Bushcraft Elective
Social Studies Escape Room
Digital escape rooms allow the students to work collaboratively, think critically, and work through productive struggle. It helps them to keep trying even when they aren't sure and to work together as a team. We did this escape room after students read our social studies magazine. They can use their notes and magazines to help them escape.
In the digital escape room they use google sites and need to click around on the site to find clues to then open a preselected number of locks. In our exercise they needed to open 3 locks. Some clues may be easier to solve than others. One of the clues was a map, they had to follow directions on the map, and one of the locks was a directional lock - had to know the directions they traveled in order to unlock it. Other clues aren't as easy, such as word puzzles. These can give a phrase or words that relate to the lock but they have to think about what the phrase means or what the words relate to in order to figure out what word or number will unlock it.
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Coding for Coldplay
21st Century Learning plays an important role in our K4-8th grade curriculum. Within Science and Technology; students collaborate, create, produce and publish work utilizing a multitude of mediums such as the Apple Suite, Google Suite, and coding.
Recently, students participated in the 'Coldplay Dance Party' through Code.org. They used java to design dance, movements, lights, and special effects for the Coldplay song "Higher Power." Coldplay and Code.org believe in the power of computer science education for every student, in every classroom around the world. They teamed up to inspire students everywhere to code and dance and to celebrate the magic of computer science and music!
Students submitted their coded dances online for a chance to win 2 tickets to a Coldplay concert!
We are so proud of two of our 4th grade students who were selected as winners in this worldwide competition in celebrating computer science, dance, and music.
Our two winners, William Gitter & Benjamin Rosemurgy won two tickets each to a Coldplay concert. We are extremely proud of their computer science skills and this accomplishment.
Check out their winning coded dances:
Bushcraft Elective
In Middle School, students begin to want to learn more about certain subject areas, they may steer towards Math and Science or Music and Art. With our elective program 7th & 8th graders can choose classes that interest them and allow them the chance to learn more about an area of study. Examples of Elective Classes are Photography, Ukulele, Graphic Design, 3D Printing, Cooking, etc. This year our 7th graders are participating in the Bushcraft Elective, taught by Mr. McCullough. As an outdoor enthusiast Mr. McCullough wanted to give students the opportunity to get outside, problem solve, and learn about the world around them.
The past few weeks, students have studied the practice of signaling for help in a survival situation. They focused on contrasting colors, signaling in threes (the international number of distress), reflection tactics, and calling for help.
After their lab study of signaling, they went outside to put their skills to the test. Students were divided up into six groups and randomly assigned a specific environment in which they were signaling from: a snow covered landscape, arid desert, sea, deciduous forest, sandy beach, and a mountain side. Students then selected supplies, and crafted signals to be seen by a passing search plane (Mr. McCullough on the roof). The students has a blast!
Thus far they have studied the psychology of survival (handling stress, signs of stress, staying calm, etc.), and signaling. Next week they move on to shelter building, then fire building and concluding with wilderness first aid!
Music Class During a Pandemic
What do you do in Music Class during a Pandemic when you can't sing? Contrary to popular belief, Music Class is not all about singing, there are so many things children can experience through Music Class, and important lessons to be learned that will carry them through life.
For little ones, exploring music through a variety of ways and learning to listen quietly is an important lesson. Our Early Childhood and Primary students listen to a piece of classical music with their eyes closed and then draw what they saw in their mind. We called this Musical Sketching and they loved it! Their favorite game also involved listening as they would have to close their eyes and guess which instrument was missing in a group of instruments all being played at the same time. Very rarely in a typical day do we have time to simply sit and listen to the world around us, but the benefits are great!
3rd Graders worked on composing Music for Video Game concepts they created! The creativity the students have is amazing, and when they are able to tape into that in a way that interests them, their passion grows!
4th & 5th graders were able to learn Bucket Drumming this year! This new unit began as a way to be able to safely play an instrument in class this year, but will become a new tradition as the kids loved it so much! Not only did this allow them to learn about Beat, Rhythm, and Rhythm Patterns, but they also composed their own bucket groove and competed in a friendly "Battle of the Bands" to end the unit. You can see the 4th grade Battle of the Bands Video HERE
Middle School worked on Music Technology this year. They created and composed songs using a variety of Music Apps. They also learned about different genres of Music and researched bands such as The Beetles.
Music builds confidence, and it was so great to see students growing in their confidence this year through the Arts!
A special thanks to Menards for the donation of buckets!
