The White Mountain School
cted here. “I feel respe dent t another stu s ju t o n m a I m. gh the syste going throu valued as I know I am ving r ning and li a le n o rs e p a unity. in the comm ith e trouble w When I hav concept an academic her, from a teac lp e h t e g n a Ic tutor. d, or from a n ie fr a m o fr at ys heard th a lw a e v a h I w key’ and no is y it n u m m ‘co w tr ue I realize ho t is.” that concep Blank ’08 —Christina E Islesford, M
The White Mountain School is a place of learning and creative, adventuresome living.
Imagine a school where you’ll take intellectual and physical adventures you never thought possible. A place where you take a chance to stretch your mind as you learn in the classroom, the community, and the mountains; where academics include books and much more; where you make friends that last a lifetime; where you discover you have the strength and courage to go beyond and see the view from above. Imagine a school where learning happens all the time and it’s fun!
The WhiTe MounTain School | Academics
Imagine I magine that...
For your upcoming French test, you’ve been practicing irregular verbs (boring) and (much more fun) reading the Sports section of Le Monde online. For your World History essay, you’ve been jotting down ideas about the Daughters of Tsion and the Knights Templar. All would be right with your world academically except that, for two whole days, you’ve been stuck on one lousy extra-credit problem in Pre-Calc. Argggh! You bring your frustration into Pre-Calc class with you. Your classmates and teacher offer to collaborate with you on the problem. You start with a conversation about the values to problem-solving in good old Algebra, Geometry and Pre-Calc. You exchange some math fish stories. (This part of the class was your favorite.) You know: “The Time I Caught a Big Logarithm” and “The Cartesian Coordinates that Almost Got Away.” Then the teacher suggests that, as a class, you set out to catch today’s Big One, the very One that you brought to the class. But, hey! To your own surprise, you say that the fish stories gave you a few ideas and you’d actually like to try again to reel this one in yourself. You’re feeling lucky. But now, before you can put your luck to the test, it’s time for Sports. You have Soccer this afternoon. Other kids in your class have Mountain Biking, Farm and Forest, and Rock Climbing. It’s just as well. You’ll have time to fish in Study Hall tonight; a few hours of oxygen, afternoon sunlight, and hanging-out time always bring out the angler in you.
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lee ZanGeR Senior Teacher Chair, Science Department Coach: Mountain Biking, Backcountry Skiing “By offering college preparatory content, hands-on experiences, and critical-thinking challenges in our classes, White Mountain students are able to ‘experience’ education and have tangible relationships with what they learn. Every day we put concepts, theories, and facts to the test. We encourage students to go beyond the book. It becomes essential to collect, analyse, apply, and assess data and then determine conclusions. White Mountain has a remarkable ability to challenge and support kids simultaneously. Someone once said that ‘fairness’ is giving everyone what he or she needs. If someone needs CPR, you provide CPR even if you don’t do that for everybody else. ‘Progressive’ at White Mountain works the way ‘fairness’ does. It’s about both demanding of and giving to students everything they need to succeed.”
Beyond The Core Curriculum... White Mountain teachers constantly develop new course offerings. Here is a representative sampling of some of the electives offered in recent years.
ENGLISH Reading and Writing Vietnam Memoir Shakespeare Studies Writing Poetry and Fiction Utopia/Dystopia
LANGUAGE Advanced French Advanced Spanish
HISTORY AND HUMAN VALUES Modern African History and Culture 20th Century Middle East 20th Century East Asia Modern South Asian History Religion and Philosophical Inquiry Environmental Ethics Existentialism Spirituality and the Environment
SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY Research Methods in Ecology Evolution Winter Ecology Environmental Issues Economics and Globalization Environmental Science Campus Sustainability
FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS Performance Theatre Theatre History Printmaking Digital Arts Sculpture and Environment Music History Directed Studio Art
The WhiTe MounTain School | OLE: Outdoor Learning Expedition
imagin e that...
“Being able to say to my Chemistry teacher ‘Hey, are you ready to go out and ride today?’ allows me to understand him better—both inside and outside the classroom. I know him as a person and not just as a teacher.” —Rose Milne ’08 Durham, NH
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You’re elated not only from a day of hiking through the Appalachian Trail’s Mahoosuc Notch, one of the roughest, wildest areas in the northeast. You’re happy also because you’re with two of your best friends and six other students who are becoming friends through this shared adventure. Your chemistry teacher (who, aside from being a determined hiker, is a certified Wilderness First Responder and interested in all kinds of literature and ideas) is there, as well. This trip is not just about traveling through beautiful terrain. It is also about how Americans’ perception of the wilderness has changed. Reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Ambitious Guest, you learned that people in the 18th century feared the wilderness. You learned that this particular view persists in many quarters of our culture. But with the rise of industrialization came Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Walking,” which encouraged us to seek out natural places that nurture our spirituality. In the deep canyon that is Mahoosuc Notch, your group stops for lunch and to read and discuss “Praise and Thanksgiving” by e. e. cummings. What better place to appreciate the enormity of your awe at nature’s beauty and power?
s n o i t i d e p x E g n Outdoor Learni
The Art of Winter
Outdoor Learning Expeditions (OLEs) coordinate Wilderness Skills instruction with a relevant academic component. Here is a sample of “course descriptions” of recent expeditions.
Maine Coastal Kayakingod? Ever wondered how
Do you love sea fo or and if our e on the ocean flo many lobsters ar the long is sustainable over haddock harvest omics, on ec , ce re the scien run? Come explo ile wh s rie he Atlantic fis and politics of the . ng ki ys sea kaya spending three da
Falling Down and Getting Up
for an adventure with If you are open-minded and ready be a great trip for a lot of falling and laughing, this will on the slopes of Mt. you. We will lear n to telemark ski ski area. All you have to Cranmore, a moderate lift service try again ever y time do to join is be willing to get up and focus on preparedness you fall down. Academically we will erness first aid. for the winter backcountry and, wild
We will begin this threeday journey by creatin g handmade books that will be our personal journals/sketch books. Alternating physical act ivity with artistic creatio n, we will sur round ourselves wit h the source of our ins piration, the winter landscape. We will mix the movement of snowshoeing and x-c ski ing with creative projec ts and internal reflection. We will greet the sun with hikes and Haiku lessons. We will create leave-no-trace sno w and ice sculptures, light our scu lptures with candles in the evening and share reflections fro m our trip thus far.
Zen and the Art of Backpacking
This trip will combine intermediat e-level backpacking in the Pemigewasset Wilderness with the writings of Eastern Philosophica l Thought. Students will hike by day and expl ore the wonders of Taoism and Zen by night. There will be two “reflective” spots along the way. The first is beautiful Thoreau Falls and the seco nd is scenic, but remote, Shoal Pond. At both spot s students will take some time to practice reflective writing skills, combining the wonders of Eastern Philosophy with the magic of the wilderness.
s Escalante Canyon a vast 1.9 million National Monument encompasses
The Grand Staircase-Escalante plateaus. Its maze s, twisting canyons and expansive acres of multi-hued vermillion cliff r and mighty the confluence of the Escalante Rive of interconnected canyons houses breathtaking the to hike ons, will explore slot cany Colorado River at Lake Powell. We following rim on cany the w d three days deep belo 126 ft. tall Calf Tree Falls, and spen lante River. Esca the to way its s h as it twists and turn the scenic and rugged Coyote gulc Dam and will also issues regarding the Glen Canyon We will debate the current political Navajo who lived ored the landscape before us: the lear n the history of those who expl canyons, and the e thes in red said to have disappea here, ghostly Everett Ruess who is to tame the canyons. Mormon pilgrims who attempted
How to Stay Warm
What can humans learn about winter sur vival fro m the plant and animal world? How do animals maintain body he at in the winter? What sur vival strategie s do living things use wh en the land is covered in snow? We wil l discuss these question s from the luxury of a warm cabin after we snowshoe on trails in the Pinkham Notch area. We will explore top ics such as plant and ani mal adaptations to the cold, hypotherm ia and human cold respon se, and animal tracking. During our eve nings at the cabin, we wil l read and discuss some nature writers’ int erpretations of life in the col d, and we will write our own stories to share.
Cross Country try in Another Coun woods, and
Over the boarder, through the du across the lake in the beautiful Parc where Mont-Or ford in southern Quebec, ) classic we’ll practice (or learn for the first time es. and skating cross-countr y ski techniqu along ns We’ll stay in wood-stove warmed cabi and the trail as we lear n about the science icularly politics of global climate change, part ada Can as it applies to the Arctic regions of and and Canada’s relations with the U.S. skiing! Mexico. Bring headlamps for night
The WhiTe MounTain School | Community Service
Imagine that... You’ve just “deplaned” in Memphis. You’ve arrived with 14 friends and teachers to help build low income housing in Jonestown, Mississippi through Habitat for Humanity. You’re feeling … hmmm … mixed emotions. You wonder whether you and your friends will fit in to the culture of Jonestown. Hey, forget words like “culture”—will these people even like you? Will they think of you as a do-gooder who doesn’t really understand what they’re all about? Or will they “get” that you’ve tried something big by coming and that you really want to offer as much help as you can? You have some idea that the week will involve heat and humidity and the kind of physical exhaustion that leaves you feeling like a deflated, slightly smelly rubber tire. But you also sense that momentous emotional change is afoot. It is. The experience of giving your undivided attention to others, of keeping your heart and mind open in spite of your uncertainty, is one that you will never forget.
Diminished Fears By La Toya Isaac ’03 Rockville, MD
Fifteen people get off a plane that just landed in Memphis Fears and mixed emotions jump into their heart and spirals their way down their spine Will the people accept us into their lives? Fifteen people go onward to Jonestown, Mississippi Joanne KilGou Fears rush to mind a million times more R ’03 Sanford, ME How many days will it take for this place to touch our hearts and souls? (journal entry on Pain is apparent in the community O in Jonestown, M ctober 6, 2002 is Fears so bad it scared us to even think about it White Mountain sissippi, where st udent Will five days be enough for us to slither our way into this community, and then quickly with H abitat for Huma s worked nity): Pull out and return to our everyday lives? “A pat on the shoulder after An open mind, an open heart, and an open eye is what you need to give Jonestown a long day of work in the hot sun. Every nail that pierces ever y Your undivided attention. piece of vinyl siding that protects a stru cture to keep Adding anything to that formula is not needed and will disrupt the already a fam Fifteen people sitting in a room ily safe. that loses th e tit le Completed equation to become an oven, but no on gr umbles or ge e ts ‘overheated. Fears coming so quickly that the mind cannot calculate the information ’ Laughter in the face of exhaustion an d smiles in th face of pain. Lo e We saw the people oking into som eone’s eyes instead of turn in g aw ay , and lear ning Their needs someone to ga about in a greater un derstanding of th e work rather th The mothers, fathers, and sisters and brothers an so you can them from thei ‘save’ r situation. Th ey said in We saw the community church that G od unlocks th e door that keeps us in ca ptivity and ho We felt the love lds us back from transcen ding what our chaplain The hurt would call ‘our box.’ But may be it isn’t just God . Maybe it is al We felt what they feel l of us, and ever yone in th is town, and in Memphis, and scattered And our fears were quickly diminished around amid co tton and mosquitoes. M aybe it is in ev Our questions have been answered by this community er y look and ever y conversa tion. We are al l unlocking something for Fifteen people are now one someone else , we just have to find the lock .” We return home, side by side, with Jonestown embedded in our hearts learn more
““Community Community service allows me to see how small things – one school, a few people – can create big change. Knowing that I can help create meaningful change, that I can, for example, help give a family a place to live and prosper, makes me doing.” feel good. This is what I love doing. —Bupe Mazimba ’08 Nairobi, Kenya
NAIS Leading Edge Program recognizes The White Mountain School for outstanding achievement in Global Sustainability for 2007. By involving students in Community Service Odyssey trips, White Mountain strives to have a greater global perspective. Through service work and cross-cultural exchange in urban Baltimore, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru, students return with the will to be active change agents in the world because the realities of life at host sites are no longer a list of abstract statistics or a stranger on a video; the realities are grounded in personal connections.
MaTTheW ToMS
Director, Student Assista nce Program Tutor, Learning Assistance Program Matt chaperoned a week-lo ng community service project in La Saba na Perdida, a small community twenty mi nutes outside of Santo Domingo. “We arrived at our ser vic e site to find a dilapidat ed shack made of old she et metal scraps, pieces of wood, and segments of cardboard. On day one we dismantled the shack, saving valuable materials to reuse, and dug trenches for footers. In the week that followed, students learne d and car ried out all asp ects of building a masonry house—digging and lay ing a foundation, laying blocks , mixing and laying mo rtar, and cutting and fitting rebar to make forms for concrete posts and bea ms, fitting wooden win dows and doors, putting on a roof, and laying a floor . Throughout the week we immersed ourselve s in Dominican culture, inc luding home stays, me ringue lessons, games of stickb all, a night out at a discot eca, a brindis (welcoming par ty) and a despedida (goodbye par ty). And, of course, this was not only a community ser vice pro ject; it was an academic project, too. We read aut hors such as Julia Alvare z and Jamaica Kincaid. We discussed topics rangin g from life on a Haitian Ba tey to and globalizatio n. For all of us, it was an amazi ng learning opportunity. ”
Julie YaTeS Dean of Studies, 9th and 10th grades Teacher: History and Human Values, Science
“In 2004, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire’s Forest (SPNHF) approached us with an idea for a service learning project, a guide of one of the trails on a SPNHF property in Bethlehem. So, beginning that Fall, instead of spending three weeks on textbook-based ecology, my biology class walked the trail at Bretzfelder Park to explore ideas of interest to amateur naturalists. Fall, Winter, and Spring, we identified sites along the trail, researched the ecology of the sites and wrote descriptive synopses of our findings in trail guide format. Our project accomplished several of the educational goals I had for my class. Students learned directly from the local environment, produced something that matters outside the classroom, and contributed to the community by meeting a need identified by a local organization.”
Imagine that...
The WhiTe MounTain School | Sustainability
“My Environmental Issues class has given me a new appreciation of the philosophical and ethical aspects of sustainability as a global, local, and personal issue. I understand much more about the ‘real world’ impact of the choices that we all make. I am impressed with the effect that individual actions can have in the world. Knowing that I make a difference, I can choose what kind of difference to make.” —Dan Finkelstein ’07 Needham, MA
All right, worms aren’tt glamorous. But a big box of worms that chomps large amounts of food trash into compost that’s ready for the garden is kind of exciting, especially when you think about its global implications in the struggle to create a more sustainable planet. So this evening you and two friends are hanging out in the dining hall’s kitchen, feeding the worms. (You don’t spoon it into their tiny mouths. You kind of shovel it on top of the worms.) You feed the worms and then you move on to your second task: weighing the food waste. All right. Weighing food waste is no more glamorous than feeding worms. But, it, too, has global implications. What if everyone were as conscientious as you and your friends, gathering data about waste so that waste, in general, might measurably decline and one day even fade into the past where it belongs? What if the entire world were more careful about consumption and recycling? Tonight, when you get back to your room, you’ll dive into your homework. You’ve got some readings about Political Action that you’re supposed to write a response to. Political Action as a topic really intrigues you. Because you know that, on a global scale, the difference you make weighing food trash in White Mountain’s dining hall is small. But someday, with the right combination of theoretical and practical skills, the difference you make just might be big. Today the kitchen, tomorrow the world, right? learn more
s ToRReY McM ability Studie illan
Chair, Sustain nterdisciplinary Studies ng li I Coordinator, orest, Whitewater Padd F & Coach: Farm
“Progressive education enga ges students in beyond the co authentic wor nfines of the cl k, work that re assroom. It as a stand, to care aches ks students to about what is get involved, to going on in th education crea take e world around tes opportuniti them. Progress es for students broader world ive to explore how . It helps them they relate to to think critica and it motivat the lly about facts es them to crea and informatio te positive chan helping them n ge. It empower to see that ever s students, y individual do education cele es make a diff brates work of erence. Progre all sorts—wor and the hear t— ssive k done with th and in the proc e hands, the he ess it cultivate ad, s joy, laughter , and gratitude .”
Farm And Forest: What We Did This Season Farm & Forest is part of the school’s Sustainability program. This season we harvested: • 57 ¾ lbs of pumpkins • 89 ¾ lbs of beets • 34 lbs of pole beans • 32 lbs of egg plant • 14 lbs of peppers • 82 ¾ lbs of leeks • 41 ½ lbs of bok choy • 56 ½ lbs of radishes • 5 lbs of zucchini • 4 ¾ lbs of spinach • 107 ¾ lbs of tomatoes • 111 lbs of potatoes • 61 lbs of cucumbers • 25 ¼ lbs of salad greens • 128 lbs of carrots • 108 lbs of squash • 18 ¾ lbs of swiss chard • 3 ¾ lbs of kale • 1 lb of collard greens • 72 ¼ lbs of onions • 10 lbs of basil For a total of 957 ¼ lbs of food! We picked 30 bushels of apples and pressed 33 gallons of apple cider. We helped prepare food for Harvest Dinner and many other meals. We renovated the compost bins, adding lids and removable slats up the fronts.
We chopped up piles of old tomato, squash, bean, and other plants to make them break down faster in the compost. We made hot compost piles that reached temperatures of 158F° turning our kitchen scraps, saw dust, leaves, weeds, and garden leftovers into rich soil that should be ready to fertilize the gardens in the spring. We hope to keep the piles hot and decomposing through the winter with volunteer help. We visited a worm farm in Vermont to learn how to build and maintain a healthy worm bin. We made a worm bin to demonstrate another way to turn kitchen scraps into fertilizer, which is fully functioning with 4 lbs of red wigglers in the dining hall. We framed and hung the door on the timberframe shed, and finished putting up the siding. We dug the foundation for the chicken coop, and laid and leveled the foundation stones and moved, hauled and tossed 600 bales of straw for the walls.
We cut sills, posts and beams for the chicken coop, assembled them, and raised the frame.
We emptied, weeded, and mulched all the garden beds in preparation for the winter.
We put down the floor of the coop, and cut and installed the rafters.
We built 4 bog bridges to keep runners and mountain bikers out of the mud on sections of the school’s trails.
We designed and have begun to build nesting boxes and perches for the chickens. We built two leaf bins and raked mountains of leaves to both fill the leaf bins and cover the garden beds for the winter.
The White Mountain School | The Arts and Beyond
Imagine that...
You always thought that your first high school play would involve mildly off-key singing and out-of-step dancing. Not even for a second did you picture yourself acting eight separate parts in an 80-character play about the aftermath of a hate crime. Even before the first rehearsal the director explains to your whole cast that “The Laramie Project” debuted off-Broadway in 2000 to high acclaim but is, nevertheless, not widely produced by community theatres and high schools. Talk on campus quickly becomes about why much of middle America steers clear of “The Laramie Project.” And for an entire semester, White Mountain is abuzz with well-considered discussions about the importance of tolerance and the meaning of neighborliness. That’s one of the reasons you like it here.
“I’m drawn to Theater because it is very philosophical and full of self exploration. I find inspiration in the characters and in the processes of understanding a play and creating a scene. My teacher doesn’t ‘instruct’ me, he guides and motivates and encourages me to investigate, to discover. This is true of all of my teachers at White Mountain; because of them I now know that learning is not something that I have to do, it is something that I want to do, and I want to do it well.”
—Dan Lee ’07 Seoul, South Korea
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“I like all of my classes and have tons of work. My mind gets really tired and then my body does, too, from all of the exercise. But the exercise also refreshes my mind. In Korea I always had to study in my room. Here I can learn a lot of things by looking at the mountains and listening to beautiful sounds of birds. I have learned a broader point of view here about nature, peace, and humanity in relation to the universe I’m very proud of it. The faculty is always ready and I to help me. My advisor is almost a mother to me. Every single person on this campus seems ready to help each you.” other. They are really willing to do something for you. —Dan Lee ’07 Seoul, South Korea
Senior Projects
A Senior Project provides qualified seniors with a serious academic challenge. Seniors design their own research. They work independently under the mentorship of a faculty member. In all cases, the “action” aspects of a project are supplemented by significant reading and critical writing. All students also create a project presentation to the entire White Mountain community.
Writing a Full-Length Novel
Senior Zachary Engel ’05 wrote a pop fiction (genre: crime) novel about a man named Mike Mason who is framed for industrial espionage. Through a plot populated by cunning villains, professional killers, and violent mobsters, Mike gathers the evidence that proves his innocence.
Exploring Poverty
In order to learn more about the culture of poverty and to get practical experience helping to break its cycle in families, Madeleine Peck ’07 volunteered full time with the West Side Center for Community Life in Manhattan, which provides shelter, a food kitchen, and social service counseling.
The Manhattan Project
In the summer of 1942, the Manhattan Project was created by the Federal government with the aim of developing an atomic weapon that could end the war in Europe. Jeff Brown ’04 read and wrote about the project that plucked academics and scientists from around the country and resettled them in secret atomic energy communities created in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at Los Alamos in New Mexico, and in Hanford, Washington. Why did it happen? How did it happen? And how did that one project forever change the United States and the world?
Horse Physiology
Lily Weinberg ’03 was interested in alternative medicine and in veterinary medicine. She took a 40-hour home study course about equine bone structure, musculature, and acupuncture meridians. She traveled to Loveland, Colorado for a week-long equine massage therapy certification course. She followed that course with a one-month internship with an equine veterinarian chiropractor in Saratoga Springs, New York. And, as part of her final presentation, she brought a horse to school and demonstrated horse massage.
naTe SnoW Dean of Students. Coach Men’s Lacrosse
Biology and Marine Environment
Vanessa Sychak ’00 thought she might like to major in Biology. For her senior project she studied human physiology and natural sciences through the National Outdoor Leadership School’s sea kayaking course in Baja, Mexico. The NOLS group tracked schools of fish, sea lions, and whales as part of its study of vegetation transects, plant and animal identification, and animal behavior. Vanessa’s NOLS experience also included a 12-hour backcountry first aid course.
Appalachian Trail
David Kilgour ’01 was intrigued by the fact that White Mountain’s Outdoor Learning Expeditions seem to heighten feelings of connectedness with the world in both students and faculty. How does step after step, mile after mile of hard struggle in the wilderness help people experience an aspect of being that they rarely experience otherwise? Having demonstrated to the WILSKI instructors at White Mountain that he was capable of solitary hiking, David hiked a significant portion of the Appalachian Trail, keeping a journal of his experiences, thoughts, and surroundings.
Gali Schools
In India, only one in ten children go to school. The others roam in the galis (streets), unattended and illiterate. Gali Schools are supported by several nonprofits in India (among them, Concern India). They employ local teachers to work in the slums teaching children 3 hours a day. When at school, the students get nutrition and health care as well as education. Kelly Cornell ’04 spent two weeks in New Delhi working with Concern India and making a documentary about the Gali School phenomenon.
“At White Mountain we push kids with appropriate levels of challenge intellectually, physically and spiritually, and the result is usually impressive growth on all levels. This is not a place for fading into the woodwork or just getting by. Students here are not, by any means, all “the same.” They come from all over the world. Their educational backgrounds are different, their families are different, their cultures are different, and their histories of success and failure are different. But what happens to each of them once they get here is that they receive very close and caring attention from their teachers, their advisors, their coaches and their friends. Nobody “gets lost” because, frankly, everyone here cares too much to let that happen. Nobody simply “skates by.” Everyone gets the right amount of challenge in all areas of their life, works very hard, and, by and large, feels great about that process and the success that it fosters.”
The WhiTe MounTain School | Community
“The single thing that I value most about school is the size of the community. It’s small enough that every voice counts. The way I see it, that makes the community itself totally fair. Faculty, administrators, and students all have a say about what goes on here. There are formal leadership roles for students – the citizenship committee, student council, proctorships and so on. But even those of us who don’t have one of these roles make contributions. I started this year’s Sustainability Committee just because I was interested in helping out and learning how I affect the world, not because I had to or somebody had to. I feel like many students here are fairly well developed leaders on their ways to becoming great leaders.” —Jan Wojtasinski ’08 Kingston, MA
White Mountain Traditions • The school starts the day as a whole community with Morning Meeting in the Great Hall. As everyone gathers, each student checks in with his or her advisor. Advisor/advisee relationships at White Mountain tend to be very close, so checking in is far more than roll call. It’s a chance for advisors to find out how advisees are really doing.
• It’s the Light Blues vs. the Dark Blues at Community Weekend and throughout the year. Light Blue and Dark Blue teams have a long tradition at White Mountain. The rules: siblings are always on the same team; married faculty never are; and the most points at the end of the school year earns bragging rights! • Orientation trips are a time to meet new classmates and teachers. Paddle, hike, mountain bike, or climb and make lasting friendship— all in the first week of school! • During Halloween, Spirit Week allows the WMS community to show its creativity and colors! A “costumes rule” is in effect for the whole week—a great way to get points for your team! Go Blue! • Just before midterms we have Stress Relief Day with games, dodgeball, nap time, yoga, chess tournaments, bowling and more!
• As the snow falls in the winter, students are surprised with Mountain Day. The whole school heads off for a day of skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, and swimming at a local ski resort.
• Twice a month we have Community Dinner. We celebrate diversity with International Night; enjoy a Harvest Dinner, where we eat what we’ve reaped (and sown); have fun during Spirit Week with a spooky Halloween Dinner; stretch our minds with our Cultural Event Series; relax with Advisor Dinners; and applaud our own with National Honors Society and Sports Awards Banquets. • Holiday Celebration is a festive time to celebrate Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Seniors ring in the season by candlelight with Silent Night. • The Theater Department stages one-acts in the winter and a full length play in the Spring. • Winter Festival is filled with events like snow sculptures, S’mores and Ski Movie Night, ice climbing, slideshows, sledding, and a semiformal dance. • Just before graduation the community participates in Pass the Book. It is a time to reflect on the year and give thanks to our WMS family.
The WhiTe MounTain School | Making Friends
imagine that...
Sunday night, when you first arrived on campus, your dorm proctor told you that, soon, you’d consider many of the students and teachers at White Mountain to be your friends. You found that hard to believe given that (a) you felt pretty strange in this new place, (b) teachers aren’t supposed to be your friends, and (c) you don’t believe in magic. But almost before you could say “When is the next bus back to Illinois?” you found yourself on a mountain biking trip on hundreds of acres of winding trails. Evidently, there is something about the combination of sunshine, laughter, challenge, dry leaves on a bumpy path, riverside pine glades, panoramic views, and an abundance of oxygen that is – well, let’s not say “magical.” Let’s just say “enchanting.” Because by the end of that trip you felt a strong bond with all ten of your fellow cyclists (students and teachers). All of those people felt a bond with you, too. Indeed, you consider each one of them to be a significant friend. And the school year isn’t even a week old. learn more
“Here the girls are your sisters. The boys are your brothers. ‘Hey. Are you ok?’ they might ask when they see you. And if they ask, they really want to know. ‘Are you ok?’” —Sharron Mazimba ’09 Nairobi, Kenya
Home Away From Home
ngness to li il w e h t s a h r o “My advis o help me t s s e n n e p o e h t nd understand me a retty cool. p ’s e h S . n io t a u deal with any sit l put aside ’l e h S . d n o b e s clo We have a really lfless, and e s e b , g in o d ’s e anything that sh tes to me la e r e h S . y it r io p pr make me her to need it.” I n e h w , d e e n te ’07 the way I —Emma Whi e, MD Baltimor
Bupe Mazimba ’07 and her sister, Sharon ’09, are from Zambia. BUPE: The education system in Zambia is very poor, and that was our motivation in looking at American boarding schools. At first it was my older sister, Angela, and I who came. Northern New Hampshire was quite a culture shock for us. First of all, it’s not what Africans think of as American culture and I was not impressed with snow. Strap planks of wood to my feet and slide down mountains? Are they crazy? SHARON: It wasn’t so much of a shock for me because my two sisters had come before. But coming at all took a lot of trust in my father, who had chosen the school for all of us. BUPE: In Africa we lived in a huge family and felt very loved. Girls in African culture are the gems of the family, sheltered. A father wants more than anything to see his daughters marry well. But my father is a diplomat and an economist. He wanted to see us well educated. Sending his girls off to a small New Hampshire school thousands of miles away was a huge risk for him and it was very scary for us to come, but we trusted him and now we see that it was the right choice. It is so helpful that we don’t need to be lonely. People are like family at White Mountain. SHARON: Angela has graduated and is now at The American University in London. Bupe is applying to Mount Holyoke, Smith, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania and wants to study economics and international relations. I want to study science in college. I hope our little brother studies here some day. Our father wants us all to return to Africa after our education is finished and become what he calls “assets to the African economy.” This is what we want, too.
aMY laWTon Teacher: English Coach: Skiing/Snowboarding “At White Mountain we talk about assessment and learning in ways that aren’t one-dimensional. We ask kids to think around an issue rather than at it. For example, I’m teaching a course in which we read novels about the Vietnam War. Some are written by North Vietnamese writers and some are written by Americans. As would happen in any high school, we discuss and write about what we’ve read. But the students also have to create pieces of art that help them express one particular emotion that they have found consistently in the reading. One senior, Jake Dexter, was particularly moved by the authors’ depictions of homesickness, loss of emotional moorings, and loss of identity. So he is focusing on ‘loss’ as he creates a photo collage of landscapes dominated by roads that seem to point nowhere. ‘Who am I?’ the novels’ characters seem to ask. ‘Whom have I killed? What have I become?’”
It is my pleasure to recommend... Who is the typical incoming White Mountain student? There’s no such “animal.” But there are certain qualities that commonly describe our graduating seniors (and for which we like to think we can claim some credit). We think you’ll see some here in this letter of recommendation written for a White Mountain senior.
Dear College
Admissions Co
November 13 mmittee: , 2006 It is my pleasu re to write this letter suppor tin Emma’s advis or for the four g Emma White years she has ’s application to her extremely been here at W your program well. I have als hite Mountain . I have been o had the plea Geography cla School, and ha sure of teaching ss her freshm ve come to kn he an r ye in ar tw Emma is a stro , and a year-lo ow o cla ss es : a semester-long ng American Li ng student wh Cultural terature course o brings first-r mature from he ate abilities to her junior year r freshman ye the academic ar to last year student who ta table. I have wa . , and kes pride in pr tched her oducing fine wo she has developed into a se about Emma is rious, conscien rk. As a classr her willingness tious oom teacher, to challenge he where studen one of the thin ts are given a r classmates. gs I value mos particular text We often hold Slaughterhou t to discuss. Onc “Socratic sem se-Five, Emm inars” in class e, a spent the en structure in th tire time defend during a discussion about Vo e novel. No on nnegut’s ing her opinio e else in the in ground. She is n about Vonneg ner circle agre not afraid of go ut’s use of ed with her, bu ing out on the The girl has go t Em pr ma firmly stoo overbial “limb” t academic inte d her grity. She is wh and being diffe consumer” of rent than her at my graduate information an classmates. d the world ar school profes unique opinio sor used to ca ound her. Em ns, and defend ma’s abilities ll an “informed them ar ticulat the student wh to think for he ely, are seldom o finished the rself, formulat seen in one so book a week ah literature like e young. Emma ead of deadlin a sponge. Em has always be e. She is a vora ma is also a so material. She en ci ph ou ist makes connec s reader and ab icated critical tions, finds m thinker and en sorbs Along with th eaning, and pa jo ys ese fine academ ta ck lin g complex rticipates activ skills to the ta ic abilities, Em ely in class. ble. This prov ma brings a st es to be an un rong work ethi adults and peer be c and excellent atable mix. Sh s. She is willing e communicat self-advocacy to put time an enthusiasm an es very well wi d ef fort into an d, more impo th others, both rtantly, follows y “project.” Em woman and a them through ma tackles thin mature studen to their compl gs with t in so many wa Emma shines etion. She is a ys. outside of the responsible yo classroom as working with ung well. She volu our Commun ity Service pr nteers on and not afraid to tr ogram, stor yt of f campus: as y new things. el ling in local el a dorm tutor, She has been Forest crew an ementary scho active in our th d has been in ols. Emma is eater program strumental in frame shed an . She joined ou running the sc d chicken coop r Farm and hool gardens . Again, Emm Emma is not and helping to a by nature an build our timbe outspoken lead puts herself “out there” an government or r d is eager to le er: sh other typical ar n new skills. “leadership” po e has never been interested lead by exam sitions within in running fo ple, quietly, ev r student the community er yday. When weekend, Em . What she do other students ma finds a loca es, however, is are complaini l jewelry-mak with others. Re ng in ab g ou w cently I watch orkshop and t being bored ed her gently organizes a gr on the someone had correct a fresh oup to attend given him. Sh . She is kind man who had e encouraged herself with gr shrugged of f him to say “tha ace and tact. a compliment nks” and be m It has been m ore respectfu y pleasure to l. Emma cond work with Em four years I ha ucts ma, and, frank ve been checki ly, I cannot im ng her in ever about her not agine this plac y mor ning at being there in e without her. our Mor ning the Great Hal she has enriche For Meeting, and l next year. I kn d ours. It woul it is hard to th ow she will en d certainly be strong candid ink rich your com remiss of any ate. Please feel munity just as Admissions Co free to contac mmittee not to t me here at sc consider her a hool with any further questio ns. Thanks. Sincerely, Amy Lawton Faculty, English
and Histor y D
epts.
The WhiTe MounTain School | Sports and Wilderness Skills
“White Mountain gives me the opportunity to try anything—guitar, climbing, biking, whitewater paddling. It is as simple as asking someone to teach you. The mutual respect inside and outside the classroom opens up a lot of connections and it builds strong relationships for learning and living.”
—Robbie Powers ’08 Ridgefield, CT
Sports Year-Round FALL Men’s Soccer Women’s Soccer Hiking & Fitness Rock Climbing Mountain Biking Intro to Wilderness Skills Farm & Forest Crew WINTER Snowboarding Skiing Backcountry Skiing Winter Wilderness Skills Winter Activities** • Theatre • Dance • Indoor Climbing • Yoga **Offered 1-2 days a week SPRING Men’s Lacrosse Women’s Lacrosse Hiking & Fitness Rock Climbing Road Biking Whitewater Paddling Farm & Forest Crew
learn more
“At my old school, no one knew your name unless you were in a varsity sport. Here, no one knows what sport you’re in, but everyone knows your name.” —Gallagher Bishop ’02 Makati City, Philippines
The Wilderness Skills Program MaRK VeRMeal heights. ne is afraid of “I think ever yo to it. ed ut you get us I know I am. B g scared in be to get used Climbing, you ’ You can’t ‘What if I fall? in lots of ways. at question th t of time on lo a d t en sp ly real u’ve got to ge of a climb. Yo do st ju d in the middle an t of your head that thought ou et happier. G . ns zo ri ho ur it. Open up yo The view wer through. Po . ng yi tr p ee K great.” from the top is otzer ’10 —Conner Sm J Pennington, N
Director, Wilderness Skills Program Teacher: Science Instructor: Rock Climbing, Whitewater Paddling “Here’s a typical scene. It’s a Saturday afternoon in September and I’m rock climbing 600 feet up on the biggest cliff in the East with two of my science students belaying me. That’s right, THEY are holding the rope that’s connected to me. THEY are taking responsibility for my security. How did we all get there? I didn’t drag them there, WE CLIMBED up there! Am I uncomfortable with a student looking after my security? No. How do I know they will catch me if I fall? I know because the other instructors at White Mountain and I carefully and deliberately taught them these and other skills that will last their lifetime. “Although on the surface it appears that, in the Wilderness Skills (WILSKI) Program, we’re just teaching technical skills and going paddling or skiing or climbing or hiking or biking, what’s not immediately obvious is that WILSKI is more. It teaches students how to embrace adventure and develop a spirit that assesses and manages risks intelligently, handles setbacks, and, approaches life with confidence and flexibility. Whether rock climbing 600 feet up Cannon Cliff, driving through rush hour traffic, traveling to a rough part of town or the developing world to do community service, or buying your first house, life can be full of risks. It’s usually the person with the adventurous spirit who navigates through these challenges with the greatest degree of success.”
“The school ta kes you step by step through do with climbi ever ything to ng. You lear n all of the skill you get outsid s and the mor e, the more yo e u climb, the be about yourself. tter you feel It has an amaz ing impact on On advanced your sanity. levels you end up belaying yo from your anch ur teacher up or. You’re resp onsible for your well-being just teacher’s as he or she ha s always been lear n how to ta for yours. You ke matters into your own hand s, responsibly.” —Austin Walke r ’08 Topsham, ME
“This is my third season climbing. For me it’s centering, being on the rock outside. You feel like you’re working with the rock. Also it’s an amazing way to meet new people. And the great thing about Whitewater paddling has a way of driving
climbing is that it’s a
you places on the river and in what you
skill that you keep for
think you can do. I see the power of myself
life. I don’t plan to grow
out there and discover I can do anything.
out of it.”
I feel like I can change the world. —Emma White ’07 Baltimore, MD
—Dan Finkelstein ’07 Needham, MA
The White Mountain School is a co-educational, college preparatory boarding school that uses both a classically taught core curriculum and experiential learning opportunities to prepare students for rigorous college studies and life beyond formal academics. Enrollment is generally under 125 students (50% boys, 50% girls), allowing an average class size of 9. To arrange a tour of The White Mountain School or schedule an interview, contact our Admissions Department at: (800) 545-7813 (603) 444-2928 admissions@whitemountain.org
The savings are:
This book is printed on Mohawk paper which is manufactured with wind-generated electricity and has a post consumer recycled percentage of 100%.
Application forms can be downloaded from our website at: www.whitemountain.org
29.98 trees preserved for the future 86.58 lbs. waterborne waste not created 12,737 gallons wastewater flow saved 1,408 lbs. solid waste not generated 2,775 lbs. net greenhouse gases prevented 21,238,453 BTUS energy not consumed
Savings from the use of emission-free wind-generated electricity: 1,442 lbs. air emissions not generated
3,430 cubic feet natural gas unused
In other words the savings from the use of wind-generated electricity are equivalent to:
2007 Global Sustainability
not driving 1,561 miles OR
DeSiGn:
Good Design, LLC coPY: Rebecca Coffey eDiToR: Rachel Tardelli PRinTinG: Lebon Press, Inc. PhoToGRaPhY: Robert Falcetti, The WMS Community aRTWoRK: WMS Students Š The White Mountain School, All rights reserved
planting 97 trees
If all that you
imagined were true, you’d be at
The White Mountain School.
371 West Farm Road Bethlehem, NH 03574 (800) 545-7813 (603) 444-2928 admissions@whitemountain.org www.whitemountain.org