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School Blog |
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There have been many new articles since the last middle school newsletter! Solidarity Forever, by Bill Ivey, about Dar Williams, Humanities 7, and International Human Rights Day. 10,000 Hours, by Karen Levitt, a speech delivered at the Upper School Honor Roll Assembly. Esprit de Basket, by Bill Ivey, about women's basketball and an important milestone achieved by an SBS alumna. Biscuits and Gravy, by Sara Plunkett, about her trip cross country and the courage of international students. |
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Weekend Activities |
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New options have been added to weekend activities for middle school students. We are now allowing them, with prior parental permission, to ride on the school shuttle, go to the mall, or go on other Upper School trips as long as they are accompanied by an upper school student. For their safety, we do ask that students remain at their agreed-upon destinations until they are picked up. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Bill Ivey or John Larson. |
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Art and Identity |
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Eighth graders in Art and Identity have just finished carving their Egyptian art inspired clay reliefs. In her relief, each student portrayed herself participating in an activity that she would like to do for an eternity. Once the clay reliefs are fired, students will paint them with watercolors. While waiting for them to be fired, students will begin exploring the next unit, illuminated letters. With illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Kells as reference, students will create their own personal illuminated letter which will include calligraphy, a celtic knot, and illustrations of their personality traits. |
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Humanities 8 |
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I believe all learning is collaborative. I urge students: “don’t just stow it — or throw it — but share it.” This week, with a local curator’s help, the two classes will mount an exhibition of “Myths on a Grecian Urn” for the SBS community to extend their learning beyond independent academic pursuits. On a glorious clear day in mid-December, the day before winter break, a combined group of Humanities 8 students and 8th graders in ESL took our humanity study on the road, to a place where the students could encounter real things (versus the virtual world in which so many of us live) from distant places and times — both contemporary world documentary photographs and Ancient Greek artifacts — so as to connect with people who live or had lived there. Thanks to Brittany and Andrea’s collegial support, we were able to transport the entire 8th grade class to the Mount Holyoke Art Museum, which opened its doors early and exclusively to us, primarily to view a special Yale University traveling exhibition on Ancient Greece. The focus dovetailed with the classes’ own interest in the role of women and of mythology in that culture. What I like best about museums is that they make their storage closets all of ours, too, and thereby open up vast new worlds, yet within intimate and accessible venues. What I liked best about this museum trip was the privilege of traveling with my colleagues in the shared company of such honest, funny, energetic students, whose spontaneous responses to their time travel and to each new day make me see my world anew in the most wonderful ways. Be sure to get a glimpse of the eighth graders’ fresh take on some ancient urns in the main school building display cases.
- Karen Suchenski
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Chinese 1 |
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Chinese I students have made good progress on pronunciation and intonation. They are able to read pinyin and produce tones better. With learning more vocabulary words, they can generate a simple conversation such as “Do you like dogs? Yes, or no, I like cats.” Before the break, Chinese I students watched a movie called "An American in China." In the movie, they saw well-known landscapes in Shanghai and Beijing. This coming Friday, we will have a Chinese night again; students are going to make dumplings, drink bubble tea, and watch a movie about a former NBA player, Yao Ming, who is from Shanghai, China. - Sara Tsou
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Rock Band |
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The Middle School Rock Band did a wonderful job in the Winter Solstice Performance, playing "Shark in the Water" by V.V. Brown. Several members of the group also joined with some Upper School Rock Band members as well as the Upper School Chorus to collaborate on "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. Both pieces came off beautifully, with a solid foundation provided by drums and bass as keyboards and/or guitars wove together to create harmonies and support both instrumental solos and strong, confident vocals.
Back in Bonnie's House this January, the group voted to take on "The Only Exception" by Paramore as their next project, but felt they were getting into a soft rock/pop rut. So in the most recent rehearsal, we went to the Mac lab and pulled up rock videos on YouTube. Unanimously, they voted to take on U2's "Vertigo" as well; this will be more than a little change of pace. They will be performing both songs in February. The concert will take place on a Friday night, and when the date is confirmed, we will let you know.
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7th Grade STEM Classes |
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Happy New Year! Before we broke for vacation, we took the 7th graders to the Botanical Garden at Smith College. They had a great time exploring the interesting plants and different ecosystems of the greenhouse.
We ended science class on a positive genetic engineering note when the students had to use their knowledge to create and present the perfect zoo or pet animal. We discussed the more controversial side to genetic engineering like genetically modified organisms (GMOs) when we returned from break. Now we are jumping into evolution and the evidence for evolution including classification and fossils.
In math, we are tackling fractions and learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide them. Our main focus has been becoming more comfortable with fractions and mixed numbers so they do not look so scary when we encounter them in the real world. Next up is mean, median, and mode calculations which we have just introduced in a lesson on survival of the fittest in Life Science. - Brittany Gutermuth
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Vocal Music |
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After a great performance at the winter concert, the Vocal Music and Select groups are in the process of choosing new music for the spring. I like to give students a voice in choosing what they sing, so we use a democratic process in class to generate ideas for some of our repertoire.
First, the students create a big list of songs they'd like to sing, which usually covers quite a range of styles and tastes. Then we vote to see what songs are the most popular. Once the list is whittled down to ten or so, I take a look at it from an arranger's standpoint to decide which song will best translate to choral music. This ensures that the students have a say, but also that I as the director have some control over what's appropriate for the group.
Popular music is a great way to keep things relevant for the students, but it's not the only thing we do. If I were to let the students choose ALL the music we sing, they'd never discover anything new (and I wouldn't be a very good teacher.) So I choose the rest of our music from the classical/spiritual/broadway choral traditions to supplement the pop songs. The result is a diverse selection of songs which you'll hear at our final concert if you're able to come! - Tony Lechner
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French II |
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The French II class is wrapping up work on Unit 3, which has focused primarily on food, drink, partitive articles, and related verb forms. They have shown that they can focus in on very specific details such as distinguishing which article to use in different circumstances, and can also think more globally and bring a lively creativity to skits such as "The Incompetent Waitress." They have also been learning about Francophone culture. They ate "galette des rois" (King Cake) on January 6, though no one found the "feve" even though the eighth graders all had two pieces. They also learned about Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, who was first introduced to many Americans through the melody in Wolof he added at the end of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," who is a pioneer of the Senegalese style known as mbalax, and who has announced he is running for president of his country. |
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Humanities 7 |
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Humanities 7 began 2012 by continuing work on their Theatre unit, viewing "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" by Nia Vardalos and discussing the development of themes and characters as well as the concept of the inciting event. Meanwhile, we continued reading If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson as a morning reading book that relates to "Romeo and Juliet." In the end, the students noticed, all three works dealt with the difficulties faced by people in love presented by the families and cultures that surround them - the family feud in "Romeo and Juliet," the clash between Greek and "xeno" culture in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and the disapproval shown toward interracial couples in If You Come Softly.
The class asked if the international 7th graders could join them in writing the original plays they will produce in the spring Theatre 7 class, and the ESL teacher, Minhee, has agreed to this request. The entire 7th grade, all 16 of them, will begin writing their plays on Monday, Jan. 23 in three groups. The class set "modernized versions of old stories" as a unifying theme for all three plays. They also voted Just Ella as the next morning reading book. It picks up the Cinderella story shortly after the prince fits the glass slipper on Ella's foot. As the students noted, though the book is set in an uncertain era, the self-sufficiency and resistance to convention of the protagonist give it very much a "modern retelling" feel.
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Life Skills |
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There are several different parts to the newly-formed "Life Skills" class. On Mondays, school counselor Ellen Carter meets with the students to work on their stated goals of stress management and having topic-oriented discussions. They have done some yoga and also began watching a film on gestation and childbirth. On certain Fridays, Mike Phelps, Director of Dining Services, has agreed to teach the students about baking bread and pies. He will also be discussing nutrition and making good choices. On other Fridays and all Wednesdays, the students will be working on projects on a variety of self-selected topics from the parent- and student-generated list of possibilities. Some groups will do additional cooking while others work on time management, dealing with death and loss, dealing with people you don't like, and managing friendships. Thursdays are a heavy homework day with somewhat less time for some students to get homework done during the school day, so at student request, study hall time is the priority on that day. Public speaking and time management were generally high priorities with
many students, so each group is also involved in learning long-term
planning skills as well as preparing to make an oral presentation to
classmates. It is fun to watch the students come in and sit right down in their groups and get to work; they seem engaged and happy. The projects are only in their very early stages but already show promising signs. |
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Quebec Trip |
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Please click on "click here for itinerary and inclusions" to see the Final Itinerary, packing list and behavior guidelines. If you have any questions, please ask Miriam. Bon voyage!
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MOCA |
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MOCA held their second, and last, election of the year in order to select 7th and 8th grade representatives to Student Council. Following strong speeches by all candidates who spoke (speeches were not required), a close election resulted in Clara S. and Victoria S.K. being reelected for the remainder of the year. Clara and Victoria shared news from the latest meeting of a presentation by United Way, and solicited ideas on a proposal to make Spearth Day (a day off from spring classes for service and fun) centered on raising money for the United Way and visiting and volunteering for organizations funded by the United Way. They also reported back on what each grade thought of different proposals on changing how it is decided which student gives a speech at graduation (traditionally it has been the valedictorian). |
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