Pacem Learning Community

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courses, academic year 2010-11

Our classes are geared towards ages 10-18 and are designated as level I, II, III, or IV. The level is an indicator of where the course comes in Pacem’s progression and of the teacher’s goals and expectations. Suggested age levels are as follows: Level I: 10-12, Level II: 12-14, Level III: 14-16, Level IV: 15-18. Contact us if you need help determining which classes would be best for your child. Please note that level III and IV classes are not introductory courses. They contain more complex and sophisticated material and require longer periods of focused attention and more developed skills.

Classes need to be fully enrolled, 5 – 8 students per class by July 15th, to run. Those which are under-enrolled by the registration deadline, will be cancelled unless parents make arrangements with Pacem to pay the difference in tuition income or help fill the class by August 15th.

art studio: fine and performing arts

Pacem’s Art Studio follows a four-year cycle. Each year Pacem’s Art Studio will provide a class which focuses on one visual skill while also exploring a variety of techniques and various media. In the first year Art Studio focuses on observation, the second, composition, the third, color, the fourth, rhythms, patterns and storytelling in art. The first four levels do not have to be taken consecutively, however, it is highly encouraged to take all four levels to gain a strong foundation in the visual arts. Because of this, older students who may want to fill in classes may and can take Level I or II classes.
Beyond these classes, both traditional and avant-garde elective classes are offered.

The Pacem arts program includes the fine arts, design, music, dance, poetry, drama, cinema, and crafts and focuses on: exposure to, observation and appreciation of great artists and different art forms; exploration of different materials; and self-expression in the act of creation. Since creative freedom is an underlying principal at Pacem, we seek to expose students to the various rules in art so that they know how to break them if they choose.

For performing arts opportunities, please see the Literature section for The History of Drama, and the Extracurricular section for Choreo: Exploring Choreography and Spyglass Theater.

Art Studio Four Year Cycle I/II
Observation: Through the Looking Glass: Art from Nature – Amy Thornton-Kelly
Thursday afternoons 1:15-3:00
Skills and techniques:
Observation, drawing, collage, sculpture
Media:
Charcoal, watercolor pencil, collage, wire, clay
Exposure to art history:
John James Audubon, Pierre Bonnard, Judy Cotton, Nancy Macko, Claude Monet, Tawee Nandakwang, Georgia O’Keefe, Vincent Van Gogh, Frank Lloyd Wright

Nature provides us with an infinite array of fascinating and beautiful patterns, colors, and textures. In this class we will focus on observation and practice communicating what we have seen through our art using a variety of media. We will go out and forage locally, find items from nature, bring them back to the classroom and examine them under a microscope or loup (used by photographers to look at their contact sheets). From our observations we will create art works using different mediums. We will focus on the designs, colors, and textures we observe in nature to use in our art.

In this class we also learn the basic operating principles of Pacem’s Art Studio: Take care of your tools and they will take care of you. Everyone cleans up before leaving. Listen. Listen to you inner voice. Draw what you hear. Keep an open mind. Try new things. Try your best. Focus. Be respectful of each other and yourself. Help each other. Give only positive comments about your work or another person’s work. Never compare.

Art Studio Elective III
20th Century and Early Indigenous Art: Exploring the Connection - Amy Thornton-Kelly
Monday afternoons, 1:15-3:00
Skills and techniques:
Printing, painting, sculpture, patterning, geometric abstractions, visual metaphor
Media:
Wire, clay, wood, fabric, acrylic paint, wood block/linoleum print materials, creative basketry, textile arts.
Exposure to art history:
The traditional, indigenous arts of Africa, Oceania, and North America
Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, Alberto Giacometti and others
We will be referring to the text, Primitivism and Twentieth-Century Art: A Documentary History
Edited by Jack Flam with Miriam Deutch.

Why did 20th century artists incorporate indigenous art into their work? What did they see that inspired them? Students will explore the connection between 20th century modern art and art from indigenous cultures by becoming familiar with the artworks of Picasso, Brancusi, Giacometti, and others, and their indigenous inspirations. Students will create original artworks using these artists as an inspiration but not as sources to replicate. Although, there is a art history element to this class, students will spend most of their time creating artwork.

This class corresponds with CHPS IV: Conflict, Nonviolence, and Change in the Twentieth Century, CHPS Studies III: The Story Never Ends: Indigenous Cultures of North America , Literature III: American Journeys.

Art Studio Elective III/IV
Swish!: Multi-Media Performing Arts aka Theater of Invention – Amy Thornton-Kelly
Tuesday afternoons, 1:15-3:00
This class is open to Level III with permission from the instructor.
This is where it’s at – the merging of all your fine and performing arts skills, behind and in front of the curtain. We will turn the art world on its head and combine media and art forms to create exciting and experimental fine and performance art pieces. Combinations that we will explore will include performance storytelling and poetry, oversized poster design as props, movement with musical instruments and props, painting and poetry inspired from the east Asian cultural tradition, sculpture as clothing, computer graphics and fabric as set design, computer and media technicians as performers, and more. We will be viewing videos of multi-media performers such as Zimmerman & de Perrot, Mayhem Poets, Suspended Cirque, and other multi-media performers. We will present our fall and winter work at the Showcase of the Arts.

culture, history, and peace studies (CHPS)

Pacem’s Peace, History and Cultural Studies classes weave social science content and a variety of academic skills together while examining key questions about how human beings live together, locally and globally, today and in history.

Culture, History, and Peace Studies (CHPS) I: History Alive!
Tuesday afternoons, 1:15-3
This class will bring history to life through hands-on real-life engagements. Students will travel through time to significant historical periods and events, experiencing what life was like and how historical events affected individuals. Creative writing, theater, and visual arts will all be included. Projects may take the shape of simulations, debates, plays, museum exhibits, scrapbooks, etc. Students will have input into the specific topics/periods of focus. This class will alternate years between United States and world history topics.

Culture, History, and Peace Studies (CHPS) II: Community Peace Initiatives – Rebecca Yahm
Fridays, 1:15-3:00
Community Peace Initiatives focuses on peace in the local community and a variety of peace-related issues. Guest speakers, interviews, and service learning are major components as students get a taste of the world of service and activism. Students will become familiar with a range of individuals and organizations working on peace-related issues, projects, and problems in the Montpelier area. They will use some of the information they gather to help write a community peace guide for Central VT, which will be a fundraiser for Pacem. Our work will include background information on a number of peace-related issues and movements. Through guest speakers and interviews, we will hear first-hand about a variety of exciting and important peace initiatives. We will explore the work these different people/groups do, its meaning and significance, and the interconnections between peace work, environmental issues, and other social justice issues. We will also prepare for and hold a debate on an issue of interest to the group.

Each student will reflect on which of these projects/issues are personally significant, and will choose one to learn about in more depth. Then s/he will spend some time volunteering with a local group working on the chosen issue. This is not meant to be a long-term volunteer experience for students, but rather the beginning of a process of thinking about what issues and projects are meaningful to them and how they can bring their individual talents and developing skills to bear. This service learning experience will be followed by a reflective essay/article addressing what the student learned and how it fits into his/her ideas about how best to work for peace.
This largely experiential class will include the following academic and life skills/activities: critical thinking, writing a business letter, interviewing/questioning, taking notes from an oral presentation, understanding local and global events and issues and some relationships between them, articulating opinions and backing them up with facts, being a responsible volunteer, and writing a personal reflective essay.

This class corresponds with Cultural Studies III: The Story Never Ends: Indigenous Cultures of North America , Literature III: American Journeys.

Culture, History, and Peace Studies (CHPS) IV: Conflict, Nonviolence, and Change in the 20th Century – Rebecca Yahm
Thursday afternoons, 1:15-3:00
This class is open to Level III with permission from the instructor.
Throughout the twentieth century, people all over the world used nonviolent strategies to bring social and political change. This class examines conflicts on five different continents and how popular movements used nonviolent means to achieve political independence, resist dictators and invaders, and gain civil and human rights. We will address not only the best known examples like the movements led by Gandhi and King, but others including opposition to dictatorships in Latin America, the Solidarity movement in Poland, and the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. Major historical events of the twentieth century, such as World War II and the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, will be examined through this lens. We will look at nonviolence both as a moral stance and as a political tactic, discussing questions such as these: Is nonviolence always peaceful? Is civil disobedience ethical even though it involves breaking the law? Is there such thing as a “just war”? Do the ends justify the means? Will humans ever stop fighting wars? We will examine situations where nonviolence seems to have worked better than violence as an aggressive tactic for change, and we will look at situations in which violent revolution has failed to bring the desired change. At the heart of this discussion are the idea of the “consent of the governed” and the ways that nonviolent social movements have removed that consent and stripped oppressors of their power. We will also discuss the ways in which building and maintaining popular nonviolent movements has strengthened democracy.

Seminar-style discussions will focus on the PBS documentary series A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict and the accompanying book of the same name by Peter Ackerman and Jack Duvall. Students will also have the opportunity to explore a video game based on the same documentary. The class will read and discuss Thoreau’s essay, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” and sections of Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons form the History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky. The emphasis in discussions will be on critical inquiry and on applying course themes to different historic events. Students will be asked to lead at least one class discussion. Other activities will include writing, map work, projects, and oral presentations. This class will include weekly homework—usually a reading assignment to be discussed during the next class. A commitment to completing this work is essential.

This class corresponds with Art Studio Elective III - 20th Century and Early Indigenous Art: Exploring the Connection, Literature III: American Journeys.

Cultural, History, and Peace Studies (CHPS) III: Comparing Cultures: Indigenous Cultures of North America & The Ancient Greeks – Debbie New
Thursday mornings, 10:45-12:15
Part I: The Indigenous North Americans
The peoples of North America are so often spoken of in past tense as a vanished or erased culture, but how do they speak for themselves? How can we hear their voices? What are they saying about themselves, their lives, and their continuance?

In this course we will look at the indigenous cultures of the people who first inhabited this continent and who continue to make a place for themselves in contemporary America. We will examine the stories of their oral traditions, the place of art and ritual in their lives, and their varied ways of life. We will describe the differences between regions and nations, how where they live influences the way they live, the materials they use to express themselves, and their sense of themselves. We also will study the history of their displacement, oppression, and genocide, taking a close look at impact on indigenous peoples of the beliefs and impulses that shaped America.

With this background, we will focus on the literature that contemporary people are writing now as they connect themselves with their traditions and continue into the future. We will trace primary themes such as their relationship with the land, their sense of time, and their understanding of the power of language. We will find elements of oral traditions amid new forms and new expressions of identity, both personal and cultural.

We will draw from novels, memoirs, and stories by N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louise Erdrich, and Joseph Bruchac; we read historical accounts such as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and The Sixth Grandfather; and will collect many poems from Simon Ortiz, Joy Harjo, Paula Gunn Allen, Linda Hogan, and others.

Part II: The Greeks, An Investigation from Athens to Zeus
Our class will depart from a set of questions, both proposed by me and generated from the students, based on what we may already know about Greek mythology, culture, and history. As we investigate the ancient Hellenic world and focus on 5th century Athens, we will surely accumulate more questions, but will also discover the richness of Greek society, government, art, architecture, philosophy, and culture. As we make our way through the labyrinth of information about the ancient Greek world, some of the threads of inquiry we'll follow will include:
What did it mean to be an Athenian citizen? What was the role of the gods in everyday life? How can we read and understand Greek mythology: as a window into their way of life, as clues to more fundamental human impulses, or as tales of adventure complete with gods and heroes as well as monsters and villains? Why did the culture that created democracy also invent the principles of western theater and begin to define the difference between comedy and tragedy? What can we learn from the Greeks about war and peace as well as art and invention?
The class will culminate, we trust, not at the lair of the Minotaur, but at a deeper understanding of the roots of western civilization and our own way of life.

This class corresponds with CHPS IV: Conflict, Nonviolence, and Change in the Twentieth Century, Art Studio Elective III - 20th Century and Early Indigenous Art: Exploring the Connection, Literature III: American Journeys.

language

Learn languages through an immersion process. Class time will include games, creative writing, cultural studies, and performances as well as practicing grammatical skills to reinforce what is learned.

There will be some homework in order to continue practicing language between classes. Placement of each student will be determined by the teacher.

French I – Ludo Buret
Mondays, 1:15-3 or Fridays, 10:45-12:15 TBA
Introductory class. No experience required. Also open to those who have studied French but would like to stay in an introductory course.

French II/III – Ludo Buret
Fridays, 8:30-10:00 or Fridays, 1:15-3:00 TBA
For advanced beginners and intermediates.

Japanese I – Michiko Oishi
Friday mornings, 10:45-12:15
Introductory class. No experience required. Also open to those who have studied Japanese but would like to stay in an introductory course.

Japanese II/III – Michiko Oishi
Friday mornings, 8:30-10:00 or Fridays, 1:15-3:00 TBA
For intermediate and advanced students.

Other language classes including Italian, Latin, and Spanish may be arranged.

literature

Note: While writing and literature classes can be taken separately, these classes are linked so as to add greater depth to the study of both subjects. Reading, discussion, and literature responses for literature classes will relate to and complement group work in writing classes.

What does a piece of literature mean to us? Or to our community? Or to the world? What makes literature great or fun or visionary? How might it inspire us to form our own stories or creative responses? These are questions we seek to answer in all levels of literature classes.

Literature I: Ear to Page and Great Pictures, Great Words – Laura McCaffrey
Tuesday mornings, 10:45-12:15
The goal of Literature I is to expose students to a variety of literature genres, as well as to inspire them to craft creative oral, written, and artistic responses to what they’ve read. The focus for the first semester will be Ear to Page, and we’ll study forms of literature that relate to oral literature, such as fairy tales, legends, ghost stories, plays, speeches, and poetry. The focus of the second semester will be Great Pictures, Great Words, and we’ll explore illustrated literature such as comics/graphic novels, as well as illustrated short stories, novels, nature journals, and personal essays. While the teacher will designate genres and offer students lists of choices within each genre, students will help select specific titles. Also, at specified times during the semester, students will read independently and develop independent response projects to present to the rest of the group. Please be advised that students will mostly read at home, outside of class time.

Discussion time (1/2 the class time): As we discuss what we’ve read during the week, a facilitator will guide us to use specific examples from our readings to support our opinions. Students will take on this responsibility as the year progresses.

Project time (1/2 the class time): Students will craft a series of creative projects related to our readings and discussions. Responses may include writing pieces, poems, journal entries, reader’s theater productions, portraits, graphs, architectural sketches, multimedia pieces…anything!

Literature II: Truths and Fictions – Journals of All Kinds – Laura McCaffrey
Thursday afternoons 1:15-3:00
The goal of Literature II is to expose students to a variety of literature genres. Students will respond creatively to literature over the course of the year, and they’ll also learn to develop analytic essay responses. The focus for this year is Truths and Fictions – Journals of All Kinds. We’ll read various forms of nonfiction, such as journal pieces, personal essays, and autobiographies/memoirs, as well as fiction in the style of nonfiction, such as epistolary stories, stories in journal form, and fictionalized autobiography. While the teacher will designate genres and offer students lists of choices within each genre, students will help select specific titles. Also, at specified times, students will read independently and develop independent response projects to present to the rest of the group. Please be advised that students will mostly read at home, outside of class time.

Project time (1/2 the class time): Students will write at least three complete essays during the year, including analytic literature essays and personal essays. They will also craft a series of creative projects related to the readings and discussions. Responses may include poems, journal entries, self-portraits, blog entries…anything!

Literature III: American Journeys – Laura McCaffrey
Tuesday afternoons 1:15-3:00
Americans are obsessed with difficult and revelatory journeys, some emotional, others involving literal distances. The thematic focus of this class is Journeys, and we will begin by studying some famous journeys that influence American culture and literature, such as those found in Native and African American folklore, the Canterbury Tales, and The Odyssey. We’ll then examine migration journeys, and we contrast the journeys of individuals who come from differing cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, we’ll contrast one of Henry David Thoreau’s essays in Walden with the slave narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by his contemporary, Harriet Jacobs (Linda Brent). As part of this study of pre-20th century literature, we’ll read excerpts of contemporary retellings, satires, or comic pieces that relate to other texts read, like the graphic novel version of The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. When we transition to 20th century journeys, we’ll connect thematically to Pacem’s Art and Peace Studies classes for the same age group. Also, we’ll pay particular attention to journeys into adulthood like those depicted in various NPR “This I Believe” essays, James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” the poem “Theme for English Paper B” by Langston Hughes, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, and Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior. Also, at specified times, students will read independently and develop independent response projects to present to the rest of the group. Please be advised that students mostly read at home, outside of class time.

Project time (1/2 the class time): We’ll write at least three substantial analytic literature essays and three personal essays during the year. We’ll also craft a series of creative projects related to our readings and discussions, which may include biographies of authors, poems, journal entries, multimedia pieces, and short stories – whatever students choose.

This class corresponds with Art Studio Elective III - 20th Century and Early Indigenous Art: Exploring the Connection, Literature III: American Journeys, CHPS IV: Conflict, Nonviolence, and Change in the Twentieth Century.

A History of Drama – Debbie New
Thursday mornings, 8:30-10
Beginning with a consideration of the role of drama in human societies, its use in ritual and other elements of culture, we will investigate theater as a fundamental human activity as well as an expression of human experience. We will consult Aristotle's Poetics as well as some key Greek playwrights to create working definitions of tragedy and comedy, the lenses through which we will examine various forms of drama.

With this foundation in place, we will choose from a long list of plays from Italian Commedia dell' Arte, French comedies of manners (Moliere), Shakespeare, and Restoration comedy to contemporary plays such as August Wilson's Fences, currently enjoying a successful revival on Broadway. We may consider playwrights from various countries in the western tradition—Chekov, Ibsen, Brecht, Strindberg, Ionesco, Sartre, etc— in addition to well-known British writers like Wilde, Beckett, Shaffer, and Stoppard. The class may wish to include American plays from Tenessee Williams, Arthur Miller, William Inge, Sam Shepherd, and David Mamet as well as Vermont's own David Budbill. Based on the interest of the students, we'll trace the history of theater both as literature and as performing art. Classes will include close readings of the plays as well as scene work and dramatic presentations.

math

Math I/II: Real World Math
Thursday and Friday mornings, 8:30-10:00
Pre-Requisite: Ability to carry out basic calculations with 2-digit numbers by hand
This comprehensive, group-oriented class addresses all topics typically taught in the middle school math curriculum in the context of real-world projects designed to build fundamental math concepts and skills in a relevant, exciting, and cohesive way. Projects are planned so that all students can learn at their current levels while working towards mastery of fundamental skills and concepts. Projects vary from year to year so that students can continue in the course until the instructor, student, and parents all feel that the student has mastered the core concepts and skills necessary to progress to high school-level math. Past projects have included: Designing and building scale models of ecologically friendly homes, Building the Better Homeless Shelter, and The Stock Market Game. This year’s projects may include (but not be limited to): Scaling the Universe, Designing your Dream Career (and budgeting), and Becoming an International Spy/Code-Cracker.

Math II/III/IV: Tutorial
Monday and Tuesday mornings, 8:30-10:00
Pacem believes it is essential for students to have the time to work at their own pace in order to reach their full creative and intellectual potential. This belief is emphasized in Pacem’s Math Tutorial, which caters to the individualized study of mathematics. In this class, students set and work toward individual goals. Students can use the math tutorial to help demystify new concepts, untangle confusion, and solve difficult problems. In such a small classroom, our one-on-one math discussions and active use of the chalkboard to work through challenging problems often engages other students and exposes all the students to a wide variety of math levels, from fractions to calculus.

Math Tutorial meets twice a week at Pacem. If a student wants to complete a full year of math, we recommend that the student work on math at home once or twice a week. The best results happen when parents also work with their child and correct the math completed at home.
To aid in the understanding of each student’s math progress, completed math is checked and errors that need to be revisited or discussed further in class are circled once a week. At that time more problems appropriate for the student’s level are assigned. Please note that students usually cover a lot more math if they work at home. Math Tutorial is best used as support.

Families need to find and purchase a math curriculum for their child and obtain it before classes start. Many Pacem students use Singapore Math. We also recommend the Interactive Math Program for high school level math. We also recommend The Art of Problem Solving and the Interactive Math Program for high school level math.

Math IV: Pre-Calculus and Calculus Tutorial
Tuesday mornings, 10:45-12:15
Prerequisite: Completion of high school level algebra and geometry.

project

Student Interest Project I/II/III/IV: From Inspiration to Presentation – Rebecca Yahm
Thursday and Friday mornings, 10:45 -12:15
Students may sign up for one or both mornings.
Student-directed project work is at the heart of Pacem’s curriculum. It reflects our strong belief in emergent learning—giving students time to focus on a topic of study that develops out of their own interests and passions, while providing an intellectually inspiring and supportive atmosphere and the guidance of an experienced teacher. Past project creations have been as diverse as the following: a board game about the region of Ladakh, a dance piece reflecting different choreographer’s styles, a model of a black hole, a Pacem theater group, a scrapbook of paintings of places in Italy, a recycled fashion exhibit, a stop-motion animation movie about Galileo, and an active maple sugaring operation.

The project process stretches students’ ability to use inquiry and research, organize and present information, write, make interdisciplinary connections, channel their creativity, and see an idea through from concept to completion. It encourages students to be invested in their own learning and guides them towards ownership and responsibility for the process. It provides a meaningful context for learning and allows each student to build on existing strengths to learn new skills and information. Each student creates a final display or portfolio of work, which is shown at a culminating Presentation Celebration. These displays reflect the individual talents, creativity, self-expression, and learning styles of the students as they share their learning with the community.

Project work develops differently for each student. The teacher functions as an advisor who helps guide the students in a rich, interdisciplinary, in-depth exploration of their chosen topics. Toward this end, the advisor often suggests related fields of study to explore (e.g. history, literature) and also helps the student find and use available resources (including experts and field trips when appropriate). Through individual conferences, mini-lessons, and group discussions, students receive support and/or instruction as needed in organization, research, and writing skills. A small group project with more teacher guidance is always an option for those who want or need more direction.

Students may also choose to work on project writing in The Art and Craft of Writing class.

science

Science I: History of Life on Earth – Jaime Cipperly
Monday and Tuesday mornings, 8:30-10:00
“If only we could travel into the past, to see what the world was like and piece together how life evolved! In a way, we do: this is the work of paleontologists. They’re not time travelers, but they do gather all the evidence they can to recreate the distant past. Details of our picture of the past are constantly changing, with new discoveries of fossils and more accurate dating methods, but the basic framework has been in place for many years” - David Attenborough.

In the History of Life on Earth we will embark on a journey to the beginning of earth’s time, before life was present, and continue to the present day, looking at fossils, rocks, plants and animals to put the pieces together. Ultimately, we will piece together the “tree of life”. Throughout the class there will be indoor and outdoors hands-on activities, elementary math, a research project, skits, and art projects.

Science II: What Does It Mean to Be Human – Jaime Cipperly
Monday and Tuesday afternoons, 1:15 am-3:00
This class will be divided into three parts: the body, the mind, and emergency first aid. In the first section students will learn about the building blocks of the human body from cells to whole systems. This will include learning about all of the basic body systems. The next section will focus more deeply on the brain and the nervous system. The final section will be a unit on emergency first aid. Students will learn the ABC’s of first aid, how to respond to an emergency wilderness situation, and how to stabilize injured limbs. Time will be spent outdoors when possible, especially during the last section. This hands-on class will include experiments, fieldwork, research, writing, and projects.

Science III/IV: Physics – Lexi Shear
Monday and Tuesday mornings, 10:45-12:15
In this course, we will investigate, the nature of motion, energy, electricity, sound and light determine everything else in the world around us. These are the fundamental laws that explain our universe. Increasingly science educators are promoting the study of physics as the first foray into upper level science. From this, the more abstract sciences of chemistry and biology follow more naturally. In this course will ask questions and work together to devise experiments to answer them. From these explorations, will come a concrete understanding of physical laws. We will investigate Newton’s laws of motion, light and sound, and electricity and magnetism, and discover how these fundamental principles shape our planet.

Science III/IV: Chemistry – Lexi Shear
Monday and Tuesday mornings, 8:30-10
Prerequisite: High School Algebra 1 or the equivalent
What are things made of? Why do we use so much plastic in our world? How much pollution is in our air and water? Why do we use the materials that we do? How do things stick together? Why does petroleum have so much energy in it? The answers lie in chemistry. We will answer them, and many others as we discover what matter, the stuff of the universe, is made of, how it is put together, and how it changes.
This will be a rigorous study of both quantitative and qualitative chemistry. We will cover topics typically included in an honors high school chemistry curriculum including: atomic structure, bonding, behavior of solids, liquids, and gasses, mole concept, stoichiometry, and chemical reactivity. Throughout the course, we will examine issues of local and global environmental importance, as well as topics of particular interest to the current students, as a means to understand the structure and behavior of matter. Our studies will include group discussions, gathering and analyzing data, computer simulations, reading, research, and at least one community project.

writing

What makes great writing? How do imaginative, intriguing ideas become compelling fiction, poetry, or non-fiction? In all levels of The Art and Craft of Writing, students explore answers to these questions.

The Art and Craft of Writing I: Ear To Page and Great Pictures, Great Words - Laura McCaffrey
Monday mornings, 10:45-12:15
Group Work Time (1/2 class time): The purpose of group work time is skills practice and experimentation. Over the course of the year, we’ll work on improving word choices and developing strong paragraphs, as well as creating rhyme and rhythm in a number of poetry forms. Our thematic focus for fall is: Ear to Page. We’ll study and experiment with forms of writing that relate to oral literature, such as folk and fairy tales, speeches, and poetry. Our thematic focus for spring is: Great Pictures, Great Words. We’ll focus on various kinds of illustrated fiction, such as comics and illustrated short stories, and nonfiction, such as illustrated nature journals and personal essays. With our group work, we’ll try writing some of these forms, as well as create various written and art responses to them. Both semesters involve practice of revision techniques. We’ll also meet at the end of each class to discuss the day’s writing questions, frustrations, and triumphs.
Resources Used: Various age-appropriate fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.
Additional Resources Used May Include: Eileen Christelow’s What Do Illustrators Do? and What do Authors Do?, Diane Draze’s Red Hot Root Words Book 1 and 2, Lee Bennet Hopkins’s Pass the Poetry, Please, the National Council of Teachers of English Read, Write, Think website and resources, the Poetry Foundation’s website and resources.

Independent Work Time: (1/2 the class): Each student will design, write, revise, and polish independent writing projects of his/her own choosing. These projects can be brought from home, from other classes, or entirely designed and completed in The Art and Craft of Writing. As part of designing and completing writing projects, students will participate in conferencing. They’ll receive conferencing feedback, as well as learn to articulate precise constructive responses to others’ writing. At the end of each term, students will select and polish submissions for the fall and spring editions of the Writing Workshop Literary Journal.

The Art and Craft of Writing II: Truths and Fictions: Journals of All Kinds - Laura McCaffrey
Monday afternoons, 1:15-3:00
Group Work Time (1/2 class time): The purpose of group work time is skills practice and experimentation. Over the course of the year, we’ll learn and practice structuring multi-paragraph non-fiction and fiction pieces. In addition, we’ll develop strong narrative voices. This year’s theme is Truths and Fictions: Journals of All Kinds. We’ll study and practice various forms of nonfiction, such as a journal piece, an autobiographical poem, a personal essay, and a research report, as well as fiction in the style of nonfiction, such as epistolary stories and stories in journal form. We’ll also practice revision techniques. At the end of each class, we’ll discuss the day’s writing questions, frustrations, and triumphs.
Resources Used: Various age- appropriate fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.
Additional Resources May Include: Marion Dane Bauer’s What’s Your Story and Our Stories: A Fiction Workshop for Young Authors, The Book of Roots: Advanced Vocabulary Building from Latin Roots, Francine Mayes’s The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Writing and Reading Poetry, the National Council of Teachers of English Read, Write, Think website and resources, the Poetry Foundation’s website and resources.

Independent Work Time: (1/2 class time): Each student will design, write, revise, and polish independent writing projects of his/her own choosing. These projects can be brought from home, from other classes, or entirely designed and completed in The Art and Craft of Writing. As part of designing and completing writing projects, students will participate in conferencing. They’ll receive conferencing feedback, as well as learn to articulate precise constructive responses to others’ writing. At the end of each term, students will select and polish submissions for the fall and spring editions of the Writing Workshop Literary Journal.

The Art and Craft of Writing III/IV: Writer’s Portfolio - Laura McCaffrey
Friday afternoons, 1:15-3:00
This section of The Art and Craft of Writing is meant to provide guidance and support to students as they pursue individual writing goals. The teacher will help each student design a writing portfolio checklist, one tailored to suit the student’s academic and career goals as well as his/her overall interests. For example, students interested in social activism may choose to focus on persuasive essays, letters to the editor, and grant writing, while students interested in creative writing may choose to focus on fiction forms, expository essays, and personal essays. If applicable, the teacher will also help students identify and arrange appropriate internships. Students will work independently to develop writing pieces and construct portfolios. They’ll also participate in conferences to refine their writing pieces and to further develop their ability to constructively respond to others’ writing. Additionally, students will complete polished submissions for the fall and spring editions of the Writing Workshop Literary Journal.
Resources Used – Age-appropriate fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Other texts used will depend on student goals.
Additional Resources May Include – Frances Mayes’s The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems, Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers, William Zinsser’s On Writing Well: The Classic Guide on Writing Nonfiction, the National Council of Teachers of English Read, Write, Think website and resources, the Poetry Foundation website and resources.

Shout Out to Creative Writers – Laura McCaffrey
Day and time TBA
Do you want a class solely devoted to dreaming up, writing, workshopping, revising, and fully completing self-designed creative writing pieces? This class is open to writers of any creative writing genre or form. Students will be guided and supported from idea to fully polished and publishable stories, poems, essays, and more.
If interested please contact Laura at laura@laurawilliamsmccaffrey.com to discuss day and time.

summer 2011

Tuition for summer and extracurricular activities are paid directly to and determined by the organizing teacher.

Summer Nature Writing Week – Rebecca Yahm
July 19-23, 10:00-3:00, ages 12 and up
Cost: $180
This week is for writers who like to ramble out of doors and outdoor enthusiasts who like to scribble. We will wander off the beaten path to explore the natural world around Pacem and ourselves as writers. During this mostly outdoor week, we will immerse ourselves in the forests, meadows, streams, and other environments around Pacem. We will use Pacem as a base for our excursions and as an indoor location as needed. Simple journal exercises and activities will be used to help participants generate images by paying close attention to what they see, hear, smell, and feel, and to use this process to explore new writing terrain. There will be the opportunity to experiment with other ways of responding to nature such as oral storytelling, sketching, mapping, and place-based art. We’ll discuss some of the writers we love and why their writing inspires us. There will be plenty of time to hear and respond to each other’s writing and to enjoy the supportive social environment as well. We’ll look for the connections, the stories, the threads of meaning that can tie together each person’s gathered images and observations. Towards the end of the week, we’ll discuss how these journal entries and jottings might become poems, essays, fiction, memoir, or other pieces. Participants’ interests and preferences will help determine the pace and direction of this inspiring outdoor writing week.

WIRe! Workshops for Inspiration Retreat: Three days of student, faculty, and parent-led workshops at Lotus Lake
Sunday, August 29- Tuesday, August 31
9am-4pm, and overnight option including two overnights
Ages: Overnight is open to 12 years and up
Cost: $100 for daytime option – no meals included, $175 overnight option - 6 meals included.
Inspired by Grace LLewellyn's Not Back to School Camp, Pacem is creating a similar retreat with our emphasis on community, family, peace, and mindfulness. We will be putting together three days of student, faculty and parent led workshops at Lotus Lake with overnights for older students. Workshops might include: Learn Navi, Challenge of Trading Card Game Creation, Improv Theater, Famous Romantic Letter Writers, Dream Mapping Your Future-Start It Now, Dungeons and Dragons Adventrure Creation, Girls Discussion Group About All Things; Dance Workshop, Tai Kwan Do, Workout Intensive: Run, Bike, Hike, Swim, Wild Fashion, The Art of Go, Epic Environmental Art, Choreography in the Wild, Solving Crazy World Problems with Sociocracy, Art of Oral Storytelling, Slam Poetry, Writing in Nature, Reading and Writing News Satire, Tracking Games, and much more! WE NEED YOUR IDEAS!

Most of time the workshops will be outdoors or in one of Lotus Lake’s indoor classrooms. We will take advantage of Lotus Lake’s beautiful setting, swimming in the lake and hiking the trails during breaks. Overnight participants will help cook breakfast and dinners and partake in evening workshops, games, theater, and fireside discussions. Daytime participants will need to bring lunch every day. Overnighters will need to bring a brown bag lunch for the first day.

Pick up is at 2pm on final day, Tuesday, Aug 31st.

PARENTS and GUARDIANS: we need you to bring group snacks, offer workshops, chaperone the overnights, and help organize.

extracurricular 2010-11

fall/winter

Small Shiny Objects, an a capella singing group – John Harrison
Tuesdays, time TBA
Sept 7-Feb 8
Performance Saturday, Feb 12 at Showcase of the Arts
Ages 14-18
Cost: TBA (payable to John Harrison)

Choreo: Innovative Choreographic Composition – TBA
Thursdays or Fridays, 3:30-5:30
Sept 10-Feb 11 (17 weeks plus)
Performance Saturday, Feb 12 at Showcase of the Arts
Ages teen through adult, three years dance experience required
Required rehearsals on Sundays in late January, early February
Cost: $250 (payable to Pacem Learning Community)
Choreography is a highly complex art form. Choreo will focus on exploring and creating innovative dance choreography. Students will view videotapes of choreographic styles from around the world, discuss basic elements that make choreography exciting, rich and multi-layered, and work on creating their own innovative choreographic elements. To find new and unique pieces from which to draw inspiration and to understand the integral role music plays in choreography, students will listen and respond to music from around the globe.

In this class we will also study the visual and spatial elements of choreography as well as the technical and creative process of creating a dance piece. Dancers will exercise their kinetic and visual creativity, expand their musical understanding, and learn to pull together disparate moving parts into one cohesive piece. They will also hone their dance technique, critique their own work, and take on the responsibility and self-discipline of working with and leading a group to create a polished dance piece.

Each dancer will take on the challenge of creating a 3-4 minute group dance work of their own design, and perform it at Pacem’s Showcase of the Arts in February as well as dance in the other pieces created.

In teaching their choreography, we encourage dancers to work on skills including leadership, empathy, communication, and organization. Dancers are expected to be focused and responsible for their time, and work cooperatively and supportively in the group.

Homeschool Tennis Program – Jim Cross
Mondays and Thursdays, 3:15-4:45
Sept 13 - Oct 18 (6 weeks)
Ages 12-17
Cost: $81 (payable to Jim Cross)
Our program focuses on learning by playing. Students learn the correct stroke techniques and movement needed for tennis by playing games designed to promote the development of these skills. Positive reinforcement and fun are key. Forehands, backhands, volley, serve, and overhead are all covered as well as strategy and the good sportsmanship that is the tradition in the game of tennis.

Dungeons and Dragons Role-playing game – student-led by Julian Kelly
Fridays, 3:30-5:00
Sept 10 – May 27
Ages 12 and up
Cost: Free for Pacem students, $15 donation appreciated for non-Pacem students
Parent volunteers needed to serve as adult presence
Come play Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games in the spirit of high creativity, fanciful acting, and a lot of fun! Please, leave gratuitous violence at the door. If weather permits we will meet outdoors. Bring your kindest, focused, and most imaginative self to the game!

Cross Fit Training for Athletes at the Confluence – Nick Petterssen
Mondays and Thursdays, 3:15-4:15
Oct 25 – beginning of Dec or until Nordic Skiing
Cost: TBA (payable to The Confluence)
Please contact Nick Petterssen tel: 229-4131, email: nick@theconfluencevt.org

winter/spring

Designing Innovative Science Projects – Lexi Shear
Day TBA, 3:30-5:00
Dec – Mar
Cost: $165 (payable to Pacem Learning Community)
Do you have a passion for science? Do you want to design an experiment and do original research? If so, then join us as we brainstorm, research, and complete scientific projects. You will present your work at the Pacem Science Fair on March 19th and, if you’re excited to do so, submit it to the Vermont State Science Fair, April 2nd.

Cross Country Skiing with Onion River Nordic at Morse Farm – Nick and Christine Petterssen
Monday and Wednesdays or Mondays and Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:45,
Mid-December through first week in March
Cost: TBA (payable to Onion River Nordic)
Please contact Christine Petterssen, email: christine@petterssen.com

Spyglass Theater – Colette Kelly
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:00,
Feb 22, Mar 15 – June 18 (14 weeks)
Ages 11-18
Costume, props, & set design work, weeks of June 6 and June 13
Tech rehearsal Tues June 14; dress rehearsal Thurs June 16 performances Fri June 17, Sat June 18
Cost: $95 (payable to Pacem Learning Community)
Learn about the dramatic process and improve your acting skills. Technique is largely based on the work of Robert Lewis and the Method school of acting, with supplementary improvisation work from Viola Spolin’s Improvisation for the Theater. Use these techniques in the production of a final, student directed and produced performance. If you’re not interested in acting in the final performance, you can participate as the Stage Manager, Set Designer, Costume Designer, or Prop Master.

Pacem Year In Photos Committee – Student-led
March through early June, details to be arranged
Are you interested in creating publications? Do you like graphic design? Do you want your photos to be published? Come join the yearbook! If you wish to be a staff photographer, we will happily accept your best photos of Pacem (on CD or thumb drive) at any time throughout the year!

Mindfulness Mountain and Service Retreat - Amy Thornton-Kelly and parent volunteers
Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm
June 13-17
10 years and up. Under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Cost: FREE
Parent volunteers needed for each day

We will physically challenge ourselves on two to three mountain hikes, depending on weather, and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the natural world. On two other days during the week we will volunteer for one or two organizations in our community. The volunteer work will also be outside.

The retreat’s emphasis is on how we can help each other and the world around us, learn about and appreciate our natural world, and find our peaceful center. Each day will include time on the mountain or at our outdoor service location for brief inspirational readings from any hiker/worker who wishes to read, 20 minute silent reflection, and sharing afterwards.

Bring your knowledge or field guides of the natural world with you and share!

Please note: some people may wish to walk in silence for all or part of the trip. If so, please respect their request. Also, please turn off your cell phones and other electronic gadgets while on these trips. Thank you.