The following articles have been published since the last newsletter:

Student Teachers, by Bill Ivey, about the first time he donated blood.

That Age, by Bill Ivey, about chaperoning the Salisbury School Prom.

Different Voices, by Bill Ivey, reflections on teaching in an all-girls school.

On the Same Page, by Bill Ivey, about professional development.

There has been a change in plans to the Middle School Performing Arts Presentation. Since Kim Mancuso, the Theatre 7 teacher, has been out sick, we have decided to postpone the 7th grade plays. All other Friday night performances will proceed as planned.

 

This Friday, May 20,  at 7:00 p.m., please join us in the gym to see Dance 8, the instrumental music groups, Select Chorus, and the Vocal Music class.The students, under the able guidance of Ann Sorvino, Greg Snedeker, and Tony Lechner, have been working hard all year, and it promises to be a wonderful show.

 

The Theatre 7 class, under the direction of Kim Mancuso, will present their three original plays on Tuesday evening, May 31, at 7:00 p.m. in Geissler Gallery. As with the music and dance performance, family and friends are most welcome to attend.

 

We are cancelling the evening Theatre 7 rehearsal originally scheduled for Thursday, May 19. We will reschedule it for another night, and will notify you as soon as we know the revised date.

 

Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you at both performances!

 

 Additionally, there will be no homework due on Friday, May 20.

The Humanities 7 class has begun studying its final unit. In continuing to focus on cause and effect in history, the students learned about the Articles of Confederation in the context of what they knew about the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. The inherent and unsustainable weaknesses in this first plan of government being recognized, the students broke up into groups to learn about, present, and discuss the Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, and British Plans. Their ideas mirrored but did not reflect exactly the Constitution as ultimately formulated. They have completed an overview of the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights and other key amendments. This week, with some class time given over to the Theatre 7 class, we are focusing primarily on writing the penultimate essay of the year. Next week, as we receive compensatory time from Theatre 7, we will return to group study with a look at the events of 9-11 and the Patriot Act.

 

Unusually strong creative writing has been a hallmark of this group. Visitors from Hamden Hall School attended class on Monday and were quite impressed with the student writing they heard.

The FLC class has been busy working on their original languages and cultures. As students come upon new questions to answer and new issues to consider, impromptu discussions have been popping up. Also, they have been taking delight in the evolution of different students' ideas, especially the sign-based language (the first of its kind in the seven years this course has been given)  being conceived collaboratively by a group of three students.

 

The students will begin presenting and teaching their languages, countries and cultures beginning on Thursday, May 26. One student said she is working to memorize enough of her language to give the presentation completely without notes. These presentations are always lively, and given what we have seen through the past week, this year will be no exception!

We are happy to report that ESL Humanities teacher Minhee Kang had her baby, and mother and daughter are doing wonderfully. Mr. Larson has taken over the ESL Humanities class through the end of the year to complete the curriculum that Minhee has set.

 

Meanwhile, the ESL Workshop class continues their work and promises to finish strong. The two books being read aloud to students now are Snap by Alison McGhee, about a girl who is working to understand what is wrong with her friend and her grandmother and how she can help, and a book of short autobiographical stories about sports by young adult authors.The students continue their independent reading and independent writing, and the work they have done through the year shows in both their writing and their discussions.

As there was no Student Council business for MOCA to discuss at the last meeting, we used the time for a work group to discuss preliminary ideas for a formal proposal to change the dress code. The students' discussion included the following points:

The next order of business will be to develop these seed ideas into a formal proposal.