Working Out the Ending

“Okay,” I tell the middle school band as we are putting the final touches on their version of “I Wanna Rock and Roll all Night.” “So first Alyssa’s solo, then the drum solo which I still have to write, then Jordyn’s solo, then the a cappella chorus, finally one more chorus and the ending and we’re good to go.” One student’s face clouds over; another’s lights up. “I had an idea for the ending,” the bright-faced girl suggests. “What if we play F and G from ‘You keep on shouting..’ and end on the A?” We listen to the YouTube version, and as it turns out, that’s pretty much what Kiss does. “Perfect!” I say. “Let’s do it!” The cloudy girl calls me over and quietly says, “But we only have four more rehearsals.” Then as I start to answer, she brightens and I say, “Exactly. Four more weeks, but eight rehearsals. Plenty of time.” (...)

(continue reading at: http://bit.ly/cdZkyG)

We were pleased to welcome a number of families to campus Family Weekend. Besides classes, athletics, conferences and the very successful auction which had great support from middle school parents, we also held two meetings with parents. The first, on the subject of nutrition, presented facts assembled by Joan Pajak, our Director of Health Services and discussed what we are doing as a school to help students eat healthy. The second presented information on the Phoebe Prince bullying case, the new law currently being shaped by the Massachusetts legislature, and how the school works to create a positive atmosphere and deal with relational aggression and other issues. You may view PowerPoints from both the Nutrition and the Bullying presentations. Note the slide in the Bullying PowerPoint featuring parent suggestions made at that meeting. We thank everyone present for their positive and proactive thinking and encourage anyone who wishes to offer further input to contact Bill Ivey.

The Humanities 7 class has nearly wrapped up the poetry unit, with only the interscholastic Online Poetry Slam yet to take place. Currently, the class is deeply absorbed by a unit on how food has evolved to where it is today. They have designed a number of activities, beginning with viewing a documentary on industrial food production, "Food, Inc." They will also view websites put up by the food industry attempting to rebut some of the points made in the film. They are planning a visit to a local, award-winning dairy farm. There is also talk of writing members of Congress urging that Kevin's Law, which would strengthen the ability of the USDA to inspect food production and take effective action in reaction to violations, be reintroduced and passed; some students were amazed, if encouraged, to learn that they could even write Congress at all. Additionally, they have each chosen topics of personal interest to research and write up into a compare-and-contrast essay.

This unit will segue nicely into the last unit the students have planned, which will focus on ethics. With this in mind, they chose Fairy Dust by Jane Denitz Smith as their last morning reading book of the year. Mrs. Smith is a middle school teacher at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown and has graciously agreed to come visit the class, to read from her book and to answer questions about writing it and about writing in general. This will take place on May 24 and should be yet another highlight of the year.

The class decided that they were interested in studying how the population of humans on the earth affects other aspects of the environment. Our first unit within this topic involves coordinating with the Humanities 7 class unit. In science, the class is looking at nutrition versus available recourses for nutrition versus energy required to produce the food. Each student will plan a meal for a different region based on available resources and caloric needs with the goal of using the least amount of energy to produce the meal. Other mini-units within our population unit will relate to survival of other species, pollution of air, land and water and solutions to these problems.

The class has completed their first work, a relief tile inspired by Egyptian art and paintings. Students carved paperclay tiles reflecting activities they would like to do for all of eternity. They painted these tiles with watercolor while following the conventions of Egyptian painting.

The class has begun working on their second piece of art, an illuminated letter inspired by Celtic art, focusing on aspects of their personalities. Students are using colored pencils, pastel paper, and calligraphy to complete this work.

The trimester will conclude with an introduction to Pop Art, followed by students creating paintings depicting themselves as super heroes while learning about one-point perspective.

The health class has gotten off to a great start in the spring term. We have seen group presentations on test-taking skills and obesity and are looking forward to ones covering other topics such as stereotypes, first aid, and survival skills. In addition, in class we have been talking lately about the term "wise freedom", with students keeping a time log and looking at how they spend their free time (which they say they have none of!).

In class, we are beginning our unit on geometry. The students are applying what they know from the past about shapes with the algebra that they have begun to study this year. They will use formulas to solve for unknowns related to angle measures, area and perimeter. Additionally, they are relating root words to the names of the shapes and everyday uses of math terms to create a connection to other more familiar words in their vocabularies.

In science, we are busy studying flight. The students constructed paper airplanes to collect and analyze data regarding features that are effective for flight. Additionally, they are learning about the history of flight and how planes have evolved. This unit requires dealing with a strong connection to math with measurement, calculations and graphing.

MOCA addressed four topics at their last meeting. The students elected the next 7th grade MOCA leader (the 8th grade leader had already been decided on as there was a tie in the previous election). They agreed on a menu for their Founders' Day lunch. They formulated a proposal to Student Council that 7th graders be able to vote along with 8th-11th graders in elections for Student Council President and Vice-President. And they agreed that their Spearth Day booth will be caramel and candy apples. They were pleased with how well everyone focused on getting the job done and how respectful people had been. It has been a productive year, and there is still more to be done!

May is a busy month, with a great many traditions and special events to mark the passage of our last weeks together before summer vacation. While the school provides an online calendar noting specific dates and times, I want to take the chance to explain some of these events and note times.

Founders' Day (Monday, May 3), originally proposed by the founding students of the middle school, is a day off from classes for middle schoolers entirely planned by MOCA. Students may sleep in and should be in the middle school by 9:00 A.M. (8th graders in Algebra II should attend their normal 8:00 class beforehand). For the morning, the students have planned to have breakfast and a movie followed by tie-dying t-shirts and a cookout. The afternoon will be similar to a Field Day, with more specific planning of events taking place at the next MOCA meeting. Students attend afternoon sports and evening commitments as normal. By agreement, 8th graders will meet in Pete's apartment Monday evening to watch a movie for Humanities 8.

Spearth Day (Thursday, May 13) is a day off from classes for the entire school. Little sisters take their senior big sisters out to breakfast, and then the entire school spends the morning in service projects. During the afternoon, classes and clubs offer various booths with food and games, there is a talent show, and students get their yearbooks.

Middle School Performance (Friday, May 21, 7:00 P.M.) includes the Theatre 7 plays, the instrumental music groups, Select Chorus, the Dance 8 class, the Rock Band, and a few other surprises. The program begins at 7:00 P.M. in the Geissler Gallery and should be over between 8:30 and 9:00 P.M. The program is free, and family and friends are welcome to attend.

Memorial Day (Monday, May 31) No classes.

Dance Rehearsals (Monday-Wednesday, May 31-June 2) Required of all 8th graders, beginning at 4:00 P.M. and ending at 6:00 P.M.

Last Day of Classes (Wednesday, June 2) Classes end at 3:25.

Vespers (Wednesday, June 2, 8:15 P.M.) This ceremony is the Seniors' chance to say their individual good byes to the school. They also sing a song chosen by the class and participate in a lantern ceremony. The ceremony is usually over by 9:45 P.M. Middle School students are welcome, but not required to attend. If day students wish to stay overnight, they are welcome to do so as long as they notify Mr. Larson and the middle school houseparents ahead of time.

8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony (Thursday, June 3, 8:00 A.M.) This ceremony marks each 8th grader's time in the middle school as she prepares to move up to high school. The ceremony is usually over by approximately 8:45 A.M. It is required of all middle school students, and family and friends are welcome to attend. There will be a reception following the ceremony.

Six Flags Trip (Thursday, June 3) Following the Moving Up Ceremony, the students and some of their advisors will depart for the annual Six Flags trip. They will return by 4:00 P.M. The school provides tickets for entry into the park, which includes all rides.

Dance Performance (Thursday, June 3, 7:00 P.M.) The final performing arts presentation of the year, required of all students and open to family and friends, will include various middle schoolers in differing roles. It is usually over by 8:30 P.M.

Graduation (Friday, June 4, 10:30 A.M.)This is required of all students. Students must be in formal dress and checked in with the Middle School Dean by 10:15. The ceremony is usually over by 12:00 P.M. All middle school students must be out of the dorms and off campus by 4:00 P.M. We will miss them!

The School maintains an online calendar of events for use by parents, students, and other members of our community. You may access this calendar at

http://www.sbschool.org/home/calendar.asp

You may also access a copy of the academic calendar through the parent portal, signing in at:

http://www.sbschool.org/home/content.asp?section=parents

If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you!