It is a lucky thing to be so busy that you forget how hard it was to get through the winter.
This was an awful winter, and not only because of the weather and the seemingly unending storms, ferry problems and crippling cold, but because Project Vine lost a member of our family, and it is hard to take “Keep Growing!” as a motto to heart when there is a branch that won’t grow any farther.
But spring started somewhere along the way and we got busy growing…yet we shouldn’t be so busy that we don’t reflect on the shared experiences that make our program what it is, and so this is a bit of a “catching up” post on our part…and there’s been so much in that regard!
At the end of March, we held our long-awaited re-scheduled “Chopped for Charity” Event, originally planned by our senior class for January, and it was great! Students and staff members competed and judges from the high school and larger community judged dishes prepared out of commonly donated food items. Project Vine generated hundreds of dollars in donations of both food and money to support the Island Food Pantry. Our family had a chance to work together, contribute positively to our Island and have an awesome shared experience. Take a look through our gallery of pictures below!
This was an awful winter, and not only because of the weather and the seemingly unending storms, ferry problems and crippling cold, but because Project Vine lost a member of our family, and it is hard to take “Keep Growing!” as a motto to heart when there is a branch that won’t grow any farther.
But spring started somewhere along the way and we got busy growing…yet we shouldn’t be so busy that we don’t reflect on the shared experiences that make our program what it is, and so this is a bit of a “catching up” post on our part…and there’s been so much in that regard!
At the end of March, we held our long-awaited re-scheduled “Chopped for Charity” Event, originally planned by our senior class for January, and it was great! Students and staff members competed and judges from the high school and larger community judged dishes prepared out of commonly donated food items. Project Vine generated hundreds of dollars in donations of both food and money to support the Island Food Pantry. Our family had a chance to work together, contribute positively to our Island and have an awesome shared experience. Take a look through our gallery of pictures below!
In April, students from our Junior class along with some students from our Enrichment block held a “What’s Good in Gaming?” Summit in partnership with Alex’s Place at the YMCA. This event had student “coaches” explain some major video games to parents and community members, who could then try out some popular games with our students as guides and teachers. We also held a screening that night of Junior Levi Vanderhoop’s documentary “What’s Good About Gaming?” in which he sought to abolish the stereotypes that persist around video games and players. Our students were interviewed by and featured in a story in the High School View section of the MVTimes. Check it out!
Project Vine then held student-led conferences in the evenings the week of April 23rd. Students had the opportunity to explain their own progress in school, their goals and their struggles, to all four of their Project Vine teachers, alongside their parents or guardians. While we know for some this was perhaps the scariest thing we could ask of our students, it was also some of the most gratifying things we as a staff could see, as students took ownership of explaining who we are, who they are, and what it is we try to do here. It is not easy to ask teachers to stay until late in the evening three extra nights in a row, nor is it easy to have students show back up to school hours after the last bells have rung, but it is the commitment to doing those extra things, both from students and staff, that make the Project Vine family keep growing.
And then… students and staff worked to build and paint five new sets of cornhole boards which were auctioned off at our annual Cornhole Tournament last Friday evening. It was a great event with students from all grade levels, community members, program staff and families all eating some cookout, playing some cornhole and raising money that goes to supporting all this crazy stuff we do down here in Project Vine.
And then… students and staff worked to build and paint five new sets of cornhole boards which were auctioned off at our annual Cornhole Tournament last Friday evening. It was a great event with students from all grade levels, community members, program staff and families all eating some cookout, playing some cornhole and raising money that goes to supporting all this crazy stuff we do down here in Project Vine.
This week, we’re headed over to Nantucket to meet their Alternative School students and staff, get a tour of their Island and learn about each other a little bit in the hopes that next year we can have them come over here and give them a tour of what makes our piece of the world so special. We’ll let you know how it goes!
Happy Spring, everyone!
Happy Spring, everyone!