Passion projects fuel learning

This spring, some older students performed a full play based on the story of Salmon Boy. The show was the result of months of work focused on salmon, a topic the school included in science and ecology lessons after setting up a live salmon fry tank in a classroom. Watching from the gym floor, they were impressed by the performance.

“Children are always inspired by their peers,” Hoffman said. “Often, younger students want to make their own salmon posters, read a book about salmon, or put on a puppet play or something similar,” one of the students involved in the salmon program said their connection to the project runs deeper than the classroom. “Salmon are a big part of our ecosystem,” they said. “I care for salmon as I care for any other part of the ecosystem.”

Malachy Bain, another student, has studied the biology of the fry the school raises, including how a salmon’s swim bladders work. This air-filled sac helps fish control their buoyancy. They explain that newly hatched fry must swim to the surface and gulp air to fill the organ, but sometimes this does not go smoothly. “Most of the time they won’t survive,” they said about fry that do not fully inflate the bladder.

When asked if they might study biology in the future, Bain answered quickly. “Possibly. Fish are cool. I think they’re a cool part of our ecosystem.”

Hoffman says the school has seen this kind of curiosity pay off over time. Alumni have returned over the years, some to say thank you and others to share how the habits they learned at Polaris shaped who they are. A few have even come back to teach.

“What they tell us is that the things they learned as Montessori students, like being independent, self-motivated, and following their passions, really helped them become the people they are as adults,” Hoffman said.

The school has been in Prince George for more than 30 years and now serves about 200 elementary students.

by Dave Branco

Passion projects fuel learning

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