When you think of your middle school memories, what comes to mind? Awkwardness and braces? Pushing your way through crowded hallways? Hours spent memorizing math equations and highlighting dry history textbooks?

Mackintosh Academy’s Middle Years students look back on their middle school years with a different lens.

One recent graduate said, “I’m the only kid in my high school who didn’t hate middle school!” Our alums often reflect on how unique their middle years experience was, and how it helped them to be confident, well-prepared high school students.

In this student-created video, Mack Littleton’s MYP (Middle Years Programme) students share their own words about what makes a Mack education different: inquiry-based curriculum, hands-on learning, service trips, dedicated teachers, and a close-knit, supportive community.

As an International Baccalaureate Middle Years school, Mackintosh Academy’s middle school is more than just curriculum – it’s community! Our students have the opportunity to thrive in an environment tailored for them. They get to solve real-world problems. They learn to be critical and reflective thinkers. They work with teachers who truly know and care about them. And perhaps most importantly, they develop a true sense of belonging.

Curious about what a Mack education might do for your child? Contact our admissions team to find out!

Not quite ready to contact us yet? That’s okay! Learn more:

Quick Facts about Our School

Academic Overview

Admissions

FAQ

The post Middle School at Mack: Hands-on, Nurturing, and Fun appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

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.

The post Award Winning Mackintosh Academy Littleton – A Smart Village appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

We are so proud of our new admissions video.  It is different by design – just like our educational program.  The narration is completely student driven and we focus on showing how we “do” things at Mack Boulder. The clips capture the breadth of daily hands-on learning and the unique features of our integrated campus.

I hope this fills you with a growing sense of pride and excitement for our bright future. Our students and teachers are simply awesome. Please help us spread the word by sharing this in every way, shape, and form that you can across social media.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBOKfPYbiQE]

Kyle Rippey volunteered his time, expertise, and passion to help craft this video! Kyle is an accomplished video/photo artist and husband to Elizabeth Rippey (4th grade homeroom teacher). We are already dreaming up a series of additional marketing videos to be filmed and roll out in the late spring. These videos will feature testimonials and interviews about topics ranging from: giftedness, IB framework advantages, importance of SEL, innovation and creativity, and affording independent school.

To see more of Kyle’s work visit: http://www.pipedreamsmedia.net

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The popular view held by most children is that the world of science is owned by wide-eyed, white-coated ‘boffins’ ^[1]who spend their time poking in test tubes and looking into microscopes, beautifully illustrated by 5th grader, Paige. I opened my dictionary, looked up the word scientist, and read the following:

‘A scientist: a person having expert knowledge of one or more sciences especially a natural or physical science.’

Mmmmm………not terribly helpful, I thought. That’s not how I would describe what a scientist is to a young child.   So, let me make a stab at it. I know, for a start, that:

• Scientists are very curious about what they see around them.

• Scientists are collectors – they collect things and they collect ideas.
• Scientists read books to find out more about what they collected.
• Scientists carry out experiments.
• Scientists write notes and draw pictures to explain what’s in their heads.
• Scientists talk with other scientists and learn from each other.

.

I do ALL these things, don’t I? SO, I’m a SCIENTIST! Hey, hey!

We’re ALL scientists……… aren’t we? Don’t we explore our environment in a scientific way, whether we are aware of it or not? Don’t we look, touch, hear, smell, taste and wonder why all the time? Isn’t that how we discover new things?  When we discover something new, we often experience feelings of pleasure. Which of us hasn’t seen an expression of magical delight when a young child makes a discovery? You know, the ‘Oooh…… Aaah ‘ effect?

One thing, though. That magical ‘Oooh..Aaah’ moment needs fanning as if it were the beginnings of a fire, doesn’t it?

In my experience as an educator, I appreciated quickly that, even though being curious is natural for all human beings, most young scientists need help understanding how to make sense of the science around them. Who better to help them than mum and dad? Any teacher will tell you that your involvement in your children’s education as a close family member (mother, father, grandparent, caregiver, home-schooler) is strongly related to their success as a learner.. And that common sense view is backed by educational research:  “What families do is more important to student success than whether they are rich or poor, whether parents have finished high school or not, or whether children are in elementary, junior high, or high school (Robinson, 1995).

I remember how and when I became a scientist, someone who throughout his life has enjoyed exploring and asking and finding answers to the endless questions about the world of nature. It was my parents and one teacher who fanned my science fire when I was a young kid and got me going.

So, you adults, put on your scientist hats, take the time to positively interact, as learners, as team players, with your children. Nurture their curiosity  – and yours – and their sense of being scientists. Fan their fire.

How? Well, work with your young scientist on the science activities we’ll be doing at the ‘I’m a scientist’ science workshop, and…… have FUN!!

Event Details:

Sunday, January 24 from 2-4 pm

Mackintosh Academy Littleton Campus (7018 South Prince Street)

Please RSVP beth@mackintoshacademy.com

The post Upcoming: I am a Scientist Workshop by John Paull appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Bring friends and see who can create a machine that flings things further, higher, faster, better or just with more fun (last party featured a ride on toilet seat! Fact!)

Hope to see you Saturday on the Boulder campus.

Please RSVP to amy@mackintoshacademy.com

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Open House
Thursday, May 14 from 9-10:30 am
Please RSVP amy@mackintoshacademy.com

Mackintosh Academy’s K-8 program is seeking curious, creative students whose parents understand that students today need a different kind of education to meet the complex challenges of a changing world.

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, innovators and change makers they are capable of becoming.

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

Preschool Playdate
Saturday, May 16 from 9-11 am
Please RSVP jj@mackintoshacademy.com

Come enjoy our beautiful 23 acre campus during our preschool playdate!

Wake up with breakfast treats and coffee while your children dig in our humongous sandbox, climb our tree fort, explore outdoor art & building projects and feed our chickens!

Please RSVP jj@mackintoshacademy.com

There are just a few spots left in our program for next year.  Please spread the word.   Come enjoy our beautiful campus, some fun and fresh air!

The post Events This Week: Open House & Preschool Playdate @ Mack Boulder appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Gifted and creative students can have passionate interests and wild imaginations. Summer is a great time to feed and nourish those interests.

This summer Mackintosh Academy is launching a set of great camps for gifted and creative kids ages 5-14 – offering full roster for children who love to go fast, dive deep, ask big questions, get messy and have a lot of fun with their “tribe.”

Camps range from Camp Invention to Chess Club, Dragons to Druidawn, Sticky Fingers Cooking to Sports & Science Camp.

They will be held on both Mackintosh Boulder and Littleton Campuses.  Both campuses boast beautiful outdoor spaces.  Boulder’s camps will take full advantage of its 23 acre campus  – complete with pond, creek, grove and large outdoor play spaces.

Here is the complete list of Mackintosh Camps for Summer 2015:

• African Safari
• Around the World Art
• Awesome is Everywhere
• Band/Orchestra Camp
• Camp Invention
• Chess Camp (Wiz-Kids)
• Creative Writing
• Dragon Camp
• Drawing
• Druidawn
• Beginning Fencing
• Flute/Woodwinds Camp (Parlando)
• Invention Camp
• Rock Band Camp (Parlando)
• Sports & Science
• Sticky Fingers Cooking
• Wilderness Survival

Register for Boulder Camps

LITTLETON CAMPS

• Sticky Fingers Cooking
• Everything is Awesome
• Lazer Leaders Sport Camps
• Bricks 4 Kidz
• Challenge Island (STEM)
• Mackintosh Summer Art Camp & Summer Olympics (Aug 20, 21, 24)

Littleton Camps Flyer

We’ve also compiled a large list of other great camps for gifted kids that our parents have loved — both in the local Boulder/Denver/Littleton area as well as others nation wide.  These camps have been recommended by our Mackintosh families over the years.

Here’s to a summer filled with interesting adventures and tons of fresh air and fun!

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Mackintosh Littleton is hosting a conversation about IB and the Gifted Child on Thursday February 19th @ 9 am  (Littleton campus: 7018 South Prince Street).

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of four key reasons why IB and the gifted child are “perfect together.”

1.  Addressing “Why?” How often have we heard a child ask, “Why do I need to know this?” The IB’s six transdisciplinary themes provide relevance by connecting learning to the child’s world.  Whether we are studying Colorado History within “Who We Are” or symbols as part of “How We Express Ourselves,” students are given a broader context to connect their learning to themselves and the world around them.

2.  Promoting Depth and Complexity As students progress through their units of inquiry they continually construct meaning and explore higher level thinking concepts.  Each unit is comprised of three lines of inquiry that take the student from the concrete to the more abstract and complex thinking. As our first and second graders explore simple machines under “How the World Works,” they begin with a simply inquiry into machines and work:  What is a machine?  How does it do work?  As they explore and play with levers, wheels and pulleys, they  move to a more advanced inquiry into complex machines and their composition of simpler machines.  Finally the students have the opportunity to connect their studies to their world and explore the relevance of their learning as they conduct an inquiry into how advances in technology change the way people work. They leave the unit with a greater understanding of technology and its tendency to move from simple to complex  as well as the significant concepts of form, function and change.

3.  Teaching EQ as well as IQ  With its IB Learner Profile, the IB framework not only satisfies the intellectual needs of the gifted child, but the emotional needs as well.  Students are encouraged to be internationally-minded and to consider that others, with their differences, can also be right. Students are explicitly taught skills for communication and collaboration.  They learn to be listeners as well as speakers, supporters as well as leaders and to stand up for themselves while being open to different perspectives.

4.  Taking Ideas into Action. Gifted children often have a level of compassion and sense of justice well beyond their years.  The IB Action Cycle encourages the children to take their learning to the next level in creating a better and more peaceful world.  At Mackintosh we not only explore the “what” (What is it? How does it work?), but the “so what” (What’s important about this? How is this learning relevant?) and most importantly the “now what” (What important things can I do with this knowledge? Can my knowledge help me improve the world?)  A study of weather and natural disasters led students to planting trees in burn areas, a study of energy usage led to a grant award for the installation of solar panels on the school.  A study of how animals take care of their young led our very youngest students to make environmental contracts with their families.

Ultimately, the International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world.

The IB framework allows us to meet the intensities of the gifted child through a structured framework that allows for inquiry, creativity, critical thinking and design.  It ensures that learning has relevance and meaning and encourages our compassionate children to make a difference in their world.  Finally it allows us to maintain the tenet that questions are more important than answers.

By Beth Steklac, Admissions Director and Assistant Head of School, Littleton Campus

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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.

The post Open House & Tour Dates appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.