Mathematics with Jenny Feaster
We are at the end of Module 3. Most students have been diligent and have completed their mid-semester requirements. If your student is at all falling behind in pace you will receive a Mid-Semester Warning. Please help encourage your child to get back on pace and avoid an Incomplete. There are a few students who have already finished their first semester requirements and are now working on second semester requirements. I have been pleased with the progress each student has made this module.
Students in the 7th and 8th Grade Upper School Math Classes will be taking the AMC 8 Mathematics test. This is a math contest that will recognize student achievement in mathematics. The test will be administered November 16, 2010.
Mathematics with Dan Hill
The students in my section have thus far been working pretty hard; the majority of them have remained on or ahead of pace for the first quarter. If your student has fallen behind pace, I will be assigning lots of homework, so be prepared for some whining.
I don't have anyone interested in the AMC 8 in my section, but I em do have some interest in the AMC 10, which is in the spring.
English with Jill Sugg
AP students handed in the final copy of their Academic Fair research paper. They wrote a definition paper and began writing personal journals.
Advanced English 8/9/10 handed in the rough draft of their research papers and began reading Charles Dickens' classic novel Great Expectations.
English 7/8 also handed in the rough draft of their research papers and did a unit on The Odyssey.
English and Social Studies with Matt Wilhelm
American History: Students have looked at the controversies regarding the creation and ratification of the Constitution, and issues related to the first decade of the United States.
Civics: Students have looked more in-depth at the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances, and looked at the controversies related to these that occurred during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Current Events: Students have learned basics of American government, such as political ideology, the role of parties, and basic principles of American government such as rule of law, limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
World History: Students have looked at the origins of monotheism as well as contributions of the ancient Greeks via the philosophies of Socrates and Plato.
English: Students have been hard at work on their Academic Fair research papers. Students' rough drafts were generally very good and their topics should help to create a very interesting Academic Fair on November 19.
Science with Lori Hilliard
Environmental Science: The Environmental Science class is headlong into the study of human populations and the effects on the Earth's resources. We have played many simulation games and have calculated our ecological footprints. Students were surprised to learn that if everyone on the Earth lived as we do, that it would take an average of 5 Earths to sustain the population.
Human Biology: The Human Biology class has concluded their study of the integumentary system. From memorizing the layers of the epidermis to simulating the effects of exercise and quantity of sweat produced daily, the students have worked hard in this course and I am very proud of their efforts. We will continue to have weekly medical terminology quizzes.
Chemistry: Mole Concept has been the focus of this class in the last module. Students are learning to use mathematics concepts in new ways and seem to find it challenging and rewarding. Finding the number of moles of chalk (Calcium carbonate) that it takes to write one's name on the paved road was both educational and made us feel a little like rebels in the road.
Biology: The study of botany has really put this class in the green zone. Their leaf collections were outstanding and their exam scores amazing. I am very proud of all their efforts. The students have used their artistic skills in many ways during this course of study as well as continuing to hone their microscopy skills. Observing mitosis in onion root tips and learning new slide staining techniques has been a challenge as well.
Spanish with Celia Battle
Spanish 1: Students have enjoyed Destinos and have studied Episodes #3 and #4. They have learned about Spanish customs and culture, new vocabulary, basic grammar and are mastering sentences related to the episodes. I am very pleased with the interest and enthusiasm that the class has shown in this endeavor. Kudos to the students for keeping their ring binders organized and up to date and many thanks to the parents for supplying our first period treats to keep the class focused and energized.
Spanish 2: Students have completed another chapter in our Realidades textbook and have enjoyed challenging verb competitions. Most performed quite well in the test and have mastered the vocabulary, grammar and reflexive verbs in six tenses. We will focus on increasing spontaneous classroom conversations and class discussions of a variety of topics.
Intermediate Spanish 1: Students have studied thematic vocabulary, have written creative paragraphs and given oral presentations of these topics. Conversations and class discussions have helped to solidify the learning experience. Reading our student magazine AHORA has provided numerous opportunities to initiate conversations and learn about the life and interests of high school students in Spanish speaking countries.
Intermediate Spanish 2: This class has selected a wide variety of topics for research, class discussion and writing. We have engaged in daily conversations about current events, students' interests, world religions and medical issues. In developing these topics students have reviewed grammar, verb tenses and vocabulary use while continuing to improve their oral and written communication skills. This is a very lively and energetic group!
Advanced Spanish: The Advanced Class has been learning about Spanish history from the time that the first groups inhabited the Iberian Peninsula to the time of the Reconquest. Students have done research and given oral presentations to the class about Spanish artists, painters, musicians and writers. We have continued our review of Spanish grammar and verb tenses. This class is highly motivated to increase their oral communication skills and they do so daily during our lively discussions of all kinds of topics, from current events to philosophy and cultural trends.
Physical Education with Krista Moll
We started out the navigation unit and we will continue with this navigation unit throughout Module 4 as well. Thank you for having your child come prepared to class with a compass! Students learned about the parts of the compass, how to use a compass to get from point A to point B, and we briefly touched upon plotting UTM coordinates. It's not easy plotting coordinates and I suspect we'll be taking a couple classes to practice this before we start plotting UTM coordinates from the geocaching website to search for caches near the school!
Music with Glenn Mehrbach
Each week during this module we looked at a different aspect of music. The first week I went over the musical theory that I taught earlier in the semester, and gave the students resources and homework pertaining to this. This turned out to be very perplexing for a large majority of the students, and I realized that either I had not explained the subject very well, or had explained it too quickly. Since I didn't get much feedback from the classes while explaining the theory, I thought everyone was understanding. I was very wrong. So the homework ended up being more of a gauge for myself on how much each of the students knew about music theory. The next week we studied the history of classical music, from the earliest Gregorian chants to music written a little more than 10 years ago. It was a great way for the students to see that what they think of as "Classical Music" is really only a small part of the entirety of the genre. The comments of the students were very enlightening for me as well. The next week we began work on what I call "Human Garage Band," where each class creates and performs a song from scratch. I learned a lot about many of their abilities through this, discovering some talents unknown to me on keyboards, drum set, vocals and lyric writing. Some of the songwriting continues into the next module. I may have the best song performed by the class at the Academic Fair. Regardless, it was a very creative way for the students to discover what goes into making a song, from conception to performance.
Art with Brittain Peck
In Module 3 we have continued our break from Betty Edwards' exercises as outlined by the curriculum in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but have maintained the central focus on "observation" that permeates her writing and lessons while opening increasing opportunity for the students to explore their own observations and ideas in their work. Our first lesson dealt with a cut and paste paper collage made from photocopied objects from each student's locker. The students were asked to explore their own locker for three to five auto-biographically meaningful objects which we then did our best to photocopy. We then discussed the difference between the original object and the photocopied image on the piece of paper as an example of a subject and its representation, noting that the representation is itself a new, unique entity not to be thought of as synonymously with the original object. Once this distinction was clarified, we began approaching the photocopied images as new objects, exploring them for unexpected material that may be used to create entirely new images in our collage. As a working mantra, the students were encouraged to create collages that were themselves original and interesting objects, rather than imitations or attempted duplicates of either the original objects or their photocopied images.
For our final lesson, we moved even closer to the students' individual insights and ideas, while still maintaining a focus on observation, by looking at the example of a currently alive and creating Dutch artist named Helmut Smits. We discussed the meaning and role of "concept" in art and other objects and discussed the problematic title of "conceptual artist" as it is applied to artists like Smits. Understanding that the power of Smits work lay in his ideas (rather than his skill as a painter or draftsman) and his ability to give his ideas a form and presence in the real, material world, the students were challenged to focus on their own ideas as the basis for possible works of art. The exercise was one in brainstorming and conceptualization, devoid of any materials or actual art-making. Understanding that such a process can only be completed by a similar brainstorming and exploration process with tangible materials to give form to the students' ideas, this exercise leaves open possibilities for future work and continued creation.
Module 3 concludes my time working with your children as their art instructor and I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with them and share my passion for art and art making. They are a bright group of talented individuals and I look forward to hearing about their future accomplishments.
Thank you,
Mr. Brittain
Dramatic Arts with Roni Peterson
We have been doing memory enhancing exercises. These included the Mirror Exercise where one student faces another and uses hands, arms, head, legs, and body movements that the other student must mirror, as though being the reflection. This exercise helps actors with concentration, and observations needed while performing. The Camera Exercise has one student in front of the class, all students change their seats. The student in front examines the new seating of the students and concentrates on where each student is now sitting. When he/she is ready, he/she takes an imaginary picture with an imaginary camera and leaves the room. The students then move once again to another seat. The student returns to the room and using his/her memory (picture), puts the students back into the seat they were in when the "picture" was taken. The more advanced exercise is two students face each other and one will strike a pose. A "picture" will be taken and the student who is to remember the pose will turn back to other student and then the pose will be changed. It can change by the movement of one finger, a glance, a smile into a frown. The other student is then asked to put the pose back to the original.
The concept of Method Acting was discussed and the definition of Sensory Memory was taught. I did this as a lecture, giving students examples of exercises they could do at home. This is an advanced course in acting and I will not be going into it further in class as it can get extremely personal and I find it inappropriate for this age group. We also began to lean long form improvisation. We will continue with this during Module 4 along with the use of props in the improvisations.
Music Performance with Glenn Mehrbach
VOCAL ENSEMBLE CLUB
The vocal ensemble continued to make wonderful progress this module. We narrowed down our work to three songs: "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel, "No Mirror's in My Nana's House" by Ysaye Barnwell of "Sweet Honey in the Rock," and "Jump" by Van Halen (the "Glee" version). We also took a look at "Proud Mary," by John Fogerty (also based on the "Glee" version). All of the students are becoming more comfortable with singing harmonies, more assured of their own voices, and more comfortable with singing together as a group. It is very exciting to watch, and I look forward to showing everyone their progress at the Academic Fair. Bri Oleson is our resident soprano, carrying the high notes with assurance and style. Amy Hillsman has carried herself well in whatever role she is given, and sings a strong lead vocal on both "No Mirror's" and parts of "The Longest Time." Sophie Reiter has been adapting well to harmony singing, and is beginning to increase her vocal volume with each rehearsal. Ryn Wilkes is making good progress toward constant pitch recognition, and once she finds the correct pitch to sing, she really gets "in the groove" and sings with gusto. Lance Wilkes is the volume measure by which we measure ourselves. If we could all sing as loudly and clearly as Lance, we would have no need for microphones! I want to thank Lance for making the effort to be prepared for class. Whatever he's doing to prepare for the early morning classes is really working. And finally, last but not least, is our new-found bass vocalist, Alec Porter. Alec's rich and vibrant baritone really holds up the low end on certain of the songs, and his solo vocal style is also evident at times. I am really enjoying watching Alec develop his range and vocal style.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE CREDIT BAND
The Credit Band made great strides during this module. After a rough start trying to find the right places for all the members to fit into, we have an excellent dynamic going for us now, and I really like the progress we're making. We continued to refine "Pinball Wizard" and "Moondance," and started serious work on "Don't Rain On My Parade." We also began to dig into a new Barlow Girl song, "Song for the Broken." On the jazz front, we began experimenting with different arranging and vocal styles on the old jazz standard "Comes Love." I played them about 10 different versions of the song, to show how each different performer can bring something fresh and new to any song. Olivia Arges continues to grow stronger vocally, and has begun to be more expressive as a performer as well. I continue to encourage her to sing with her whole body, and to think of each song as telling a story to the audience. Grace Kirkpatrick's improvisations continue to mature and grow, both on the violin and vocally. Whatever ways she expresses herself musically, she does it with passion and style. Brian Powell's current dual role as guitarist and bassist is working out very well. He is really taking the difficult part on "Song for the Broken" in stride, and performing it with more musicality and ease at each session. And his bass playing is becoming more assured as well. Zachariah Claypole White is making big strides in the class, from learning the correct scales for solos to mastering difficult rhythms to playing with more articulation and attack. His understanding of the guitar, music in general, and how to play and listen at the same time is a joy to watch. I've asked Rachel Roush to fill a lot of shoes this year, and, so far, she is filling them well. Whether playing the keyboard string parts on "Don't Rain On My Parade," bass on "Comes Love" and "Song for the Broken" or vocal leads and harmonies on "Pinball Wizard," Rachel always tries her best, and is wonderful to teach. I always enjoy the mornings when she arrives early to set up the room for me. Despite being absent for a few classes because of her clogging career, Sarah Chetty remains a backbone for the group, and is beginning to master all of the moderately difficult keyboard parts I've given her. Her improvisations on "Moondance" become more expansive and expressive each time she plays it. Lastly, Elisabeth Parker continues to show her talent and patience on drums. We were able to get her a new hi-hat during this module, which she uses with great aplomb. And after much encouragement, her musical fills are growing more assured and adventurous, and her basic rhythm playing keeps us all in line. She does a wonderful job of reading the music I write for her, but bringing her own energy and style to it as well. I look forward to everyone seeing their progress at the upcoming Academic Fair.
