Voices chanting “Hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, then switch,” fill the Pagosa Center for the Arts.
Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS) students grades K-5 have started their first ‘Peak Week Intensive’ and are warming up their bodies and voices with the theater game “Little Sally Walker”… in preparation for their upcoming community performance of “Winnie the Pooh,” under the guidance of Thingamajig Theatre director Tyler Price Robinson.
This is one of five mixed-age groups of PPOS students participating in Intensives: a unique educational experience for Pagosa Peak Open School students focusing on a subject and covering a variety of state standards.
While the theater group addresses many art, writing, reading, speaking and listening standards, other groups have different focuses this month. Families had options for Spanish, gardening, Jujitsu, cooking, visual arts, biomedical engineering, robotics, camping, hiking, projects, rafting, golf and outer space. Each student got to choose two experiences, each two weeks long.
Last week, PPOS middle school students filled the Pagosa Lodge to prepare for their camping trip that happened this week with PPOS middle school advisor Kelsey Scott. Students camped at McPhee Reservoir and rafted the San Miguel from Placerville to Telluride, studying the ecosystems in the area and classifying flora and fauna.
Another group in the Pagosa Lodge spent their days learning Spanish with Jen Sarkis, PPOS’s third grade teacher.
“I told my mom and dad, when I am done with this, I will probably just be speaking Spanish all the time,” first-grader Alice said.
Students learned the basics of greeting, weather, days of the week and more through games, songs and crafts.
At St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, students gather with PPOS advisor Michala Mecklenburg with an introduction to forensic science where students assume the various roles of crime scene investigator, scientist, and medical examiner in order to collect and evaluate evidence in a problem-solving environment.
Many students got dirty through two intensives: “Forging Gardens and Greatness” and “Where Does Our Food Come From?” In partnership with The Forge, PPOS Advisor Maggie Saunders worked with students on building school gardens. When they were not planting, weeding and building, students got to hit the mat with jujitsu instructors, learning the basics of this martial art.
Meanwhile out at Southern Roots Farm, PPOS Lead Advisor Kelle Bruno worked with a group of K-3 students on planting, cooking and harvesting produce from the farm. Students are learning where food comes from and how it’s grown.
“The concept of ‘Intensives’ is quite common in project-based learning schools across the country, and we are excited to bring this programming to Pagosa Peak Open School,” School Director Angela Reali-Crossland said. “Our amazing staff has tapped into their passions and come up with some really great educational opportunities for our students.”
Each year moving forward, PPOS will offer one week of Intensive programming during the summer. This year, due to the school’s building renovation, students will participate in Intensives for the entire month of June.
Pagosa Peak Open School is a tuition-free public school open to all Archuleta County families. The educational model is built upon Project-Based Learning, a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach, through which students can acquire a deeper understanding through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students in all classes at PPOS engage in multiple projects throughout the year; looking for ways to influence their own community, and create positive change.
Emily Murphy serves as Assistant Director at Pagosa Peak Open School, the first District-authorized charter school in Archuleta County, working with students and staff on curriculum, assessment, instructional strategies and restorative practices.