MEXICO — If anyone ever says there’s nothing in the River Valley, chances are a Mountain Valley Middle School student will disagree.

A major project devised by the staff of all disciplines in the middle school was launched last week that introduces the 300 or so sixth- through eight-graders to the flora and fauna, important people and places, history, geology and a multitude of other subjects found in the towns of the River Valley.

The River Valley Project will continue until Friday, June 10, when students’ displays will show parents and community members what they have learned.

“We want to be a school where everyone learns, both with book work and hands-on work,” Principal Ryan Casey said.

“We want students to learn about where they live and to learn from the community,” said Stacey Zemla, an art teacher who experienced a similar project when she was in seventh-grade at a school in New Hampshire.

So far, students have taken walking tours of downtown Rumford, been guided through the woods by a Forest Ranger who helped them identify trees and other flora and fauna, took water samples from the Androscoggin River then tested it in the classroom, and learned the history of Rumford Center and its buildings, among many other hands-on treks.

“It’s been a positive experience for the kids and for the community to observe the kids,” Donna Morse, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, said.

Historical societies, fire departments, and a variety of other members from the River Valley communities have provided lots of assistance to teachers as they’ve taken students to various places around the region.

Students have learned that a hometown boy, former Sen. Edmund S. Muskie, was largely responsible for passage of the Clean Water Act. Some are creating field guides of insects and their habitats in the area. Some have looked down from the Mexico Ledges and were asked to theorize why the town and the paper mill were built where they are.

“We opened Pandora’s Box. There’s so much history,” said Casey, who hopes a similar project can be integrated into the curriculum next year.

The project will continue for another five or six days, when more short trips to various sites around the region, including the mountains in Peru, several other historical sites, and more identification of flora and fauna, among other things.

Most hands-on experiences are being followed up by in-class study and written or pictorial projects.

Then, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on June 10, an eclectic display of what the students have learned will be on exhibit throughout the school for parents and other community members, as well as for students, to view.

Ryan said planning for the interdisciplinary project began last summer, and some local topics were introduced in each class.

Jim Burke, a Department of Education laptop trainer/mentor for teachers in the western part of Maine, likes the idea that students can make connections and share information with the community.

He plans to put much of the material students have learned on the school’s website.

“Our vision and mission of our school is to get kids engaged in learning,” Casey said.

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