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FALL ACADEMIC NEWS
Abigail MoffittPhysical ScienceWe began this quarter continuing our unit on rockets. By launching our rockets we were able to demonstrate Newton’s third law of motion. Included in our rocket launching was a lesson on building altitude finders, and realizing the correlations between mass, force, and acceleration. We are currently in the middle of a forces curriculum where we are learning about the universal law of gravitation, momentum, projectile motion, and centripetal force. At the completion of this curriculum we will be starting a unit on energy. BiologyIn Biology this quarter we started our cells curriculum. In this curriculum we learn about how cells work, the parts that make up cells, and how cells specialize for specific purposes. This is a very important unit because it precludes are genetics unit. During this unit, students made posters, clay models, and dramatic presentations all around the tiny but incredible cell. The students are also learning about how substances cross the cell membrane through diffusion, osmosis, facilitated transport, and active transport. During this time we did an egg lab where we decalcified eggs and did various tests to see how an egg is like a semi-permeable cell membrane. The students seemed to like it, except for the stinky egg and vinegar smell! At the conclusion of this curriculum we will start a cell division and introduction to genetics unit. Michael TaylorEnvironmental ScienceIn Environmental Science we have the taken the route of discovering how our connection to the natural science can be related to politics, economics, philosophy, nature studies to our own direct experience with the world. We have taken the time to engage in experiences and lessons that make connections to current environmental issues and the decisions we make in our everyday lives. To do this we first have created maps that represent where we grew up and the land that we knew as youngsters. From there we identified natural resources located within our communities and how they dictated the way we were to live our lives. The class progressed making connections to our communities to making connections the larger regions of the country. This process reflected current and past environmental issues reflected in our own personal maps. A large map was created covering the wall of the classroom to begin to lace together the issues and information about environmental issues that we discussed. The idea is that the smaller imposed personal maps are attached to the larger display map of the country. This gives a tangible and visual way to see our own personal communities and their supporting natural resources connected the larger world around us. Through activities like this we are able to better to understand the interdependence of our lives with the natural world and the environmental issues that currently face in today’s changing world.
Charyn McDonnellWellnessMindfulness has become an important part of campus life. The core of our wellness classes is yoga, which allows students to quiet their minds and be fully present in the moment. In addition to our yoga poses and meditation, students are completing research projects on nutrition and health. Boone Nicholson English 3We are currently taking turns reading aloud The Catcher in the Rye in a literature circle format. After each chapter, we complete reading comprehension questions, and discuss particular sections students find meaningful. This book allows us to examine the face of hypocrisy, explore the tension between innocence and experience, and experience the profound depths of alienation as they are presented to us in the text. Students are also writing one-page summaries of the first, second, and third part of the book covering the major events and the development of plot and conflict. Our final assessments will consist of a multiple-choice test and a reader response essay. Students are also required to complete an independent reading book report of their choice.
Sarah WilliamsEnglish 2 (Block 1)Having recently received a new set of literature textbooks, the students and I are exploring excerpts from many great American authors. From Native American creation stories to Mark Twain to T.S. Eliot the students explore their identity as an evolved and evolving American citizen. To accompany the rich literature base, the students responsibly edit sentences everyday and develop their ability to write in a clear and concise manner while keeping in mind the essence and beauty of our language. English 2 (Block 2) As we near the end of the novel, Brave New World by Huxley, the students compose thematically-based essays, discussing the impact of media, government and peers on the development of personal mindsets and struggling with where the government must draw the line between societal protection and individual rights. Next, the students endure the rigorous philosophic thoughts of both past and present poets to assist the construction of their own poetic style and expression of thought.
English 3After examining both sides of a current debate within our society, the students construct persuasive essays demonstrating their ability to research a topic, expand their moral and pragmatic understanding of the argument, and convincingly compose an essay defending their position. Days spent in the classroom enter the world of Gabriel Garcia Marquez as he relays the tragic story of a society overwhelmed with double standards and the individually beneficial impact of memory and recollection.
Writer’s CraftWriting a line of poetry in iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter, and anapestic hexameter developed within the students a profound sense of respect for plays written solely in iambic pentameter and even Blake’s shorter poems composed in trochaic tetrameter. From this appreciation students have composed poems of different forms and style, such as concrete poems, phantoms, and haikus. Lastly, students question, contemplate and comprehend the vast experiences and themes exposed to them through an array of poems and poets.
Maria ChavarriaEnglishWhenever possible I like to use an interdisciplinary approach to create assignments and projects. This term my students are preparing to study the literature of William Shakespeare. They began by researching the English Renaissance, including the Elizabethan Era. In the process they investigated the culture, politics, religion, music, art, etc., of that era. Students who attended Shakespeare Classroom have been able to earn extra credit by sharing their experiences and information they gained about the Elizabethan Stage. We watched two films, Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth. Afterwards, my senior students wrote a 5-page reflection paper about the movies while freshman and sophomore students wrote a 3-page paper summarizing the movies. All students are in the process of memorizing a soliloquy from a Shakespearean play, which they will recite to the entire class. I'm asking students to do this work to help prepare them to read and enjoy and understand a play by Shakespeare. Seniors will read Macbeth and my younger students will read Romeo and Juliet. My overall goal is that students will end this unit with a greater understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare the man and his unparalleled contribution to the world.
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