Mathematics with Jenny Feaster
Students have been working diligently and are working according to schedule in their respective math programs.
I would like to remind all students and parents that two notebooks are needed for math class. If your student does not have a second notebook please have it on or before November 4th.
English with Jill Sugg
Students in English 7/8/9 worked on their Academic Fair papers in class and began reading the adolescent novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
Advanced Placement Literature and English 8/9 Advanced read Shakespeare's "Othello" and marveled at the cleverness of the evil Iago. They are seeing the film and will test after a review.
All students have drafted an outline and a Works Cited Page in MLA format for their Academic Fair project. They continue to work on their rough drafts now due in entirety on Tuesday, November 3rd.
English and Social Studies with Matt Wilhelm
American History: Students have been learning about the Revolutionary War and the social, economic, and political climate of the newly independent states.
Civics: Students concluded their case study of health care reform and have moved onto examining US policy in Afghanistan.
Current events: The class has been examining the dilemmas President Obama faces as he makes a decision regarding troop levels in Afghanistan.
English 10/11/12: Students continue work on their Academic Fair papers and have started reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
World History: Students have learned about the origins of Christianity in the context of the Roman Empire.
Science with Lori Hilliard
Environmental Science: Population Ecology has been the topic during this module. Students have analyzed data and examined exponential growth curves. Coincidentally we are also looking at environmental factors that affect human health. Stay tuned for the Environmental Science tribute to the CDC and WHO.
Human Biology: Students have discovered that the expression "skin deep" is much more complicated than first thought. The integumentary system and associated structures as well as the medical terminology that go along with it have been the focus of the last module.
Chemistry: Mole concept, percentage composition, empirical and molecular formulas have kept the chemistry class busy in Module 3. Students have mastered tests and related laboratory activities.
Biology: Mastering a comprehensive exam and the completion of plant collections was the culminating activity of our botany unit. The collections are extraordinary and will be on display during Academic Fair.
Physics with Dan Hill
This module the physics students did a laboratory activity that involved hurling balls off the roof of the building to investigate the relationship between the horizontal and vertical components of the velocities of projectiles (they found none). There was also much gnashing of teeth as we solved some problems involving motion in two dimensions. In Module 4 we will finish up our overview of 2-D motion, and begin looking at forces and momentum.
Spanish with Celia Battle
Introduction to Spanish—We have covered episodes 1 and 2 of "Destinos," have learned the vocabulary and uses of the verbs 'ser' and 'estar' in the present tense. Students are using a Spanish grammar website to practice newly learned material. They are expected to do exercises on the website at least twice a week.
Spanish 2 (Destinos)—We have learned about El Salvador and Nicaragua, studied episodes 32-34 in "Destinos" and the present tense of first, second and third conjugation verbs. Students are using a Spanish grammar website to practice newly learned vocabulary and grammar. They are expected to do exercises on the website at least twice a week.
Intermediate Spanish—We are reading a short novel, ¿Dónde está Eduardo? and have had classroom discussions about the characters, plot and vocabulary. Daily conversations are going strong as students enjoy engaging peers in animated conversations about current events and other topics of interest such as the swine flu epidemic and the war in Afghanistan.
Advanced Spanish—Students have read short stories that focus on mystery, fantasy and surrealism. We have analyzed and discussed them and have compiled extensive vocabulary lists derived from these readings. Daily class discussions are motivating students to introduce a variety of interesting topics for conversation. Students are using a Spanish grammar website to strengthen and increase their knowledge and use of various verb tenses.
Physical Education with Krista Moll
We have continued with our fitness classes, rotating between upper body, lower body, and jogging and conditioning. Recently, my 10th–12th grade class bumped into Lyon Park's indoor track and was able to run there instead of Orchard Park. The students seemed to be excited about having a flat place to run and most of them beat their mile times by at least a minute!
Art with Brittain Peck
We began by examining the visual and narrative fundamentals of character design. We explored a variety of lessons to explore design concepts such as rotational symmetry, color contrasts, and 2 point perspective. The latter portion of our instruction this module has leaned towards observational techniques, primarily value based drawings focusing on observed light and shadow as a means to understand and describe the observed world around us. The students have displayed a great interest in creating art and attempting new media and techniques. We also discussed the students' goals and interests in pursuing art throughout the academic year, in particular, the development of each student's individual interests.
Music with Daniel Raimi
Upper School students have continued to work on developing our skills in Garage Band. Along with programming original drum loops and working with a variety of virtual instruments, we began to lay out a template for the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go," by the Clash. We programmed drums, keyboards, and in some cases, a bass line to lay the groundwork for a songwriting project we're going to start in the next couple of weeks. Each class also had a discussion about the song "Jolene," by Dolly Parton. It's one of my favorite songs, and I was interested to hear the students' take on it. While many people think of Dolly Parton as a ditsy Barbie-doll type, I made the case for her as one of the greatest living American musicians. Some students agreed, and some didn't, but we had an excellent discussion!
Drama with Roni Peterson
The students continued with scripted phone conversations from Module 2 that they had written and performed. Monologues were introduced and each student got to pick a monologue to memorize and perform. We will be using the monologues as the first true "acting" experience where I will act as if I were a director and they were auditioning for a part in a play.
Two independent short films that I had worked on locally, were shown in the 9th through 12th grades, as examples of acting skills that we had been discussing in class. It was interesting getting feedback from the students about the films. I wanted them to understand the difference between acting in a film and acting in a play.
We have started doing acting warm-ups that all actors of all ages do to perfect their craft. These exercises are for voice and improving diction and pronunciation of words. Tongue twisters were introduced and we will continue to do more of those as they are helpful in training the student to think the word before speaking the word. Try saying "selfish shellfish", or "Unique New York", 5 times fast! Not so easy is it? These exercises are not only beneficial but fun to do. Other warm-up exercises will be introduced during Module 4.
Music Performance with Glenn Mehrbach
CREDIT CLASS
First of all, the different strains of flu going around visited members of this class as well, and made it difficult to rehearse, not knowing who would show up each day. But we used the time as best with could, focusing on whoever was well.
We have been working primarily on three songs in the class: "Fever" and "In My Life," which we started during the last module, and "You Really Got A Hold On Me," which we started this module. We also are slowly but surely tackling "Roundabout" by "Yes," which I feel will be a year long project. It is a very complex piece, but I'm certain within the grasp of our students. For "Fever" we continued to experiment with vocal harmonies, instrumental solos, and ways to heighten and lower the dynamics of the song. The song has taken on a wonderful shape, largely due to the contributions of the students themselves. "In My Life" continues to mature, with 3 part harmonies by Olivia, Viola and Josh being a prominent feature. "You Really Got A Hold On Me," based on the arrangement by The Beatles, is taking shape as well, and is presenting unexpected challenges to each member of the group.
Elisabeth Parker has really stepped up to the plate with her drumming, and her work away from the class really shows. Olivia Arges is proving to have a great ear for harmony, and a wonderful vocal sound on her solos. We are working on getting her to be more expressive physically during her singing. Although I know Viola much prefers solo vocal work, she has been a real 'trooper' and taken the challenge of harmony singing, in often unaccustomed vocal ranges, to heart. She is becoming much more comfortable both as a soloist and in harmony. Lennon Klinger-Mehrbach continues to improve on his soloing, in technique and expression, and has made good use of his pedals for different effects. He also has lots of ideas for arrangements, and has really expanded on many of the printed parts that he was given. As well as playing the key bass for a lot of the songs, Josh Stallings is really solid on his harmony singing this year. I don't know why he kept it under wraps all last year, because he has a wonderful vocal sound. His 'bass playing' adds a lot to the group as well. Sarah Chetty plays whatever I give her with accuracy and style, and has begun to explore more creative ways of both soloing and livening up her rhythm parts, and trying to not just 'play the paper' at all times.
CLUB CLASS
As with the credit class, the different strains of flu going around visited members of this class as well, presenting the same rehearsal challenges.
After a few exploratory sessions, I feel that the Club class has really found it's feet, and look forward to each session We continued to refine "I Met Him On A Sunday" and "I Get Around," which we started in the first module, and added "Don't Stop Believin'," by Journey, based on the arrangement on the TV show "Glee," and the old chestnut "Twist and Shout." Although most of the group members are primarily singers, they are all eager to explore playing instruments as well, and I am happy to oblige. So we gave just about everyone a turn at the drum set, with varying results, and some may help out on keyboards and maybe even guitar. Alec, our dedicated guitarist, was not able to be persuaded to sing, though.
Kriea Giffin-Dean continues to improve in both confidence and delivery with her singing, and is starting to make progress on the drum set, which she is quite keen on trying. Bri Oleson is turning out to have a talented and dynamic soprano voice, and adds a lot to our harmonies. Sophie Reiter is a very dedicated student, and is very responsive to any direction she is given concerning her vocal technique and projection. She continues to develop her ear for harmonies. She may also play some drums or percussion as time goes on. The times that Rachel Roush has been in class and well have shown her to be a wonderful vocalist, keyboard player and drummer. I don't think there's an instrument made that she doesn't have some proficiency on! I look forward to exploiting her many talents throughout the year. Lance Wilkes, our only male vocalist, has used that to his advantage, taking the solo parts on "I Get Around," and being the focus of the girls' attention on "I Met Him On A Sunday." He also shares the lead vocal with Bri on "Twist and Shout," and is growing in vocal personality each session. Alec Porter's improvement on guitar is impressive. He knows his way around the instrument a lot better this year, both in executing chords and in playing solo parts with rhythm and style. We are even giving him a solo on "Twist and Shout," and I look forward to the results of that.
Guidance Update with Thelma Glynn
Our sophomores and juniors all came in early on a Saturday morning and took the PSAT. What a great group of young people—guiding them to their post-high school plans is an exciting prospect.
Our young women had the opportunity to meet with a representative of Meredith College. Regrettably this visit was at the height of our flu outbreak so many who were interested were not able to attend.
Our seniors have started to submit their college applications.... let the games begin!
