Dill
04-26-2012, 02:14 PM
Jim Davis helps both Josh and I out quite a bit during the season. And its good to see a program like this get some recognition. My mother drives a school bus for this school and kids are always pointing out which trees are "theirs" for the season.
Tree #75 began sweet history at Moharimet School
By DENNIS HARRINGTON
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tree Number 75 rises majestically in the morning sky. It is a Sugar Maple located as one twists onto the fire road exiting Moharimet School. Unlike the two Sugar Maples that adorn the entrance and sparkle in the sun in late October with a kaleidoscope of brilliance, it could go unnoticed for most, because it is far out of our visual field. It is the most important Maple on the site. It was the first tree tapped by teachers in the early '90's.
Sugaring began at Moharimet as Helen Kemp and Joan Whittier tapped the tree and boiled the little sap, until it produced the first syrup for a few children in first and second grade. A year later Steve Tullar and Mark Milliken, two intermediate teachers, began in earnest collecting resources to create learning opportunities outside the school for the children in their classes. They constructed a makeshift boiler out of an old rejected stove in the rear of the parking lot, and began by acquiring white buckets discarded by nearby restaurants. They taught themselves a rudimentary process for boiling and spent hours researching, asking questions and trying their best to do their best with what they had as resources.
A parent, Jim Davis and his clan joined Mark, Steve, their wives and children as they spent countless hours dedicated to the mission of creating learning opportunities outside the four walls our school. In late February and all of March these three families spent time piling wood, building fires, keeping warm and building a tradition. They had a passion for learning and realized as educators, that student engagement is paramount if school is to be meaningful.
Steve and Mark's classes enjoyed the collecting of sap, the writing of stories, the science, the mathematics, the art and the joy of it all. Other classes began to observe and join in. Interns from UNH made it possible for some boiling to happen in the school day, so that other classes could observe what was happening. John Powers, the superintendent, wanted to see. Later on a new superintendent, Tom Carol, wanted to see and school board members wanted to see. The sugaring community began to emerge.
Years passed, Mark left and Steve asked the principal if his third and fourth grade class could build a sugar house in 2000. The principal was shown a model which still exists and is an artifact of the project. He said yes without hesitation, but that no funds could be expended from the budget. "Not to worry," said Steve. He collected money, community members with skill, and the UNH resources. Don Black, Strafford County Extension Forester, helped in the project. Steve has said that the project would not have happened without Don being a friend of Moharimet.
Steve's class of third and fourth graders helped mill the lumber from our site, with the assistance of Professor Don Quigley of UNH. Two interns, Sarah Larson-Dennen and Jon Marshal, who have since become teachers, joined him. Tony Lee became a partner in the project and his class along with Steve's used ropes and pulleys to raise the timber frames using Simple Machines, Science curriculum.
They assembled volunteers and finally completed a post and beam structure that will probably outlast the school. It was a joyous day in 2001 when the children in two classes and some of their parents, helped to raise the structure and finally with a community effort completed the process. We now had a sugar house and boiling apparatus to go with it.
Spring of 2001 saw the assimilation of the entire school population into the culture. A committee of staff was formed to plan and carry out preparation for the season that is ongoing and yearlong. Parents and community volunteers are a vital part of the infrastructure. An annual plan for sharing the learning that takes place has been created.
Now all staff and children beginning in kindergarten participate by collecting sap every year and experiencing the learning environment that the culture has established. Steve left to become a principal in Vermont but the tradition continues. We have good years and bad years and everything in between. There is never a failure because there is something to learn from different situations every year.
Over the last few years the Niland family, Jim Davis and Dick Houghton have been the leaders, boilers and guides as we have improved the collection process, included sap from nearby sites, and opened the sugar house to other schools. The crowning glory of the sugaring season has been the emergence of the Annual Pancake Breakfast. Christina Dolcino, now a first-grade teacher, was the architect of the first several pancake breakfasts. The breakfast is a celebration of the children's learning and the harvesting of our syrup. We usually serve over 900 breakfasts at the end of March or early in April every year.
The taste of Moharimet is definitely maple and may it always be so, as future generations arrive, walk between the twin maples and enter our school.
Tree #75 began sweet history at Moharimet School
By DENNIS HARRINGTON
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tree Number 75 rises majestically in the morning sky. It is a Sugar Maple located as one twists onto the fire road exiting Moharimet School. Unlike the two Sugar Maples that adorn the entrance and sparkle in the sun in late October with a kaleidoscope of brilliance, it could go unnoticed for most, because it is far out of our visual field. It is the most important Maple on the site. It was the first tree tapped by teachers in the early '90's.
Sugaring began at Moharimet as Helen Kemp and Joan Whittier tapped the tree and boiled the little sap, until it produced the first syrup for a few children in first and second grade. A year later Steve Tullar and Mark Milliken, two intermediate teachers, began in earnest collecting resources to create learning opportunities outside the school for the children in their classes. They constructed a makeshift boiler out of an old rejected stove in the rear of the parking lot, and began by acquiring white buckets discarded by nearby restaurants. They taught themselves a rudimentary process for boiling and spent hours researching, asking questions and trying their best to do their best with what they had as resources.
A parent, Jim Davis and his clan joined Mark, Steve, their wives and children as they spent countless hours dedicated to the mission of creating learning opportunities outside the four walls our school. In late February and all of March these three families spent time piling wood, building fires, keeping warm and building a tradition. They had a passion for learning and realized as educators, that student engagement is paramount if school is to be meaningful.
Steve and Mark's classes enjoyed the collecting of sap, the writing of stories, the science, the mathematics, the art and the joy of it all. Other classes began to observe and join in. Interns from UNH made it possible for some boiling to happen in the school day, so that other classes could observe what was happening. John Powers, the superintendent, wanted to see. Later on a new superintendent, Tom Carol, wanted to see and school board members wanted to see. The sugaring community began to emerge.
Years passed, Mark left and Steve asked the principal if his third and fourth grade class could build a sugar house in 2000. The principal was shown a model which still exists and is an artifact of the project. He said yes without hesitation, but that no funds could be expended from the budget. "Not to worry," said Steve. He collected money, community members with skill, and the UNH resources. Don Black, Strafford County Extension Forester, helped in the project. Steve has said that the project would not have happened without Don being a friend of Moharimet.
Steve's class of third and fourth graders helped mill the lumber from our site, with the assistance of Professor Don Quigley of UNH. Two interns, Sarah Larson-Dennen and Jon Marshal, who have since become teachers, joined him. Tony Lee became a partner in the project and his class along with Steve's used ropes and pulleys to raise the timber frames using Simple Machines, Science curriculum.
They assembled volunteers and finally completed a post and beam structure that will probably outlast the school. It was a joyous day in 2001 when the children in two classes and some of their parents, helped to raise the structure and finally with a community effort completed the process. We now had a sugar house and boiling apparatus to go with it.
Spring of 2001 saw the assimilation of the entire school population into the culture. A committee of staff was formed to plan and carry out preparation for the season that is ongoing and yearlong. Parents and community volunteers are a vital part of the infrastructure. An annual plan for sharing the learning that takes place has been created.
Now all staff and children beginning in kindergarten participate by collecting sap every year and experiencing the learning environment that the culture has established. Steve left to become a principal in Vermont but the tradition continues. We have good years and bad years and everything in between. There is never a failure because there is something to learn from different situations every year.
Over the last few years the Niland family, Jim Davis and Dick Houghton have been the leaders, boilers and guides as we have improved the collection process, included sap from nearby sites, and opened the sugar house to other schools. The crowning glory of the sugaring season has been the emergence of the Annual Pancake Breakfast. Christina Dolcino, now a first-grade teacher, was the architect of the first several pancake breakfasts. The breakfast is a celebration of the children's learning and the harvesting of our syrup. We usually serve over 900 breakfasts at the end of March or early in April every year.
The taste of Moharimet is definitely maple and may it always be so, as future generations arrive, walk between the twin maples and enter our school.