Connecticut Experiential Learning Center, CELC Branford, Connecticut - Experiential Education
Experiential Education - Outstanding Middle School Program
Students are encouraged to work hard and stretch themselves in all subject areas, including Spanish, grammar, literature circle, science and more. 
We saw a matinee performance of No Child at the Long Wharf Theatre. In this one-woman show, Nilaja Sun – in a humorous and poignant way - captured the essence of how important the arts are in making a real difference in the lives of students. [Read more...]
A renga is a very old form of poetry that originated in Japan as a party game. They are image-filled and written in alternating stanzas of three and two lines. They have been written by anywhere from two to two hundred authors with up to 1,000 stanzas. How ambitious!
Often rengas begin with a stanza about the natural world, the seasons, or a sense of place. They do not have a single theme, but each stanza, in some subtle or obvious way, relates to the preceding stanza but not the one before that. The links can be made with a connecting image or a word that has several meanings. Rengas are stingy on words but massive in “painting a picture in your mind.” Much to Maria’s chagrin, proper grammar is out the window. [Read more...]
The osprey are doing well. We visited the platform located near the Tabor Lutheran Church this week and observed the newest nesting pair to arrive in Branford. The male stayed close to the nest while the female flew off on occasion for what seemed to be a lunch of fish and to bring back some nesting materials.
The pair at Center Cemetery now have eggs in the nest. We know this because the female was positioned quite low in the nest. We will continue to make weekly observations for the Branford Land Trust. [Read more...]
CANstruction takes CELC students to visit George Penniman Architects of Essex, Connecticut. Heather passed out the meeting agenda as students gathered at the conference table – she wanted to simulate the experience of how architects might conduct a meeting. We discussed our collaboration called CANstruction, a creative food drive where students team up with architects to design and build a structure made entirely out of full cans of food, which all will be donated ultimately to the Connecticut Food Bank. Many schools throughout the state [Read more...]
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For students who may not thrive in a large middle school environment, Connecticut Experiential Learning Center (CELC) provides a small setting where capable students discover the joys of learning. CELC combines strong academics with experientially-based learning to encourage young people to be enthusiastic learners and confident adolescents, offering a full-time middle school academic curriculum for students ages nine through fourteen, including hands-on science, writing, grammar, history, literature, math, Spanish, culinary arts, outdoor education, music, and field studies. Contact Maria or Melinda to schedule a visit.
For News of the Week we will be posting our weekly activities, as it has dawned on me just how varied and interesting a week in the life of CELC happens to be, and we’d like to share. Each day is a new adventure, whether we are “home” involved in our subject areas, or out and about making our way in the world, students are open to opportunities to learn and grow all of the time, and it is very exciting.
Last week for example, while at the Watering Pond Yoga Studio with Dorothy, students felt their strength as they practiced headstands. [Read more...]
The CELCscience of Water event brought young people together for a great cause – learning about water – our planet’s precious resource. Students were involved in a variety of activities, from “becoming” a water molecule to calculating the percentage of water available for human use to designing a watershed and more. All of this was to raise awareness and raise funds for LifeStraw, an affordable water filter being used in parts of the world where clean water is not available. The straws cost $5.00 each, can eliminate 99.3% of bacteria and other particulates, and can last up to one year of use per person. We will continue to support this cause and to be conscious of our water footprint on this planet Earth.
In recognition of World Water Week, CELC will host a CELCscience of Water event to benefit LifeStraw®, an affordable water purifier that helps people around the globe to obtain safe drinking water.
Students will explore, through concrete examples and hands-on lab activities, the amount of water available for human use on our planet, chemical properties of water, and more.
This special event will take place on Monday, 29 March from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at 58 Huckleberry Court in Guilford, CT. [Read more...]
CELC students tour Washington, D.C. – we are having full days and lots of fun!
Today’s (Wednesday, 3 March) highlights include The National Zoo, The Library of Congress, and the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit.
Today (Thursday, 4 March) we toured the Capitol
Snow Day or Go Day ?
When I was a kid I cherished the very few days that it snowed enough to cancel school. Come on – a chance to go sledding at the golf course or skating at the pond behind the school. Who wouldn’t choose that over sitting in a classroom all day?
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