Mathematics with Jenny Feaster
I received incredible feedback about the math program during parent conferences. As a result each student has received a math calendar that outlines the expectations for his/her course(s) for the year. For students who are using a "Discovering" textbook the sites below offer enlightening condensed lessons and parent guides for each of the two textbooks.
- DISCOVERING ALGEBRA www.keymath.com/x4540.xml
- DISCOVERING GEOMETRY www.keymath.com/x19356.xml
The websites are a rich resource and will be used immediately in class and recommended for students to use at home.
English with Jill Sugg
English 7/8/9 finished "The Crucible" and read William Shakespeare's "Macbeth." They will see the film and take a very comprehensive test on Friday, October 16th.
Advanced Placement Literature read Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy for AR. They discussed Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and saw the film. They were given the choice to write on either novel.
English 8/9 Advanced did a short fiction unit, discussed Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, saw the film, and were given an essay assignment on the presence of Romanticism in the novel. They did Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby for AR.
English and Social Studies with Matt Wilhelm
American History: Students have learned about colonial America from the first European encounters with indigenous peoples to a comparison of life in the colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia.
Civics: Students have wrapped up their look at the United States Constitution and are moving on to a case study of health care reform.
Current events: Students are in the midst of a case study of health care reform.
English 10/11/12: Students have read and discussed George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.
World History: Students have encountered the ideas of Plato in The Republic, learned about Athenian democracy, and compared & contrasted life in ancient Athens and Sparta.
Science with Lori Hilliard
Environmental Science: The focus of this class has been on biomes, climatogram analysis and population ecology. Students have been very successful analyzing data and applying concepts.
Human Biology: The Human Biology students have been working very hard on cell biology and microscopy skills. Students have spent laboratory time working with the microscopes and making slides. I am very pleased with their laboratory skills.
Chemistry: The Chemistry students have successfully completed their study of formula writing and naming. Students mastered the exam on this unit with great pride.
Biology: The Biology class is deep into their study of cell biology and botany. Students are completing their leaf collections and have been very successful using the dichotomous keys.
Physics with Dan Hill
The Physics class has had its first exam, that being on basic one-dimensional motion and the history of the concept of motion. As the next module begins, we begin a more in-depth look at motion, beginning with vectors and using them to describe and understand two-dimensional motion.
Spanish with Celia Battle
Introduction to Spanish—Students completed the study of Chapters 1A, 1B and 2A. They learned about school subjects and schedules, likes and dislikes and present tense conjugations.
Destinos 2—Students learned facts about El Salvador and Nicaragua, studied and discussed Episode 31 of Destinos and Chapter 1A in their textbook, Realidades 2. They reviewed present tense conjugations of -ar, -er and -ir verbs.
Intermediate students—Students learned the present subjunctive of irregular verbs, developed game strategies, played games in Spanish and focused their class discussions and writings on the topic of ethnic and racial prejudice. Discussions are lively and engaging and their current events vocabulary is increasing by the day!
Advanced students—Students learned about Guatemala and Uruguay as they read writings by Rigoberta Menchú and Horacio Quiroga. They studied and reviewed advanced grammar exercises in preparation for more intensive writing tasks.
Physical Education with Krista Moll
As I explained in Back to School Night, I'm approaching Middle Grades and Upper School a little differently this year. Classes will consist of a fitness day and a sports/game day each week. If they do well with the fitness day, they are allowed to choose the sport/game they would like to play and learn about for that week. Typically, there will be three kinds of fitness days: upper body/abs, lower body/abs, and jogging and conditioning. Each week, we alternate which fitness class we will be doing. Some of the exercises include planks, squats, sit-ups, lunges, six inches, "dots", push-ups, jump rope, burpies (6 count), wall sits, and other exercises. For their sports/game day, the students have been playing some table tennis, soccer, and basketball.
Music with Daniel Raimi
Upper School students have been fantastic the past few weeks. All classes did some work on the classic Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind," and 9th grade students were also able to listen to and examine the themes of the great Pete Seeger song "If I Had a Hammer," performed in our classroom by the 1960's soul genius Sam Cooke. 9th Grade wrote their own verses to "Blowin' in the Wind," and I was very impressed by the themes explored by a number of students. We're going to continue writing our own songs, which will lead us to the following topic...
9th grade has just begun, and 10th–12th has continued working with Garage Band, the computer-based music creation software installed on all the computers in the lab. So far, we've examined how to create new melodies, assign specific instruments, create drum loops, and we've just begun discussing how to harmonize the pieces we've created. In 10–12, students have created a template that is their own version of the Clash classic "Should I Stay or Should I Go." In the next few weeks, those students will write their own verses to the song, and begin fleshing out their Garage Band projects. Within a month or so, we should have completed original songs based on the Clash, and will share them with the community on You Tube!Drama with Roni Peterson
During Module 2, I introduced props and discussed the difference between set design and props and how the actor uses both during a scene. I chose two different props, and two students to use them in an improv scene. I was impressed with how quickly the students were able to come up with very creative ideas for using the props. A telephone prop was used in an improv exercise using prompt lines such as "I'm sorry," or " Let's not fight anymore," etc. They could either make or receive the phone call but they had to use the prompt line at some time during the conversation. This is an advanced exercise and the class did extremely well. I also gave them scripted one-sided conversations and based on the written words, they had to create the tone and situation. Giving different students the same script, I asked that they change the tone and situation so that they would learn that the interpretation of the words is the actor's choice. I also asked that they try to write their own phone scripts that we will act out in class. We will continue with this exercise in Module 3, and write short scripts based on a prop that will be given to them. We will then act out those original scripts.
Music Performance with Glenn Mehrbach
For this year, I have decided to rename the "A" Band and "B" Band the "Credit Class" (for the M-W-F group) and the "Club Class" (for the Tu/Th group) to better reflect their purpose and meaning. The entire program is called "Music Performance."
CREDIT CLASS
In Module 2 we explored 3 songs from varied genres. "In My Life" by John Lennon and the Beatles, "One Note Samba" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and "Fever" by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, popularized by Peggy Lee. The first two songs allowed vocalists Olivia Arges and Viola Samadi to learn how to harmonize with each other, and the 3rd allowed them to trade verses, and work on vocal improvisation. Sarah Chetty is working hard on the harpsichord solo for "In My Life" (which on the original recording is a speeded up piano solo, recorded slowly because George Martin didn't have the technical facility to play it at tempo; Sarah does!), and Josh is doing well with some difficult bass patterns on "One Note Samba." Josh also contributes a beautiful third harmony part on "In My Life." Lennon Klinger-Mehrbach really burns the place up with his solos on "Fever," and plays a rhythmic pattern of his own devising for "One Note Samba" that fits extremely well with the song. Elisabeth Parker does a terrific job for herself on both "In My Life," which has a completely written out drum part, and "Fever," on which I asked her to improvise and try different beats. She is often being very courageous in her playing, because I know she prefers to just "play the page."
As well as learning these songs, we also talked a lot about song structure, and completed an assignment where the students were asked to analyze 5 songs of their choosing. Their results showed a good working knowledge of how songs are put together. This analysis will lead to composing our own songs, which they all still seem somewhat timid about. They're all such terrific musicians, though, that I know whatever songs the class ends up writing will be wonderful.
Lastly, we spent a good amount of time creating our own arrangement of "Fever," to which each student contributed. It was a very creative time for all, and allowed us to "think outside the box," or, in this case "the paper."
CLUB CLASS
I only had 2 chances to meet with this class in Module 2, but we already made good progress on 2 songs: "I Met Him On A Sunday," as sung by Laura Nyro and LaBelle, and "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys. Both make extensive use of vocal harmony, while allow multiple students to sing solos as well. I also collected some other song ideas from the students, and gave them all a CD of possible upcoming songs. The group sounds great together, and I look forward to really exploring their musical gifts in Module 3.
Guidance Update with Thelma Glynn
It has been a busy time in the guidance office. Many Upper School students are signed up for online courses ranging from a UNC-G philosophy class to a Virtual High School class in business. All of these students have demonstrated a wonderful work ethic and are now well established in these courses.
Students met with our first college rep of the season—from Davidson College. In addition, many students attended the College Fair at Northgate Mall and/or used the time off during conference week to visit college campuses.
Eligible seventh graders have been provided information as to how to register for the Talent Identification Program and tenth through twelfth graders are gearing up for a busy time taking PSAT's, SAT's and ACT's!
