Arctic Wednesdays 2024: Week 1 Pre-Trip

 

Pre-Trip Blog
Winter 2024

Mary Franz-HRMS

Danvers, MA

What an adventure I'm sure we are going to have! My colleague, Lisa, and I were fortunate enough to be selected to participate in the Arctic Wednesday’s on Mt. Washington series. While Lisa is super enthusiastic and excited about the trip, admittedly I'm a bit more cautious. Lisa is an avid hiker and has actually hiked to the top of Mt. Washington twice, while I have skied nearby, I have never physically been up to the top!

Despite our differences in this regard, we share a similar enthusiasm for learning more about extreme weather, sharing our experience with our students, and being able to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Furthermore, when we learned that Nimbus is up at the top, we were both giddy, as we are both super kitty fans. Our third colleague, Jacyln, will be staying back in Danvers, MA and helping us coordinate our Zoom session with the students. She also shares our enthusiasm for the adventure, extreme weather and Nimbus.

Our 7th-grade science team, Lisa, myself, and Jacyln, have been teaching weather and climate science for the past few years. I think we quickly learned that while watching a weather report on the local news can be interesting and educational, understanding the science behind weather and climate is very challenging. Further, trying to help 7th graders understand the concepts is even more of a challenge. Personally, I know I need some help with my understanding and I look forward to using the knowledge I gain from this experience to help teach in the classroom!

Our 7th graders love to follow the weather, particularly in the winter, and it may have to do with expected snow days (or maybe that is a coincidence). Furthermore, I can predict that our 7th graders will love to learn about extreme conditions on the top of the mountain. And what better way to learn about weather than to use one of the most extreme places on Earth, right in our backyard?

We look forward to sharing our experience with our students and incorporating the knowledge we gain into our lessons.