Student Showcase

Maddie, a MHS Junior, shares a little bit about her Camp Augusta experience with us:

My favorite part of Camp Augusta wasn’t the activities or the food, it was being
able to say on the first day I introduced myself to you because we had never met; on
the third day I am asking you to stay in the bathroom while I am taking a shower so I
had someone to talk to and didn’t get scared. My cabin-mate’s and I made friends
almost instantaneously. At the end, we had bonded over shared experiences such as
one of our cabin mate’s phones going off at 5:30 am playing a very loud, obnoxious
song, or the counselor’s waking us up by dumping flour on us, or swimming in the lake
in our clothes, and almost getting duck itch. My favorite experiences weren’t my
favorite because of what we were doing, but because of who I was doing them with.
Normal things such as brushing my teeth or eating dinner were made much more
interesting by the people around me. Things that at home would be considered stupid
or boring, such as a gigantic game of capture the flag with really bad eighties remixes in the background were made amazing by the fact that I could see new friendships
blossoming in front of my eyes. People that I never thought would be friends, giving
each other piggy back rides, or tying each others bandanas. I think that not only was it
the fact that we were stuck with the same 80 people for three days that made the
foundation for lasting friendships but also the fact that you got to see peers, friends,
even teachers in a different light. You got to see who was a morning person and got up
at 5 am, who was a night owl, who was afraid of heights. I got to know the people I
already knew better, and the people I didn’t know better then I could ever hope to at
school. And the teachers who always have to be teachers, got to be people too, since
they weren’t in charge of us, we got to know them as differently then we already did and got to do things that we would never do at school. Such as kicking Mr Shah’s butt at sword-fighting, or having a conversation with Ms. Tsu while both of you were swinging in hammocks in Hammock Village.

I think that the very impressive 97% approval rating tells that all of MHS is ready
and willing to go back to Camp Augusta.

The MHS biology class recently completed a comprehensive dissection of the rat as part of our their anatomy and physiology unit. Through the course of three dissection sessions, the biology students gained hands on experience with the muscular, respiratory, circulatory, digestive and nervous systems of a mammal.

A special thank you goes to Kellan Turner for taking photographs of our students at work.

The Millennium Leadership class planned and lead a community building event at the Piedmont Community center this fall. The focus of this event was on developing a better understanding of respect and the important role the MHS plays in the lives of many students.

Millennium Leadership students lead all of the activities at the assembly. These activities included:

• Three MHS alumni guest speakers
• A small group activity challenging students to reflect on what they liked most about MHS and what they felt could be improved
• A whole school debriefing in which students shared personal stories of how MHS has enhanced their lives.

We are very proud of the fantastic job the Millennium Leadership class did on this event. Students and faculty alike were all very impressed with their organization, follow-through and professionalism.