Why does he seem so different from other kids?

By the time my son was three, he was explaining about precipitation and condensation from a little chemistry game he had on his LeapPad. A mom nearby said, “Did you hear that? He said precipitation! Such a big word. He probably doesn’t even know what it means.” I answered, “Actually, he does. He can explain the water cycle to you, too.” I couldn’t keep this child busy enough. He devoured every bit of knowledge that came his way and could explain or extrapolate concepts in very grown-up ways.

My older son had an obsession with books and the mechanics of heavy equipment from the time he could walk.

Not long after, I registered him for preschool, and on the first day, the teacher called and said, “He wanted to do everything, but I couldn’t get him to put on his coat to go outside.” I explained, “He’s pretty stubborn and loves to explore and experiment at his pace, but you’ll meet with a brick wall when it comes to things like coats, hats, and shoes.” She came to know him really well and by the time he was ready for first grade, we had a frank conversation about elementary schools. The takeaway was — traditional school wouldn’t work for this child. “Have you heard of Mackintosh Academy?” she asked and then went on to explain that it was a school for gifted children.

I didn’t know at that point if my child fit the textbook definition of gifted, but with this conversation, she affirmed the little voice that had been chattering to me for years. The one that asked, Is my child normal? Why do other kids just sit there? Do other kids start every sentence with the words, ‘Actually Mom…?’ Where does he get this? And finally, There’s no way he’s going to sit in a classroom in a row of desks and turn to page 42 to calmly work his way through a worksheet, day after day and year after year. I took the teacher’s advice into account and added Mackintosh Academy to my list of schools to investigate.

There’s no way he’s going to sit in a classroom in a row of desks and turn to page 42 to calmly work his way through a worksheet, day after day and year after year.

When I finally visited, I was astounded. HERE were all these kids just like mine. Active. Inquisitive. Detailed. Engaged. The classrooms were stimulating, the learning hands-on, and the students were alive, delving more deeply into topics than any other school I had ever seen. One grade was even taking a field trip to Summit County to study the effect of pine beetles on the ecosystem. It was everything I wished I had had as a child, and it felt like home for my son.

Middle School students create greenhouse hangers from plastic bottles

Ten years later and my first son now attends an IB high school; my younger son is in 5th grade at Mack Littleton, and I also work at the school. I feel like I lucked out just happening upon Mackintosh and finding a tribe of families like mine. As it turns out, many of the parents I’ve met also had little voices telling them that their child needed something different. Their voices used to ask or say things like:

“Why is my child so alive and engaged at home and so bored at school?”

“My kid refuses to go to school. She says she doesn’t learn anything”

“She talks all the time and asks 100 questions before 7am. I’m exhausted before I’ve even had my first cup of coffee.”

“His teacher says he asks too many questions, and she can’t teach the rest of the class.”

“Her teachers say she talks all the time in class, and it’s very distracting.”

“My kid corrects the teacher, and she doesn’t like it.”

“She qualified for the gifted/talented program, but it seems to be just more busy work. She doesn’t need more work; she needs different work.”

“My child is sweet, but he has no friends at school and he doesn’t get invited to birthday parties. I don’t think he has found children to connect with.”

“She is surviving, but not thriving.”

“He’s pretty intense. His teachers can’t handle it.”

“She’s a perfectionist and she’s holding herself back because of it.”

In the end, parents know when something’s different about their child or when something needs to be changed to support their child. Finding the right school doesn’t come down to school ratings or student test scores. It comes down to something much simpler — listening to that little voice.

Do you have a little voice that won’t leave you alone? Won’t you come chat with us? We’d love to meet you — and it might help soothe that voice! Sign up for one of our many get-to-know you events.

In a hurry and need to meet sooner? Call us at 303-794-6222.
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The 2015-2016 school year has ended – what a year we had!  Our 97 solar panels soaked up the sun and saved our school in excess of $3000 in energy costs.  Per the Solar Scholars stipulation, that money is to be used to support new students who might not ordinarily be able to attend Mack Littleton. In 2015-16, one new student was able to join our award winning Smart Village!

What is a Smart Village?  In the case of Mack Littleton, a Smart Village is a community of thinkers, risk-takers, and doers.  It is a community where the smallest person can have a HUGE impact.  It is a community where compassionate hearts and keen minds are nurtured and supported to foster global action.  It is a community where participants are welcomed for who they are and what they can contribute.  It is a community where we learn and grow together.

Demonstrating the Smart Village ethos our students develop and nurture during their time at Mack Littleton, our students were more active in multiple activities – here is a partial list!

Environmental Activities:

• Collection of juice and fruit packets from lunch for recycling
• Glass recycling project which kept 500 pounds of glass from landfills
• Development of campus composting
• Crops grown organically in our on-site greenhouse
• Field terracing to increase workable earth and prevent runoff
• Local park and campus cleanups
• Research on pollinators to protect them from traps
• Field trips to remove invasive species from local nature centers
• Reuse and recycling of school supplies to lessen the need to purchase new supplies

STEM Activities:

It is important to remember that these activities are also taking place in the context of our International Baccalaureate curriculum where students ask questions and take their inquiry through scientific steps to achieve measurable outcomes.

These student-driven activities are getting noticed:

• President’s Environmental Youth Award
  • This award is given to students in each of the EPA’s 10 regions.  Mack Littleton won for Region 8.  The Solar Scholars are invited to visit the White House in August, 2016.
• Colorado Public Radio
  • Listen to CPR reporter Jenny Brudin continue her Evergreen story on Mack Littleton.
• Littleton Independent
  • Our local newspaper sent reporter Mark Bautista to campus to meet with students and learn their story.
• TreeRing
  • TreeRing is working with Trees for the Future to plant 102 trees in Mack Littleton’s name.
• Colorado Environmental Leadership Program
  • The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is awarding Mack Littleton the Bronze Achiever award in October, 2016.

If you are interested in learning more about award winning Mackintosh Academy Littleton and whether you, or your student might be a good fit, please contact our Admissions Office at 303-794-6222.

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These 6th grade students are making the transition from the primary years to the middle school years and by completing this capstone project put into action the IB learner profiles of inquirer, thinker, principled, open-minded, caring, and risk-takers.  Students were assigned mentors to assist with these projects and this relationship helped students learn additional real-world skills of responsibility, accountability, and professionalism as they had to arrange, and keep meetings weekly with these adults.

This year, Mack Littleton students partnered with students on the Mackintosh Academy Boulder campus to develop their theme.  Students chose the interdisciplinary theme “How We Organize Ourselves.”  Specifically, for Exhibition, students crafted the line of inquiry: “Civilizations can use technology to alleviate world problems.”  Sharon Muench, Curriculum Coordinator, Joe Pausback and Nancy Muhich, 5/6 teachers guided the students through their inquiry and collaboration.

For 11 weeks, these students researched, met with their mentors, collaborated with faculty, and developed their first real research paper.  Students grappled with such topics as:

• Great Pacific Garbage Patch
• Food Waste
• UAVS are Changing the World
• Ocean Trash and Plastic
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Colony Collapse Disorder
• What are Female Leaders Made Of?
• Coral Reefs
• Girls Education in Sub Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia
• LGBT Rights in Education
• Women in Sports
• Polar Bears and Climate Change
• Hunger in Africa

The level of inquiry and depth of thinking is evident throughout a Mackintosh Academy education.  The Exhibition is when students take their first steps into a larger world of inquiry, learning, and growth.

Samara Rasmussen
Director of Development

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In August, available supplies will be bundled according to classroom supply lists and provided to returning students on a first come/first served basis.

Here is the schedule and procedure for supply collection:

Monday, May 23 – Tuesday – May 31 – PLEASE drop any supplies for donation during carline.

Parents of Pre-K through 2nd grade may sort supplies in classrooms during Field Day on May 24th.

Parents of 4-8 please discuss with your child which supplies should be donated to the community collection.

Teachers will collect supplies from students unless a parent requests otherwise.

We need help with the collection and organization of the supplies!!  Please contact Brandi Dantzler at bdantzler@outlook.com ASAP!

This collection is being coordinated by Parent Council: Brandi Dantzler, Abby Anderson, and Jennifer Stathis.  Teachers Lara Pausback and Alison Weems are collaborating.

Through activities like this, Mack Littleton is setting an unbelievable example for our community and teaching our students to be thoughtful custodians of our resources.  These actions are second-nature at our school and directly point to the Mackintosh Academy mission of cultivating Keen Minds, Compassionate Hearts, and Global Action.

Samara Rasmussen – Director of Development
Mackintosh Academy Littleton

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Mrs. Alison Weems, the team’s teacher, has been guiding the student’s work through the tenets of our IB curriculum – which means the students are questioning, researching, and developing their design through trial and error.

Did you know?  Per Quinn Yates: “squishability is a scientific term!”

The Colorado Rockies , 9NEWS (KUSA) Steve Spangler Science and Colorado State University have teamed up to launch the 7th Annual Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on May 11, 2016. We will update this post with results!

Please join Mackintosh Academy Littleton, Colorado State University’s Extension program, America’s Science Teacher – Steve Spangler and the 9News Weather Team for this educational event that incorporates physics, math and meteorology into unique science experiments.

The post Mack Littleton students picked to participate in Egg Drop science experiment appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

In order to show Ms. Dunne they are taking action and to make the school cleaner, these students rolled up their sleeves and got to work.  “It’s disgusting,” cries Milo when asked what it’s like to pick up trash on campus.  Selah says, “It feels exhausting, but it feels good to help the environment.  We’re kind of running around looking for trash.”  The students pick up trash everyday whenever they see it – in fact, they picked up three pieces of trash during this interview!

Concern for bees is driving the other main initiative of the 1-2 Environmental Club.  Wasp traps on campus are also catching bees and the children are very concerned about pollinators.  The students approached Ms. Dunne about taking down the wasp traps and an invigorating conversation about bees and students who are allergic to bees ensued.  Currently, these students are actively engaged in research to demonstrate whether school campuses with wasp traps have a lower incidence of humans being stung by bees or not.  Once the students have their research, they are going back to Ms. Dunne with information and possible solutions.

This action is completely student driven.  This group of students started cleaning up campus before letting their teacher, Mrs. Pausback, in on it. During community meeting in April, 2016, the students shared what they were doing with the class.  Using their Keen Minds and Compassionate Hearts, these students are taking Global Action to clean up their school and show other kids what is possible.

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Mackintosh Academy Littleton – National Environmental Award Winners!

On Friday, April 22, 2016, on Earth Day, four Mackintosh Academy Littleton 8th graders received the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) from the EPA Region 8 Director of Communication and Public Involvement, Paula Smith and the President of the United States.  This prestigious, national environmental award is given to youth in the ten EPA regions across the country for exceptional work in environmental affairs.  There are only two winners selected from each region.

Joining our Earth Day celebration was Joseph Graves from the State of Colorado Governor’s Office, Bruce Beckman, Mayor of Littleton, and Debbie Brinkman, Mayor Pro Tem of Littleton.  After the singing and celebration, our community demonstrated our commitment to action by cleaning a local park, building a meditative labyrinth, and installing terracing which will stop water runoff and increase our plantable space.

Our Mack students earned this award by writing a State Farm Youth Advisory Board grant when they were in 6th grade.  This grant, $96,000, which paid for solar panels to be installed on all Mack Littleton campus buildings, has also invigorated our campus and motivated all students to guide our Smart Village. Learn more about other sustainable activities taking place at Mack Littleton.

This grant is not just about utilizing our abundant Colorado solar energy!  These incredible students stipulated in the grant that the money saved from our energy spending be put into a scholarship fund so students who might not ordinarily attend Mackintosh Academy Littleton can!  This year alone, we have realized nearly $2500 in energy savings.

Take the time to show your support of our Solar Students AND Mackintosh Academy Littleton by contributing to the Solar Scholarship today.

–Samara Rasmussen, Director of Development, Mackintosh Academy Littleton

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We are hosting several open house opportunities in February and March on both our Boulder and Littleton campuses:

An IB World School with a gifted and creative focus, we nurture the unique genius of every child so that they can contribute to a world that needs them.   Since learning isn’t a one-size-fits all equation, our small classrooms, low teacher-to-student ratio, vigorous curriculum, focus on multiple learning styles,  and whole-child approach, help our children learn to be the leaders, experts and change makers they are capable of becoming.

Join us for an open house and tour to see why gifted and creative learners find a home at Mackintosh.

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JOIN US! PLANNING FOR SUCCESS: CREATING AN ENRICHING SUMMER EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR CHILD 

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