The North Branch School is a non-profit, independent school in Ripton, VT serving middle school age children (grades 7-9). Education at NBS is centered on self-directed and active learning and fosters a strong community based on close student-teacher-parent relationships. With twenty-seven students and a low student/teacher ratio, The North Branch School is able to build a rigorous, flexible, personalized and engaging environment.
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9: Number of bagged carrots we had at one time in the fridge. - Tal; in his morning meeting comment . He gave us a prompt to put some of our life ‘by the numbers’
10000- times we have to tell someone that they’re muted over the zoom meeting. - Isabelle; from her morning meeting comment
100s. How many more hugs I give my mom. - Sam; from his morning meeting comment
Infinity-the amount i miss all of you - Leila; from her morning meeting comment
10,000: the hertz frequency at which the mudroom door squeals when it is opened or closed - me; from my morning meeting comment
1: How many Frames Per Second my computer has on Zoom. - Axel; from his morning meeting comment
5: how many times I wish I was fishing right now. - Ezra; from his morning meeting comment
80000. How many times I have sent Tal drafts for the poem I'm writing - Oscar; from his morning meeting comment (actually, it was just three).
.2- (Far less than before) telephone marketers calling my house - Giles; from his morning meeting comment
5 times during dinner I mouth words at Shadow and have a conversation with him about what I’m thinking - Luke; from his morning meeting comment
2-3 times- the number of times I am yelling “IT’S CARPENTRY TIME!” as I walk down to the basement carrying a long board that I am going to cut up. - Declan; from his morning meeting comment
3 times my parents call us downstairs for dinner
3 times dinner isn't ready yet
1 time we eat dinner - Nate; from his morning meeting comment
18-times a day when I fix my hair - Jacques; from his morning meeting comment
1–the number of times I’ve edited a Google Doc! Ta-Daa - Michael Seligmann; from his morning meeting comment
75 times a day I clean the damn glass table tops - Cindy Seligmann; from her morning meeting comment
Steve, do you guys really run the dishwasher four times a day? - Tal; questioning an approximation Steve has made
Yeah . . . we actually run the dishwasher before dinner, after dinner, and sometimes a second time after dinner, so at least three or four times a day. - Steve; assuring Tal he is not very far off
I think I just stapled something. - Steve; during the ninth grade math class, using a staple as a gavel
Don’t decide at age 14 that you can’t do something . . . you haven’t been around long enough to know that.
- Tal; during the ninth grade lit class
10000- times we have to tell someone that they’re muted over the zoom meeting. - Isabelle; from her morning meeting comment
100s. How many more hugs I give my mom. - Sam; from his morning meeting comment
Infinity-the amount i miss all of you - Leila; from her morning meeting comment
10,000: the hertz frequency at which the mudroom door squeals when it is opened or closed - me; from my morning meeting comment
1: How many Frames Per Second my computer has on Zoom. - Axel; from his morning meeting comment
5: how many times I wish I was fishing right now. - Ezra; from his morning meeting comment
80000. How many times I have sent Tal drafts for the poem I'm writing - Oscar; from his morning meeting comment (actually, it was just three).
.2- (Far less than before) telephone marketers calling my house - Giles; from his morning meeting comment
5 times during dinner I mouth words at Shadow and have a conversation with him about what I’m thinking - Luke; from his morning meeting comment
2-3 times- the number of times I am yelling “IT’S CARPENTRY TIME!” as I walk down to the basement carrying a long board that I am going to cut up. - Declan; from his morning meeting comment
3 times my parents call us downstairs for dinner
3 times dinner isn't ready yet
1 time we eat dinner - Nate; from his morning meeting comment
18-times a day when I fix my hair - Jacques; from his morning meeting comment
1–the number of times I’ve edited a Google Doc! Ta-Daa - Michael Seligmann; from his morning meeting comment
75 times a day I clean the damn glass table tops - Cindy Seligmann; from her morning meeting comment
Steve, do you guys really run the dishwasher four times a day? - Tal; questioning an approximation Steve has made
Yeah . . . we actually run the dishwasher before dinner, after dinner, and sometimes a second time after dinner, so at least three or four times a day. - Steve; assuring Tal he is not very far off
I think I just stapled something. - Steve; during the ninth grade math class, using a staple as a gavel
Don’t decide at age 14 that you can’t do something . . . you haven’t been around long enough to know that.
- Tal; during the ninth grade lit class
At the North Branch School the 7th graders are doing their annual reading of Wislawa Szymborska's poems and imitating a few of them. Here's Axel's take on "Into the Ark."
Into the Ark with something to stroke when stressed.
Into the Ark with the sunlight from forgotten times,
Persisting through troubled times.
Into the Ark with wood
To build foundations anew
Into the Ark with nets,
To catch you when you fall
Into the Ark with heirlooms,
Catching the identities from those before us.
Into the Ark with glasses,
To read the past and squint into the future.
Into the Ark with small hobbies,
To give and take time.
Into the Ark with yourself, unsure of what is to come
Out of the Ark, with others, stronger than before.
Into the Ark with something to stroke when stressed.
Into the Ark with the sunlight from forgotten times,
Persisting through troubled times.
Into the Ark with wood
To build foundations anew
Into the Ark with nets,
To catch you when you fall
Into the Ark with heirlooms,
Catching the identities from those before us.
Into the Ark with glasses,
To read the past and squint into the future.
Into the Ark with small hobbies,
To give and take time.
Into the Ark with yourself, unsure of what is to come
Out of the Ark, with others, stronger than before.
