On this first week of school I find myself sitting in front of my computer dreaming about being outside. I love school, teaching, being the art teacher at CDS. My job doesn't feel like a job and I never dread going to "work".  But what I really love is camp! Camp Timanous. I love being part of a greater community that nurtures and watches out for itself. It is home in the summer, the tall pine trees, the old dusty cabins, the cold clear lake, and the people. The people are friendly, cheerful, positive, and real. My family has been at this camp off and on since 1928. When I arrive back at camp in June, Mallards cabin is the same, the friendships start right where they left off in the previous summer or summers. Timeless. All friendships pick up where they left off.  I've made some of my best friends in life at camp and friendships are ageless. People I probably wouldn't have ever meet otherwise. Campers, older counselors, young counselors, staff, and directors!
     Every summer something new and amazing will take place at camp. A bird nest on the eaves of Mallards cabin just outside from the campers bunks. Loons calling out at night below a full moon glittering on the lake. The stars! A Bear! A Moose! A camper works through his homesickness. A counselor finds his voice and his creativity in front of camp during announcements.  An eagle flies over instructional swim. The newest "I think I heard a  fisher cat" story. New skits and a movie project. New Head Counselors, New Chapels. New friendships!
     Every summer the beginning of camp is full of energy and possibilities, the middle is of achievements and the end comes too quickly. The last day of camp is awkward, sad, and full of too many emotions that your body goes into shock. It remains the same in many ways each summer giving structure to each year but not definition. The morning walk, the coffee with the old timers, dips, and the flag raising ritual. The Barn is full of excitement, fun, traditions, and crazy counselor announcements. The stories, the history and the legends.
     At camp there is always something going on that is fun. It is fun because the counselors make it fun because they are having fun! Twilight League, Free Swim buddy themes, birthday speeches, baseball scores, "WEST COAST", capture the flag, cookouts, camping trips, grand daddy gorilla hunt, horse races, movie night, thunder storms, counselor stories, and the list goes on! It is all fun! I love the fun! there is so much fun to be had at camp. It is easy, if you are fun the fun will happen. I never drive to work, I walk everywhere except when I'm on the golf cart. A simple walk down the path will get you there. Just follow the pine needle road to "somewhere over the rainbow" and you'll be at Camp Timanous. Where what is most important are body, mind and spirit. My summer home.
     If school could be like camp this world would be full of more generous, considerate, confident, cheerful, and happy people. We all want to belong or be part of a great community. Camp Timanous is a great community.
    How do we turn our school, CDS into a great community? The answer is, the potential is already there! It takes the people in the community to recognize the specialness and the special talents within and take the lead role. The journey begins this week. Im ready! Let the fun begin!!!

10th annual Congo/ Lammers Hoops Tournament

 Hoop legends John Ruhl and Thomas Freeman

One of my favorite events every year is the knock out hoops tournament that takes place in the CDS middle school.  We start around the same time as the NCAA tournament and usually end around the same time.  Anyone who wants to be in can join...Boys, Girls, 6th through 8th. Mr. Lammers on the West side of the school takes all the advisories on that side of the building and I take all the advisories on the East side.  Mr. Lammers has 2 Regions (John Freeman and Mac Gourlay) and I have two (John Ruhl and James Nevant). The games are head to head the 1 seed plays the 16 seed and so forth just like the real NCAA tournment. When it gets down to the final 4 they all play for the finals. There have been some great wins and upsets in he past.  Colin Coleman looked like he was cruising to the title in 2009 when Zach Maag came from nowhere and claimed the championship that year. John Freeman won as a 6th grader and a 7th, but Candler Rice had a great run his 8th grade year to ruin John's chance at a three-peat. Other greats, John Ruhl won as a 7th and 8th grader in the first ever tournaments, Mac Gourlay powered his way to a championship in 2013, and James Nevant dominated his 8th grade year in 2008.  The champion gets to sign his name on the backboard of the hoop.  It's tradition!

http://youtu.be/fLa1AwY4CY0

Past Champions:

2014-?

2013-Mac Gourlay (West)

2012-Candler Rice (East)

2011-John Freeman (West)

2010-John Freeman (West)

2009- Zach Maag (Congo)

2008-James Nevant (Congo)

2007-Ricky Modrzynski (Congo)

2006-John Ruhl (Congo)

2005-John Ruhl (Congo)

Pinhole Photography Spring 2014

It is Spring at CDS Middle School and that means!!! Pinhole photography

What is Pinhole Photography?

The Pinhole Camera is a simple camera without a lens and with a single small aperture, a pinhole – (a pin sized hole in the side of the camera)  a light-proof box and a shutter door that is used manually. The students can make them out of just about anything, but we generally use the large oatmeal containers to make our own pinhole cameras. (the oats make pretty good cookies!) The one below was built by Henry Chandler in the spring of 2013.

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The objective of this project is to learn the photography process using a pinhole camera. To be responsible with the darkroom privileges, and helpful with taking care of equipment and chemicals. To take at least 6 excellent A range photos, or 3 excellent photos at home or 1 excellent photo on World wide pinhole day. 
http://www.pinholeday.org/

Other links that will help with this project

http://users.rcn.com/stewoody/

http://www.abelardomorell.net/

http://www.camera-obscura-lucida-shop.com/CameraObscura.php

Back Stage/Tech Crew

Rules and Conduct

1. Be responsible and helpful
2. Bring cloths you don't mind getting paint on...
3. Be sure that you get picked up at the ending time!
4. read the script and know the story....



We can only have 6-8 Tech Crew back stage so the official backstage crew will be determined by:
1. Days in attendance helping to make props and working on set pieces.
2. Experience working back stage, (trustworthy, dependable and responsible)
3. 8th grade-7th grade-6th grade (seniority)

*We will start with making Props, and Painting the backdrop

Schedule for November 2013

Wednesday Nov. 20th  3:30-4:30 (Room #11)

Thursday Nov. 21 3:30-4:30 (Room #11)

Schedule for December 2013

Monday Dec. 2nd 3:30-5 (TBA)

Tuesday Dec. 3rd 3:30-5

Wednesday Dec 4th 3:30-5

Thursday Dec. 5th 3:30-5

Monday Dec. 9th 3:30-5

Tuesday Dec. 10th 3:30-5

Wednesday Dec. 11th 3:30-5

Thursday Dec. 12th 3:30-5

January TBA

Probably Monday-Thursday

February will be the same as Cast and Crew

 

http://bheinberg.blogspot.com/

Cast and Crew Schedule

 

 

 

Mr. Congo is Back to School...

 

The 6th Grade is presently working on Cartoon Cards, and will be starting the tree painting project soon.

The 7th grade just started the metamorphosis animation project.

The 8th graders have started photography. learning how to take photos with film, process the film and enlarge their negatives. 

The 8th grade also did a drawing from life activity. The students took turns (if they wanted too) modeling for the class. The students had 5 minutes to capture their gesture with india ink on newsprint.  This leads into their next studio project "Modern Painting".

Here is an example of a time lapse video we worked on during exploratory.

http://youtu.be/zzsan9yNNu8

Got to Maine and Camp on Monday, the campers arrived on thursday, and I gave the first chapel talk on Sunday.  Camp really is a special place.  The people, the tall pine trees and the cool water of Panther Pond! here is a copy of the talk I gave on this first week of Camp:

June 23, 2013

Mike Congleton

1. Call to Worship

2. Song: Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

3. Reading:

         “It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did the tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait”  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

4. Timanous Prayer

5. Song: Knocking on Heavens Door

6. The Talk:

         “Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about and not much to listen to; While things that are uncomfortable palpitating and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a good deal of telling” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

         What does this mean? It means, that we should have the courage to try new things, to go out the door and dare to follow our dreams.  We have started a new summer at Camp Timanous, We have left our comfortable homes in hopes of a great adventure. So now that we are here at Camp it’s time to have that great summer.

         Not many people can say that they had an epic adventure staying at home. We have made that step and NOW is the time to have that epic adventure!  We are embarking on this summer adventure together.

         S/V Camp Timanous and the ocean before us is this very summer of 2013. Like any sailing crew some are more experienced, some are brand new, and some get sea sick….BUT we are all in it together. An ocean of adventure stands before us waiting for us to navigate it’s vast potential.

         Many years ago when I got my first art teaching position, my wife LG and I lived on an island.  We couldn’t afford to buy a house and there were plenty of comfortable apartment options to rent. We could stay in the apartment under the calypso singer, or the condo in the clouds over looking the cruise ships going in and out of the harbor, or there were also places right on the beach.  Instead of these excellent options we decided with encouragement from our friends that we would buy a sailboat to live on.  We were not expert sailors or even good ones, in fact I hadn’t done much sailing since Sailing the winabout with Al Ryder back in my aides year at camp.  But we found the courage to buy a 30 ft S2 sloop….and we made it our home.  It was very difficult at first in fact it was difficult throughout the 3 years we lived on it.  It was a very humbling to admit to everyone whose help we needed, to tell them that I didn’t know how….I didn’t know how to navigate the 30 ft boat to the fuel dock, or charge the batteries, or run the refrigerator without using up all the batteries, or priming the diesel engine when it stalled out or ran out of fuel, or tie more than 3 knots,….and the list goes on. But we learned, and we had some good times on board our ship. Once when we were out sailing and charging our engine (the iron jib) the engine stalled out…and would not start again. Now it is difficult enough to navigate through the harbor with the use of the engine…but without it, seemed impossible….We had no choice, so we found the courage and the confidence to sail our beloved vessel through the crowded anchorage and onto our mooring without the use of the iron jib. There are many stories like this and many people helped us along the way but the times I’ll remember the most and retell maybe even exaggerate are the scary and uncomfortable ones.

         Your time here at Camp is an opportunity to try new things, go sailing, or kayaking, or climb to the top of the wall, or overcome your fear of the dark waters of lanes 5 and 6 on main dock…. Your adventure might be swimming in Panther Pond At this moment you have come to a crossroads…one way leads down to a comforting place that is familiar, another is a new road that might lead to vast opportunities for adventure, and the potential is limitless.  Take the road that leads you to adventure and new discoveries. I promise you’ll have better stories to tell.

And now for our last song we will sing The Weight, in honor of Jack the Dog who passed away in November of 2012.

7. Song: The Weight

6th Graders face jugs...excellent work!

http://youtu.be/k0cOSpdBBIo