Great Works School

Great News from Marshwood Great Works School
Marshwood Educators Sara Allis and Wendy Shaw made a presentation to the Marshwood School Board. It was very well received by the School Board members. Here is their summary.
To view the school board presentation made by Sara Allis and Wendy Shaw go to: https://www.rsu35.org/page/boa... and click on Great Works RREV Award Presentation.
Marshwood Great Works School Ventures Outdoors
Authors: Wendy Shaw and Sara Allis
If you happen to be driving past Marshwood Great Works School (MGWS) during the school day, don’t be surprised to see classrooms of students out and about. Time spent outdoors at MGWS is not just for recess anymore!
In October of 2022, Marshwood Great Works School was the recipient of a $100,000 RREV Award from the Maine Department of Education. RREV, Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures, is a state initiative designed to encourage educators to think outside the box to respond to the changing needs of students. The staff at MGWS have long recognized the benefits of outdoor learning and the RREV funds are providing additional stimulus to put ideas into action.
Spearheading this innovation are educators, Sara Allis and Wendy Shaw. With the active involvement of their administrator, Jerry Burnell, they have collaborated with staff and community partners to design a project that would support students now and into the future. The innovation, Great Works Ventures Outdoors, targets three key objectives: student engagement, the development of social-emotional skills, and fostering eco-literacy.
Great Works Ventures Outdoors was designed to offer a range of opportunities to students and staff. The pilot project includes experiential learning opportunities for students, the purchasing of infrastructure and materials needed to grow outdoor learning at MGWS, and professional development opportunities for teachers and staff.
One of the experiential learning opportunities that grew this year was the Woodland and Wonder outdoor learning class. During this special course, every MGWS student was able to explore the impacts of weather, observe the biodiversity of nature, and build debris shelters all while developing cooperative problem-solving skills. In addition, every fourth and fifth-grade student had the opportunity to travel to a local preserve, hike, play nature-based games, and collect data on the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid. Students learned to identify hemlock trees, as well as, identify and record the presence of this invasive insect. This work provided students with the experience of being active citizen scientists working to understand a real ecological problem confronting Maine.
Community partnerships with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Great Works Regional Land Trust, and the University of New Hampshire’s Browne Center have also grown as a result of this award. Through these partnerships, all MGWS students have engaged in the exploration of the Negutaquet Conservation Area. Smaller cohorts of students have studied vernal pools, engaged in efforts to identify and mitigate the impact of invasive plants on school grounds, and practiced orienteering skills. In addition, every fourth-grade class has joined an outdoor educator from the Browne Center to grow their capacity to collaborate, negotiate, and solve problems while outdoors. Later this year, these classes will conclude their work with a trip to the Browne Center for a “challenge by choice” ropes course experience.
Other components of the RREV innovation include infrastructure to expand outdoor learning opportunities for MGWS students. Projects coming include a hammock grove, a meditation space, a fruit orchard, and a tree stand structure. Outdoor learning at MGWS would not be possible without the engagement of staff and the support of their principal, the district, and the school board. Reimagining the way students are taught isn’t easy but the outdoors offers options that may not be possible within the walls of a traditional classroom. For the student that is wiggly and needs room to move, or the student that needs to learn by doing, or that student whose strengths are ‘nature smarts’-the outdoors is a space that allows for success. “We have amazing kids at MGWS and we want them to be engaged and curious. Learning outdoors is a great way to make this happen.