Minimester: Sustain for Tomorrow

Minimester Sustain for Tomorrow is a Big Hit!

While our Grade 8 students were away on their language trips during the week before Spring Break, our Grades 6 & 7 students had the opportunity to participate in Minimester! As Middle School Assistant Principal Kristin Gilliland explains, "Minimester is a unique week of interactive workshops that allow students to explore topics beyond the traditional curriculum. Grades 6 & 7 students engage in thought-provoking workshops designed to foster curiosity, empathy, and collaboration. This year's theme, Sustain for Tomorrow: Learning from the Past to Create a Better, More Sustainable Future engaged students to reflect on sustainability through a variety of engaging sessions. Workshops, led by teachers, staff, and parents, covered diverse topics such as ethical fashion in Thrift and Thread, innovative technology in Sustainable Coding, and space conservation in Sustaining Space, which explored solutions for cleaning up space junk. Through these immersive experiences, students gained a deeper understanding of sustainability while connecting with peers in meaningful ways."

At the end of the week, students were asked to write thank you notes to their workshop leaders. Here are just a few of their comments:

"Mrs. McCauley, I don’t normally have you as my English teacher but getting to know you was awesome. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into making workshops more fun, like trying the falafel at home before making it in cooking."
"I love how Ms. Coviello helped everyone make good flowers."
"Dear Mr. Jordan, your workshop brought me joy and I learned about cryptids."
"Thank you Ms. Beck and Ms. K for making Visionary Art more fun than I thought! I expected to just look at art the whole day. It turned out to be alright!"
"Mr. Ell was really motivational in Bikes for the World, and I think that it was a worthwhile experience with him there. He made everybody enjoy the service, and I really enjoyed it."
"Dear Teacher King, During minimester 2025 I experienced and learned several things. But queer history class is an experience I will never forget. I learned so much about famous queer figures in our lives and information on the AIDS pandemic. I absorbed all of the interesting information taught to me. I had never thought about this in my life. Thank you."
"I thank Ms. Olson for teaching us what is greenwashing and exposing companies of lying."
"Mr. Frayer: I enjoyed creating music and even though I am new to it it was very fun."
"I'm thankful for thrift and thread with Ms. Wright because she helped me understand how to do things and we got to visit a thrift shop."