68 moments I’ll never forget from Semester 68: Arriving on the very first day and meeting all the staff, including my advisor and cabin parents! Waking up on the second day when our fire went out overnight; it was FREEZING, and no one wanted to get out of bed! Doing Phenology for the first time, and then over the course of the semester, including trekking out to Ideal Point in two feet of snow! It was incredible to see everything grow and bloom as spring came. Playing games for the Read More

When I first came to Chewonki, I immediately knew it was the right place for me. As somebody who loves birds, finding a place for education while also being able to connect with the natural world is extremely important to me. The second I saw the first building on campus, I could see just how much the Chewonki community compliments the land instead of disturbing it. With that, Chewonki has created a space where creatures of all different sizes freely roam around almost any part of the 400 acre Read More

An integral part of most high schoolers’ experience is prom, and in the coming weeks, most of our sending schools are having their own. But never fear, despite being in rural Maine, we had our own prom. Our dance floor was the barn adjacent to our dining room. The prom planning committee, which had been established less than a week before the dance, had sent a survey around to get the community's input. Andrew, the faculty on duty last night, emphasized the need for an arc with the music, to Read More

Chewonki is great for many reasons. What other school gives you the opportunity to milk a cow before breakfast, dissect a roadkill porcupine before lunch, and weave a scarf before dinner? However, as we near the last weeks here and I’m looking back on my experience here, I’m realizing that my favorite aspect of Chewonki hasn’t been the farm, or the science, or even the fiber arts. It’s been exploring the Neck and watching it change with the seasons. Our early days were defined by snow and ice. Read More

Before my arrival at Chewonki, I had never taken an art class, or even set foot inside of my school's art rooms. The idea of taking an art class back home seemed impossible, but Maine Coast Semester was the perfect opportunity to sign up for my very first art class. Upon the first day of classes I felt highly unqualified; I was surrounded by other students, all of whom appeared to have much more experience than I did. Yasamin, the art teacher, was an immediate relief to this stress with her soft Read More

Chewonki, as an institution, is all about food, and I would say we, as a semester, are all about celebration. When you put the two together it's pretty fun, especially when it comes to holidays, like Passover and Easter. Students prepare dinner every Saturday night and brunch every Sunday morning, so we split up the two for our big weekend of feasts. On Saturday, a group of students prepared an amazing Passover dinner. We had matzo ball soup, matzo pizza, coconut macaroons, and our very own Read More

Let’s do a little math problem. What do 50-degree days, plus black fly bites, and the incessant need for allergy medication equal? If you answered "the best spring of your life," you would be correct. Spring has slowly crept its way back into the Chewonki campus, and it’s glorious. “Spring Semester” might be a bit of a misnomer. Forty kids and I were first welcomed to a winter wonderland. Every rumor of Maine's cold (and cozy!) snowstorms was true. Feet of snow covered every inch of the campus. Read More

On the weekend of April 29 through May 1, all Chewonki semester students embarked on a solo adventure in the woods on campus. We had been preparing, both mentally and physically, for our 48 hours alone — each spread out at different places on Chewonki Neck. On the morning of Friday, April 29, there was a buzz in the air, a low excitement that had been building up for a couple of weeks: solos! The other 40 students and yours truly had all been prepped for some time in the woods, and we were Read More

The entire semester gathered promptly underneath the large eastern white pines at 6:55 am as we do each morning. Annika, the leader of the day, shared a quote and we headed off to morning chores, sleep still in our eyes, bundled in rain jackets. News that one of the pregnant ewes was in labor spread rapidly through the Wallace. We gobbled up Chewonki farm bacon (not me though, because I am vegetarian) and French toast, and the school day began. By the end of our first block, two lambs had been Read More

On a bright Sunday morning, I was up and at ‘em at 5:45 am for farm chores. I begrudgingly rolled out of bed, but five minutes later, my cabin and I were skipping up to the barn. The stillness of the surrounding cabins created a peaceful and motivating atmosphere, encouraging us to work our hardest that morning. After feeding the sheep, sweeping the barn, and carrying milk to the kitchen, I was back in bed. Once 10:30 brunch rolled around, I found myself back at the Wallace, eating a hearty Read More