English with Jill Sugg
Seventh graders read Tennessee Williams' classic play "The Glass Menagerie" and wrote an essay on symbolism; they also viewed the film starring John Malkovich and Joanne Woodward. Ask them about the unicorn!
English 8/9 Advanced read Shakespeare's "Hamlet," took an intense four page test, learned the first five lines of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, and saw the film in chunks starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Ask them about Yorick!
English 8/9 and English 10,11,12 read Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing," took a comprehensive test, and saw the film starring Kenneth Branagh and Denzel Washington. Ask them about Dogberry!
Advanced Placement Composition studied the rhetorical mode of process. We read several examples, each student wrote an essay, and then everyone gave a how-to speech with props. Ask them about getting to be the people who had fun for once instead of reading until their heads exploded!
Math with Annie Tally
Students have made great progress in meeting their math requirements. They worked with the new math assistant, Laura Nigro, to complete their math pacing calendars for the semester (ask your student about this). She or I will be checking the calendars each week, and those who could benefit from extra instruction will be invited to math study hall the following week (usually Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday) for extra help. Note that this is not a punitive measure and no negative consequence will result. We aim only to provide extra contact time to ensure that each student meets his/her goals for the semester. We are pleased to have Laura and Dan conducting those sessions and many students have already benefited from this addition to the math program. Laura is also often available during the school day as extra help during math periods. If any student or parent wishes to sign up for math study hall without having been assigned, s/he may contact Thelma and assignment will be made as space is available.
Science with Lori Hilliard
Chemistry: Stoichiometry was the focus of the last module. Students mastered the exam and several labs designed to reinforce stoichiometric calculations.
Human Biology: The muscular system has been completed in this class. Students also met the challenge of weekly medical terminology exams, muscle ID quizzes as well as a major theory exam. I am very proud of their efforts.
Biology: The completion of a unit on evolution as the unifying theme in biological studies followed our study of genetics. Students have also begun to master microbiology and laboratory techniques involved in the study of microorganisms.
Environmental Science: The classification of rocks and minerals has been the focus of this module. Students recently completed a two-week, hands-on lab identifying rocks, minerals and major theories.
Physical Science with Daniel Hill
Module 6 saw a short interlude on the Scientific Method and some practice writing Laboratory Reports while several of the students were in Costa Rica. After their return, we resumed our look at the next logical concept after velocity: acceleration. Soon we will be talking about momentum and force.
History with Matt Wilhelm
Civics: Students examined how local and state government work and began an in-depth examination of economic policy.
World History: The class has been looking at industrialism, colonialism, and nationalism, and how the three fit together.
US History: World War I, the military-industrial complex, and the advent of consumerism during the 1920s have all been covered during this module.
AP Government: Students have dissected significant Supreme Court decisions.
Current Events: Our young scholars have learned about the economic crisis in preparation for a unit on economics.
Spanish with Celia Battle
Celia was on leave this module due to a family emergency.
Art with Heather Cramer
Most students have finished their self portraits. The work that has been created is quite astounding ... please take time to enjoy the exhibit in the hallway. We have also talked about giving each other "positive response" to our art, rather than being critical of an effort which is a personal statement. It is a delight to see the individual styles and expressions that are coming forth.
7th grade finished their illuminated letters that together create the word "RESPECT." These are now hanging from the beam above us in the meeting hall. Wonderful work and much appreciated by all.
Physical Education with Krista Moll
We have just finished our badminton unit with Upper School. It was a little difficult at times because of the wind, but the students definitely adapted well and did the best they could. I was very pleased with their flexibility, patience, and progress.
Music Performance with Glenn Mehrbach
"A for Awesome" CLASS
After putting aside our other music to prepare for the Northgate Christmas performance, it was good to be able to spend some time working up new material, without the immediate deadline. With that in mind, we began working on something old and something new. Something old was a very simple arrangement of "Fever," which tested the students' improvisation skills, and forced everyone to think about texture, musical build, and how to make something special out of a very repetitive piece of music. It was a good exercise, which we will continue through the rest of the year. We also started working on "Clocks," by Coldplay. This is also a very texture-oriented song, with simple parts, and a repetitive arrangement. It is really teaching us the beauty of simplicity in some types of music, and forcing us to listen to each other, and to consider how each part fits into the whole. Lennon is the lead singer on this song, with Rita backing him up with harmonies, and singing the bridge.
The other event in this module for the "A" class was to go into a professional studio and record tracks for a demo. It was a very enlightening experience for all, I think. We recorded 3 songs, "Carry On My Wayward Son," "Moondance" and "All My Love." With the help of our wonderful engineer, Jason Merritt, we were able to create rough mixes of all the songs, as well as save the individual tracks for each song. We overdubbed vocal harmonies, did multiple versions of certain solos, played one song to a click track, and learned how to play together when in very separate physical spaces, connected only by the sound in the headphones. With the tracks that Jason created for us, each student, with the help of GarageBand or some other audio editing application, can work on their own mix of what we recorded, seeing the nuts and bolts of multitrack recording. Each student received a CD to keep, with the rough mixes as well as the individual tracks.
"B for Best" CLASS
After putting aside our other music to prepare for the Northgate Christmas performance, it was good to be able to spend some time working up new material, without the immediate deadline. Before long, we were able to play "Rock Lobster" through from start to finish, and begin work on the Jackson 5 song "I Want You Back." Although this seems like a nice, bouncy little pop song, it is actually fairly complex musically, and it took us a while to get it into our bones. While most of the class were away on the Costa Rica trip. I was able to work with Amy and Kriea and the complex vocal parts, which include harmonies and some counterpoint. This made things much easier when the rest of the class returned. We will continue to work on this piece, which also has some rhythmically difficult "R&B" violin parts for Grace, in the next module. We will also give "Tulsa Time," by Eric Clapton, a try, which will showcase Max on piano. We will also return to "Twist and Shout," and work more in group improvisational skills.
Dramatic Arts with Roni Peterson
7th grade: This module we have worked on improvisational exercises. They are going to be working on a class play that was written by Scott. They auditioned in class for the parts that they wanted to play and their performances were voted on in secret. They were also given an assignment to pick a product and write and perform and original commercial.
8th Grade: During Module 6 the students were given lyrics to classical rock and roll songs of the 60's and 70's. They were asked to interpret said lyrics with performance. I was extremely impressed with their interpretations. They were then asked to choose a song of their own to perform again, in "Spoken Word." They did not sing the lyrics.
They were then given the assignment for creating a commercial to sell a product of their choice. It could be a parody of an existing commercial, or original.
During Module 7, we will be working on "Top Secret," the class play. I will be asking that each student start to memorize their parts in the coming weeks, so that by 2nd week of March they will be ready to perform the play off script.
9th through 12th Grades: During Module 6 the students were given lyrics to classical rock and roll songs of the 60's and 70's. They were asked to interpret said lyrics with performance. I was extremely impressed with their interpretations. They were then asked to choose a song of their own to perform again, in "Spoken Word." They did not sing the lyrics.They were then given the assignment for creating a commercial to sell a product of their choice. It could be a parody of an existing commercial, or original.
I had asked a friend of mine, who is a playwright, to write some age appropriate plays for my students. We COLD read the plays having students in each class read various parts. We then held an open forum to discuss the plays. It was very interesting to hear the various comments from each grade.
