Closing Out 2017

Before we forge ahead into 2018, let's take a look at what I didn't highlight from the fall.  I don't always have time or space to showcase it all and I still won't be able to in this post. But here goes!

My favorite activity this fall was part of 4B's fall project which focused on The Sound of Philadelphia and making music.  4Bers all learned to use Adobe Illustrator to design a custom record - applying so much amazing math like adding/subtracting decimals, concentric circles, and alignment.  The designs were immediately fabricated using our laser cutter.  The rest of this cool multi-disciplinary project included poetry writing for song lyrics and artistic design of the album covers.  They are displayed in the hall outside of 4B so check them out if you're in the building.

4A came in for their annual lemonade making.  That little lemon tree lives happily in Ms. McBee's classroom all year yielding just enough beautiful juicy lemons to squeeze into the ultimate refreshing drink.  The smell was amazing.  You'll have to trust me.

4A focused on puppetry for their fall project with visits from an actual puppeteer who led the students in several amazing workshops in the Design Studio.  In their classroom, they researched famous puppets in history, writing informative and detailed reports.  They also practiced the art of giving feedback to each other in their study.  Check out these fantastic reports hanging outside their classroom. 

Both fourth grades used a combination of science and art class in the Fabrication and Design Studios.  Each student researched a specific bird as part of a larger study in science class.  They learned about the differing types of beak shapes and their purposes.  Ms. Parris and Teacher Tiffany joined forces to help students construct cardboard and paper mache beaks.  Fun and function!

Nursery B visited in small groups to make homemade soaps for gift giving before the holidays. Teacher Tuesday help guided her students in forming some great predictions about the science behind their process.

3B explored Dash & Dot robots during Hour of Code.  They learned how to use block programming to navigate and write codes to help their robots interact with the world around them.  

All Lower School classrooms participated in this year's Hour of Code in a various ways.  Some classes went high tech using software, iPad apps, and robots while other classes focused on low tech ways, like patterning, sequencing, or direction-giving, that coding is a part of our everyday life.

A special thanks to Sue Kirk, Technology Integration Specialist, for planning this coding celebration in our Lower School.  She even had wonderful little details like coding fun facts on lunch tables and personalized certificates for completing the hour.

KB used the sound-proof recording room in the Media & Computing Studio to record their voices for the culminating fall project video chronically all the ways they explored the Arts.  They really learned that art can be almost anything!  While they were there, they used the space to make quick stop-motion videos, program some BeeBots, and build with LEGOs.

Onward to 2018 - a year that's sure to bring many more Maker Ed projects in our Lower School.  My gratitude to all these amazing kids and their dedicated teachers.  I am lucky to be able to showcase their hard work and creativity.