LEARNING ADVENTURES

The learning that takes place in school should be exciting, unpredictable, memorable, and, frankly, an adventure! With this in mind, Nipmuc is innovating its curriculum by creating Learning Adventures for each of its courses.  Learning Adventures are project-based learning experiences that align with our definition of learning, support the portrait of a graduate, are co-constructed with students, provide opportunities for collaboration, and make an authentic connection to the world beyond our classrooms. After collaboratively, determining the characteristics of a Learning Adventure, the Nipmuc community has begun creating them for each course - creating powerful learning experiences that will bring our mission and vision to life. 

MURSD K-12 LEARNING ADVENTURE TEAM

​The “K-12 Learning Adventures: Bringing the MURSD Portrait of a Learner to Life” grant provides a meaningful, active, and innovative opportunity for students and teachers across the district to explore the Portrait of a Learner together. Beginning in November 2019, a group of four students from Clough Elementary, four students from Memorial Elementary, eight students from Miscoe, eight students from Nipmuc, and educators across all grade levels began a year-long journey to create and explore a Learning Adventure of their own. ​Their work includes two full-day workshops in which they build relationships, explore the Portrait of a Learner, design a Learning Adventure, and bring that adventure to life.  Learn more about this grant-funded project here. 

KALEIDOSCOPE COLLECTIVE

Nipmuc is excited to join the Kaleidoscope Collective - working with a group of 22 schools selected from more than 500 applicants to move beyond traditional practices to focus on deeper learning. The Kaleidoscope Collective is a program developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education intended to shift the focus of our schools from traditional practices to deeper learning. As a member of the Kaleidoscope Collective, Nipmuc will have the chance to receive training, resources, and encouragement in its work to reimagine school. Learn more about the Kaleidoscope Collective by clicking here.

INSPIRED LEARNING DAYS

Formerly known as 21st Century Learning Conferences, Inspired Learning Days are learning events that allow our students to take the lead in their learning. These full-day learning events are co-constructed with students, aligned to our district's Portrait of a Learner, driven by student choice and agency, supported through community partnerships, and are exciting moments of learning for our community. Beginning in 2019-2020, Inspired Learning Days take place in all schools in the district, providing an innovative opportunity for us to live our mission. Learn more about Inspired Learning Days by clicking here. 

LEGACY

The Legacy Course is the third iteration of a project-based student-driven learning experience. Students participate in the course during 1 or 2 consecutive blocks. The course has also added a community service component in which students, through their passion projects, will spend time making an impact on their local community. ​Although the course is customized to the inquiries of each student, some of the characteristics that are consistent for all Legacy students include that learning is driven by personal inquiry, connected to the curriculum and the Portrait of a Learner, developed through off-campus connections, and explored through reflection, goal-setting, and project management. Learn more about Legacy here.

LEXICON OF LEARNING

The words we use matter. The language we use impacts how we think, act, and imagine our roles as students, teachers, and learners. Being intentional and purposeful with our language helps us to have shared understanding of not only what we do each day but also how it connects to our most deeply held beliefs about learning. In that spirit of intentionality, Nipmuc has created its Lexicon of Learning - a glossary of terms to help us share, reflect on, and celebrate the work of our learning community. This working draft was created collaboratively by students and teachers at Nipmuc's October Lead Learner Workshop. Learn more about our lexicon here. 

PORTRAIT OF A LEARNER SCHOLARS

The MURSD Portrait of a Learner not only outlines the skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed for success, it also provides our community with a new definition of success beyond standardized tests and report cards. In order to help the community see the power of this concept in action, Nipmuc established the Portrait of a Learner Scholars program in which we highlighted the stories of growth and success of a cohort of our students through the lens of the Portrait of a Learner. Through this program, our PoL Scholars created digital profiles that tell their individual stories of curiosity, perseverance, inquiry, and success. Click here to explore the profiles of our first class of PoL Scholars! 

LEAD LEARNER WORKSHOPS

Lead Learner Workshops are Nipmuc's reimagined leadership sessions in which students and educators work together to explore the future of our school. These workshops replaced our traditional department chair meetings at which a small group of teachers and administrators made decisions for everyone in our school community. Conversely, Lead Learner Workshops are open to any student, staff member, or teacher at our school. They encourage school-wide participation in the exploration of new ideas. Since September 2017, these monthly workshops have provided a platform for all members of our school community to work together in leading Nipmuc. Find out more about what we explore at Lead Learner Workshops by clicking here. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT LUNCHES

Held twice per month, Food for Thought Lunches are lunchtime get-togethers with about 12-15 students and 3 - 5 educators. We start by having lunch together then post several questions around the room to get feedback from our students. Students share their viewpoints on chart paper and we then engage in collaborative conversations about their answers. After each Food for Thought Lunch, we create a digital record of every answer and feed them into word cloud generators so that the themes of the student feedback can be made actionable. See what Food for Thought Lunches look like in action by viewing this video. 

LUNCH AND LEARN

Social media influencer? Martial arts master? Dirtbiker extraordinaire? Our students have so much to teach us! In embracing a shared culture of learning, in 2019 we kicked-off the initial year of “Lunch and Learns”. At these monthly events, students are invited to share their talents, knowledge, and skills with teachers and other students. At these events, students and educators gather informally during each of our three lunches in order to provide a venue for sharing their passions and expertise. We highlight a new skill or talent at each session. It provides us a forum to tap into students’ curiosities and to explore how to bring their interests into the school day.

SHADOW A STUDENT CHALLENGE

What better way to learn about the student experience than to walk a mile in their shoes? Each March, we participate in this challenge, inviting educators to spend the day shadowing a student in order to gain first-hand knowledge of life at Nipmuc through the eyes of one of our learners. Each year more than 100 students volunteer to be part of this experience in which teachers and principals attend classes, breaks, lunches, and all parts of the school day to prompt reflection, celebrate successes, and learn how to adjust our professional practice in order to meet the needs of our students. 

STEM & HUMANITIES SCHOLARS

The STEM and Humanities Scholars Programs helps students to build their curiosity, excitement and preparedness for life beyond Nipmuc. The programs offer students workplace readiness training, opportunities to explore collegiate learning experiences, and the chance to work with professionals in a related field of study. The STEM and Humanities Programs integrate support from community leaders and professional partners to fuel our students' interests and give them a competitive advantage in preparing for the world beyond high school.  

WELLNESS WEEKS

Nipmuc's Wellness Weeks are designed to spread an awareness of wellness practices, promote healthy lifestyles, and learn ways to cope with and decrease stress will hopefully result in healthier minds and bodies for our Nipmuc community.  During the week, the school counseling center and student health office offer a wide range of activities so that every student can choose sessions they are interested in and that they will find helpful towards improving their individual wellness. 

Click here to access the Nipmuc Wellness Week website and learn more about the wellness programming available to our students.

FINANCIAL WELLNESS FAIR

Nipmuc's Financial Wellness Fairs help students to build their financial preparedness by role-playing life as a 25-year-old in a career that interests them. Students complete an interest inventory that directs them to a potential career. They then receive a mock credit score and monthly income. The fair-like setting gives students the chance to decide how to stretch their paycheck, making tough decisions about expenditures from housing and automobiles to investments and retirement planning. The fair comes to life through a partnership with a wide range of professionals and community leaders who interact with students and guide their fiscal development. 

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS

In the past several years, Nipmuc has partnered with more than 200 professionals and community leaders to help build the bridge between our classrooms and the community. To support this ongoing work, Nipmuc has begun creating a bank of projects that connect our students with local community organizations and businesses. Created collaboratively with community members, students, and educators, these projects provide opportunities for students to engage with the curriculum in meaningful ways that make an impact. Faculty members can choose partnership projects that allow for relevant ways to apply the curriculum to the real world. These projects allow our students to turn their studies into life experiences that make an impact for our local businesses and community organizations. 

ART INTEGRATION

​One of the key parts of the culture at Nipmuc Regional is the thriving creativity and expression of the visual arts department. Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, Nipmuc has expanded the impact of the arts beyond traditional course offerings. Through the Art Integration Block, students and teachers now have access to an art teacher and visual arts resources that infuse projects across all disciplines with the arts. Through this interdisciplinary collaboration, students have the chance to move beyond traditional school assignments in order to design creative, professional, and unique demonstrations of their learning.

MAKERSPACE

Housed in the media center, Nipmuc's provides a collaborative workspace with materials and supplies that bring creativity in learning to life. The makerspace was funded in part by a grant from the Blackstone Valley Education Foundation and has growth through district and community support. Whiteboard-covered tables, crafts, textiles, a 3D printer, and more provide students and teachers with resources that help them show their learning and embrace their curiosity. 

2OTIME

What if you could devote 20% of your working time to any project or study that inspired, intrigued, or interested you?  The answer to this question is explored by the concept of “20-time”. 20-time is an idea pioneered by companies like 3M and Google that provided their employees with 20% of their working time to pursue their interests and passions. These companies realized that allowing employees to get passionate about their work leads to amazing results. Nipmuc's teachers have embraced this model and incorporated it into the curriculum, giving students the chance to explore their interests and develop the skills of lifelong learners. Nipmuc's teachers have become leaders in this area, offering trainings to educators across the Commonwealth, building momentum behind the cause of student agency in learning.