by Jennifer Jordan, History & Latin

In conjunction with our study of the Renaissance in World History, 7th graders simulated the experience of an art gallery walk in class today. 

Photos of four paintings by the Venetian artist Titian were posted around the classroom. Either singly or in pairs, students studied each painting and responded to questions about the paintings’ subjects, settings, and emotions captured by the artwork. Students also considered the choice of colors used by Titian in each painting to determine how color affected the purpose of the piece. Students then discussed with a partner their individual responses about emotion and the impact of color. Everyone enjoyed moving about the room, pretending they were in a notable art gallery in Venice, and probably not realizing that they were practicing critical analysis, an important skill we strengthen through our study of primary sources in History class. 

By Susie Rogers 5th-8th ELA

Boom! Buzz! Pow! Onomatopoeia are words that throw a powerful punch within writing or dialogue. One of the most commonly used ones now embrace a brand-new meaning. By definition, zoom literally means to move or travel very quickly or to express sudden fast movement. Now ZOOM has exploded as the app that brings our distant learning together.

In this uncharted time, students and teachers are having to adapt to online learning. Without the instant feedback and clarification, everyone is having to adjust to this virtual school. Though I greatly miss my students’ interactions, (and hugs, and smiles, and jokes, and laughter) I have been so impressed with how they have embraced this new reality. With the help of Google Classroom, ZOOM, Remind, and emails, our students continue to thrive as learning scholars.

The seventh graders are reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and researching about Judaism, the Holocaust, and WWII. They have been able to take a virtual tour of the secret annex to help with the understanding of the setting, they have analyzed vocabulary words in context, and they have mimicked the diary form by documenting their own life.

During this quarantined period, it was the perfect time for them to create an All About Me project. This unique opportunity enabled students to discuss family stories, family trees, and favorite recipes since the they had to stay home! They documented their daily activities in a timeline, and they described their pets with poetry. Some showcased their talents by sending videos of them singing and/or playing the piano- and BOY, do we have some talented and creative students! This was an excellent way of learning about the whole student, not just when they are in school mode.

As a teacher, I look forward most to our ZOOM meetings where I can actually see their huge smiles and hear their sweet voices. We tell jokes, show off our pets, give virtual hugs, and ask any pressing questions. We have all agreed that this will definitely be a year we will never forget!

by Nicole Ayers, 7th & 8th Math and Science

If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. ~Albert Einstein

Research indicates that students have a deeper, longer-lasting learning experience when they are charged with the task of teaching others. In teaching others, students not only learn content, but they also develop valuable social and emotional skills. When students take on the role of teacher, incredible learning takes place.

For the second year in a row, our middle school students selected a passion project in the field of science to research and then teach to students in lower school and preschool. They extended learning into high school or even college level, but then they brought it down to a level that much younger children could understand. More importantly, each student infused wonder and joy into their projects. Our Science and Engineering Festival was a great learning experience from Pre-K to 8th grade!

By Susie Rogers, ELA 5th-8th

Poetry usually emits moans out of students, but when it connects one unit of study to another in a seamless transition, my students didn’t even realize they were hooked until it was too late! That is a winning teacher moment! I introduced my students to the classic novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. They were enthralled from day one. We analyzed the time period, vocabulary, the characters, and the theme.  We compared and contrasted then and now with cliques, family dynamics, and teen issues. They loved this novel and hated to see it come to an end; however, I told them it didn’t have to  just yet. In the novel, an allegory of Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” was referenced with the relationship between Ponyboy and Johnny. I began our poetry unit with that poem, and it helped them ease into figurative language, rhyme schemes, and symbols.

Students were able to explore poetry through a digital break-out, a matching game, and a black-out poetry project. The students were challenged with breaking codes, analyzing stanzas, and applying knowledge to create abstract art. Students were asked to create a Black-Out poem using a newspaper article and paint. They were challenged to find words that “spoke” to them and that would create a “found poem.” This proved to be a very difficult task for some as they struggled with finding words instead of creating them. They were forced to rely on words in print and make a connection between them. The end results were funny, thought-provoking, sad, and real.  Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet, once stated “Poetry: the best words in the best,” and my students learned that lesson this past week.

by Nicole Ayers and Marie Goodwin

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.“ ~Clay P. Bedford

How do you create a curiosity that will kindle a lifelong love of learning? One method we have found to be highly effective in cultivating this sense of wonder is through a program called Science Olympiad. According to the Science Olympiad website, “Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 8,000 teams in all 50 states.”

Our students are deeply engaged in a collection of 23 events that span all branches of science and technology. There are build events that challenge the students’ engineering and design skills; there are lab events that require an onsite performance of science mastery, and there are study events that will often test middle school students at a high school or even college level. Grades 5 through 8 have opportunities to collaborate on these events, and they willingly spend several hours together after school each week preparing for competition. The kids often request to meet over holiday breaks to go deeper in their studies and enjoy fellowship together. We love watching our students find their passions for science and pursue their interests with great fervor.

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.“ ~Clay P. Bedford