All of 11 of my advisees met for the first time today! We had a great
time talking, walking around, and enjoying the glorious weather.
Pictures of our time together today are online in the gallery right
here.
Later in the evening I met with a bunch of my advisees' parents. We
discussed my role as advisor and what to expect in the upcoming year. I
also handed out student handbooks.
One thing I am big on is advisory events. There are a couple I would
like to hold in the next few weeks. I would like all of us (advisees
and their families) to have a potluck dinner. I would also like to
arrange a weekend trip to western MA.
I would like to hold our advisory potluck next Thursday (9/6) from 6 to 8pm
at my apartment, which is located at 222
Summer St. Everyone should plan on brining a dinner item. If
you'd like to bring a dessert item, let me know. Please let
me know if you're not going to be able to attend.
I would like to head down to Western,
MA on the weekend of 9/22-23. We'd leave in the early
evening on Friday, 9/21 and return in the early afternoon on Sunday,
9/23. We'll stay at my parents' house in Leverett, MA on Friday and
Saturday night. The tentative plan is to have a great dinner at my
parents' house on Friday night and head out for a full day of
activities on Saturday: Mini-Golf, Movies, the best wings in the world,
a movie, and.. ? We'd head back to STJ after a solid breakfast on
Sunday morning. The overall cost of the trip will be around $25 at the
most. More information on this trip will be sent out soon.
I will be sending out advisory updates via a gmail group. If you're not
getting the group emails, please let
me know.
That's all for now,
- Mr. Seamon
Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 August 2007 )
Post Trip Update #6: Matt Bruckner's Pictures
Written by Josh Seamon
Sunday, 08 April 2007
All of Matt Bruckner's
pictures are now online right
here.
Remember,
the picture potluck is this Tuesday (4/10) from 6 to 8pm in the
Streeter Function room. (The same room where we had the
packing potluck.) Make sure to bring a dinner or dessert item to share.
Post Trip Update #5: Nick's Pictures and Videos
Written by Josh Seamon
Thursday, 05 April 2007
All of
Dave Pollak's
pictures
are now online right
here.
I also glued together all of his video clips into one segment which you
can view right
here if the clip isn't showing up below.
In the video you'll
see Delphi, Mycenae, Pompeii, Capri, St. Peter's, The Colloseum,
Assisi, Rome, and lots of stylish shots like the one above :)
Remember
that our photo potluck is coming up next Tuesday (4/10) from 6 to 8pm in
the Streeter Function room. Parents and friends should definitely
attend.
Also.... burn your photos to CD/DVD and bring them to me!
- Mr. Seamon
Last Updated ( Thursday, 05 April 2007 )
Post Trip Update #4 - More pictures are online
Written by Josh Seamon
Monday, 26 March 2007
Hello everyone,
Sean Handrahan's pictures are now online in the gallery right
here.
So
far I have only gotten pictures and videos from a few people -- I'd love
to get more of them online. You can bring them to me in any form -- on
CD, DVD, memory card, external hard drive... in any format -- JPG, MPG,
RAW... just bring 'em in.
Also, I really, really, reaaaaally would love some help
captioning pictures. The more pictures we caption the easier it'll be
to find specific pictures of specific people and places. Let me know if
you'd like to help out.
Cya on the 10th,
- Mr. Seamon
Last Updated ( Monday, 26 March 2007 )
Post Trip Update #3 - Potluck and Pictures
Written by Josh Seamon
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
A few updates:
All of Mrs. Scavitto's pictures are now online in the gallery.
Bring
me your pictures! Burn them to CD/DVD in folders sorted by day. I'd
also love to get copies of any video clips any of you have.
I really, really need help captioning pictures. If you'd like to help
out, let me know.
- Mr. Seamon
Post Trip Update #2 - Pictures and Videos
Written by Josh Seamon
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Hello again everyone,
It took two full days of uploading, but now all of the pictures and
videos I took on the trip are online.
Remember that if you're willing to share your pictures, I'd be more
than happy to put them online in the gallery. So, I'd love it if you
could bring me your pictures and videos burned to CD or DVD, sorted
into folders by day.
All of the pictures are online in the gallery right here.
My YouTube video page is located right
here. I've also embedded all of the videos into this message.
Enjoy!
ps. I need some serious help captioning pictures. If you'd like to help out, let me know.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 March 2007 )
Trip Update #12 - Chamonix
Written by Josh Seamon
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Hello everyone,
Here's the writeup for the last 5 days of the trip:
3/6/07: We woke up early and had another solid breakfast in the fancy hotel. Right after food we packed up the bus, which wasn't getting any easier due to the multiplying bags. Rocco managed to get every single bag packed but one, and I don't think he was happy about it ;) We then took a short bus ride to the small museum that houses David. Flo got us into the museum very quickly and soon we rounded the corner and saw David. What a sight. Not only is the statue impressive, the hallway leading up to David is full of 'tries' -- half finished sculptures that the artists abandoned. The museum also had many plaster molds of famous statues like the 'Rape of the Sabines' which we had seen the day before. There was actually one huge room filled with even more plaster molds. Neat stuff. After a bit in the gift shop, we got back on the bus and headed north towards Chamonix. On the way we watched the gorgeous Italian scenery pass us by. We also took in a couple movies which was also fun. Several hours into the drive we stopped at a small rest stop and got our first glimpse of snow in the Alps! At this point the road started getting really windy, and Rocco further impressed us with his mind-blowing driving skills. Since the Mont Blanc tunnel was closed we had to take the long way around to Chamonix which took us through a part of Switzerland and into France. We went through a bunch of tunnels and climbed higher into the Alps. As we climbed up and down the mountains we saw more and more snow and larger and larger switchbacks. We saw green valleys and towns from high above. We kept on climbing as night came in and soon we were high above a couple towns -- what a sight! At well past dark we arrive in Chamonix at our hotel -- The Maeva. We checked into our apartment-style rooms and then Flo led us into the center of the ski town for dinner. I had some excellent fondue which I was very happy about. After dinner we went back to the hotel and went to sleep very quickly.
3/7/07: We woke up early to the sigh of HUGE snow covered mountains. Even though the ground around the hotel was not covered in snow, we could see LOTS of snow up on the mountains. Flo walked us back to the same restaurant from the night before and we had yet another excellent breakfast. We then went back to the hotel to get dressed for skiing. While the kids got dressed Flo and I went to prep the rental store for the onslaught of kids. After a brief minor emergency when we found out that people don't wear helmets in France, and therefore helmets aren't available at rental stores, we figured out that the children's helmets that were available fit out kids fine. Flo picked up our ski passes, the rentals worked out fine, and we were soon on the bus to the Grand Montet ski area. We took the gondola up to the base lodge... and... WOW! WHAT A SIGHT! It was perfectly clear and we could see for forever! That day I took the Bochard gondola up to 2,765m many times and had the time of my life skiing the 3km run back to the base of the gondola... that had no wait line at all! We had a full, perfect day of skiing, met back up at 4;30, skied down to the lower base lodge, and took the bus back to the hotel. We had a 6pm check in then almost everyone cooked for themselves in groups in their rooms. It was super cute :) The chaperones had a great dinner together and then I got to bed early so I could get up early the next day.
3/8/07: I woke up early and met up with a group of eager skiers at 8am. We ate breakfast on our own and got to the bus at 8:30 and to the base of the Grand Montet by 9:30. But this time we had no blue skies.... it was a complete white out. We took the Bochard gondola up and skied pole to pole down the run. It was a surreal experience. Since we were up there early in the day, and there weren't too many skiers on the slopes, the trails were actually quite smooth and well groomed. It cleared up a little bit during the day, but overall it stayed rather cloudy. We met up at noon and then at 3, and left a little early because we were all very tired. We had another 6pm check in and then had another round of fantastic meals prepared in the apartments. The 10 or so students who did not ski during the day took a trip up the Augui di Midi cable car. For the second night in a row I passed out early in preparation for a full day of skiing.
3/9/07: We woke up even earlier and headed out to the bus at 7:30. We made it up to the Grand Montet base lodge on the first and second gondola runs of the day, checked everyone in, and then headed up the Lognan gondola to the very top of the Grand Montet, a run we hadn't done yet. It was another totally clear, calm day! We made it to the top of the Grand Montet (3,275m!), climbed a couple flight of stairs to the observation deck and were totally blown away by the view! We could see for miles and there was very little wind and a TON of sun. We could see the adjacent glacier. Wow. We then went down a bunch of steps to the top of the ski run. We broke into two groups and the first group took off in front of me. Ilana, Matt Grasso and I took a leisurely run down the 4km trail, stopping frequently to take in the sights! Wow! We made it down the run in about 30 minutes and I stopped to check everyone who had gone on the run. It was then that I found out that Nicole had fallen at that ski patrol was with her. Soon after that the rest of the chaperones arrived at the base lodge and 2 of them immediately took off for the hospital the Nicole was being taken to. I stayed the rest of the day with the 10 kids who were still skiing and we took in more powder and more run until 3:30 when we headed down for the day. After I got back to the hotel I talked to ski patrol and then had another apartment-cooked meal. At 8pm we had a dessert party and presented Flo with a signed picture of the group. It was a great dessert party. Mrs. Scavitto and I then went out to the hospital to visit Nicole and Mrs. Davis who was staying with her. We got back to the hotel around 10 and went back to packing.
3/10-11/07: The first group was up at 2:30am for their 3:30am departure. Everyone was down int the lobby with their bags early, and on the bus without a hitch. I went back to bed and got back up at 7am. At 8am I took the remaining half of the students to breakfast. Several warm croissants and some efficient packing later, we were all packed up in the lobby when our bus driver appeared. We loaded up and were heading out of Chamonix right on time at 10am. We said good bye to Chamonix as the bus headed for Geneva. A smooth 1.5 hours later we were at the airport where we met back up with Flo. We found out that the first group got off okay and then we checked our bags and waited 30 minutes for our gate information. Some kids bought some last minute chocolate and then we all said good bye to Flo who was next heading back to Rome to lead another group. We got through security and to our gate and then took a short flight to Frankfort. As I expected we got a thorough pat-down by security then had an hour before our flight left. We all got on the flight and 8.5 hours we were in DC. In DC we went through border patrol, picked up our bags, went through US customs, and then immediately rechecked our bags. We made it to our gate fine and got our boarding passes. 2 hours later we were in Boston. We got our bags (they were all there!), had a little trouble connecting with out bus, but found it right before midnight. We all had space to spread out on the bus, so everyone was asleep rather quickly. 3 hours (and a fourth due to day-light savings) we were back in St. Johnsbury at almost exactly 4am to a waiting train of cars. Everyone was picked up by 4:45am and I was home in my apartment a little before 5am.
What a trip. :)
- Mr. Seamon
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 March 2007 )
Trip Update #11 - Assisi and Florence
Written by Josh Seamon
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Hello everyone,
Here's what we were up to for two of the last 6 days of the trip.
3/4/07: We woke up early and had one more breakfast in the former convent. We then headed north out of the city towards Assisi, a 3 hour drive. Along the way we watched Gladiator and admired the scenery of northern Italy in bright sun-shiny weather! We had one brief rest stop along the way which was highlighted by being outside in perfect weather and throwing discs around! We even got our driver, Rocco, involved in the action. On our way into Assisi we stopped at a large ceramic factory which gave us a demo of how they make their products. We then proceeded up the hill into the city. As we climbed the hill in what continued to be perfect weather, Matt Bruckner read one of St. Francis' prayers that Flo had brought along. We then parked the bus and walked a little ways up into the city for 1.5 hours of free time. In that time we had lunch at a very yummy buffet (I remember great veggies) and we all scattered around the glowing pink city. In my free time I hiked up to the top of the city to scope out the castle and see the view. Wow! (I'll have lots of video of the view up soon.) After the free time we met up with out guide who took us into St. Claire's where we got to go down into the Crypt and see St. Claire. What a place! The chapel itself is elegantly simple, and the crypt is very stylish and has a wonderful presence. We then headed around the city to see various churches, including a very old Roman one and St. Francis'. We then had two more hours of free time and I decided to make my way back up to the castle and go into it this time. After battle my way up the hill the hard way, with two student sin tow, we went up into the castle and up onto the two high turrets. WHAT A VIEW! Wow. The octagonal turret was notable not only for the view, but because to get to it you had to go through a 100 yard stone passageway that runs laterally through a HUGE stone wall. We then climbed back down the hill, met back up with Flo and headed out towards Florence. Along the way we saw a stunning sunset. We arrived at the very fancy Florence hotel well past dark and had a great meal of pesto pasta and chicken. We all fell asleep quite easily that night.
3/5/07: After another solid breakfast we all took off with Flo who led us to the center of the city. Even though it was Monday and all of the museums were closed in the city, there was still a lot to see. We met up with our tour guide and started at the large Medici palace and saw the unreal display of sculptures under a nearby overhang. This is where we could see the fake David, the one that replaced the original in 1893 (?) when it was moved inside. We also saw a LARGE catholic church with a huge, blue, star of David in it's apex. Apparently the architect of church was Jewish and no one really cared that he put a huge star of David in the church. Pretty neat. In front of the church was a huge square in which we learned that every year up until 2006 a large, no rules soccer game had been held for a long time. Apparently the games had gotten too rough. (Side note: While we were in Italy I learned that all soccer games had been closed to the public due to rioting -- And we thought Yanks/Sox fans could get into it!) In the square we also saw water lines from the flood of 1966 which essentially wiped out the city. We then walked around the corner... and the Duomo came into view. Wow! Inside we saw the painted dome and a 24 hour clock. Next we went to Dante's house and saw his face carved into the stone street outside. Then we met back up with Flo who took us to an open air market where we all patted the snout of a bronze pig for good luck -- The real puking pig apparently. After the pig we headed over to an authentic leather shop where we all drooled over the righteously expensive jackets. After the factory we had 4 hours of free time. I ventured into the church with the star of David and saw some next Crypts carved into the floor, as well as Galileo's tomb... and one other really famous person who I can't remember at the moment. Dounia and I then went up to the HUGE market where I searched for a winter coat to replace the one I had left in Athens (It was warm so I never wore it!... and promptly forgot it in the hotel closet.) We then went over to another church by the train station and saw a very large Byzantine cross. We then met back up with the entire group for Gelato. Gooooood stuff. Flo then took most of the kids to the Petite Palace and I took some back to the church Dounia and I had just been at. After the church I climbed the Duomo steps and spent over an hour at the top waiting for the sun to go down. What a view. We all then met back up at the hotel for check in. After a half hour of taking night pictures I crashed for the night.
Next up.... skiing on clouds.
- Mr. Seamon
Post Trip Update #1 - Back in the US
Written by Josh Seamon
Monday, 12 March 2007
Hello everyone,
Now that everyone is back in the States I am going to start work on a few things:
1) Over the coming weeks I will be working to post the many thousands of pictures and lots of video clips everyone took on the trip. If you took digital pictures and video clips on the trip, if you could burn them to a CD or DVD, sorted in folders by day, and give it to me, that would be awesome.
2) Sometime in the next 3-4 weeks I am going to schedule a post trip potluck dinner for all trip participants, parents, and anyone else you'd like to bring along. Most likely the dinner will be on a Sunday evening.
3) Sometime in the next few days I am going to type up a full writeup of the last 6 days of trip.
I hope everyone is adjusting well to being back in the US!
Come by SV21 and say hi sometime this week :)
- Mr. Seamon
Trip Update #10 - Rome, Rome, and more Rome
Written by Josh Seamon
Saturday, 03 March 2007
Hello everyone,
I've posted several new pictures in the Live Trip Updates section of the gallery right here:
Tip: When you are viewing a picture in the gallery, look in the upper right of the page and you'll find a drop down menu that will allow you to view larger versions of that picture
I've also had the chance to post 10 new video clips from the trip. They should all show up on this page:
Here's what we have been up to over the last two days:
Rome has been way too much fun.
3/2/07: We woke up at 7am and enjoyed another pleasant hotel breakfast. We are particularly amused by the floor labeling system... breakfast was on a sub level, so below floor 0 (the lobby)... floor -1. Okay, I might be the only one who thinks it's amusing, but then again I am a math teacher. After breakfast we got our first real taste of Rome traffic, which while as busy as Naples, is a bit more orderly. Rocco took us into the city and we made out way inside the Vatican walls where we unloaded and met up with our guide, Moritz, a very nice Italian gentleman. Outside the entrance to the Vatican museum we were fitted with 'Whisper' headphone systems that let us hear everything Moritz said into a mic on his collar -- the system worked quite well. We then entered the museum via the group entrance, which meant we didn't have to wait in any lines. Inside the museum we took in a huge amount of sunning art. We saw sculptures, HUGE tapestries, and grand maps. There is also a whole long corridor that has a ceiling that looks 3D... REALLY 3D, but is actually 2D and painted very, VERY well to seem like it is inlaid with carvings. Next we walked down a long walk way, turned a corner.. and we were in the Sistine Chapel. Absolutely unreal. The whole place is alive. Ever surface is covered with something to be in awe of. We were all wishing there were coaches the lie down on so we could just stay there staring at the ceiling. While in the chapel we ran into Cindy Stanton! The world is a small place. As we left the chapel and emerged outside, our guide noticed the line to get into the tombs underneath St. Peter's was very short, so he took us in, something he never gets to do. It was a truly spiritual experience to walk by the tombs of so many Popes. John Paul 3 and St. Peter's tombs were particularly powerful. Next we walked the short distance to St. Peter's Basilica.... What a place, what a place. The sheer enormity of the structure is staggering and the sculptures, Papal altar and massive mosaic paintings were beyond elegant. We next walked out into the courtyard in front of the Basilica, took a few excellent group pictures, and then spent an hour eating lunch and browsing through a Vatican gift shop. After lunch we headed over to another incredible monument to history, the Colosseum. We again got to skip any real lines by having a group reservation and Moritz led us into the light inside the ancient entertainment center. He gave us a brief history of the structure and then we have 45 minutes to explore. Again we were totally floored. The weather was a little cloudy, but we had good portions of time with great sun. Everyone had a great walk around the place and up onto the second level and then we excited on the far side and continued the tour through the ruins of Imperial Rome. We got to see the many layers of the city and how buildings were built on top of older buildings. Moritz then led us to the HUGE Emmanuel monument where he turned us over to Flo. We next enjoyed 30 minutes of free time to explore the monument and surrounding area and then we had 30 minutes at the very crowded Trevi fountain. Flo then walked us to dinner at a theater -- we were seated high up and would have had a great view if there was a show going on. We were all very tired from the very long day of seeing HUGE sights and walking far. The food was again great -- way too much bread, tasty pasta, and creamy custard covered in chocolate for dessert. We got back home around 9pm and I was so tired I passed out fully clothed about 5 minutes after I got back to my room.
3/3/07: Today we had a walking tour of Rome led by Flo where we saw sight after sight after sight. We started early again and were on the bus by 8:30. Flo first took us to see the famous Roman baths which were a huge, crumbling, glorious ruin. Turns out they hold concerts there every so often. On the way we also saw a large marble pyramid that was built as the tomb for someone whose name I can't remember. We then made our way to the Mouth of Truth... the large circular coin shaped face whose mouth you can stick your hand in... and the legend is that if you tell a lie you will have you hand taken off. Needless to say we got some good pictures. We were also wildly amused (well, some of us were frightened) by a large rat that scampered by and made Mr. Urie and many of the kids yelp like small children ;) After the Mouth of Truth we got back on the bus and headed for Spanish steps which were elegant and full of people. The area around the steps is jam packed with great stores and street vendors which everyone enjoyed exploring. I personally enjoyed seeing the famous Babington Tea House right at the base of the steps. During our free time at the steps, Flo led us to a small pizza place that served wondrously delicious foccacia pizza style sandwiches for only 3 euros a piece! I had two and almost hurt myself enjoying how tasty they were. After the steps Flo led us to an open air market teaming with character. The kids had another hour to explore. The center of the square held a fabulous broze statue of an Italian who wanted to prove that the Earth rotated around the sun well before Galileo. (His life did not end well either.) After the open air market Flo took us through the Jewish district to the edge of the Imperial ruins where most of us headed over to the Mametine prison. Next we took the bus back to the hotel for a couple hours of much needed rest and cleaning up for dinner. At 5:45 this evening we all met in the lobby, all dressed up for our fancy night out a restaurant of Flo's choosing. 20 minutes later we were at the restaurant, a very cozy small Italian establishment. We enjoyed a meal of Bruchetta, two kinds of pasta, Roman Pizza, and various desserts such as lemon sorbet, Creme de Caramel, Tiramisu, and several others. Many of the kids an I left very, very full. After we left the restaurant, Flo took us to one of the bridges over the Tiber where we took another great group picture. Next we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel. Along the way Flo convinced Rocco to bring us to the front of St. Peter's which looked supremely majestic at night. We got back to the hotel a little before 9 and the kids enjoyed an hour and a half of free time before night/packing check in.
Tomorrow we take off bright and early for Florence. Along the way we will stop in Assisi. 2 nights in Florence, then 4 in Chamonix.... then back to the States. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.
