The Lincoln Squirrel

News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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News acorns

Waxwings win tree photo contest

“Waxwings on Cedar Tree” by Barbara Peskin (click to enlarge).

Lincoln resident Barbara Peskin’s photo titled Waxwings on Cedar Tree won the Lincoln Garden Club’s recent Tree Photo Contest. She received a certificate, ribbon an $50 gift card from Stonegate Gardens during the Tree Tour Photo Exhibit at Pierce House on June 4. Her entry was chosen by the people who attended the Tree Tour in a display in the Pierce House of 72 photos taken by 23 contestants. Tree tour participants were guided by the Garden Club’s new 40-page color booklet to 16 trees of interest in Pierce Park, and at the Lincoln Public Library, Old Town Hall, Station Park and Lindentree Farm. Copies of the booklet will soon be available at the library.

Bike group surveys residents on safer biking to school

The Cycling Safety Advisory Committee invites residents to complete this online survey as it collects feedback on ways to make biking to school easier for families. On Friday, June 9, Lincoln students are invited to bike to school—grab your helmet and bike and wave to the adults helping out at a few intersections in town.

Lincoln Literary Society to meet

The Lincoln Literary Society will meet on Friday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. in the Lincoln Public Library’s couch area outside the Tarbell Room. Organizer Daniela Caride will provide tea and cookies as well as free books from the Swap House. The group meets on the second Friday or every month to talk about books they’ve read (recently or not), recite poems, read a passage, or anything that can start a conversation. The structure is very informal and there are no assigned books.

Farmer’s Market opens in new location

Opening Day for the Lincoln Farmers Market is Saturday, June 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is now located at Codman Farm where it first began, and it will take place every Saturday at the same time until October.

News acorns

Forum on how to discuss neighborhood noise

The Leaf Blower Study Committee (LBSC) and the Conservation Commission will sponsor a town-wide forum on how to communicate with neighbors about an issue that has increasingly become a source of friction within our community—neighborhood noise—on Wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Donaldson Room at the Lincoln Town Hall.

During “Civil Discourse in a Noisy World: How to Talk with Neighbors about Difficult Issues,” mediator and attorney Jeanne Kempthorne will lead a workshop aimed at finding common ground on the use of noisy leaf blowers, an issue that has become contentious in communities in Massachusetts and around the country.

The LBSC believes that all residents in Lincoln, regardless of their opinion on this issue, would benefit from the establishment of some ground rules on when and how these machines are used, for reasons of health, the environment, and common courtesy. The group is seeking to initiate a conversation and a process that may lead to mutually beneficial resolutions amongst neighbors. Kempthorne is co-chair of the Legal Advisory Committee of Quiet Communities and The Quiet Coalition, and has been active in educational and outreach activities to support their mission.

Codman Farm BBQ and campout June 10-11

Parents and kids are invited to camp out under the stars after a hayride, barbecue, s’mores and an old-fashioned sing-a-long around the campfire at Codman Community Farms (CCF) starting on Saturday, June 10 at 4 p.m. There will be breakfast on Sunday with coffee, orange juice and bagels. Visitors are also welcome to enjoy the activities without camping overnight. Cost is $35 per tent site (includes breakfast for all campers in the tent). A CCF family membership required to sleep over. Tickets for the dinner (click to buy online) catered by Blue Ribbon Barbecue are $30 for adults and $15 for children under 12. Click here for stories and photos about the campout in 2012.

Talks at American Revolution meeting next week

Two members of the American Revolution Round Table will speak at the group’s next meeting on Monday, June 5 at 7 p.m. at the the Minute Man National Historical Park Visitor Center. Jim Hogan will speak about religion as a catalyst of the American Revolution, focusing on the ministers of the towns of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln and Bedford. Nancy Lynch will talk about the political clash between Jefferson and Hamilton, what it meant to the workings of democracy, and the ebb and flow of their ideas during the course of the American political experience, based on the book, Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry that Forged a Nation. Please RSVP to reserve a seat by emailing mbern9@gmail.com.

Yoga in the park on four Saturdays

Melinda Bruno-Smith, certified hatha yoga instructor and Lincoln Garden Club member, will lead four yoga sessions in Station Park Garden (160 Lincoln Rd., across from the train station) on four Saturdays: June 3, 10, 17, and 24, from 9–10 a.m. A $5 donation is suggested; please bring a yoga mat, towel, or blanket to practice on and wear loose-fitting clothing.

Correction

A May 30 article headlined “New preschool opening at Minuteman” incorrectly stated that the addition of the Colonial Children’s Academy (CCA) will the number of preschools in Lincoln to five. There will actually be six, as the Teddy Bear Club and the Drumlin Farm Community Preschool were inadvertently omitted—but the CCA itself will be in Lexington rather than Lincoln when it opens (although it will move over the town line into Lincoln along with the rest of Minuteman High School once the new school is completed). The original article has been amended to reflect this correction.

 

 

New preschool opening at Minuteman

(Editor’s note: This article has been amended to reflect a correction regarding CCA’s initial location and the number of preschools in Lincoln.)

Minuteman High School will open the door in August to the Colonial Children’s Academy, staffed by certified preschool teachers and enriched by high school interns enrolled in Minuteman’s Early Education and Teaching program.

The Colonial Children’s Academy (CCA) curriculum will feature STEM activities, outdoor and indoor recreation, music, literacy, and cooperative play. Activities will be developed from the children’s interests and skill levels. CCA, which serves children between 2.9 and 5 years of age, will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and and will follow Minuteman High School’s school year calendar.

The CCA will be on the Lexington side of the Minuteman campus until the new school building is completed in the fall of 2019. Once it moves into the new building on the Lincoln side, it will bring the number of preschools in Lincoln to seven. The others are Lincoln Country Day School, Magic Garden Children’s Center, Lincoln Nursery School, the Teddy Bear Club, Drumlin Farm Community Preschool and Lincoln Preschool operated by the Lincoln Public Schools.

“At Colonial Children’s Academy, the learning will extend beyond the classroom walls,” said Michelle Roche, director of career and technical education at Minuteman. “Preschool students will get to explore all that Minuteman has to offer with the help from our expert teaching staff. Children can take field trip with the environmental department to explore pond life or visit the automotive department to see what an engine looks like. We’re excited to be able to offer project-based learning even for our youngest students.”

Minuteman’s high school setting will allow the preschoolers to explore many of the school’s career and technical education programs and use facilities such as a large indoor gym. Student-to-teacher ratios far exceed the state standards, allowing adults to provide additional guidance and support throughout the day, Roche said.

The program offers discounted prices for in-district families and staff members of the Lexington Public Schools and Minuteman High School. Enrollment space is limited. For more information on enrollment and tuition, please call Roche at 781-861-6500, ext. 7326 or Mroche@minuteman.org.

Lincoln-Sudbury awards and honors

Six L-S faculty win FELS grants

Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury grant recipient for 2017. Left to right: Xin Dong, Nancy Dion, Samantha Parker, Nicole Frattaroli, Elizabeth Carver, and Thomas Grandprey (click to enlarge).

The Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury (FELS)—a nonprofit that awards enrichment grants to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School faculty and staff to pursue their professional and personal interests and passions—announced six grant recipients for 2017. Recipients, their departments and projects are:

  • Xin Dong, World Languages —  Dong, who is completing her first year of the new Mandarin pilot program at L-S, will attend the MaFLA Proficiency Academy this summer. The four-day program focuses on curriculum design under the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency framework.
  • Nancy Dion, Special Education — Her grant will allow her to attend a week-long workshop at The College of the Atlantic in Maine that introduces photographers of all abilities to the art of conservation photography. She hopes print and frame the images for display at L-S.
  • Samantha Parker, Science (Physics) — Parker will travel to the Grand Tetons to witness the total eclipse of the sun on August 21. She hopes to use her explorations to enrich her teaching in astronomy and other sciences.
  • Nicole Frattaroli, Guidance Counselor — Frattaroli will take a 10-week course at The New England School of Photography to advance her strong interest in the art, allow her to contribute to the mindfulness curriculum and online resources, incorporate her photographs into presentations that the Counseling Department coordinates with Student Services for incoming families
  • Elizabeth Carver, World Languages (Spanish) — Carver’s grant will partially fund a four-week trip to Mexico this summer to explore the Mayan culture and study their language and art. She plans to document her work by maintaining a daily journal; recording interviews with Mayan people on their past and present culture; creating portraits, collage, and sculptures of Mayan people and their environment; and writing a narrative for each and of art in English, Spanish and some Maya.
  • Thomas Grandprey, Director of  Instrumental Music — he will visit museums and historic sights in Rome, Florence and other cities as well as music venues in Italy, exploring the jazz culture in Italy and make contacts for future professional and educational exchange.

FELS raises money through donations and also hosts an annual FELS Talk at the high school. Click here to see past grants.

Chess team is tops in Mass.

Left to right: L-S Chess Club members Jesse Sun, Sandeep Shankar, Greer Fried, Eric Feng, and Michael Isakov (click to enlarge).

The L-S Chess Team came in first at the state team chess championship in April, bringing home the Hurvitz Cup as two-time state champions. There were 12 teams with a total of 46 players at the championship. L-S team members were Sudbury residents Michael Isakov, Eric Feng, Sandeep Shankar, Jesse Sun, and Greer Fried. The team won all four of its matches to finish well ahead of the competition.

Ocean sciences team in #9 nationally

The L-S National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) team placed ninth nationally at the NOSB national competition held at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., and won an all-expenses-paid trip to the competition after having won the Blue Lobster Bowl at MIT earlier in the year.

The NOSB competition is largely structured in “quiz bowl” style and covers all aspects of oceanography (biological, physical, chemical, and geological), maritime technology, and marine policy. The competition also required the team to take on the roles of stakeholders testifying in front of a congressional committee, with judges playing the parts of members of Congress, and advocating positions related to an actual and complicated piece of energy legislation. The students were required to submit written statements in advance, and they followed up with oral testimony and answered questions from the committee about the legislation at the competition. The L-S team placed sixth nationally in this portion of the competition.

Team members (all from Sudbury) are seniors Melody Phu, Steven Weiman, and Julia Wyatt, and juniors Michael Isakov and Avi Lepsky. Dr. William Pegram, an earth sciences teacher at the high school, is the faculty sponsor. The team also toured a large National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel based on the Oregon coast, went out on a small research boat to create temperature and salinity profiles of estuary waters and to sort out and classify the life forms found in a trawl of the same waters, and toured a large repository of marine sediment cores stored on the Oregon State campus.

Sobkowicz chosen to work with Apple on classroom technology

Mark Sobkowicz, a computer science and physics teacher at L-S, was selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator for 2017, one of approximately 130 elementary, secondary and higher educators in the U.S. to be so honored. Individuals selected as ADEs work with Apple to develop new uses for technology in the classroom and share insights with educators and policymakers throughout the world.

With the recent improvements to the high school’s information technology infrastructure, technology has been integrated into classrooms across the curriculum. In addition, an AP Computer Science Principles course will be offered at L-S for the first time in 2017-18 with a curriculum was designed by Sobkowicz based on the introductory computer science course taught at Harvard University. A demonstration of how Apple computing is used in L-S classrooms can be found in his online application for the ADE award.

Children’s maple sugar project raises almost $2,000

Lincoln School third-graders sample the maple syrup they helped make.

The third grade at Lincoln School recently completed its annual educational and charitable maple syrup collaboration with Nancy Bergen and Ephraim Flint at Matlock Farm, where the students tap trees, collect the sap, and learn all about the process, nature, mathematics, and writing along the way. Nancy and Ephraim served as guides to the students, sharing their knowledge and imparting an appreciation for this time-honored local resource.

This year the group raised $1,920 (easily topping last year’s total of $1,400) and made donations to the Ronald McDonald House, Doctors Without Boarders, and Codman Farm.

News acorns

Clark, Moulton to speak at Dems breakfast

Congresswoman Katherine Clark as well as Congressman Seth Moulton will speak at the 3rd Middlesex Area Democrats breakfast on Saturday, May 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn (450 Totten Pond Rd, Waltham). To make a reservation, contact Gary Davis (garyddavis@gmail.com) or Barbara Slayter (bslayter@comcast.net).

Seacoast Stompers play in Bemis on Saturday

The Seacoast Stompers present an afternoon of Dixieland jazz and swing on Saturday, May 13 from 2–5 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The group has played monthly at the Acton Jazz Cafe. Click here to watch a video. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library and Classic Jazz at the Lincoln Public Library.

Artists invited to show work at library

Lincoln Public Library’s lower-level Stay Put art gallery has openings for shows this summer and the upcoming year. Unlike the main gallery, this area requires application process and no juries are involved. Artists do not need to be Lincoln residents. Anyone interested in displaying work should contact Assistant Director Lisa Rothenberg at 781-259-8465 ext. 202 or lrothenberg@minlib.net.

Author Andre Dubus II at Fatherhood Project event

The Fatherhood Project presents “A Celebration of Fatherhood: Strengthening Family Connections” on Friday, June 16 from 6:30–9 p.m. in Bemis Hall—a night of food, drinks, music, and honoring fathers’ impact on everyone’s lives. The guest speaker is Andre Dubus III, author of Townie, The Garden of Last Days, and House of Sand and Fog. The Fatherhood Project is a nonprofit program at Massachusetts General Hospital whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children and families by empowering fathers to be knowledgeable, active and emotionally engaged with their children.

Sign up for girls’ basketball clinic

A basketball clinic for girls entering grades 2–9 in the fall of 2017 will run daily from Monday–Thursday, July 10–13 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. in Gym 1 at Lincoln-Sudbury (LSRHS). The program will be run by the coaching staff and members of the LSRHS basketball program and will include skills, drills, games, competitions, prizes and more. Participants should wear sneakers and comfortable clothing, and bring a lunch and a water bottle to the clinic each day. All participants will receive a T-shirt and an individual player evaluation. Registration is complete when the $225 registration fee (check made out to LSRHS Girls Basketball) has been received by Kathleen Thompson at 390 Lincoln Road, Sudbury MA 01776. If you do not want to mail a payment, you may drop your payment off at the LSRHS front office. The registration deadline is Tuesday, June 27. Anyone with financial hardship or other questions may contact Kathleen Thompson at lsgirlshoops@gmail.com.

Multi-sport court will be ready within weeks

The new multi-sport court will be located just north of the “tot lot” playground behind the Brooks gym (click image to enlarge).

The multi-sport court that was formally proposed in 2015 will become a reality by June, according to Parks and Recreation Director Dan Pereira.

Residents approved spending $146,000 at Town Meeting in 2015 for an outdoor facility that could be used for basketball, tennis, street hockey, volleyball and other sports. The court will go next to the “tot lot” playground near Codman Pool, which is now closed while it’s being reconfigured in a slightly narrower space to accommodate the new court.

The court took longer than expected to put in place because the site is close to wetlands and required a permit from the Conservation Commission as well as input from a wetlands engineer, Pereira said. That process included studying the pros and cons of other possible locations in town.

The sport court will have lighting so it can be used at night, and it will be installed over a water-permeable grid rather than a concrete pad. This means that the court can be moved without too much trouble if it should have to be relocated as a result of a school and/or community center building project.

The project also includes a new boardwalk to more directly connect the sport court area to the playing fields next to Codman Pool.

The 45-by-80-foot court, which is expected to be ready to use some time next month, can be changed by Park and Rec officials for use by multiple sports, depending on school and community interest, “It’s something that’s not very hard to reconfigure at all,” Pereira said. For example, netting mounted on light poles can be raised or lowered depending on whether it’s being used for tennis or volleyball, and it could even be flooded in winter for ice hockey.

The town’s after-school tennis program will also get more playing time next spring, because the court will be ready for use as soon as the snow melts, unlike the clay courts that need more time and maintenance to recover from the snow and ice. The new facility will also be the only official-size outdoor basketball court in town, Pereira noted.

News acorns

Plastic bag/bottle ban approved in Sudbury

Sudbury voters approved a ban on the sale of plastic grocery bags and single-serving plastic water bottles at their Annual Town Meeting on May 2, according to the MetroWest Daily News. The measure, sponsored by members of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Environmental Club, was the same as one proposed for Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting in March. That measure was passed over amid concerns about enforcement and objections from the owners of Donelan’s and Lincoln’s two new restaurants.

Correction

The May 2 letter to the editor by Valerie Fox about the Sophia Adams sampler misstated Fox’s title. She is the deputy town clerk. The article also had a typographical error stating the amount of money Adam’s father left. The correct amount is $2,133.73.

Garlic mustard pull

Lincoln’s annual garlic mustard pull is underway. Free paper bags for the collection of this invasive plant will be distributed to residents at the transfer station on Saturday, May 6 from 9 a.m. to noon, courtesy of the Lincoln Garden Club. The Department of Public Works has a designated area near the cell tower at its Lewis Street facility for residents to drop off bags of garlic mustard. Additionally, the Conservation Department will pick up full bags in neighborhoods through May 31 if you contact them beforehand at 781-259-2612 or trails@lincolntown.org  The DPW and the Conservation Department ask that you not put any wall lettuce in your bags. For more information about garlic mustard, click here.

Lincoln Directory on the way

In the library’s Tarbell Room are Lincoln Directory volunteers Graham Walker, Tucker Smith, Kim Bodnar, Kelley Raghavan, Barbara Low, Agnes Wiggin, Julie Brogan, Belinda Gingrich, and (front row) Kathleen Nichols and Elinor Nichols. Not shown: Cathy Moritz, Carole Kasper, Lindsay Clemens, Bryn Gingrich, Ian Gingrich, Paul Gingrich, Patience Sandrof, Mark Sandrof, Margaret Flint, Connie Olsen, and Susan Pease. (click to enlarge)

Each household in Lincoln will be receiving a copy of the 2017 Lincoln Directory in the mail this week. This biannual Lincoln resource produced by the Friends of the Lincoln Library contains a plethora of Lincoln information. The publication is produced by Lincolnites who raise funds, edit, design, put the booklets in envelopes and deliver them to the post office. It’s funded by advertisements, so be sure to let our businesses know you appreciate their contributions. Additional copies can be purchased at the Old Town Hall Exchange and at the library.

PMC kids ride to benefit cancer research

The Lincoln PMC Kids Ride for children ages 3-15 takes place on Sunday, May 21 on the Lincoln School campus. Kids can ride by themselves or get a team together to compete against other groups. All money raised goes directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The three rides (a loop in the Hartwell parking lot for parentally supervised riders on tricycles, bikes with training wheels, and balance bikes; a quarter-mile loop around center field; or a two-mile loop through the school campus) are from 8:30–9:30 a.m. followed by festivities including music, dancing with a DJ, a bouncy house, a mechanical bull, arts and crafts, and an ice cream truck. Pre-registration fee is $20 ($25 on the day of the event: $25). Fundraising required minimum: $25. Click here to register.

Lincoln Tree Tour, photo contest on June 4

The Lincoln Garden Club reminds residents that the entry deadline for its tree photo contest is Sunday, May 21. Contestants may submit up to four photos of trees, located anywhere in the world. Pictures don’t need to be recent as long as they were taken by the submitter. Please read the photo contest rules.

Photos will be displayed at the Pierce House on Sunday, June 4 from 5-7 p.m. during a champagne reception to celebrate the launch of the Lincoln Tree Tour. The tour, which takes place from 1–5 p.m., includes directions to five special tree sites together with self-guiding information regarding distinctive features, history and botany. Children are welcome on the tree tour, but the champagne reception from 5–7 p.m. is an adult-only event. Questions? Contact Daniela Caride at danielacaride@gmail.com or 262-416-1616.

Run in ugly bridesmaid dresses to benefit Lovelane

Joanna Schmergel models her running gear.

Lincoln resident Joanna Schmergel is spearheading Runaway Bridesmaids, a fundraising running team that will be part of Run for Lovelane, which will benefit the Lovelane Special Needs Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Lincoln. It involves a team of women running the annual Run for Love 5K charity road race honoring Susan McDaniel. The race is on Sunday, June 11 at 11 a.m. in Weston. Runaway Bridesmaids will run in poofy, dated, and/or ridiculous bridesmaids dresses. Anyone who would like to join the team or has a dress to donate may contact Schmergel (617-645-9059 or owenjoanna@yahoo.com) to arrange for pickup. You can also stuff them in a trash bag and leave them at her house at 18 Cerulean Way. Runaway Bridesmaids are going to run at a very slow pace, and all team members who are willing to raise just $50 each and run the race in costume can be part of a group picture (in full garb) with one of the horses at Lovelane. Click here to donate or join to the Runaway Bridesmaids. To register for the race or start your own fundraising page, click here.

CSAs are up and running

Distribution of produce from Lincoln’s three CSA food share programs begins soon. The Food Project’s CSA farm share starts on Tuesday, June 6, while Drumlin Farm’s CSA begins June 14 and the Lindentree Farm CSA begins around the same time. The Food Project and Drumlin Farm also offer pick-your-own CSAs.

Lincoln School kids select two area nonprofits for grants

Lincoln School students with representatives of Youth in Philanthropy. Left to right: board member Laurie Cote, Director of Programs and Marketing Jackie Walker, and students Emilie Auger, Esther Adetoye, Amelia Pillar, Zaynab Azzouz, Sarah Lammert, Sonya Carson, Andreas Muzila, and Will Levy (click to enlarge).

Ten seventh- and eighth-graders from the Lincoln School involved with Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) presented $5,000 grants to Save a Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus after learning about several area nonprofits.

YIP is a program offered by the Foundation for MetroWest designed for middle and high school students interested in learning more about running a nonprofit, how donations are used, and what needs exist in their communities through a hands-on experience. For 15 weeks, the students (helped by social studies teacher Keith Johnson) learned about philanthropy, researched local nonprofits, reviewed their grant applications, conducted site visits to three nonprofits, and voted on the final grant recipients.

Although the students chose the nonprofits themselves, the money was actually donated by Lincoln’s Ogden Codman Trust, which funded a three-year program for students who live and/or learn in Lincoln. High school students who participate in YIP raise money themselves (Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School as well as schools in Concord, Wellesley, Hopkinton, and Natick have chapters). Since YIP’s inception, 1,100 area students have raised more than $1 million for the causes they’ve chosen. YIP also runs a four-day Summer Institute for Youth Leadership in Framingham in late June for middle and high school students.

For nearly 20 years, the Sudbury-based Save A Dog has rescued and re-homed abandoned dogs. “What we really liked about it is that it’s not just a kennel situation. They had a foster program as well, so people could see what [the dogs] were like,” said eight-grader Sonya Carson.

“This will greatly enhance our summer program for teens and allow us to keep the current teen coordinator as well as bring in an additional helper, who started at Save a Dog several years ago as a freshman volunteer,” said Shirley Moore, president and founder. “These teens will inspire others to continue volunteering in this program, providing enrichment for shelter dogs, and helping us find permanent homes for abandoned animals. We want to thank the Foundation for MetroWest and the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School for allowing us this tremendous opportunity to enrich the lives of both young people and homeless dogs.”

Lucy’s Love Bus works to deliver comfort and quality of life to pediatric cancer patients by providing funds for free integrative therapies. It’s named for Lucy Grogan, who died of complications from leukemia at age 12. During her illness, friends and family raised money to help pay for therapies such as massage, acupuncture, art therapy, and therapeutic horseback riding. She dreamed of starting a program that would provide free integrative therapies to all children with cancer to help manage the side effects and late effects of traditional cancer treatment.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen by the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School to receive this gift. I would like to thank them for their vision and generosity that will allow Lucy’s Love Bus to provide gentle integrative therapies to children who are coping with cancer in our region,” said Beecher Grogan, executive director and founder.

In addition to the grant giving ceremony at The Lincoln School, students involved in YIP programs at schools and communities across MetroWest are also making a positive impact on the region. Read more about the YIP program and their efforts here.

“It showed us you don’t have to be an adult to help; you can make a big difference even in middle school,” one of the students said.