News from Around the Playground
Island Institute Multi-Island Field Trip
Hidden Valley Nature Center-Jefferson, ME
Fire Safety & Prevention
As member’s of the Teaching and Learning Collaborative through Island Institute, Chebeague Island School participated in the Fall inter-island field trip hosted at Hidden Valley Nature Preserve in Jefferson, ME. Our students were able to join other island students and teachers from the outer islands of Frenchboro, Monhegan, Isle Au Haut, Great Cranberry, Cliff, and Islesboro. Student were able to socialize in mixed-island groupings while they cycled through various outdoor activities that included hiking to a cranberry bog, participating in a wellness session, riding fat-bikes on trails, collaborating during an outdoor scavenger hunt. Our students loved having outdoor learning and socializing time on the Fall Field Trip and were able to visit in person with students from their weekly inter-island on-line book clubs from many other islands.
Team Building at Cow Island
Rippleffect Program
Chebeague Island School students complete a day of team-building activities each year as a way to build upon support and trust for each other as peers and as individual people.
Students worked in teams to keep each other safe
Challenged by choice on the rock-climbing wall
Side-by-side they reached the top!
Linked together through the "laser box"
Shared ideas and listened to each other to make the boat balance!
The Hook as Learning Lab
Students documented “The Hook” before and after the arrival of Hurricane Lee in September. They observed first-hand, and through photographs, to see how the biospheres of the Earth can interact with each other. Students learned that the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere can all be effected in a coastal storm. The Hook provided a place-based learning model for students to study an event involving all four spheres in Earth’s Systems and expand their knowledge regarding fast and slow changes that occur on Earth.
Community Time
All grades (PK-5) come together for Community Time every Wednesday morning. Together, we have a Morning Meeting to greet each other, share about school and home, and support CIS as one multi-age community. Students are matched younger to older to do activities and read together. It is a favorite time of the week for everyone at school!
Fall Field Trip
Cumberland Fair
Sweetser’s Apple Orchard
Welcome to the CIS STEM Lab!
Students at Chebeague Island School are engaged and excited to spend time in the new S.T.E.M (Science. Technology. Engineering. Math) Lab! All students at CIS have time each day to make choices and explore hands-on STEM experiences in the lab. They have opportunities to design & “make” things which helps to create “I CAN” dispositions. They challenge ideas and thinking through a variety of activities in the Lab. Our STEM Lab has a Maker Space that includes two 3-D printers, an area with Building and Engineering materials, Coding opportunities through the use of Coding Bots and Apps, “Hacking” experiences such as connecting and creating circuits that snap together, and many games and books to support learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in integrated ways.
In addition to daily STEM Lab time, students at Chebeague Island School have the opportunity to expand on their STEM learning through weekly STEM challenges, After School programming, Outdoor Education, and Interdisciplinary Real-World Experiences. It is our belief at CIS that STEM skills need to be developed and encouraged in the early years of a child’s education in order to support the learning and skills needed to be successful in the 21st century! The STEM Lab is one way for students to develop skills and become engaged in STEM work!
Chebeague Island School 2023-2024
There are both familiar and new faces at CIS this school year! Scroll through the pages to meet our amazing staff/teacher TEAM!
Cuttyhunk Island & New Bedford
In May, the 3-5 class had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Cuttyhunk Island, MA to participate with the Island Institute TLC spring trip. This experience connected the students with other outer islands and small class schools to learn together, build tin foil boats together, bowl together and SO much more. After 2.5 days on Cuttyhunk, the students returned to New Bedford where they went to the Whaling Museum and Fishing Heritage Center. Check out just a sliver of the fun the kids had while away!
Congratulations Morgan!
Morgan won 1st place for 5th graders for his essay on the Second Continental Congress from the Elizabeth Wadsworth Chapter of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). He also won 2nd place for the entire state of Maine! Congratulations to Morgan!
A big thanks to Tina Runge for volunteering her time and talents to help with the essay.