Avalanche Class

Avalanche class


SNOWPACK: 


Students learned how to assess the stability of the snowpack by digging snow pits and looking at the snow layers.

                                             TERRAIN: 

Students learned how to assess avalanche terrain and how to travel safely in the backcountry. 

RESCUE SCENARIOS:

Students were able to practice rescue training using their beacon, shovel, and probe! 

WEATHER and DECISION MAKING: 

Students learned how to manage challenging weather in the backcountry and have fun! 

Science, Science Everywhere!

In the winter, the 8th grade Science curriculum is divided into a few different units. The first month of the term is spent studying human sexuality and genetics. Students learn about reproductive anatomy and physiology, reviewing internal and external human anatomy and the processes involved with human reproduction. Students also learn a number of gender and sexuality terms to better understand the variety of human experiences and we had a visit from the educational representative through Planned Parenthood last Friday. She taught the students about the three different general types of sexually transmitted diseases (bacterial, viral, and parasitic) as well as discussing methods of birth control and STD prevention. Students had the opportunity to practice proper condom application using wooden models and asked some great questions about healthy sexuality.

Students also learned about the science of genetics through two labs. First, they learned about reproduction on a molecular level, diving into the structure of DNA and the human genome. Students learned about how DNA makes up chromosomes and the history of human genome mapping, which enables us to place certain traits on specific chromosomes. Students explored how reproductive genetics affects the expression of traits through dominant and recessive genes, and mapped out their own traits, matching chromosomes with traits and assessing the probability of trait expression. In the second lab, students created Punnet Squares to explore the probability of inherited traits with different situations of dominance and recession. We also matched the class's expressed traits with the probability of those traits appearing in the general population.

In mid-January, we shifted our focus in Science to the Avalanche Unit, which incorporates physics, chemistry, psychology, and geology (among other scientific disciplines) to help students understand how to travel safely in the snowy backcountry. Thus far, students have learned about the triangle of snowpack, weather, and terrain that we humans venture into when we explore our backyard. We've learned about how snowpacks are a "horizontal representation of the winter's snow and weather," and had the chance to create simulated snowpack in the lab using various edible products to represent different types of snow: brown sugar as a wind crust, white flour as new snow or slab, white sugar as facets, and potato flakes as surface or buried surface hoar. Students then applied angles and triggers to their simulated snowpacks to see how the layers interact under pressure to eventually slide down a variety of surfaces. Yesterday, we dove into the chemistry of snow, learning about how snow metamorphizes over time and with various pressures like wind and sun. Fun fact: When snowflakes are falling from the sky, they are referred to as snowflakes, but once they hit something (the ground or another surface), scientists called them "snow crystals" or "snow grains."

    

The big focus now is preparing for next week's backcountry ski trip. During this trip, students will continue their exploration of snow science, learning how to dig snow pits and conduct field tests to assess the snow's stability. Students will also embark on a study of the mind as they learn about the heuristic traps that we can fall into when we are making choices about safe travel. With rapid warming predicted this weekend, followed by a relative plummet in temperatures next week, we will surely see some interesting snow chemistry in action!

8th Grade Spanish Happenings

8th Grade Spanish

Tik Tok video we made in the fall when we were talking about Tik Tok dances the students liked. (Sorry it's sideways! My video editing skills are low) 

Our Day of the Dead Altar

Students playing a vocabulary game in the core structure of the class: the Circle

Fall vocabulary about the Food Unit: health good, junk food, spend, global warming, employees, they grow, to name a few.... 

Asher, Campbell and Sebastian (Jesús, Pedro y Nacho) acting out a favorite scene from a holiday movie. 

Words about all kinds of superstitions we have when we got on the topic of good luck and bad luck after eating 12 grapes in 12 seconds (good luck in many Spanish speaking countries at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve)

Walker deciding that this was the most comfortable way to write. 

Students trying out the tradition of eating 12 grapes in 12 seconds. Turns out, it's really hard, and maybe even a little bit dangerous. 

In Spanish, communication and proficiency are the goals. Students are moving deeper into the Novice High and even Intermediate Low level, aiming to produce complete sentences most of the time. We work on Interpretive (reading and listening), Interpersonal (speaking and interacting spontaneously on unrehearsed topics), and Presentational (presenting, convincing, give your opinion) skills every week. The curriculum comes from them and their interests, and as you can see from some of the snapshots below, our vocabulary lists are truly organic. What ends up on the board are the words students can't say when they're trying to talk or write about a topic and they get stuck. As conversations evolve each day, students are faced with the task of communicating about unexpected topics: a night on an outdoor trip when the boys tried to scare the girls, a scene from the show Wildkratz, or how they spend Christmas day (we still can't believe Carter can wait a whole day to finish opening all his presents).  

This fall we dove into the 8th grade Food Unit by talking about their trip to the Tetons, what they did there, and the impact that food has on our planet. They watched a movie called Landfillharmonic about a student orchestra in Paraguay in which students play on instruments made from recycled materials from the landfill where their parents work. 

Students studied maps of the Spanish speaking world and all were able to reach 100% accuracy on seterra.com. We made a Día de los Muertos altar and honored loved ones who had passed, and we studied the tradition of Three Kings' Day in the Spanish speaking world and compared it to Christmas. One day we ended up making a TikTok video (see below) when we were talking about what made up their personal sense of culture. 

Most recently, Gaston Zuain has joined Calysta as an intern from the Teacher Training Academy. He is both observing and teaching parts of class and bringing his unique perspective having been born and raised in Argentina. He's a wonderful asset to the class, and the kids love his Argentinian accent (y's, ll's and j's sound like "sh")

 Students have been talking about superstitions they have and why they believe them. We have recently been comparing the differences between the Upper School and Middle School based on their visit day to the Upper School. Most students decided they think the Upper School is better, and one student shouted out, "¡He terminado con la escuela media!" ("I'm finished with Middle School!") 

In the eighth grade French classroom, communication is the goal. The eighth grade French students consistently bring a wide variety of topics, opinions, and stories to class. Through interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational activities, students practice their speaking, listening, comprehension, reading, and writing. They can create skits, drawings, stories, presentations, questions, and games with any topic. Every day is an adventure with their great sense of humor and enthusiasm for fun. This is a class full of curious, creative, and imaginative students. Yay!


In the fall, we talked about our diets, the food pyramid, and healthy and unhealthy food. We compared diets of different countries. Students wrote and spoke about what they should and shouldn't eat in their diet. This segued into what teens should and shouldn't have, such as tattoos and piercings. In the photo, the class shows off the tattoo they might get.





Mère Noël visited class before winter break. Students practiced asking her questions and listening and writing her answers. Apparently, she doesn't ski much, but she likes to go sledding.

Beverly Roberson (SVCS former parent) visits class once a month and has wonderful conversations with the students. Her daughter, Hannah Conn (SVCS alumna), visited today and we talked about routines and daily activities. We also discussed whether you should or shouldn't go to bed late on the weekends and sleep until afternoon!

Not only can these students create improv skits with vocabulary, speak with visitors, and give their opinions, they can even speak ONLY in FRENCH to kindergarten age children. These students were amazing when they worked with kindergarten students building marble courses. The eighth graders spoke French with the kindergartens, encouraged them with words, and worked with them to build their creations. It was really a true community building experience. Bravo!

Happy Holidays from the 8th Grade Classroom!

Happy Holidays from the 8th Grade Classroom

8th graders singing at the K-12 Holiday Singalong

Thank you to Calysta Phillips for organizing the Advocates Holiday Gift Program!  The 8th graders organized by

advisory to purchase a gift or gifts for local residents through The Advocates organization.  The Advocates

provide safety and services for people affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking in Blaine County

and surrounding areas.  Visit The Advocates website for more information about this amazing organization. 

Students have begun researching the background and history of their 8th grade project topics.  After a lesson on the

Dewey Decimal system, Naomi led the students on a field trip to the Community Library.  Students had to find

and check out books related to their topic. (Please help them return these books to the Community Library on time!)

Back at school students have begun to formulate their outlines and dig into their resources by taking notes and

tracking work cited.  In addition, students are learning to carefully evaluate the reliability of website resources. 

To help students gain first-hand information about their topic and give them access to first hand experiences early in their process, they are required to interview a professional in a field related to their topic by January 9th.  Some students are still working on making a connection with an adult in their topic area. Click here for a list of student topics.  Please email Reggie or Naomi if you are or know an expert in one of these fields and would be willing to have a student contact you.

In Math, we have been problem-solving with ratios and proportional relationships. Students have practiced finding unit rates to determine the best deals at the grocery store, the carnival, and the gym. Please ask them if you are unsure which sale price is best! In addition, we looked at architecture plans to estimate the costs of tiling a kitchen floor. Students were surprised to find out that, based on Disney's assertion that Olaf is 5'4'', Elsa is actually 9'9"! This week we began with virtual holiday shopping in which students used percents to calculate th sale price of items. Lastly, we investigated a percent change including different percept population increases in Blaine County, decreases to available moose tags, the potential impact of the Epic Pass, and how a math rap can really help you remember an important math process.

In Writing, we are continuing to work on gathering information and "research" about our own identities as we work

with the We Are America program to explore what identity means to us. We will start to work on our final We Are

America submissions for our book in January.

A few housekeeping items: 

• Don't forget to check our weekly schedule document if you want to know what your child is doing day-to-day in school.
• We have officially started the Winter Schedule! This means that Tuesday through Friday, MS and US students are dismissed at 1:30pm. We do offer a variety of after-school clubs that run from 1:30-2:30, so make sure to check those out (Sam sent an email about them a couple of weeks ago) if the early  dismissal does not work for your family.
• 
  

On Friday morning students participated in the annual K-12 Community School sing-a-long. It was a fun way to welcome the holidays and winter break. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year. As many of the students have noted, this is the last blog post of the decade! See you in 2020!

Locker clean out!

More locker clean out

Performing at the K-12 Sing-along

Secondly, we have officially started the winter

x

NEXT UP in the ARTROOM

IN THE ART ROOM... WE JUST COMPLETED our unit, How to CAPTURE THE FALL? 

The Art, 

The Reflection,  

The Critique: 

ALL DONE!!!

WHAT'S NEXT? 

        IDENTITY THROUGH OBSERVATION AND EXPRESSION

WHO AM I?

Branching off of the "We Are America" project with Naomi, in the art room students will investigate how their IDENTITY has been shaped through memories. Our starting point will be a nostalgic, personal photo of a moment in time when a specific aspect of their Identity was formed...the search begins.                                      

To stretch and explore the possibilities and potential we spent the week researching artists who use Identity to shape their art.

HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH AN 8th GRADER... WHO IS THIS MAN? 

HOW DOES HIS IDENTITY SHAPE HIS ART?

Discuss a time when you fell short...experienced pressure to be something you were not...

Want more? CHECK OUT THESE ARTISTS:

YaYoi Kusama          Kehinde Wiley

T.S. Abe          Jung Lee

December Update from the 8th Grade Classroom

Welcome to the Winter Term! The weather outside is cooperating with our seasonal shift, and we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving week with plenty of family time, relaxation, and maybe even a little skiing!

Because this is a new term and we have a number of exciting projects going on, this is going to be a long blog post. Two highlights that you don't want to miss:

1. Students are starting to work on their 8th Grade Projects. We are looking for professionals in various fields who would be willing to speak with an 8th grader in the next three weeks about their experience and help them brainstorm ideas for hands-on opportunities related to their topics. Click here for a list of student topics, and please email me if you are or know an expert in one of these fields and would be willing to have a student contact you.
2. We are also starting work on the National We Are America project. Stay tuned for more information about the project through the course of the term, and check out the The National We Are America Project website for information. We are really excited to be a part of this.

A few housekeeping items: 

• Firstly, we wanted to re-share our weekly schedule document. We use this daily, and it's a great resource if you want to know what your child is doing each day in school. 
• Secondly, we have officially started the winter schedule! This means that on Tuesday through Friday, middle school and upper school students are dismissed at 1:30. We do offer a variety of after-school clubs that run from 1:30-2:30, so make sure to check those out (Sam sent an email about them a couple of weeks ago) if the early dismissal does not work for your family. 
• Finally, we welcomed new/returning 8th grader Sacha Stern-pre back to school the week before Thanksgiving. He spent the fall term in France, and we are excited that he's back!

We finished up our Food Unit at the end of the fall term. Students shared their learning through a number of final projects that they presented to the 6th and 7th graders during lunch on Friday, Nov. 22. They created everything from a satirical newscast that explored different methods of farming to a side-by-side "cost" comparison of local versus organic or local versus conventional food.

Students work on final projects.

Students experimented with plant growth using modified soils.

   

Food writing requires a lot of eating!

Students peer review their personal food narratives.

December marks the beginning of the winter term and our Identity Unit, a unit that focuses on defining aspects of identity and personality formation. In addition to exploring a passion through 8th Grade Projects, our 8th grade class has been selected to participate in The National We Are America Project through the organization We Are America! We Are America’s goal as an organization is to help spark national conversation around American identity, led by the young and bright members of the current generation of students. After applying, Naomi and the SVCS 8th graders were one of 36 classes from 23 states across the country selected to participate! 

During this project, Naomi will work with students to plan, edit, and publish a book of student stories and recordings for the We Are America Project national website. These stories will center on student perspectives about and experiences with American identity and will be shared with families, with the school, and with our communities. The project consists of multiple lessons that will be taught during Writing and Humanities classes starting in this week and running through the end of the winter trimester, with a possibility of an extension of the project into the spring. For the national project, the school will receive copies of the printed book of stories to share with students and families. We are so excited about this opportunity, and will be sure to share more about the project in future blogs.

Before the break, we also introduced the 8th Grade Project, the long-term project that 8th graders will be working on throughout the winter term. The 8th Grade Project assignment can be viewed here, so please take a moment to read through the expectations with your child. We have also provided students with a general calendar of the term that they can refer to or make a copy of to organize their own time and work. This week, students will be working on proposals for their projects. Please talk to your child about his or her ideas! We are hopeful that all students will have their topics chosen by the beginning of next week. The final presentations of the projects are scheduled for the week of March 16-20, 2020. Yvonne will be in touch with you to schedule those presentations starting in February.

Here's where you can help: One of the requirements of this year's projects is a preliminary interview with an expert in the field each student is studying. We are hoping that by connecting with professionals, students will get ideas about how they can "live" their topics through hands-on experiences. Click here for a list of student topics, and please email me if you are or know an expert in one of these fields and would be willing to have a student contact you.

A final aspect of our Identity unit that began this week is our Human Sexuality class. As part of the Life Skills curriculum, students will learn about human anatomy and physiology, reproduction, sexuality, safe and healthy relationships. These classes will be taught primarily in single-gender groups by Naomi, Reggie, and Sam Herrick.

We are so excited to be jumping into a new term and new topics with this group! I will publish a list of topics in my next blog right before Winter Break, so check back then to see what 8th graders have chosen to study.

We Learned to Code Using Scratch!

Our main academic focus of study this trimester was learning Scratch. Invented by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Scratch is an online programming language that enables students to program interactive stories, games, and animations. Instead of typing code, Scratch uses visual blocks like puzzle pieces to create a program. Scratch is very similar to LEGO in that there are an endless number of ways to arrange the myriad blocks. Learning to code improves logical and critical thinking, as well as strengthening communication, in both verbal and written skills.

Composing Music for Video Games!

Composing Music for Video Games!

The fall term in 8th grade music was focused on creating and composing music. Students learned about a variety of styles of music and the elements that make up different genres. Most recently, we've explored the music of video games! Students chose a 30 second clip of a video game and were tasked with composing background music that illustrated what was happening in the game. For instance, if a character jumps, how can you show that with music? Will the notes go up? If someone is running, will the notes go faster? Students were asking fantastic questions such as "what instrument sounds like FIRE?" and exploring all the different ways they could tell their story through music. We used a program called NoteFlight that allows students to write music using whatever instruments their hearts desire, all through their laptops.

Below you'll find some snapshots of different musical compositions and a video example from an 8th grade student. Ask your child to show you his or her composition! They're very proud of their work.

Example of Compositions: 

Charlotte A Video Game Composition
Mia H Video Game Composition