G IN G N IN A H G -C IN FE RN RE LI A U LE AT N
HOW WILL YOU MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE?
“ MAINE COAST SEMESTER FOSTERED MY LOVE OF LEARNING. IT EXPANDED ACADEMICS OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM AND TAUGHT ME TO APPLY WHAT I HAD LEARNED. THE WAY CHEWONKI CONNECTS ALL ITS CLASSES CREATES A UNITY THAT IS RARE.” MAINE COAST SEMESTER ALUM
Most schools ask questions you can answer from a textbook. Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki asks the questions that really matter: Who are you? What do you want from your education? How will you engage with the world around you? How can you become a force for positive change? As a Maine Coast Semester student, you’ll have the time, teachers, and resources you need to seek answers to those questions—all while living in one of the world’s most spectacular natural settings. Our home on Chewonki Neck in Midcoast Maine is a private 400-acre peninsula that includes rocky intertidal zones, boreal forests, freshwater ponds, and a horse-powered organic farm. During your four months here, you’ll combine challenging academic coursework with hands-on practice in nature, learn the art and skills of sustainable living, and discover how you can help bring out the best in communities near and far. You’ll leave with new skills, confidence, and purpose—and the knowledge that you can make a difference.
MIKE BELL
Interim Head of Semester School
Important numbers
3:1 5 8 7.3 18 16 99 42 15
Student to faculty ratio
Required course load Average number of different AP exams written each spring
Average number of students per class
Classes offered Average number of years’ teaching experience per faculty member Percent of Maine Coast Semester students who go on to 4-year colleges
Students per semester
“ I SAW MY ADVISOR ALL THE TIME— IN WEEKLY MEETINGS, AT MEALS, DURING WORK PROGRAM, ON WILDERNESS TRIPS, AROUND CAMPUS—AND SHE GAVE ME TONS OF HELPFUL ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO BALANCE MY SCHOOLWORK WITH EVERYTHING ELSE CHEWONKI HAS TO OFFER.” ADRIANE BERRY Wiscasset, ME, Wiscasset High School Bowdoin College
Class options Science
Natural History of the Maine Coast
English
Literature and the Land
History
AP U.S. History U.S. History
Faculty (plus 47 Chewonki Foundation staff)
Mathematics Foreign Languages Arts
Expectations for work in and out of the classroom are high. You’ll receive three to four hours of engaging outside work each day, with significant reading, problem sets, or writing, depending on the class.
Sustainability
Algebra II Trigonometry Precalculus AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC French, levels III–V/AP Spanish, levels III–V/AP Language tutorials in Latin, Mandarin Chinese, and German (other languages can be arranged upon request)
Art and the Natural World Farm and Food Systems Energy Solutions Environmental Issues
TH CL E EV A T ER SS OU E LO S GH VEYO ES U’ T LL Maine Coast Semester classes will challenge and inspire you in ways you’ve never imagined. With every subject taught at an advanced level, academic rigor is a given. From that baseline, we take learning to the next level. Using the natural world as your laboratory, you’ll break through classroom walls to apply what you’ve learned to real-life problems—like modeling tidal changes, determining the most energy-dense types of wood, designing energy-friendly buildings, or advocating responsible environmental policies.
CLASSES ARE SMALL—Averaging fewer than eight students each, classes take place around tables or outdoors and everyone contributes. After class, teachers are always available to answer questions and dig deeper into the topic. SMOOTH TRANSITIONS—Our faculty works closely with sending schools to create a seamless connection with your high school curriculum. You’ll feel prepared and up to speed during your time here and when you return to your sending school. COLLEGE PREP—An important part of any junior year, college prep is woven into the fabric of Maine Coast Semester. In the fall, students take the PSAT and receive college counseling from our faculty. Select college counselors from our sending schools meet with all interested students. You can take the SAT or ACT, as well as AP exams, while enrolled at Chewonki.
“ W A IT L S H TH EA OU M R R A T IN HINAN NIN C INE LA C T M LA THE GS HE G T SS CO TE YS SS S G S H R AS A RM EL ES H RO TU AT OO TA C M F IN OR W D BI M L A , IN A RE TH MO S T IN Y O OL , I EC E C O E EY R PIR TE G F OG RE OS A R I ST R IN IN E F ED M N P CEL Y ME YS SE M ES W SP ULL M , TH ET LS WA MB TEM TE IL IR Y. E T E RI A S E S R D ED IN O C D N M R A LU LI M FE M T A HE ISH D OR P E BI E T HE PL WO ES O O LO Y N . LO P N KI G UR G Y. S ” U E
IN IS NA CE D N R IE OU SC Wilderness trips take full advantage of Maine’s natural wonders. You may snowshoe alongside moose tracks, kayak to Hungry Island, hike sections of the Appalachian Trail, or climb Mt. Katahdin.
Research and monitoring projects at Chewonki have included bird banding, species studies, forestry studies, and monitoring ecological succession after dam removal.
Chewonki sits amid one of the world’s most beautiful natural landscapes and diverse ecosystems; no wonder science is ingrained in everything we do. As a Maine Coast Semester student you’ll spend at least four hours a week outdoors in our signature science course, Natural History of the Maine Coast, exploring environments from tide pools to boreal forests, collecting data and identifying patterns in ecosystem function. You’ll learn to identify species by touch, smell, sight, and sound—not just from reading about them in a textbook. These lessons, learned with your head, hands, and heart, will stay with you for a lifetime. Daily life as a laboratory Each student cabin and many buildings have energy monitoring for tracking real-time electricity consumption and production. The data is used in classes and to inform our choices and behavior on campus. Our farm and kitchen track detailed information about our food system, which we use to inform menu and growing decisions on a short- and long-term basis. Integrated into all parts of Maine Coast Semester is a scientific mindset of asking questions and posing hypotheses, collecting relevant information, analyzing that information, and then forming conclusions and actions, which then lead to new questions!
MEET A FEW TEACHERS
“
Once you train yourself to pause and really see the world around you, you are always seeing new things. PETER SNIFFEN Science
”
Education M.S. in Hydrogeology, Portland State University (Oregon) B.A. in Geology, Hamilton College Interests Bicycling, farming, creating an energy-independent house
“
I love the lessons that teach themselves while we are all cooking a meal or harvesting potatoes. These lessons are about place and our responsibility toward other living things, but they are also lessons about our own capacity to do good work in the world. MEGAN PHILLIPS Farm and Food Systems
”
Education M.S. in Environmental Education, The Audubon Expedition Institute (Lesley University) B.A. in Elementary Education, Furman University Interests Food preservation, cooking, quilting, knitting, swimming, biking, Nordic skiing
“
Conversations kindled in my class follow students into the dining hall, their cabins, and across campus.
”
MIKE BELL Interim Head of Semester School Education M.Ed. specializing in adolescent psychology and male emotional development, Harvard University B.A. in Philosophy from New York University Interests Playing piano, working on crossword puzzles, studying aikido, longboarding
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY “ I’VE NEVER BEEN WITH A GROUP OF KIDS MORE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT GOING ON A SPONTANEOUS WALK. TOGETHER, WE WENT MUD SLIDING IN THE SALT MARSH, CAVE HUNTING ON BLUEBERRY HILL, POLAR-BEARING IN FEBRUARY WATERS, AND NIGHT WALKING ALONG THE NECK SANS FLASHLIGHTS. THE FERVOR OF MAINE COAST SEMESTER STUDENTS IS SIMPLY ASTOUNDING.” ELISABETH WARD Winnetka, IL, The Hotchkiss School Brown University
While we celebrate the uniqueness of all individuals, we cherish communities as a powerful force for growth and change. Both on campus and out in the world, Maine Coast Semester students learn to function as part of something bigger than themselves, contributing their efforts toward a shared goal. Community on campus Many Maine Coast Semester graduates will tell you they developed the deepest friendships of their lives here. Living in a small cabin with other students, working together to chop the wood that warms you and gather the food that sustains you—these experiences create strong bonds of respect and caring. Connections across place, race, and class We are deeply committed to using the strength of the Chewonki community to benefit the towns around us. During your Maine Coast Semester you’ll help in a number of ways—by delivering wood to help the disadvantaged heat their homes, conducting energy audits, or helping repair fences at a community garden. Through a farm-to-food pantry program, you’ll participate in the national food security movement, helping to increase the number of people in the area with access to healthy, nutritious food.
“ I MILKED COWS, PICKED VEGETABLES, CLEANED UP THE DINING HALL, FINISHED A NEW CABIN, AND HELPED INSTALL A SPECIAL BICYCLE USED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY. BEST OF ALL, AT MAINE COAST SEMESTER I FOUND MY PASSION: STUDYING MARINE BIOLOGY.” JENN SOTO Brooklyn, NY, New York Harbor School College of the Atlantic
SUSTAINABLE LIVING THROUGH FOOD AND ENERGY SYSTEMS Sustainability—meeting the needs of the present generation while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs— is a core part of our mission. During your Maine Coast Semester you will not only learn about sustainability, you’ll live it every day. You’ll split wood to heat your cabin, install solar panels, turn compost, and care for the animals that work for and feed us. And you’ll join in thoughtful dialogues about how each of us impacts the natural environment and how we can work toward meaningful change through advocacy and example. Renewable energy At Chewonki Neck, we live lightly on the land, mindful of our finite resources and the financial, political, and environmental costs of energy. Our goal is a low-carbon campus, and we work toward this every day. To reduce our carbon footprint, we use old and new technologies and techniques including biomass (wood) and geothermal heating, photovoltaic panels, singlestream recycling, wind power, horse power, and electric vehicles. Agriculture in balance In addition to providing food, fiber, and fuel for the community, our small, diversified organic farm helps students develop a complete relationship with the land. You will come to appreciate what happens before food arrives on your table, before your wool sweater slips over your head in the morning, and—especially important during the winter months—before the woodstove warms your cabin.
Extra produce from the Chewonki Farm is donated to area food pantries.
Real-life changes: in 2014, Maine Coast Semester students were involved in a tangible and inspiring hands-on project—taking student cabins to energy net-zero, meaning that only renewable energy sources could be used to power them. The students installed 1,700 watts of solar panels, swapped out their lights for LEDs, and installed data loggers to monitor their consumption against the energy output from the solar panels.
Bates College Bowdoin College Brown University Carleton College Colby College Colorado College Cornell University Dartmouth College Harvard University Kenyon College Lewis & Clark College Middlebury College Oberlin College Stanford University University of Vermont Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University
ge le Co l y
eb
ur
“ A CH T A S D ELE ALL TIM A IS E M PP CE CTI NGE W A A L R V H D LL IN ICA N A E C ING EN A IF O E N O CA DV FE WS CO TS MO LL TH IT D A , N E A IS E R CO EM ND NT EN STU ST A P G GE N E M ID U T C S V O A TO ND MMON AT RO IAT DENSEMRO OM TO ER RE A G T I T S T E U E T E GR P FO D E H M R S S TH S S A E G U T E E A W , RE T T R M T L H A N TE H M EM O ER IT G BU TS I E L O IK VE C A R WBIL T T D A O H TI SE KL E ES LI IT O T A VA LV K I D Y T E V ea E. H T CO RU E TE S n ” P O M E D A of Ad EE W M S m iss R O U io S R N ns A K IT ,M N id Y, dl D
R U N YO IO N AT W C O U ED COLLEGE BOUND Among colleges Maine Coast Semester students have attended:
Our faculty are experts in the art of educational engagement—a hands-on, inquiry-based approach that invites you to take charge of your learning (instead of what one student called the “open head, dump facts” method). In a very real sense, they guide you to become your own teacher, and a teacher to others as well. You’ll leave here curious and confident, with lifelong learning skills that set you up for success in college and whatever you decide to do next. Your Capstone Project—the essence of Maine Coast Semester The Human Ecology Capstone Project that concludes each semester gives you the chance to explore a topic of deep personal interest. Working with your advisor, you’ll choose a place-based issue or theme, conduct independent research, and create a contribution that helps others understand your topic. Contributions can take many forms, and have included videos, Web sites, songs, brochures, and program proposals. Arc of the semester Maine Coast Semester is designed to build knowledge, skills, confidence, and responsibility in a carefully planned four-quarter sequence. Each quarter has a theme and a purpose, ensuring that you’ll always be challenged, but never asked to do more than you’re ready for.
RT ER
A
U
B
A rin en s yo g yo d, ur in Yo ur you unf g in u’l cha ’ll org It kn clo l als nc par ett H ow sin o e t tic ab om le g fini o d ipa le dg ac sh e te M e e tiv co sig in ain in iti n to es urs a our e C th th e a pro un oa s e a w t p ssig jec iqu t Se or re n t o e m ld p m f ar en pa Cap est . e yo ts a ssio sto er c u nd na ne om to P t ta ass e in roj es t ke es te ec o yo sm re t W an ur en st t e ne ts, o ek— w an you fo d un jo . d in
H 4T
Q
A RT ER
B
R
RT E
A
U
Q
Yo ui im u’l ld ca me l gr in an mp rse ow g di d t us yo in Le O scu ake . No urs con ad ut ss do io on w i elf i fide e or ns, m s th n l nc rs Le gr ore e ear e a hi ad ou le tim ni nd p er p ad e ng S sh pr er to an abi k ip oje sh st d lity ill W ct ip ret liv as s ee s, ro ch in ke an les y g o you nd d i ou n . pla n cl rse ns as lf fo s ra n
R
O
Th ri le e a en a N rn dv ta cla eck as ent ti Th ss . F yo ure on hi e q es, rien u se be a gh u w d g t n lig art ork shi tle ins d ht er tra ps into ! T C he o of en in an ev ds ing d the re m er w , co rh are m ith ou m yt y s M m ai yo tdo un hm o m un ne ur o o i a i t Co we r ac y b f lif ny ty e u t e as k iv ild o new t S lon itie a n em g s, s y Ch thin es Wi and ou ew gs te lde c sh on to r. rn ab are ki es in s T liv firs rip ing t — . a
A efl yo s th e tim ur e s ct go e two eas io ex als to -n on n fo plo fo refl igh s st an r F re r t ec t “ ar d am to he t o so t to R ily pic res n h lo” ch e W s f t o ow on an sp ee or f t o C g ke yo he far y he e, y n nd ur se o w ou si . Ca m u’v onk ’ll b ps est e c i N pre ili t to er. om e ne U e ck par y e — p Pr o an fo oj n d a ec yo to spe r t a ur se ci nd re t al pl turn an ,
D 3R
D 2N
Q U
RT ER
A
U
Q
T 1S
COME GROW WITH US CHEWONKI MISSION STATEMENT:
Chewonki inspires transformative growth, teaches appreciation and stewardship of the natural world, and challenges people to build thriving, sustainable communities throughout their lives.
If the information contained in these pages inspires you, we encourage you to apply for a place in next year’s Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki.
Apply online at mainecoastsemester.org
ADMISSIONS PROCESS We seek motivated, academically capable students who have an adventurous and generous spirit and want to spend four months living and learning on the Maine coast. In selecting students, we review personal essays, academic records, and two teacher recommendations. ADMISSIONS TIMELINE Fall and Winter Learn about Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki Mid-February Admissions application and financial aid application due for both semesters (visit mainecoastsemester.org for an exact date) Late March Admissions decisions and financial aid awards mailed Late August Fall semester begins Late January Spring semester begins LOCATION Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki is located in Wiscasset, Maine, about three hours north of Boston and one hour north of Portland, Maine, and the Portland International Jetport.
FINANCIAL AID We strive to help all qualified students benefit from the Maine Coast Semester experience, whatever their financial circumstances. To that end, we are eager to share in the cost of education for families with demonstrated financial need. In an average year, 30% of students receive financial aid. Please contact the admissions office for more information. ACCREDITATION We are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, approved by the State of Maine Department of Education, and an associate member of The Association of Boarding Schools. Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki admits students of any race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, or handicap to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to our students. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, or handicap in the administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarships, or any other programs.