From Shakespeare to Snuffy Smith

So, this week, it seems to me, represents the great diversity of learning opportunities which makes Sumner Academy unique.  It is why we embrace our independence as a school community as our number one strength.

Our fifth, sixth, and seventh grades are currently on Adventure Education trips.  The fifth grade is at Barrier Island learning about the unique ecosystems of the Atlantic Coast.  This type of hands-on leaning may inspire one of our students to be a marine biologist.  

Our sixth and seventh graders are at a YMCA Camp in North Carolina working on team building strategies and learning about forest ecosystems.  This allows them to set personal and team goals and work together to meet those goals.  This type of training could inspire one of our students to work in counseling, personnel, or group dynamics.

In LC II, it’s all about apples this week!  Thursday culminates their study with a morning full of apple activities and a visit from Johnny Appleseed.  Being exposed to this type of learning may lead one of our students to work in the field of green technology and building a more sustainable environment.  Johnny Appleseed would certainly be as well received today as he was in the late 1700s.

Our eighth graders have a very busy week as well.  Half of the Class of 2014 will be performing their silent movies.  Written, acted and directed by themselves, this project takes many of our students out of their comfort zone and allows them to express themselves artistically.  It could be the start of the next Martin Scorsese or Alfred Hitchcock right here on our Sumner stage!

Eighth graders also are performing the Shakespeare play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  They have worked relentlessly on their lines and blocking for Thursday night’s performance.  We may see the next Meryl Streep or Harrison Ford on our stage that night!

The week culminates with all of our PK – 8^th grade students being visited by John Rose, political cartoonist and author and artist of Snuffy Smith.  John is the third artist to draw the Snuffy Smith strip.  During his assemblies, John will talk about his life as an artist and how he got to where he is today.  He will also show the students how to draw different characters from the comic strip.  Who knows...John may be talking to a future political satirist or artist.

As parents, the best thing we can do for our children is to provide opportunities and options for their future.  Sumner Academy provides numerous opportunities for its students to live, learn and grow.  Through these opportunities, we live our mission statement every day here: Helping discover and cultivate each child’s unique abilities.

Diamonds in the Rough

I would like to confess something…I know I should be reading or anything more constructive than watching television, but I just can’t turn off American Pickers when it comes on the History Channel.  Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are the co-hosts who travel the country in search of junk that they can turn into treasure.  They go through attics, barns, out buildings, you name it, all in search of rare pieces of American history and something on which they can make a buck.  Many of you have probably been to their store in Nashville.

When I record the show, I try to fast forward to them digging around places for hidden treasures.  That is my focus for the show, not the banter between them and/or Danielle who holds down one of their storefronts in Iowa.  I like that thrill of the search.

These guys, who are searching for a diamond in the rough, remind me of comments I hear about Sumner Academy’s teachers.  They work very hard to determine the gifts our children have and the mission of our school reflects the shows basis premise, ”Our mission is to help discover and cultivate each child’s unique abilities.”  Mike and Frank can look at a pile of rusted iron and pull out something that is important and valuable.  The same is true for our teachers.  They see different qualities in our students and enrich them to create a more well-rounded individual.

Help us spread the good news about Sumner Academy’s teachers.  Please share your experiences with your friends and families.  YOU are our best marketing outlet!