Fair Trade Field Trip

Emma Willard School is proud to be a Fair Trade high school--all food in the cafeteria is sourced from local or fair trade vendors. After studying the practice and purpose of Fair Trade, students visited Ballston Spa, a local town which has declared itself a Fair Trade Town, one of only 17 in the United States. Girls toured the town, visited the local fair trade coffee shop Coffee Planet, and learned more about Fair Trade at Mango Tree, a local import store sourced only from Fair Trade vendors.

Outside Mango Tree Fair Trade Imports

Delany, the owner's daughter, talked with the girls about
Fair Trade. She also told them about some of the countries
she had visited with her mother on purchasing trips.

Outside Coffee Planet, a local Fair Trade coffee shop

Enjoyed some coffee and snacks

Brunch Cruise on the Hudson River

Sunday the girls had a choice of two activities: spelunking in Howes Cavern or going on a river boat cruise between Troy and Albany. The Hudson River used to be an essential industrial link, and today it is still is home to many scenic views. The girls enjoyed the food and the sunshine!

Some of the state buildings in Albany

Albany's skyline

Karaoke!

Tonight was a special treat: a fancy Asian buffet dinner (complete with sushi!), bubble tea and karaoke! The girls ate lots of delicious food and sang the night away.

Last Day of Community Service

Today was our last day of community service with the Emmaus summer camp. For the third time, our girls paired up with a young camper, helped them select books and read, and played games and other activities with them. Our girls made these kids day with this one-on-one attention. At the end, we celebrated the end of this community service program with some popsicles. 

Emma Willard summer students and Emmaus campers

Good bye! Have a great school year! Keep reading in English!

Boston Trip

On Boston Harbor

Yesterday the girls spent the day in Boston, exploring all it has to offer. We began our day with a personalized tour of the Harvard Campus, led my teacher Shannon Snyder, who used to teach at Harvard's summer program. Following lunch in Harvard Square, we headed off to a Duck Boat (land and water) tour of Boston, which helped girls learn the history of this American city. Finally, we went to the Boston Aquarium. The day ended with shopping and dinner in Quincy Market. Check out these happy girls below!

Entering through
Harvard Gate

Expert advice from Ms. Snyder

Posing with the John Harvard Statue

Photo Op!

It is good luck to touch the toe of this statue

Outside the Boston Aquarium

About to get on the Duck Boat!

Boston city view from the water

Our driver/tour guide was very funny--and he let several
of the girls "drive" the Duck Boat once we were on the
Charles River!

Writer's Retreat Shakespeare Outing

Sunday afternoon brought Shakespeare and lots of bonding to the girls of the Writers' Retreat! The six girls who had been with us in Session One were joined by four new Session Two-ers, and together they were whisked off to yet another great day with Shakespeare & Company! The performance this time was the comedy Love's Labour's Lost, set in 1940's England and complete with dancing, singing, and period costumes. The girls were in hysterics for much of the play, and had a wonderful shared first-day experience. 

After dinner together in town, we all piled back into the vans for a very talkative and happy drive home. By the time we reached Emma Willard that evening, Session One had become Session Two, and all the girls were firm friends. It was a perfect way to complete the transition!

The air conditioning in the theatre was so strong that blankets were provided, and there's no faster to way to make a new friend than share a blanket together! 

Writers from Session One bonded with writers joining Session Two

Poetry

In today's afternoon class, the students in Ms. Hume's Summer English Intensive class learned about similes and metaphors and wrote poetry. The girls took pictures around the Emma Willard campus then used creativity to write a poem describing an image or taking an imaginative leap based on the image. There were some wonderfully descriptive poems inspired by the images they found.

Photo and Poem by Jenny

Hope in the Chapel
by Jenny

Walking into the chapel, inside is cold
There are two tiny windows
Sunshine goes in through it and becomes shadow
The shadows look just like golden toast
Desiring getting out like a little poodle
Everyday is full of hope




The Most Beautiful Flower on Campus
by Jessica

I heard the flowers said on campus,
"Come on, enjoy our dresses"
I said nothing,
for I had another beautiful figure in my mind

Photo and Poem by Jessica

and it is the angel in the world.
It is-- a small yellow flower,
growing on the side of the road.
I didn't know
how many times has she hurt,
how much laugh has she got.
But she still lived near the road
with her little cute face looked at me.
I asked, "Why you are on this planet,"
She answered, "I want to decorate this world"
I was deeply moved by her,
and left without saying anything.
Looking at the water on her face,
nobody knew it was her tear.
I believe that,
no matter how hard it is,
her smile will be remembered forever.

Photo and Poem by Iva

The Gargoyle Man who can't be Moved
by Iva

A gargoyle man hides under the shadow
His eyes like the burning red cherries,
sharing at the free birds in the sky
The golden tree is hugging the sunshine
The wind is blowing softly
Wind's footprint become the waves on the grass
When the night come down, grey and black
Gargoyle man blinks his eyes
A sparkling tear rolling down his face
Under his smile there is a broken heart.
He want to pick the cherries feed the birds
He want to sleeping in sun's arm and let the wind kiss his face
And let the grass around his body
But this moment, he is just a gargoyle man who can't be moved.

Sunday Funday!

Lisa, master pancake chef!

Sunday started off with some homemade pancakes for breakfast. After that, the girls divided up into three groups; the girls in the Writer's Retreat went to the Shakespeare Festival to see Love's Labors Lost, one group went on a high ropes course at Adirondack Extreme and the third went shopping at the outlets in Lake George. We ended the day with our Sunday night cookout and a live concert in downtown Troy. What a fun, busy day!

Ready to take on the high ropes course!

High in the trees...

Icy made it safely!

Teamwork!

Zipline!

Shopping is hard work, too...everyone fell asleep on the way back from the outlets.