Agriculture in Shamong highlighted the year at Indian Mills School. The students, the faculty, and the staff are grateful for the Shamong Foundation for Educational Excellence’s gift of a 2015–16 grant of $5,000 that enabled us to explore, learn and create from the deep-seeded roots that make Shamong the unique community it is today: agriculture.
All students in grades kindergarten through four explored the concept of “Farm to Table” across the curriculum, with literature, language arts, social studies, and science. In March, the fourth grades were fortunate enough to listen and participate in a presentation by Niki Toscani, a nutritionist and dietitian, from ShopRite, in Medford. Toscani presented a PowerPoint lesson on “Pizza to Table”, with an emphasis on Shamong and locally grown crops that evolve through the food production and manufacturing cycle and on to your dinner plate.
Finally, the year ended with a spectacular clay, mosaic tile mural engineered by artist in residence, Kathy Casper, from Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown. All students, faculty, and staff worked along with Casper to create a large agricultural mural that depicted the soul, heart and history of Shamong. The fourth grades became the core group, creating clay tiles, of fruits, vegetables, plants, animals, farms, and historically relevant buildings and businesses. It was a large collaborative, learning experience of a lifetime, and this mural and these local students and participants, who created it, will be a legacy at Indian Mills School.
