From June 18 – 26, Renee will be traveling with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, as one of ten chosen participants on their Educators of Excellence Ecuador Institute. This will be a learning experience for everyone. You follow the team’s blog posts each day of the trip. Through the blog, you can join Renee as she visits the Heifer International Alpaca Ranch, teaches at a rural school, and hikes Isla de la Plata. The group will be learning about the natural history of the fabulous and fascinating wildlife of Ecuador.
The Museum’s vision is to educate teachers about the natural world, so they, in turn, inspire their students to develop a love for the natural world too. “We want our students to see themselves as part of the global web of life!”
Rainbow Mountain Children’s School’s executive director, Renee Owen, has been chosen as one of ten “Educators of Excellence” in North Carolina to travel to Ecuador this summer with the Museum of Natural Science. The Educators of Excellence Institute programs are designed to give deserving educators an opportunity to learn about the ecology and natural history of other regions. Educators of Excellence Institutes are a learning opportunity for teachers who want to pass on to their students the ability to envision themselves as part of the global web of life.
Renee’s Ecuadoran adventure will be from June 18 – 26. She and her fellow educators will spend time at the Heifer International’s alpaca farm in the highlands of Ecuador, learning about Heifer’s innovative program to reduce poverty in the region. The group will have several days in different regions of Ecuador, learning its natural history. One location is the Isla de la Platas, which is home to many of the same wildlife as the Galapagos Islands. In Palmar, on the Southwestern coast of Ecuador, the group will be working in a rural school teaching classes and working with students and teachers. The team of teachers will meet again in Raleigh, in October, to purchase educational materials for the Ecuador school and design lessons for the 2013 “Educators in Excellence” team.
Congratulations, Renee, for this honor. We are excited for your adventure. If you would like to follow Renee’s trip through Ecuador, the group will be posting a daily blog at http://ecuadorinstitute.wordpress.com. Renee is looking forward to sharing lessons and information about Ecuador and Heifer International with families and students at Rainbow Mountain Children’s School both on the blog and when school starts back up in the fall.
“From the mouth’s of babes…” What a POWERFUL speaker. This girl reminds me of some of the young people who have graduated from Rainbow Mountain.
~Renee Owen (Executive Director)
PS. The video is slightly out of focus, but totally worth it.
One of the most exciting events of the year….The Rainbow Mountain Science Fair…is fast approaching on February 10. Is your child working on collecting their data yet? For some inspiration, here is a video demonstrating how even the simplest science fair project often has intriguing and unexpected results. You won’t want to eat another non-organic sweet potato after watching it!
By the way, Rainbow Mountain students score exceptionally high (averaging 80th – 90th percentile compared nationally) on standardized science tests. (Something we don’t usually publish, because we aren’t real into standardized tests.) Attend the Science Fair on February 10, and be prepared to learn something new from our amazing students.
Gifted is an uncomfortable term. It seems to imply that some children are born with more gifts than others, and therefore, are more important or more special. The Multiple Intelligence Theory used at Rainbow Mountain recognizes that all children have gifts in various areas. One child may have musical gifts, while being kinesthetically challenged, for example. A child who may not consider herself to be academically gifted, per se, shines because they are talented in some other area, such as interpersonal skills, and at Rainbow, she will feel special for who she is. Our school’s mission is for all children to have the opportunity to discover and develop their personal gifts and talents.
This article is specifically about educating children who are academically gifted. A large proportion of our population at Rainbow Mountain is academically gifted.
Renee being one with the elk. There is a herd in the meadow.
I just spent two days with teachers in the Great Smoky Mountains on an Elk Trek. It was stunning! I can’t wait to take a group of Rainbow students to some of the same spots! We saw the head bull with his “harem.” We saw males sparring, heard bulls bugling, and watched their herd behavior in the frosty, below freezing high elevation weather. We were outside from 6 am in the morning until 7 pm at night, which is a great way to feel connected to Mother Earth.
Other great sightings: Barred owl, black bear, grouse, wild turkeys, downy woodpecker.
We also learned about some of the effects of air pollution. Snails are believed to be negatively affected by air pollution, because acid rain causes calcium to be leached out of the soil, weakening their shells. Therefore, the snail population is a possible indicator of air quality. Ranger, Susan Sachs, trained us to identify various species of snails. We hunted for snails and collected the data. I found the smallest one — about the size of a pinhead.
Also affected by air pollution are lichens. In teams, we measured the growth and/or decline of lichen on specific trees. Did you know there are over 100 varieties of lichen in the Smoky Mountains?
Two bull elk. The elk were re-introduced to the Smokey Mountains in 2001 and 2002. 57 elk were brought in. The herd is now about 150 and growing.
an average-sized bull elk
An adult bull as seen through a scope
We found 45 snails. This is data that middle school kids and teachers collect for the park service to monitor the effect of air quality on snails.
Liking lichen: Standing next to the black birch with the lichen data our my team collected.
Ranger, Susan Sachs showing us fruticose lichen. Fruticose lichen is sensitive to air pollution.
Rainbow Mountain Children’s School’s executive director, Renee Owen, has been chosen as one of ten “Educators of Excellence” in North Carolina to travel to Ecuador this summer with the Museum of Natural Science. The Educators of Excellence Institute programs are designed to give deserving educators an opportunity to learn about the ecology and natural history of other regions. Educators of Excellence Institutes are a learning opportunity for teachers who want to pass on to their students the ability to envision themselves as part of the global web of life.
Gifted is an uncomfortable term. It seems to imply that some children are born with more gifts than others, and therefore, are more important or more special. The Multiple Intelligence Theory used at Rainbow Mountain recognizes that all children have gifts in various areas. One child may have musical gifts, while being kinesthetically challenged, for example. A child who may not consider herself to be academically gifted, per se, shines because they are talented in some other area, such as interpersonal skills, and at Rainbow, she will feel special for who she is. Our school’s mission is for all children to have the opportunity to discover and develop their personal gifts and talents.
