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| 6:30 a.m. |
Wake-up bell rings, right on time. The rope is pulled by Irene, who has volunteered to rise early each day. Ranch House students are already at chores on the farm.
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| 6:45 |
Morning Gather on the Quad before turning to chores. There are floors to sweep, recycling to collect, and breakfast preparation to be done in the kitchen.
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| 7:15 |
Breakfast: Homemade French toast with eggs, milk, and yogurt from the farm.
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| 7:45 |
Morning Meeting: Colin leads the meeting today; plans are made for the weekend activity, and students sign up for Sunday brunch crew. Katherine announces news and weather, and Rhan reminds students going on science field trip to pack extra layers and to bring field journals.
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| 8:30 |
English class: “Journal day.” Entries are read aloud about helping to build the new cabin on Work Program and a field trip to Popham Beach.
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| 9:30 |
Pre-Calculus: Work in small groups to go over problem sets and then a discussion on mathematical aesthetics.
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| 10:30 |
A free period: Meet with Paul, my advisor, and then get a head start on the reading assignment from English class.
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| 11:30 |
U.S. History: In-class writing assignment—a question from a recent AP exam concerning the effects of the natural environment on westward expansion in the late 1800s.
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| 12:30 p.m. |
Lunch: Eating family style, we enjoy chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, salad (all from the farm), and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
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| 1:00 |
Dish crew! Work with five other students to clean up from lunch.
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| 1:30 |
Science field trip: Head to Pemaquid Point to explore life on the rocky shore. The assignment is to survey several tide pools, looking for starfish, anemones, and urchins.
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| 6:15 |
Dinner: Return from field trip just in time to enjoy good food and conversation with teachers and other students.
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| 7:30 |
Study hours: All is quiet on campus. Start outline for research project in Environmental Issues, finish reading Temple Stream for School Meeting, study for Pre-Calculus test, and finish the sketch in my science field journal.
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| 9:30 |
A few minutes to socialize over tea and hot chocolate in the Wallace Center before heading back to cabins.
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| 10:00 |
Cabin check-in: The lights go out in the common areas around campus. Return to cabins for the night, and talk about the day with cabinmates. |
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Years later I can still point to experiences from my semester that illustrate the core values of MCS, like a conversation with a faculty member while picking beans in the rain that continued over dinner that night.
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