I took 240 photographs today, because I started with just about nothing for Friday's Parent Page. When there are lots of pix, its tempting to just let the photos tell the story of the day. A snapshot of reality. Reporters from the Concord Monitor were in the Cage this morning, interviewing the dozens of seniors who walk more than 3,000 miles (cumulative) here through the Kearsarge Council on Aging.

Now we peek through windows in the math department, at classes taught by Matt MacKenzie....

...and Susan Rochon:

Next, we stroll across North Street, and infiltrate room 10 through the window.... (After all, it's 50 degrees out, and my wife is teaching this section of British Literature.) Say, is that the elusive Jori Rice?

After Themes in Literature ends, I catch Laurie and students pouring over an extraordinary work of art.

Now we've turned the corner, and have entered The Wise. "Hey, Chuck. Which one of us has the best tan?" "None of you have tans."

Ten students and two teachers packed up a trailer and minibus this morning, rang the school bell, and headed off to southern Texas on Mountain Classroom.

They will backpack in the Big Bend of the Rio Grande, live in Mexico while studying immigration and border issues, do solos in the desert, sea kayak in Baja, and rock climb at Joshua Tree.

The distance they travel will approximately equal the distance walked by the seniors in the Cage each year. Updates will follow, and the Mountain Classroom website will be dynamic throughout the term.