movement, extending the horse pasture, and repairing the cow stall. We are also implementing new pasture management plans that include taking regular soil samples, fertilizing, and overseeding when needed.

San Marzano tomatoes and Genovese basil

 

The Farm Garden and Market

Finally, I want to take a moment to tell you about our summer gardens. You may remember the huge success of our online plant sale this year. Students started and grew a variety of vegetable plants to outfit our entire community’s gardens. With the long, cool and rainy spring, getting those plants into the gardens on the farm was painfully slow for me and the plants. Well, they finally got planted and though they took a bit of time to recover from being pot-bound, harassed by white flies, cold, and thoroughly drenched, the gardens are now in their full glory! We have so many tomatoes coming in, and just at the stage that is optimal for our students. These are their plants, and they will return to find them ready to harvest.

Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, friend and foe – honeybee + cucumber beetle, eggplant, okra flower, and watermelon

 

You can shop from the Hershey Microeconomy at Adam McKinney’s family farm stand at 12831 Auburn Road in Chardon, Ohio. The Farm Stand will be open from 4 p.m. till dusk on Friday’s, and 9 a.m. till dusk on Saturday’s. There will be lettuce and greens, eggplant, zucchini, and basil available for sale – with complimentary recipes for pesto and fritters, care of Hershey alumna, Makenna Venaleck. Watch for peppers and a few tomatoes coming soon. Please spread the word! If you have a chance to visit the farm, be sure to check out the two large pumpkin patches already bearing loads of fruit. We timed them to be done by Harvest Festival, so picture a pumpkin patch with happy children picking out their favorite jack-o-lantern.

Our market stand and Makenna’s recipe cards 

 

There are two more important points I’d like to mention. One, we couldn’t do what we do without our dedicated residential staff who keep a constant eye on things and happily pitch in with the work of the farm. Sharyn, Joy, Paul, and Stella have all been rotating evening and weekend feed shifts, but they also muck stalls, help in the gardens, and landscape. I mentioned Makenna working on the farm this summer, but I am also extremely grateful for Daniel Jolly, Stella’s husband. Both of them have done everything from muckimg stalls to harvesting chickens to weeding garden beds. 

I am excited to add students to the mix of daily camaraderie, discussion, and steady practical farm work. Our adolescents bring fresh perspective, enthusiasm, and ideas. As a relatively new employee who is still catching my stride, I have been grateful for this time to learn and ponder. I am ready and excited – we all are – to put our students back at the fulcrum of our farm.

 

About the Author: Joyce Cole serves as Farm Manager at Hershey’s Adolescent Campus in Huntsburg, Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Hiram College as well as a post-baccalaureate certification in secondary education from Cleveland State University. For the past 15 years, Joyce has lived with her husband, Tom, and their two children, Ella and Tommy, in rural dwellings outside of Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio. Inspired by a deep curiosity to live sustainably on the land and a long-standing dream to farm, she studied herbalism, worked on farms, and fed her family locally-grown and foraged foods. Joyce is honored to share her passion for farming with Hershey Montessori students and school community.

Are Hershey Graduates Prepared for College?

Are Hershey Graduates Prepared for College?

An Interview with Hershey Montessori School Alumni

Hershey Montessori School delights in welcoming back its graduates and former students. We love to hear how they are tackling life and college after high school. We seek to know how their Montessori education helped shape and prepare them for the paths they chose. We love learning more about where they are today, and how their skills are helping them on life’s journey.

At the last alumni gathering, Hershey graduates shared with us what course of study they are pursuing and what university they are attending. We then asked them to speak to how they felt prepared for where they are on their journey. Below is what they shared.

 

Ilana Rosenheck ’18, Psychology, University of Cincinnati: “I think the farm, or Hershey or Montessori in general, has really prepared us for public speaking. We all did countless presentations and that really developed a confidence in all of us – or most of us. I feel like if we had an issue or a question, we all felt comfortable with going to our professors and talking to them just because we have that close relationship with the staff here. It’s something I feel like traditional schooling won’t teach their students. Hershey taught us about being a functioning adult. I feel like Hershey really prepared us for life.”

 

Cameron Zona ’18, Theater and Entrepreneurship, Lake Erie College: “Yeah, I have to agree. I was here on campus on Monday and I sat in on a class of Middle School students and they were giving presentations, and I was like ‘these presentations are better prepared and they have better public speaking skills than the students that are in some of my college classes.’ I was very impressed. I definitely think that it is something that when students graduate, they have a firm grasp on.”

 

Makenna Venaleck ’18, Chemical Engineering, Ohio University: “I don’t do a lot of presentations or public speaking in my area of study, but I will say that I felt very prepared to talk with my professors and have a little bit of an up because even though a lot of people in STEM are very good at math and science, they can’t really communicate what they are studying or how they are feeling or talk to their professors or to a potential employer. I went to the career fair and I felt very prepared because I could set aside ‘What are my skills? What are things that I am good at?’ and I could have a conversation with someone that maybe would employ me or was a professor. I felt very prepared for interpersonal communication.”

 

Erin Finan ’19, Journalism, Ohio University: “I think Hershey helped me (or Montessori) in a lot of ways, but especially when I went to college and I was trying to find my friend group. The people I connected with like at Hershey really helped me to know the kind of people I wanted to be around and know how to find my tribe. Taking that to college made it a lot easier to find people and know that these were the people that I wanted to spend time with and be around, and that I wanted to form my friend group with. I mean, college has more people so you have to adjust because of that, but you also have to know that there are people like you and for you at college that you’ll be able to connect with in the same way you connect with people here. You might have to look a little bit harder because it’s such a bigger environment, but like I said, Hershey helped me and a lot of us know who we wanted as our friends and the things we value. When we find those [values] in other people, it’s easier to make those connections.”

 

Elise Spintzyk ’18, Psychology, Ohio State University: “I think Hershey prepared us well because we had a lot of leadership opportunities. I think students who are looking to move forward into a graduate program or even to apply for a job are able to step into a leadership role. While you are in college that is something that is really important and important for your resumé. Already having had a leadership role with experience, I can bring that in as a freshman student when applying for a position on an executive board of a club, something in your department, or looking for a research position if that’s something you’re interested in. Those are things that you wouldn’t already be taking with you from most high schools. I think a lot of students haven’t had the opportunity to do so. When you step into those roles when you’re in college, you are very well prepared for them and you’re able to thrive in that position and keep moving forward.”

 

Thank you, alumni, for sharing how your Hershey Montessori School experience and skills have helped aid you in your college education and beyond. We are please that you were able to take leadership, communication, interpersonal skills, public speaking, real-life capabilities, and tools to navigate and find your way in the next steps of your education. We wish you all the best. We truly look forward to seeing you all again very soon!

Interview with Hershey Alumn, Dante Calise

Interview with Hershey Alumn, Dante Calise

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Head of School Paula Leigh-Doyle, met with former Hershey Montessori School student Dante Calise, via Zoom. Paula had several questions, many of them relevant to the times we’re living in. 

Here is their interview conducted in May 2020.

[Paula]  This is Dante Calise. Dante is interviewing with us from his home in Northbrook, Illinois. Dante, why don’t you tell us a little bit about your life journey? How old were you when you started Montessori?

[Dante]  Sure! My parents like to say I was Montessori from the womb. Both of my parents are in Montessori education — they’re both trained in elementary and adolescent. My mom also worked as a toddler and primary teacher. I attended a primary Montessori school where I was taught by another family member, my aunt, at Countryside Day School. In 7th grade, I moved on to Hershey, and I was at the Hershey farm school (Huntsburg Campus) from 7th-9th grade, when at the time, Hershey did not have an upper school. I then went on to the Montessori high school at University Circle in Cleveland through 12th grade. I then ended up at the University of Delaware for my undergraduate, which I am now just finishing off. There, I studied molecular biology. I participated in a lot of research and am now headed off to the University of Wisconsin to start a PHD program in microbiology in August.

[Paula]  Wow, that’s so exciting. So you’ve been accepted into that program?

[Dante]  Yeah, I have.

[Paula]  Congratulations, and so we have a few topics that we would like you to share some reflections on. When you reflect back on Montessori and your life experiences and environments, how do you think it has affected the path you’re choosing now, how it has contributed to your involvement with the community or the environment? How were you able to adapt to the academic expectations in college after being in Montessori schools? During this time of great challenge with COVID-19, and having to move onto your PHD program, what are some of the things that have helped you navigate challenge?

[Dante]  I’ve been in Montessori all my life, up until college, which in a sense I feel like is quite similar to Montessori itself. I think that having had a Montessori education and background really created my excitement and interest for learning. That really is what has determined the trajectory of my academic career as well as I think my professional future. I’m going into research as I said, and really what drew me to research was just the fact that it’s kind of an opportunity to be a student for life. I’m always learning. Before the high school level there were no quantitative grades that I received and I always had control over what I wanted to learn and the paths that I wanted to follow.

[Paula]  So as you mentioned that you didn’t have grades when in the younger years of Montessori, you were measuring your own work and choosing your own course of learning.

[Dante] Yes, so I think that the lack of quantitative and comparative evaluation against other students and my ability to choose what I was learning really let me get excited about the material and excited about the learning. I think if I had been receiving scaled feedback early on, it may have discouraged me from really committing to what was really important and that was the content. So I think that was a big part of how I grew to love to learn.

[Paula]  When you got grades either in high school or in college, was that hard for you to move into that world?

[Dante]  Interestingly, the first formal letter grades that I ever received were in 9th grade at Hershey and I actually was kind of excited. By that point I’d had enough time to learn to love school and really to fall in love with the classroom. I saw them as an opportunity to show my commitment to learning and into the material. It was exciting to see that someone acknowledged my commitment. I found that it was a pretty smooth transition.

[Paula]  Did you have any real stretches academically in your undergrad?

[Dante]  One of the biggest challenges for a lot of people in college is the shift from high school to college in terms of self-advocacy and the amount of self-advocacy that’s necessary. College almost always is larger than the high school you went to and there are thousands of students and many busy faculty members. You need to advocate for yourself a lot more than you might have in high school. I think people really do struggle with that in college. I think that having so much control and having to take initiative in my own education in the Montessori setting set me up very well to be able to succeed in college. I already knew how to reach out and advocate for myself quite well.

[Paula]  Your relationship with your professors, how did you navigate that? It was easy for you to advocate for yourself?

[Dante]  I didn’t have really have any trouble with my relationships or any interactions with professors. I generally had very good relationships with professors. Many professors I expect to remain in contact with after I graduate this month. I definitely think that is related to my education beforehand. At Hershey, there was always a very mutually respectful, and I would say mutually invested, relationship between teachers and students. I took that with me as I went on to college and not so much assumed but decided that’s how I wanted it to be in college as well. I would say that I never had any resistance from professors. I didn’t go to every professor’s office hours but when there was something that I wanted to talk about after classes, I would have thirty or forty minute conversations with them. I often got complements from professors about that, which showed that they really did appreciate it.

[Paula]  Not every student in college has the confidence to initiate conversation with a teacher or someone that they think, thinks differently to them, and you seem to have ease with that. How about collaboration with peers, what was that like at college level?

[Dante]  One aspect of college that is a challenge to many incoming students is moving away from home. One part of that is potential homesickness, and learning to live independently. Another part of this is also living in a physical space with other people. I already had that advantage from living at Hershey and the high school. I think especially having gone to boarding school, it prepared me well for any sort of work I would have to do with my peers in college. I would say I’ve really only had positive relationships with peers in the past four years, and I think a lot of that has to do with the skills I came in with.

[Paula]  It sounds like you had the tools you needed to take on challenging problems, and they didn’t become big problems because you seemed to have the tools to manage them.

[Dante]  Yes, whether I’d seen the problems before or just had the skills, I was basically able to overcome any hurdles I saw in college.

[Paula]  So, a PHD in microbiology, tell us a little bit about that. You’re a passionate learner, you’re curious about everything in the world, from language to science. You’re narrowing down to this specific field, what’s calling to you about it?

[Dante]  So a few things sort of guided me down this path into microbiology. I would say first was actually a class specific to viruses. My professor was a very engaging teacher and did a very good job of showing the relevance, and certainly that relevance is clear now we’re living in a situation where a virus is wreaking havoc on the world. The second component was the hardest part of finding out which area of biology I would like to pursue after my undergraduate. I fell in love with biology in ninth grade at Hershey. I can’t say I’ve ever heard another student describe a program that even compares to what I got to do. There was such a huge amount of hands-on learning in all the sciences at Hershey, for example, Occupations — that is very hands-on. To be able to go out into 90 acres of forest and document each class of vertebrate, to understand our own soil, to understand our own watershed. That really got me excited about biology. I like to look at things as a whole, so with humans or with animals in general, it’s very difficult to look at them on a whole organism level because they are just so complicated. With microorganisms, I found that I could look at the whole thing at once and I really like that about it.

[Paula]  At that notion, of seeing the whole and that notion of the interaction and interdependence of an organism within an environment and how it works as a whole, seems to be a common thread in alumni that I’m hearing from. To say I don’t want to know just this one thing inside a box, I want to know all the parts and how they interact and relate to each other.

[Dante]  Yes, and the idea of how one component fits into a bigger system has a lot to do with the importance of Montessori and the importance of a community that you leave Montessori with. I always think of my own impact on others and my own impact on the community, and that’s definitely true for biological things too.

[Paula]  Yes, and my goodness, your contribution to community in your study, its going to contribute to humanity.

[Dante]  That was part of the attraction of biomedical research for me. I’ve always known I’ve needed to do something that did something for someone. I think I’m young, but I do think about the impact that people leave after they’re gone on the world, and I really think it’s measured in the impact you’ve had on others. When I think about the science of it, that’s what it boils down to, is you leave some physical matter yes, but how you are remembered is what you are after you’re gone. I just think, well, what is the point, if not to help others have it better?

[Paula]  Beautifully said, so you really have a wisdom beyond your years. If I come back and interview you when you’re 90, and I’m wondering… you probably will be saying the same thing. So studying science and studying things like a virus is going to be really meaningful and helpful for us as an entire civilization. Also just how we interact on our earth and how we are effecting all the aspects of the planet and how we can better live on it. During these challenging times, how have you been able to manage your stress?

[Dante]  I will say, I do think Montessori has, for this COVID specific situation that we’re in right now, I think Montessori definitely equipped me, in very unique ways, that perhaps other people might not have. That’s really the sense of community membership and seeing yourself in the greater picture — and it matters. What I do really matters. Every little thing can impact someone else, and that’s absolutely true of the situation we’re in right now. I think those raised in Montessori have that advantage in the fact that they already recognize their impact on the world around them. So in a time where it really matters, they’re ready to do their best as citizens of the world.

[Paula]  That’s beautiful, that gives me hope. I think you’re a bit of an optimist in a realist because you’re grounded in science and human history. You’ve studied how humans behave and respond, yet I hear an optimistic voice that you’re prepared to change path and the next challenge will give you more information and it’ll keep influencing where you go next. I think at the core, your self-awareness and your awareness of others is a beautiful, powerful thing and that’s influencing your choices and it benefits us all.