Category Archives: Place-based Education

Place-based Education: Outdoor Explorations

By: Science Program Coordinator, Kelsey Vollmer & Meridian’s Third, Fourth & Fifth Graders

This fall was busy with one of the highlights of Meridian’s Place-Based Program.  Third, Fourth, and Fifth grades all went on overnights in the Pacific Northwest Region to explore and experience the environment around them and make connections to what they have been learning in the classroom.

Third grade concluded their study of ecosystems with their visit to Camp Seymour in the southern Puget Sound area.  Here, they made connections between what they were learning in the classroom, science lab, and Meridian Park to a Pacific Northwest Forest.  Students studies decomposers under microscopes, recreated the life of a salmon, and investigated sea anemone reactions at the tide pool touch tank.

Fourth grade journeyed to Camp Orkila on Orcas Island, spotting Orca whales and discussing the watershed of the Salish Sea along the way.  At camp students were led through a series of team building activities to challenge their understanding of how to work with one another.  We also ventured out on an afternoon hike near Mountain Lake where students spent some time quietly taking in the environment around them and documented their experience in their Meridian nature journals.

Fifth grade connected their study of Lewis and Clark to their place as we headed down to Astoria, Oregon to retrace the footsteps of the expedition.  Students studied and drew the plants Lewis and Clark wrote about in their journals, looked out over the Columbia River and its surrounding watershed at the Astoria Column, and kayaked on Steamboat Slough and the Columbia River around Price Island.

By: Meridian 3rd Graders

We had a blast at Camp Seymour. Every lesson was information-packed, yet none of it was the slightest bit boring. It felt so much more engaging to be there learning in person. There was lots to learn and lots to do, and we were able to make some choices. We not only learned through games but also through observing different aspects of the forest, particularly the undergrowth. There were different activities like hiking to explore levels of the forest from the canopy, as well as learning about insects and marine life by interacting with the animals in a touch tank (it was a little scary). One of the reasons that we love Camp Seymour is the staff. They are nice and helpful, and make learning so interactive and fun! Even the recreational activities we did were mostly educational. Overall we had a wonderful adventure.

By: Meridian 4th Graders

Kelsey joined us at Camp Orkila and taught us a about salmon and their life cycle. Later this year we will have the opportunity to raise salmon, so we are excited to continue learning more. We loved Camp Orkila. It was a good mix of free time, team-building activities and science. We feel lucky to be able to have field trips that are engaging, it makes learning about our environment a lot more impactful.

By: Meridian 5th Graders

The fifth grade trip to Fort Clatsop was really awesome! It’s strange being there because we learn all about it in history books, but it is really something else to be there in person. We’re grateful we get to engage with history in an up close and personal manner. We got to see and experience things (in a more modern way of course) that Lewis and Clark did, and it gave us more context for what we were learning in the classroom. These types of field trips really expand our learning because we can relate back to those experiences and it makes us curious to learn more!

Global Citizenship

By: Guest Blogger, Yaneth Vrentas

Meridian’s commitment to create an equitable and inclusive culture is both inspiring and engaging. It is present in all aspects of our school from institutional practices to program and community. We strive to reflect this continuous and intentional work in our everyday practice. For this reason, we offer opportunities and experiences that challenge and promote growth in cultural competency for our entire school community. At the center of these efforts is each and every Meridian student. Our ultimate goal is to educate culturally competent, well-rounded, critically thinking students who are prepared to be responsible and active local and global citizens. We are continuously enriching our program to achieve this goal.

Our faculty’s current work involves reviewing our curriculum through the lens of our Global Citizenship Framework. Based on the desired outcomes and skills that we want to foster in our Meridian graduates, we integrated global competency with equity and inclusion education based on curriculum frameworks and core standards. Throughout their years at Meridian, students will develop the awareness, skills, and knowledge required to take action and promote positive change locally and globally.

The framework includes four domains: inquire, investigate, innovate and impact, which we refer to as the 4 I’s. Each domain has a set of outcomes that faculty assess within their units. Students discover more about themselves, others, and the world through inquiry and investigation. They learn about identities and cultures and how we all contribute to diversity and enrich our communities. They analyze and consider how our respective experiences and cultures influence our perspectives. By understanding and valuing the existence of multiple perspectives, students to develop critical thinking skills and empathy. Students also thoughtfully discuss natural and social issues and how they affect communities. They develop a sense of responsibility as global citizens and are empowered to collaborate, plan, and take action to change conditions with big or small everyday actions.

Here are some examples:

Kindergarteners have been learning about aspects of identities and families, and considering what makes us who we are and how it can change over time. As a part of this unit they are discussing internal and external identity, cultural and religious celebrations, and the many family structures and traditions that make up our classroom community.

First graders are learning about rights, responsibilities, and what it means to be an actively engaged local and global citizen.

Second graders are investigating how people and place are connected through exploration of how individuals contribute to the many different communities that they are a part of.

Third grades are completing a unit about cultures, systems and values. Students will soon begin analyzing how people affect the environment and how global warming affects communities.

Fourth graders have been learning about Native American perspectives, Washington state history and tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Later this year, students will engage in conversations about civic and human rights.

Fifth graders are researching their family heritage and will begin studying immigrant stories from the past and present in connection with our thematic, regional study of North America this year.

Classroom libraries are also part of our focus as we are intentionally reviewing educational resources to ensure that they reflect inclusion of multiple perspectives and positive representation of different communities.

Other aspects of the program include field trips, guest speakers, classroom workshops, and school assemblies that foster the development of global citizenship skills in our students.

Developing cultural competence as a learning community requires active participation in education, and the willingness to step outside of our comfort zones to ensure that students become true engaged and responsible global citizens.

Parents are encouraged to follow-up at home with meaningful conversations, attend school or local educational series relating to equity and inclusion topics, and to actively participate in the program. For example, at this time we are looking for parent volunteers that would like to teach a workshop during our Global Citizen Symposium on February 23rd! Share how you have created impact and social change through professional work or civic engagement. We will also use the opportunity to learn more about Central America, the Caribbean and North America. Please contact Marika or Yaneth to share names of people that you think could contribute to the symposium.

Being Buddies

By: Meridian Second & Fifth Grade Buddies

Having buddies at Meridian is awesome! It gives younger students a role model to spend their first years at school with, and gives older students a chance to practice setting a good example. Particularly with fifth and second grade buddies, because the fifth graders get to spend their last year at Meridian teaching and helping the second graders during their last year as a younger buddy. Next year, they will get to be role models to Kindergarteners!  It’s really nice to have someone outside of the classroom you can become close with. We love that we have a different buddy each year because it builds new relationships and we can have time to bond with multiple friends across grade levels.

When we interact with the Tilth garden or Washington Green Schools we usually get to do it as buddy pairs, which makes the projects seem even better. When we are in the Tilth gardens we get to engage with the environment in a positive way, which we do a lot at Meridian. It helps to be involved in the environment to actually see what we are learning about in class. It makes it much more personal, and participating with our buddies helps everyone understand how to help others and get involved in improving where you live. We start partnering with Tilth in Kindergarten, and that teaches us responsibility. During Community Service Day, we went off-campus with our buddies to pick up garbage and waste around the neighborhood. It’s important to help your community, and we appreciate those projects a lot, especially since we get to share those experiences with our buddies!

Summer Professional Development

As our students head off on their summer adventures, our teachers prepare for a few weeks of relaxation, travel, quality time spent with friends and family, and continued learning!

Every year, Meridian staff and faculty members participate in a myriad of professional development workshops.  We know that providing our teachers with opportunities to further explore educational best practices is one of the most important and lasting gifts we can give our students. Furthermore, we know that the quality of our students’ educational experience is reflected by the depth of our teachers’ knowledge.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donor community, we raised over $125,000 (to be expended over three years) to support these professional development opportunities.

2016 & 2017 summer learning opportunities include:

Columbia Teachers College Writers Workshop (summer 2016, all teaching faculty)

Columbia Teachers College Readers Workshop (summer 2017, all teaching faculty)

Social Thinking Workshops (summer 2016)

Responsive Classroom Workshops (summer 2017)

Coaching workshop facilitated by nationally renowned educational coach and consultant, Elena Aguilar (summer 2017, Customized Learning Team)

Various workshops related to design thinking, critical thinking, place-based education and other S.T.E.A.M initiatives

Each year, Faculty and Associate Faculty members are also given the opportunity to apply for an Ellen Toole grant to support special professional development opportunities. The Ellen Toole Endowment Fund was established in honor of our founding Head of School, and has been granted to faculty members on an annual basis.

This summer, two of our teachers will be traveling to Peru and Ecuador for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience! Science Program Coordinator, Kelsey Vollmer, and Kindergarten Faculty member, Libby Bode, received The Meridian School’s Ellen Toole grant, as well as a national grant from the organization Fund For Teachers to make this adventure possible.

Their fellowship consists of three learning opportunities. The first is the Educator Academy in the Amazon Rainforest, which is a 10-day workshop at four different rainforest lodges, designed to immerse educators in inquiry and place-based approaches to instruction. Each day they will actively participate in two learning sessions about a variety of topics, including developing a sense of place, habitat and ecosystem study, biodiversity, interconnectedness, field research, inquiry and investigation, and cultural and community connections. At the end of each day, time is given for participants to discuss their learning and ideas with one another.

The second part of the fellowship involves a five-day journey through the mountains and Urubamba Valley to interact with the Quechua people and explore the Machu Picchu region, which will allow for a deeper cultural experience and contribute to The Meridian School’s work around global competency.

Lastly, the grant will allow Libby and Kelsey to experience one final destination. Following their learning in Peru, they will head to the Galapagos Islands to learn about and experience the unique, island ecosystems . They will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station as well as several of the islands to practice their field study techniques.

Throughout their month-long travels, both Libby and Kelsey will be strengthening their understanding of place-based and inquiry-based education and developing skills to promote questioning, curiosity, and connection-making in students. One of their major goals when returning to Meridian  is to implement a more cohesive and integrated scope and sequence for our science and social studies programs, with a focus on place-based education, global competency, inquiry-based projects, and STEAM. They are extremely excited for these adventures and will be eager to share their learning with our community throughout the 2017–2018 school year!

NatureBridge Overnight Trip

By Meridian 5th Graders

NatureBridge is a field trip that all of the fifth graders go on at the end of the year. It’s an environmental science camp, and we were there for a whole school week! We went on lots of hikes and we went kayaking on Lake Crescent. We learned  about  forests, watersheds, tidepools, the Elwha River, and water tables in general. There were fun activities with water to cool us off! We played games and stayed up really late (which made getting up in the morning harder). Another school was there there too so we had opportunities to make new friends. This was definitely the longest overnight trip we’ve had, and it was even more fun than we expected!

This trip helped us feel really connected to nature. It’s a science field trip so it is educational, as well as a time to be together as a group one last time before graduation. It makes sense that we would end the year with it because it’s a really big part of our place-based education! Some of our favorite parts of the trip were just being in nature together and talking into the night in our cabins. Everyone was kind of sad because we  are all leaving Meridian soon, and some of us are going to different schools, but it’s also happy and exciting that we’re moving on to a new part of our lives. It’s bittersweet.

For incoming fifth graders, we want to make sure you know that this trip is amazing and so much fun!

Don’t be surprised if everyone starts crying at the last campfire. It’s a little bit emotional. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of our favorite experiences at Meridian!

Spotlight on Service Learning

What is Service Learning?  Service Learning is an approach to teaching and learning that integrates community service with classroom learning. It results in meaningful projects where students’ efforts benefit their community while they gain experience in civic responsibility and teamwork, and deepen their knowledge of core curricular themes.

Each year, grade levels partner with a different , local organization and engage in service learning projects. Last week, students presented their learning to the entire school community.

Kindergarteners worked with Tara, the Good Shepherd Center gardener, to maintain and care for a garden on campus. In connection with Global Studies, students explored ocean pollution and learned how we can protect the planet by reducing, reusing and recycling!

First Graders partnered with local nonprofit organization, City Fruit, to care for the fruit trees in Meridian Park’s orchard.

Second Graders partnered with Mary’s Place, and learned what they can do to raise awareness and support those who are homeless in Seattle. Second graders and their fifth grade buddies also continued their work with Washington Green Schools.

Third Graders coordinated and ran a school-wide community needs project with the Asian Counseling and Referral Service. ACRS is a local organization that promotes social justice and the well-being and empowerment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.

Fourth Graders raised salmon, and learned how environmental factors impact the salmon life cycle and population. They released the salmon in Piper’s Creek, and supported habitat renewal with the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery.

Fifth Graders completed a project with Washington Green Schools and their second grade buddies, and maintained a year-long partnership with FamilyWorks, volunteering at the local Wallingford food bank each month.

By Meridian K-5th Graders

Service learning is a big project that we do here at Meridian, across all the grades. We learn about people, animals, and places in need and about causes, nonprofits and charities that support them. We learned that some nonprofits help people get the things they need to survive so they can have a better life, not just live from day to day. Service learning is important because we’re actually doing things, not just talking about it.

This year in particular many of our projects tied into Global Studies, so it’s educational and helpful! We as a school like to give back. Our school motto is Meridian Cares–I care for myself, I care for others, I care for my place. Service learning does all three! It improves our place by keeping the environment clean and safe, it helps others when we volunteer with nonprofits that give people safe places to live and things that they need, and it helps ourselves because you feel good when you are learning what you can do to help. Service learning is great because you’re taking care of places and other people, which isn’t something that happens a lot, especially since we’re kids.

We always talk about how where you live affects how you live, and it’s really easy to see that when we are doing service learning. We are looking forward to continuing it at Meridian, but also just in general in our lives. This type of learning helps us be prepared for the future, and not everybody gets those experiences so it’s important to learn how we can help so we can teach others later!