A distinctive feature of the Upper School is our Winterim program. Winterim enhances students' learning with an intensive, focused experience. Students select from offerings that include classes at Maumee Valley, educational trips, study at other schools through The Network of Complimentary Schools, and independent study projects both within and outside of the Toledo area. Recent offerings ranged from teaching English in Ethiopia to examining crime scenes in a forensic science course to creating 'zines and comic books. At the end of their fourth year, Maumee Valley graduates have enjoyed a broad range of experiences and are well prepared to pursue their education at the next level. Click here for current and past Winterim offerings.

Going Green - A Story About A Winterim 2006 Experience

In a November Toledo Blade story, Upper School Head Bruce Carr said of Winterim: “This is an opportunity for all of our students to benefit from an in-depth, hands-on learning experience.” This year’s offerings saw students construct medieval catapults in The Science of War class, travel 6,269 miles on an Amtrak train, and intern with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), to name just a few. 

Perhaps no one captured the imaginative spirit of Winterim, however, better than senior Stephen Parry. Parry combined two interests, cars and the environment, and turned a 1982 diesel-powered Rabbit into an environmentally friendly automobile that runs on used peanut oil from Kotobuki, a Japanese restaurant on Monroe Street in Sylvania.

“Using a waste product as a source of alternate energy sounded like an interesting project,” Parry said. “I had read about greasecar conversion kits in Car and Driver and Popular Mechanics, and that really sparked the idea.”

Parry read three books about alternative energy sources and one text on repairing diesel engines. He then purchased the Rabbit on eBay, drove it from Farmington Hills, Mich., to his home in Monclova, built an elaborate filtration system to clean the used oil, and installed a greasecar conversion kit inside the vehicle.

While he undoubtedly had no idea how dirty his task would be, or how many trips he’d have to make to The Andersons for hoses, tanks and supplies, by the end of Winterim he turned the key, the engine revved, and his old diesel was running on used peanut oil.