ACADEMICS
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t’s a vast expanse and a long journey from the Preschool 3s to being a senior in Upper School. Or is it? When it comes to the science curriculum at Brooklyn Friends School science is science, and although the topics change from year to year, and are of course age-appropriate, whether it is the children in the Yellow Room looking at a silk worm they found under a microscope, or the young men and women in 12th grade taking part in the monitoring of oysters in the Billion Oyster Project, BFS students stand at the forefront as young scientists. And they get started early. “We have had many conversations about Autumn and all of the changes that happen during this season,” said Head of Preschool Maura Eden about BFS’ 3-year-olds. “Our science table is chock full of all different kinds of acorns, tree branches, magnifying glasses, and books about trees and leaves. We added a bird’s nest on the science table.After observing some of the items on the table, one of the students asked what the bird’s nest was and where we got it from. That launched into a whole conversation about how birds build their nests.”
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explore the world of science by learning all about the weather, including learning how to read thermometers that measure temperatures, hot or cold. Students also worked on experiments where they made it “rain” in their classroom and didn’t even need umbrellas! Our fourth graders have been learning all about our brains, including the fact that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of our body. They learned that the brain is our body’s boss and that many messages are sent from the brain to the rest of the body.
Whether discussing nature and habitats, or cooking up some playdough in the kitchen, Brooklyn Friends’ Preschool students certainly get the most out of their science time. It’s the start of what will be years of informative science education the students will enjoy at BFS. Several flights upstairs, the younger Lower School students continue to
In the Middle School, students are experiencing a wide-variety of science topics. Fifth graders explore a general science course, with a focus on Life Science. Students complete hands-on projects, labs, and dissections exploring the difference between living and nonliving things and the evolutionary process. In the sixth grade, BFS students engage in a Physical Sciences course, which focuses on energy, matter, forces, motion, and the periodic table of elements. Students engage in authentic scientific practices and learn the seven crosscutting
