1st Year Program 2025-2026

Lacey
by Addy Archibald

            As the trailer drove around the corner, I was so excited to meet her. My trainer was there with her two dogs. I walked Lacey down the ramp, and as soon as she saw the long grass, she was as excited as a crocodile slipping into water. She ran straight for the field. I followed her. After being stuck in a trailer for twelve hours, she deserved her freedom.

Suddenly, the people let their dog out of the car. He took off as fast as a cheetah on a homestretch with two other dogs. About two minutes later, we saw the dogs sprinting back down the driveway.  Lacey picked up her head and pricked her ears.  

Just then, the dogs started barking like crazy. Lacey immediately bounced. When she came back down, she threw her head to the side and dragged me with her. She bounced again and threw me on the ground. When I got up I was in so much pain! 

I walked Lacey to the barn and put her away in her stall and my dad told me to go wait in the car. At home, I went straight to bed and that is the most I remember of that night. But today Lacey and I are best friends and always will be.

The River
by Hazel Brown 

Gurgling and splashing, the cold river rushes
over rocks and logs. Trying not to slip on slimy rocks,
I stroll back to shore.
My fishing pole casts
a spinner out into a deep hole. A massive tug 
draws my line out: it is my dinner calling.    
Reeling, reeling, reeling,
I feel pressure against my pole disappear like magic.
My heart sinks.

Cozy
by Addy Archibald

A cool soft breeze brushes
through aspen groves
like spiders’ silk. The roaring
stream, angry as a bear, rushes past 
to join bigger waves downstream. Leaves 
perform tricks on an invisible rope in moist air.
Golden offerings spin off bare branches 
onto cool earth.

GETTING BEES
by Hazel Brown

The day before we went my mom had told me there would be a petting zoo. I had trouble going to sleep that night: I was as excited as a dog when it gets a treat.

My mom woke me up early that spring morning. I did not want to wake up that day, but eventually I slid out of my bed and dressed for the day. My family and I were heading to Tubbs Berry Farm -- four and a half hours away in Twin Falls -- so my mom could pick up her bees.

At the farm, I unbuckled and ran for the petting zoo like a wolf runs to catch its next meal. But there were just goats. Still, the goats were super cool.

My dad soon called us over to watch the bee class. I do have to say it was a little scary with all the bees. The bee class gathered around a ton of bee hives. At the end of the class, we all tried fresh honey from the comb. We could chew on honeycomb like chewing gum: it was weird, but good.

After the class, my family left the farm to find some lunch. We found a New York style deli and ate there. My sister and I had mac & cheese, root beer, and Lays potato chips. We both thought lunch was horrible (except the Lays chips).

On the way home for a minute the car was silent. All we could hear were the bees buzzing. The sound was sure cool. We stopped at the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls and watched people base jump off of it.

Once home, we first grabbed the frames, added the frames to the box, and we left one of the frames out for the queen’s box. It takes the queen about three days to eat her way out of the marshmallow surrounding her. Having bees is fun, not a lot of work, and cool to watch as the bees build their hive. All in all, the experience of getting bees and owning a beehive, was (and is) awesome.

To print a list of all your VOCABULARY to date, go to the 1st Year Vocabulary page OR play to study your words on Quizlet!

1st History Zoom code: 825 7790 9700 passcode: 653438
1st English Zoom code: 823 9870 9913 passcode: 120601

Please have your students read books from the 4th-6th Grade Reading List during the year.

Remember that these lists are not an indication of reading level, but are created to give students a background for their upcoming years of study at the NFS. Please do NOT have children read books from lists that are in their reading level, but above their NFS class level.

See pieces written by WW students (2nd-6th graders) from 2000-2023 HERE.

See pieces written by 1st Year classes (6th & 7th graders) from 2001-2020 HERE.

Fibonacci Links to explore:

Numbers in Nature reveals the secrets of the Fibonacci sequence in an exhibit from the Annenberg/CPB video.

Dr. Ron Knott's website on Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section in Nature is a great place to explore the Fibonacci sequence. His site allows you to see many of the ideas we discuss in WW and continue to explore in the 1st Year Program.

“Teaching is mostly listening, and learning is mostly telling.”

                                                            -- Deborah Meier, 1995

Cinquain
by Mary Parker (2006)

North Fork:
World History —
Continuously writing poems.
We learn without realizing:
Achievements.

Pieces now in play:
(updated 11/3/25)

Hazel Q1:
Creation Myth

Q2:
interview: Addy’s Olympic Riding Pass
Fibonacci Part III: Golden Faces; Golden Rectangle; Rectangle puzzle; Graphs

Pink poetry: General to Specific; The Right Words

in-class Project: Fashion — Timeline; 5 art pieces; research report; map; bibliography

Addy Q1:
Scho paragraph
Butterfly paragraph

Q2:
interview: Hazel’s Hunting Stories
Fibonacci Part III: Golden Ratio; Golden Faces; Golden Rectangle; Rectangle puzzle; Graphs

Pink poetry: Poem of Feeling; General to Specific; The Right Words

in-class Project: Art — Timeline; 4 art pieces; research report; map; bibliography