Arctic Wednesdays 2023: Week 3 Pre-Trip Blog

 Sadie Terramare

Earth Science Teacher 

Monadnock Regional Middle-High School

ARCTIC WEDNESDAY'S 

PRE-TRIP REPORT # 1

December 21, 2022

Happy Winter Solstice, Northern Hemisphere! December 21, 2022

Last night, we had out virtual orientation zoom meeting, and it was so wonderful getting to "meet" some of the folks we'll be working with throughout this PD! It is still mind-blowing that I was one of the lucky ones chosen to participate in the 2023 Arctic Wednesday Program... it's a dream come true for me! I have always wondered what it'd be like to work in the MWOBS and I am thrilled to get a sneak peak and share it with my students. 

I hope to instill some wonder and awe into my students, by showing them what lies in their very own backyard here in New Hampshire. A mountain with some of the WORLD'S worst weather, unique topography, etc. Not only that, but according to https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/united-states/top-10-amazing-facts-about-mount-washington/ "the first regular meteorological observations on Mount Washington were conducted by the U.S. Signal Service, a precursor of the Weather Bureau, from 1870 to 1892. The Mount Washington station was the first of its kind in the world, setting an example followed in many other countries. Fun Fact: Some of the MWOBS buildings are secured to the summit with chains to keep them from blowing away!"

We are lucky to be so close to such an icon, and it's my hope that this will inspire them to continue in the field of science, in whatever way excites them. Maybe it will be this... maybe it will be something else. A field trip with all of them, in the future is the real hope here, as they seemed VERY excited when I told them I'd be doing this -- because they thought it meant they got to come! 

More to come in the next few weeks as I plan and prepare for the opportunity of a lifetime! If you want, you can check out the few photos of my only trip to Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington in April 2008 for a snowboarding trip - on the Photo page of this site! I can't wait to add more photo's in 2023!

ARCTIC WEDNESDAY'S 

PRE-TRIP REPORT # 2

January 4, 2023

Happy New Year!

January 4, 2023

I recently "met" Piper (through e-mail correspondence) and it was so exciting! Piper is the teacher that I'll be going on this trip with! It sounds like we have A LOT in common and I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person and getting to work with her. I've uploaded her picture and Bio to the HOME Page of this website, so please give it a look! She has had some really exciting experiences and has shared a link to a website highlighting some of it. 

Something pretty cool is that we both served with AmeriCorps, which isn't something you run into very often. She was stationed out of Juneau, Alaska (talk about a dream of mine!) where she did Nature Education. I was stationed out of Perry Point, MD but the AmeriCorps program I was in (NCCC) stations you at a "home base" but then you travel as a team to 4 locations each service term, and work there for 6-8 weeks at a time. I was also trained as a Type 2 Wild Land Firefighter and Sawyer (chainsaw operator) and was 1 of 7 selected out of 200+ Corps Members to serve on a Composite Fire Team. During my 2 service terms I was lucky enough to work in the following places:

2009 Service Term

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Camden, New Jersey

North East, Maryland --> Wells, Maine --> Ossipee, New Hampshire (Fire Composite Team)

Baltimore, Maryland

2010 Service Term

New  Orleans, Louisiana 

Dover, Delaware

Plymouth, Vermont

Bayou La Batre, Alabama

New Orleans, Louisiana (for a 2nd time)

AmeriCorps is such a unique and incredible experience, and I am so excited to share that past with Piper and hear all about her time in Alaska. If you are ever interested in giving back / volunteering, I can't recommend AmeriCorps enough. It's a wonderful way to experience your own Country and provide National Community Service to those who need it most. You will learn things you can only learn in those types of situations. If you're interested, there are many branches of AmeriCorps, such as:

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) - Ages 18-26

AmeriCorps VISTA - Ages 18+ (No upper age limit)

AmeriCorps State and National - Ages 17+ (No upper age limit)

AmeriCorps Seniors - Ages 55+ (No upper age limit)

Here's a link to their website if you'd like to explore and see if one of their programs is a match for you! Just be mindful of the age caps for some of the programs.

More to come in the next few weeks as I plan and prepare for the opportunity of a lifetime! Thanks for following along on this journey!

ARCTIC WEDNESDAY'S 

PRE-TRIP REPORT # 3

January 27, 2023

Last pre-trip blog post!

January 27, 2023

I am only 5 days away from my exciting day spent on the Summit of Mount Washington (weather pending)! Woo-hoo!! I am so excited I can hardly wait! I'm scheduled to spend Wednesday Feb. 1st on the summit, and as of right now, the forcast is predicting light snow (<1") in Gorham, NH and a high temp of 21 degrees F and winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. So we will see how that plays out as the day gets closer. You know New England weather... it can change in an instant!

My students are getting excited as well, and keep asking if they can come with me... Oh, I wish they could! I'm sure some are just excited to have a Substitute for the day... am I right? Haha. I am really looking forward to getting back into class with them and sharing my experience, show them my pictures / videos, and teach them everything I learned!

I've been sharing this website with them, and I think I may have gotten some "cool points" (are those a thing??) for my pictures of my 2008 hike up Tuckerman's with my snowboard on my back, and boarding down Hellman's Highway. One student told me I was "the coolest teacher for going on a trip like this"... so I hope I'm instilling SOME wonder into their hearts and minds. I'd love to see them go out and explore like this and push their curiosity and discover what's right in their very own State! 

As I gear up for my trip, I've realized I have to get a bigger winter coat, as my ever growing baby bump (6 months pregnant right now) won't allow my old winter coat to zip shut with all my base layers on haha! So I've been getting all my gear together and am bringing some baby booties and a Husky beanie baby (school mascot) with me, and hopefully a sign of some sort with my students signatures on it, for photo op's at the summit. 

We are still a few months away from our Weather Unit in class, but most of my students are aware and have a general understanding of the severe and unique weather on Mount Washington. I'm really looking forward to this Unit and to tie it back in with this trip. I'll be having my students record daily weather data in the future, and it'll be amazing to tell them the long history or weather data Mount Washington has recorded over the past 90 years and why it's so important to have such records. It can seem like such a simple thing, and can be hard to connect meaning to, so I'm very grateful for this trip and opportunity to build off of that for my students.

My next blog post will be a post-trip reflection, with tons of pictures and video (hopefully), so stay tuned and wish us luck for a safe trip up and down... and some beautiful weather conditions! Until then.... thanks for following along!