LEMPSTER — Hats at Lempster Community School are traded with willingness and enjoyment.
Will Principal Ralph Peterson coach track and field or will he drive the bus? Will he oversee a staff meeting or teach a music class?
Each day is unique and flexible. Impromptu lessons are the norm – and that’s how they like it.
The school strives to incorporate hands-on and project-based experiences into each day.
Recently, students were visited by a young llama, who happened to be wearing a fun, celebratory hat. As the llama walked through the school on his best behavior, popping into random classrooms, Superintendent James Lewis took the opportunity to make inside jokes with the kids. He would regularly shout, “He’s breaking dress code. No hats allowed in the building.”
The guest appearance was a welcome opportunity for students to engage with an animal they might not otherwise encounter. A type of experiential learning translates to numerous subjects.
The New Hampshire Education Department’s “Mobile Access to Possibilities” recreational vehicle visited the school in June to provide inspiration and insight into different career pathways. Students explored tactile learning through working with CPR manikins, a phlebotomy arm and cosmetology training heads. It included drones and computers with augmented reality. Teaming with the vehicle introduced students to career paths unfamiliar to them, including welding, 3-D technology and automotive industries.
The school strives to embrace innovative thinking, not just in its academics, but its energy sources as well.
Large “solar tower trackers” are being installed this summer, which will follow the sun across the sky and absorb and store more energy than traditional roof panels. The technology should lower electricity costs significantly.
The school believes what sets them apart most is their size and ability for one-on-one attention.
“We get to know [students] at an intimate level. There’s so many of us that can just read the faces,” Lewis said of observing children’s emotions, saying it enables staff to approach the child in the most helpful and effective manner.
“It’s the relationship with the kids over the years and their families. “It’s just been a great community to work with…it’s a very family-oriented place to work,” said Peterson. “I just had a little boy today give me a card thanking me for driving him on the bus.”
The llama visit and a new playground at the school are thanks to grants. And, during COVID, the school used a $9,631 grant from the Greater Sullivan County COVID-19 Community Response Coalition, which partnered with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to deliver food to families.
Lewis called families saying, “Can you do me a favor and take a couple boxes off our hands?
“They don’t want to say ‘I need, need, need’” he said. “I thank them profusely for taking the food when willing to do so.”
And families were invited to get more involved with the school during a preschool scavenger hunt funded by a $1,596.81 Early Childhood Region 1 Family Support Mini Grant through the Monadnock United Way. The event provided tactical and experiential learning.
“We want more families involved. Kids do better when parents are involved,” Lewis said.
Additional creative activities are jaunts into the woods where students learn how to tie knots and build shelters and they roast marshmallows.
Peterson organizes an annual BBQ on the mountain behind the school for families. Often, graduated siblings of current students attend so Peterson has the opportunity to track their progress and stay in touch.
“You can’t do it with just the administration,” Peterson said of what truly sets them apart. “It requires the teachers, staff and paraprofessionals. Everyone’s on board with how we treat kids.”