For science enrichment the kids were given a bunch of fossils to break out of rocks back this past November just before Thanksgiving. Each of the kids were able to break open large pieces of shale rock purchased from the You Dig Fossil Quarries down in Delta Utah. The rock was shipped to Maple Lake and it was split out so that both schools could participate in the activity. 

The fossils that the kids were looking at were trilobites from the Cambrian Period of geologic time (540 million years ago). During this time Utah was covered by an inland tropical sea which allowed for a multitude of shallow marine organisms to live and thrive in the warm waters because the North American Continent was right on the equator.

The kids were able to break open the shale rock to get to the fossils using hammers. The kids got to learn how geologists and paleontologists break open rocks to find fossils and what different types of fossils can tell us about the geologic past. When the activity was over the kids got to keep their fossils in their supervisor bin so that the fossils can be brought home over the holiday break.

The 50th Annual Springville High School Art Show returns and one of our own will be featured in this year’s event. Each year the Springville, Utah local art museum requests submissions of local high school-age (grades 11-12) artists to submit their creative work. This year only 30% of the submissions were accepted into the show that will be on display from February 5, 2022, through March 25, 2022. This Maple Lake Student, working with pen and ink, became eligible under the following conditions; an original work developed from personal experience, imagination, or direct observation. The artist states that his inspiration came from Lovecraftian Horror, a genre that began in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s that emphasized the unknowable and incomprehensible.

This juried exhibition will have 12 experienced judges that are familiar with high school art in various mediums to judge and select award winners. Many of our students at Maple Lake Academy do creative and inspiring work. We congratulate this young student on his piece and earning a spot in the upcoming art show. Way to go!

This time of year has a hustle and bustle to it that does not compare to any other time of year. Here at Maple Lake Academy, we embrace the warmth of the season with fun activities, decorations and earned passes for students and families. Passes originate with the clinical department and provide an opportunity for students to practice their skills and continue to do the good work they are engaged in. Going on pass during school days is also an opportunity for growth.

If your child is off campus for more than a couple of days of school, the education department will send an email with information to assist you and the student with schoolwork. This includes our computer policy and log on information for your child. All Maple Lake rules and policies continue to be applied to the off campus school days. Each student will need a computer and internet access to complete the work assigned by teachers. Most, if not all, assignments will be accessible online for off-campus passes.

You may always refer to the school calendar which is found at the top of this blog for the dates that school is not in session. Maple Lake Academy is an ESY school (Extended School Year). We offer five terms, (9) weeks each, that allow students to continue their school program and minimize the loss of skills. It is not summer school but a strong and rigorous academic program that supports executive functioning, deepens concept knowledge and promotes scholary attitudes. The education department wishes all of you a warm and safe season!

Curiosity: “A strong desire to know or learn something”; “Interest leading to inquiry”; “inquisitiveness”. These are just three of many dictionary definitions for the word curiosity. When it comes to education, curiosity is an essential quality for both students and educators. Without the desire to learn and expand knowledge, school would be nothing more than a “boring waste” of several good hours of the day. Curiosity is motivation for the hard work that education requires. 

According to Emily Kaplan (2019), “curiosity is the necessary impetus for learning; [curiosity] questions, whether direct or indirect, are the only way to deepen comprehension; and that understanding comes only in degrees”. Students not only learn but enjoy learning when they are curious. Here at Maple Lake Academy, we embrace and celebrate the many differences of our students and the many different forms their curiosity takes. 

Albert Einstein is often credited with a quote saying that “everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. Our goal at Maple Lake Academy is to ensure that each and every student feels like the genius he or she is. Some students excel in math and enjoy solving puzzles. Some students prefer reading or writing stories, and others shine when they are hands on. We work to cultivate each learning style so each student may feel successful.

In my classroom I like to have a very structured plan for a lesson and leave room to encourage curiosity and initiative from the students. I use a mixture of teaching approaches in the hope that I may cater to varying learning styles. For example, we read and take notes, watch videos, play games, and even venture outside for activities to better engage with history. When we talked about the California Gold Rush in our last unit of US History, students listened to me explain the history and watched a video. Then we went outside and the students “panned for gold” by digging up little “golden nuggets” I had previously buried in the dirt. The activity illustrated the frustrations and elations the miners may have experienced back in 1849. By using many different mediums for the same topic I was able to help each student not only understand the topic but remember it as well-not a single student got that question wrong on the test!

While my example is small and simple, it is a reflection of what we strive to do here in the academic department. We as teachers are well trained in adapting to different learning styles and work to be flexible with our students. Everybody is a genius-it is our job to empower and encourage our students to find their genius so that each and every boy or girl can take pride in their efforts to learn and have a positive education experience.

Written by Social Studies teacher Stacey Medley

Welcome to our newest addition to the Education department, Stacey Medley. Stacey graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Sociology and a minor in German language. Stacey is currently pursuing her Master of Education with Colorado State University. Stacey has worked at Maple Lake Academy since 2017, having started as a residential staff and moving up to become the residential director over the girl’s school. Stacey left for a short while to focus on her master’s degree and pursue other work experience at Center For Change. Stacey was overjoyed to return to Maple Lake Academy as the social studies teacher and is thrilled to be starting her teaching career in such a wonderful and supportive environment.

Stacey enjoys working with students who have unique and induvial needs. Stacey’s approach to teaching is to help students love learning and feel successful, no matter their past success in school. Stacey aims to boost the confidence of her students and help them realize that no matter the subject matter, educational growth is both important and possible for every single individual to achieve. 

The Bonneville Salt Flats is a densely-packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. The property is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Federally classified as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and Special Recreation Management Area, the Bonneville Salt Flats is a 30,000-acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah. “Bonneville” is also on the National Register of Historic Landmarks because of its contribution to land speed racing. The salt flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide with total area coverage of just over 46 square miles. Near the center of the salt, the crust is almost 5 feet thick in places, with the depth tapering off to less than 1 inch as you get to the edges. Total salt crust volume has been estimated at 147 million tons, or 99 million cubic yards of salt.

The Bonneville Salt Flats are comprised of approximately 90% common table salt.

Whatever you’ve heard about the Bonneville Salt Flats, it is probably true. The vastness will humble you. The Bonneville Salt Flats are one of the most unique natural features in the United States.

Attending the largest and last armature high power rocketry launch on the Bonneville Salt Flats was an historic opportunity for our students. This was the last time that the FAA will grant a waiver for a sport launch on the flats. The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) and Tripoli Rocketry Association, the two national sponsors of LDRS39, chose UROC (Utah Rocketry Club) to host the largest launch of the year. It is indeed a prestigious honor for UROC and for us to be able to attend.

The students were able to witness not only the natural splendor and uniqueness of the flats, but watch some really cool flights, and talk with the vendors and the fliers about their rockets, high power rocketry and the science behind this great hobby. We saw high altitude attempts, supersonic flights, scale models of military rockets and even a German V2, Mercury Redstone and a Saturn IV. Kind of like experiencing history.

Even saw some KATO flights (Catastrophic failures).

A fun and educational time was had by all.

“You’re broken down and tired of living life on a Merry-Go-Round, and you can’t find the fighter, but I see it in you so we gonna walk it out.” In the words of Andra Day, there is a fighter in all of us. July marks my two year mark as the Academic Program Manager for Maple Lake Academy. I am amazed at the people I have met and the good work that happens here. Our school program values progress over perfection and process over product. We value the human spirit and the fight in our students.

For the last two weeks I have spent a large amount of time with our students, talking with them, observing them and feeling the strength and power they truly have. I am grateful for a place that fosters strength, accountability and the pursuit of mastering our own destiny. I sat on the stair steps at the boys campus as one of our students eloquently advocated for his academic needs. He was specific and detailed. As I was listening to him, I was thinking how far he had come and how much he has learned to rise up for himself.

Whether our students are learning about the hydrologic cycle, algebraic expressions or building kites, each one has a fighter in them. Each student rises up to meet the challenges of the day. Each student is supported by scaffolding in the form of teachers, mentors, staff and therapists. These are the people who “walk it out” with each and every student in our program.

The family is an integral part of this process and without the family, we would not be as successful. Thank you for rising up and working the program with us. Thank you for your trust and commitment. Thank you for being a fighter with us.

“And I’ll rise up,

I’ll rise like the day,

I’ll rise up,

I’ll rise unafraid.

I’ll rise up,

And I’ll do it a thousand times again.”

Andra Day 2015

Jolyn Mitchell

Academic Program Manager

By Vicki Moesinger

This year, in my 4^th Period classes, the Girls School loomed hats for a humanitarian organization and the Boys School had a content reading class.

We were going to start making blankets during 2nd Semester in our Humanitarian class, but the girls have loved looming so much that we decided to stick with making hats. So far, we have loomed over 40 hats and will have more by the time we take them to Lifting Hands International at the end of May. The girls have loved contributing to help the needy around the world.  A comment was made that there is so much need and we have only made just a few hats.  We then talked about how we are helping 40+ people stay a little warmer.  And how we can’t do it all but we can help one person at a time.  And each one of those individuals matter.

During 1^st Semester at the Boys School, we worked on reading strategies that aid in understanding content while they read.  Third term, as a class we started reading Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli using the reading strategies we had learned during 1^st Semester.  The boys have loved reading Star Girl, and each week they were excited to see what was coming up.  It has been a fun class.

Starting 4^th Term, the Fine Arts Class has been moved into the 4^th Period slot in the daytime curriculum.  The students love the Fine Arts Class with Holly Hill as their teacher.

We are able to continue the Humanitarian & Content Reading classes on occasional Fridays.  The students look forward to those days and we are still moving forward to serve and learn.

These classes have been a great experience that, I feel, have benefited the students. It is a good thing to be a part of in helping these students grow.