The Rookery

Last Thursday, we were treated to a trip to Carleton to wrap up the work we'd been doing with Max and Emma, two students in Victoria Morse's history class: Renaissance Worlds.  Our students learned about historical maps with Max and Emma and they created maps of a place special to them in the spirit of the 17th century maps we explored.  They also created a map of the way they imagined Illyria, the quasi-imaginary setting of Twelfth Night.

While at Carleton, the students were able to see a special screening of Twelfth Night that was filmed in the Globe Theater in London.  We were the only ones in the Carleton cinema and the screening was just for us!  We saw the final scene and it was great fun to listen to the frantic whispers of the kids as they tried to figure out who was who up on stage.

We also got to see the work of other students in the class including a very detailed map and explanation of the type of villa that Duke Orsino might have lived in.  Many of us were amazed that they stored the grain harvest right in the main part of the villa (fewer rats and thieves!)  A big thrill was seeing the maps we made in class mounted right along the work of the college students.  The maps are still there in the gallery if you get a chance to stop by in the Weitz Center (the gallery is near the cinema).

We were already feeling pretty special when we went back to the cinema to find three actors from the Carleton production of Twelfth Night.  They spoke to the students at length about the process of being in a play and the characters they played in Twelfth Night.  Their professor, Pierre Hecker, was also there to answer questions.

We ended with a "scavenger hunt" that took us to several buildings on Carleton's campus, including the library where the Herons were thrilled to find a room called "The Rookery"  Sadly, my photos were all too blurry to be useful.

It was a wonderful experience to work with the Carleton students on our Twelfth Night project.  The Herons really enjoyed learning with new teachers and exploring a new place (or seeing a familiar place in a new way.)  Carleton and St. Olaf both go out of their way to connect to Northfield schools.  This provides us with access to resources we would never have as an elementary school.  It also deepens the college students' connections to the world beyond their classrooms and dorms.  It's on days like Thursday I know without a doubt that, as our mission states:  Prairie Creek is a community school. 

Many thanks to all of the people who made the day possible: Tammy, Shari, Stephen, Joe C., Victoria Morse, Adrienne Falcon, Winona Levitt Weindling, Pierre Hecker, Max, Emma, Hannah, Andrew, and Fredrick.  (Whew, seems like this was a community effort, too!)