Dear Parents,
February flew by with few flakes falling and young minds growing like Spring flowers. We ventured outside of our classroom a lot this Winter, expanding our schema and widening our perspective. We saw Charlottesville through professor's eyes, thanks to Gabriel Finder (Chloe and Hillel's dad), participated in a Rotunda Talk about the life of enslaved bell ringer Henry Martin, played "Catch the Baby" with visiting local artist Rosamond Casey, traveled to Montpelier as part of our Government class led by Coach Dave, celebrated school-wide friendships at our Valentine's Tea and presented our historical biographies during our Virginia Yearbook Festival. What a productive, academically enriching and fun-filled February it was!
During February we integrated Social Studies and Language Arts, focusing primarily on reading, researching and writing historical biographies. Each student chose and researched a prominent early American, wrote a biography in the first person and created and wore a costume while presenting their findings. The Kodiak Bears and Black Bears loved listening to the accomplishments of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Chief Powhatan, Patrick Henry etc. In addition to the biographies, the Spirit Bears enjoyed participating in skits about the events that lead up to the American Revolution. They eagerly acted out colonists on the verge of tumult, greedy King George and passionate Patrick Henry and John Adams. They empathized with the plight of the colonists and read accounts highlighting the many different perspectives and emotions involved with the conflict. We also watched 1776 in the MAC and were delighted by the musical rendition of the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
In Science, the Spirit Bears revisted the Water Cycle in order to move forward with Aquaculture. The middle-schoolers participated in a heated debate regarding the pros and cons of harvesting non-native organisms. We are looking at water as an energy source and investigationg the construction of dams, and defining their purpose. We will be visiting the south fork of the Rivanna, which is a water treatment plant and also has a hydro-electric pump. The children will be constructing their own dams and testing them to see which materials and designs hold up.
We look forward to Spring adventures to come!
Warmly,
Karin
