Math with Annie Tally
The math students are striving to meet, and in many cases, exceed, their semester goals prior to Winter Break. The Algebra I students completed a chapter on proportional reasoning during with they investigated the relationship between the gear changes and resulting number of wheel revolutions of a bicycle.
Science with Lori Hilliard
Chemistry: We have successfully completed our study of percentage composition and empirical formulas this module.
Human Biology: Looking into our past and the changes that have happened over time has been the focus of this module. Students have been very interested in the study of evolution and the science behind the current theories.
Biology: Mendelian Genetics and Punnett squares have been the topics of interest this module. Students have been active participants in the study of Genetics.
Environmental Science: Alternative energy forms and cost/benefit analysis have dominated discussions in this class this module. Students are great debaters and are very knowledgeable in these areas.
Physical Science with Daniel Hill
Amidst much groaning and gnashing of teeth, we have finally finished our unit on dimensional analysis, which brings us to the end of the first phase of the course, wherein we focused on learning generalized science-classy skills. When we return from break, we're going to start learning some actual material, answering their questions about the nature of reality, as well as the equally stirring: "When am I ever going to use this?"
English with Jill Sugg
Seventh graders read Plague Year by Stephanie Tolan and did a unit on short stories including authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and D.H. Lawrence. English 8/9 read The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. English 8/9 Advanced read the second half of Salem's Lot. English 10,11,12 and Advanced Placement Composition read The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Lots of good writing accompanied all classes and the advanced classes ventured into reading (and in some cases even writing) literary criticism.
History with Matt Wilhelm
Civics: We have been examining the roles of the three branches of American government, and how they "check and balance" the powers of one another.
World History: Students have learned about the development of Islam and its impact on the society and culture of the Middle East. Feudalism in Europe, the Crusades, and the Black Death have also been covered.
US History: Students have examined the social reform movements of the 1830s and 1840s, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War.
AP Government: Students have studied the institutions of American government (the three branches) and their responsibilities.
Current Events: Following up on the presidential election, students have examined the roles of the presidency, and some of the controversies involved with the expansion of presidential power.
Spanish with Celia Battle
Spanish I: Students completed Episode 8 of Destinos and have learned to use vocabulary related to the first eight episodes. They are studying Spanish culture, traditions, customs and foods as they follow the protagonist's adventures in Sevilla and Madrid. The class wrote to the curator of the Nasher Museum to congratulate her for being knighted by King Juan Carlos of Spain following her discoveries of unknown inventories of valuable Spanish paintings.
Spanish II: Students are increasing their use of verbs and new vocabulary as they read our new short novel, El Viaje de Su Vida. They are enjoying this mystery adventure, are discussing it in class and look forward to a project about the novel when they finish reading it.
Spanish III: Students are coming to the end of our first brief novel, Mi Propio Auto. They have learned vocabulary and grammar pertinent to the story, have had class discussions about the chapters and have planned and performed creative skits following the story line.
Spanish IV: Students continued their study of poetry and have analyzed and memorized an ancient Spanish ballad. They have learned to use the present perfect tense and have started a new chapter in Ventanas that introduces vocabulary related to technology and science.
Art with Heather Cramer
Upper School completed pencil drawings of a fall still life. Many then moved on to working with black and white charcoal on brown or gray paper. After learning about placement and proportion, this exercise was to find the dark and light areas, and to use the paper as middle shade. We used antique items as subjects, and the old heavy rotary phone was a great source of amusement!
We then took a more light hearted approach to art and contributed to the table decorations for the Academic Fair feast. Our task was to make "pop-up" fences and a chain of paper dolls to represent the Camelot population. It was good fun dressing "our children" and seeing who were the most fashion savvy!
9th Grade students worked hard and were able to finish their "Emotions 3D" paintings in time for the art display at Academic Fair. The variety, creativity, and depth of understanding that these students have portrayed with their work is amazing. I am very proud of them!
Physical Education with Krista Moll
As most of you probably saw your kids digging through the garage or bugging you to find some rackets, you may have concluded, "Yes, they must be in their tennis unit." I've been very thankful that Mike has been able to drive us out to Forest Hills Park where there are four tennis courts to play on. We were able to cover basic fundamentals of hitting and keeping the score, but I believe what they enjoyed most was the singles and doubles tournament they all participated in. I feel that tennis is something they don't get to do very often, but something they enjoy doing. It was a very successful unit, so I'm thinking I may have another tennis unit next semester. We will see!
Music Performance with Glenn Mehrbach
Most of Module 4 was spent perfecting 3 songs for each class to perform at the Academic Fair and Thanksgiving Feast, and it has been a productive time. Along with learning the parts, we have talked about which sounds for each keyboardist to play, listening to one another, balancing the sound, and what to play when another musician is playing an improvised solo. Having an upcoming performance really tends to focus energy, and help in learning parts. As far as the Academic Fair performance, I was very pleased and proud of both classes. I felt the songs were well-executed, yet also showed the spirit and passion of the music. Despite the obvious and unavoidable sound system problems, I hope the audience enjoyed it as well. Each class performed two "written" songs, and one that included a lot of improvisation.
Giving credit where it's due, I wanted to apologize for not including Grace Kirkpatrick in my introductions for the "B for Best" band. She somehow managed to stay out of my visual range, and I am sorry to have missed her. Grace is a real asset to the group, doing double duty as violinist and vocalist. I also wanted to credit Kriea Giffin-Dean with writing the lyrics to the "12 Bar Blues." I think Amy Hillsman may have helped as well. Great job!
The new start time of 8:15am to set-up and 8:20am to begin playing has been very helpful, and allowed us to become much more productive in our sessions. Thanks to everyone for making the extra effort to get everyone there a bit earlier.
"A for Awesome" CLASS
Along with cleaning up "Fixing A Hole" and "All My Love," we quickly learned Van Morrison's "Moondance" to have something for the group to improvise on for the Fair. The band picked up on the feeling and texture of this song immediately, and made the sometimes difficult rhythmic elements of the song sound easy and natural. We also began work in earnest on "Carry On My Wayward Son."
"B for Best" CLASS
Along with cleaning up "You Won't See Me" and "Birthday," and reinventing "12 Bar Blues" as a vehicle for group improvisation, we began learning the B-52's "Rock Lobster," which has some really great keyboard and keyboard bass parts, and a very rocking drum groove. I am certain that perfecting that tune will keep us busy for a while.
We have been asked by Northgate Mall to provide entertainment for Christmas shoppers on Saturday, December 20th from 2-3pm. I am hoping that a lot of the kids can join us for that event. Depending on everyone's availability, we may have both bands play, or a hybrid group with members of the "A" and "B" groups. If it works out, we will spend much of the December class time learning some really rocking Christmas and Hanukah songs. I have some great ideas, and look forward to any input you may have as well.
Dramatic Arts with Roni Peterson
During Module 4, all of the Upper School students were given the opportunity to practice their oral presentations for their Academic Fair projects. They were given instructions in public speaking techniques as well as individual comments based on their individual presentations.
The seniors joined the 10th and 11th graders. Monologues were acted out and short scenes were introduced.
The 9th grade class worked on monologues along with improvisational material.
The 8th grade was given a play and auditioned for the parts that they wanted, and the class voted for the one they considered the best choice for the part. This was done by secret votes. Parts of the play were rewritten by the class.
The 7th grade class worked on their monologues and were given out short plays. We will continue working on the plays in Module 5 and introduce new short scenes.
Guidance Update with Thelma Glynn
The seniors were rewarded for all of their hard work when they received their ACT scores. Everyone made good gains - some dramatic gains! Way to go! Now our attention has turned to college applications themselves and the writing of personal statements. By the start of the new year most of this paperwork push will be behind us and it will be time to turn attention to the juniors!
