Author Archives: christine mccartney

Despite our hesitations as we loaded fifteen 11th graders onto a bus to LaGuardia on the last day of school, traveling with students has been fulfilling in so many expected and unexpected ways. Being removed from our routines and comforts … Continue reading →

This post is pinned…for the newest posts, please scroll down. You can check out this original post on the FLYTE blog  by Jackie Hesse and Christine McCartney As students enter the halls of our school, they are greeted by two … Continue reading →

Here is a video we made for USA Today’s A Community Thrives Grant competition.  The video will tell you about our program and if you are so inclined, you can vote for us here.  

#1 Jurassic Park is for real. Scientists in Galapagos believe they can restore a species of tortoises that is extinct.  They will do so by copying DNA from Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise who was the last of his … Continue reading →

When we got to the top of Sierra Negra, the first comment out of Ms. Mac’s mouth was, “I’ve seen what Mars is like…and I don’t love it…” 🙂  It wasn’t so much the amazing and unique scenery at the … Continue reading →

Today we woke up and were out walking before the sunrise, checking out the Pelicans and other indigenous birds.  The sea lions are particularly active in the water during this time, which was fun to watch. We are both very … Continue reading →

We had a two hour flight to Baltra, an island that contains nothing but an airport and some native trees and bushes.  The flight was kind of rough and for Ms. Mac, who does not like flying, the three children … Continue reading →

So we had sort of a mind-shift about what service learning could and should look like for all of our students today when we met an amazing Ecuadorian named Alicia who runs Casa Victoria with her husband in Quito.  Before we … Continue reading →

So last night we awoke to our entire room shaking and quickly realized there was an earthquake happening.  After about thirty seconds, the shaking stopped and the electricity was out, followed by lots of dogs barking and some sirens.   … Continue reading →