Exploration Week Offerings for 2008

Download the Exploration Week Offerings 2008 printable brochure.

Overnight Trips

Desert Ecology & the Night Sky
Tucson, Arizona

Students will explore the ecology of the Sonoran Desert as we hike through Saguaro National Park and the Catalina Mountains of southern Arizona.  At night students will also begin to learn to navigate the night sky, including a visit to the National Observatories at Kitt Peak.  We hope to gain greater appreciation of the diversity, adaptability, and interdependence of living organisms and their environment while also gaining an appreciation for our place in the universe.  We'll have a week of seeing beautiful things both on and off the earth.

Rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans, Louisiana

Be part of a delegation of Gann students working for a week in the New Orleans area. You will be part of work crews that will help to rebuild houses and neighborhoods for victims of Hurricane Katrina.  You will meet with various constituencies and learn first hand about the difficulties of families in the devastated areas.  The Gann delegation will also spend Shabbat in New Orleans and meet members of the Jewish community. Participants must be 16 by the time of the trip.  Participants will need to attend training workshops and will be asked to raise money to be donated directly to victims while we are in New Orleans.  Those interested in being a part of the Gann delegation will need to submit an application and schedule an interview with the trip coordinators.

Habitat for Humanity – Maryland
Frederick, MD

Participate in a Habitat for Humanity build project in Frederick, MD. ‘Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical housing ministry that seeks to eliminate homelessness and substandard housing by making decent affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action for all people.’ Be part of a crew that will aid in the building of a home for a low-income family in need of adequate shelter. Learn how to increase public awareness about people living without shelter in the United States.

Heifer International – Overlook Farm
Rutland, MA

“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for life.”
Heifer International strives to do both. Heifer International provides animals to impoverished families world wide. With these animals, they also provide training, as well as no-interest loans, to achieve sustainable agriculture production. At their learning centers, students will experience working examples of the type of sustainable agriculture Heifer supports around the world, tend an organic garden, assist in the gentle care and treatment of livestock. Participants engage in a journey of personal growth as they learn about Heifer's mission, poverty and hunger and caring for the earth. 

Dogsledding, Cross Country Skiing, and Winter Camping with Mahoosuc Guides
Newry, ME              

Participate in an extraordinary winter camping, cross country skiing, and dog sledding adventure. You will combine Jewish learning with challenging, experiential outdoor pursuits through this unique opportunity to explore one’s Jewish inheritance and develop outdoor skills, as well as to meet new challenges while creating community. No prior experience or special skills are needed.

Sailing
Annapolis, MD

Come aboard a yacht for the week and learn to Sail! We have chartered a boat in Annapolis and hired a Captain to teach a group of students how to travel on the water. Students on this trip will be able to map their own route for the week and choose where on the Chesapeake Bay they would like to drop anchor. The group will spend Shabbat on the boat and have the opportunity to learn how Jewish law is enacted on the water.
Please note: (1) There will not be enough students for a minyan on this trip. (2) No experience or special skills required.

Civil Rights Journey
Atlanta, GA through Memphis, TN

Students will learn about the struggles of African Americans to gain equality in the 1950s & 60s as well as discover how Jews were involved in the Civil Rights struggle. We will also delve into the creation of Rock and Roll and how this helped break down the walls of segregation. The students will walk away understanding why Jews, as a people who have known oppression, must care and act when others are oppressed.

Chasidut at its Best
Brooklyn, NY

Enjoy home hospitality and hamish food in the ultra-orthodox communities of New York. Experience daily life in strict observance of Jewish Law through the lens and guidance of Rabbinics teacher, Moshe Lieberman.

Full Day Trips

Creative Writing Workshop

This option is designed to stimulate, through a variety of sensory and intellectual experiences, students’ artistic side. Students will be responsible for writing either one poem a day or one prose piece every other day. Students will spend part of each day on an excursion with their teacher and one of the other Exploration Week groups (such as art museum, Drumlin Farm, tikkun olam site, walk by the river). At the end of the workshop, students will also give a public reading of their work. This offering is open to students in grades 9—12.

Fencing

Zeta Fencing Studio in Natick offers a high quality fencing program designed to appeal to students of varying capabilities and interests. The class will introduce students to the basics of foil, epee and sabre fencing in a safe environment and with a high student-to-coach ratio. The program emphasizes sportsmanship and personal growth, and includes conditioning, footwork, drills, tactics, electric scoring fencing and individual lessons daily. The students will be coached by Zoran Tulum, President and Head Coach at the ZFS and is assisted by experienced national and Olympic coaches from the US and Europe. Zoran Tulum is the former coach of Harvard and Stanford University and has coached many champions and both US National and Olympic teams. This offering is open to students in grades 9—12.

Glass Blowing

This experience will include three full days of classes at the Diablo Glass & Metal studio in which students will have a hands-on introduction to the arts of Flameworking and Glass Blowing. We will start with one-day in the flameworking studio in which the hands-on instruction will cover all the basics of shaping colorful glass over the flame of a stationary propane/oxygen torch. Through periodic demonstrations followed by plenty of practice time, we will create glass pendants, beads, marbles, small vessels and sculptures. Then, students will move on to the hot shop for two days where they will learn the basic skills of blowing glass from the furnace. Instructors will guide beginners through gathering molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, shaping it and blowing it to create simple vessels and solid paperweights. We will wrap up the week with a day-trip to the famed Sandwich Glass Museum and then a presentation to fellow exploration participants. Lisa Nussbaum, a Gann math teacher and an experienced glass blower, will accompany students in this offering, which is open to students in grades 9—12.

Tikkun Olam – Writing & Drawing Another’s Story

The artist studio will be collaborating with the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly in Brighton for this art/writing project. Students will meet with members or former members of John Lobosco’s art class at JCHE. The art class members are elderly (75-95 years old) and mainly from the former Soviet Union and China. All but one member lives in the apartment community which is financially supported by various Jewish philanthropies. Gann students will spend one day interviewing and drawing portraits of the JCHE class members. The remaining days will be used to make a small book that will include a handmade print (monoprint or block print) and a corresponding poem or story about the HCHE member (preferably a hand print-not computer made). Multiple copies will be made so that all participants and organizations receive a copy. Gann students will have interactions with people who have lived in harsh cultural conditions (the Cultural Revolution, Stalin, and Communism in general), although most of them were urban professionals (surgeons, architects, professors etc.).

Requirements:  Students should have experience drawing from observation (including portraiture), advanced writing skills, and the ability to talk comfortably with unfamiliar people.   This trip will be limited to 8 students, grades 9-12. 

Living on the Edge

Commune with nature, test your limits and embrace a challenge.  Learn rock climbing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.  We will be Boston based except for an overnight in New Hampshire.  We will be developing skills around team work, trust building, cold weather first aid, wilderness survival, and wilderness travel.  Be prepared to carry a heavy pack, work hard and have a lot of fun. So pack your sleeping bag, get the panoramic setting on your camera ready to go, make a batch of trail mix, and belay on!

Literacy Program – Ohrenberger School

This year Gann will continue to develop our relationship with the Ohrenberger School in West Roxbury. Students will have the opportunity to work with elementary school students on their reading skills, as well as their general study and learning skills. As preparation for the hands on work, Gann students will work closely with faculty to develop talent and aptitude in regard to one-on-one tutoring ability. Continue the tradition of connecting to the Ohrenberger School, and to the larger Boston community.

Animal Rights

 “In his book Animal Liberation, Peter Singer states that the basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment; it requires equal consideration.” The Animal Rights program will explore what considerations are appropriate for us to make regarding our treatment towards animals. We will discuss opinions such as “Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the reforming utilitarian school of moral philosophy, stated that when deciding on a being’s rights, “The question is not ‘Can they reason?’ nor ‘Can they talk?’ but ‘Can they suffer?’” Hands on demonstrations, relief work, and site visits will include the MSPCA (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Mass Audobon Society, and the Mass Animal Rights Coalition (MARC).

Interfaith Boston

Discover the many other religious beliefs, customs, and sanctuaries, which complete the spiritual and religious spectrum that makes up the Boston community. Are there similarities that the different outlooks share? Students should expect to meet with Priests, Rabbis, Imam, and other spiritual leaders to discuss issues surrounding faith, religion, and different ways of worship.  In addition, visits to Churches, Mosques, and other places of worship will occur. The program will also include engagement with other teenagers and their experiences, beliefs, and interaction as conscious members of the world interested in discussing differences and similarities between faiths.

Theater Buffs

Back by popular demand you will spend a week immersed in the world of drama. Students will attend theater performances in and around the Boston area, will take a day trip to New York, read plays and screenplays, and critique what they have seen and read. Led and taught by Abby Shapiro, this offering is open to students in grades 9—12.

Girls and Boys Lacrosse

Learn more about one of the oldest and fastest growing sports. Lacrosse, a sport dating back to the 1400s, was played by hundreds sometimes thousands of players at once with the game lasting sometimes three days with goals miles apart. Lacrosse was used as a vehicle to settle conflict and heal. The game and the technology have since evolved, but the themes of competition, collaboration, community, and spirituality are still very much part of the fabric of the sport. Varsity Boys and Girl's Lacrosse Coaches Gracie and Rik Alcid will return as our scholar athletes in residence to teach the fundamentals and strategies of the sport while focusing on team building, leadership training, and community service. Students, both new and returning, will have opportunity to learn and improve their games. The course is open to all levels (never played before to the experienced), all grades (seniors, it's never too late), and both young men and women. Have fun, learn more, and build new relationships. It's a great opportunity for returning players to improve their game before the season and for new students to test drive a great sport.

Krav Maga

Learn self-defense, IDF style. Krav Maga is the official self defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces. It has been taught to hundreds of law enforcement agencies and is the preferred system of self defense for the US military. Unlike some other martial arts, the intense, allover body workout is short on ceremony and heavy on practical fighting techniques

Exploration University

One of the options for our students this year is Exploration University (EU). EU will be set up in a college model, wherein students will be able to choose from a variety of seminars offered. The University schedule below shows how the day is divided. There will be two seminar block times during the day and EU students will choose a seminar for each block. Courses limiting the number of student sign ups will be filled on first come first served basis according to registration forms.

Seminar Goals
We hope that seminars offered by the faculty will

• have a “hands on” feel,
• delve into a subject/activity not covered in the normal academic/art/athletic classroom, and
• have a tangible reminder of the time spent in the seminar: i.e. a project that is taken home, a book, journal, photographs, etc.