ISSUE 3
MARCH 2021
Noteworthy Review Highlights from our Weekly Newsletter
In This Issue 1st Grade Zoo Reports Continuous Coil Mixed Media Project 3rd Grade Sap Boiling Lessons from Lower School
1st Grade Zoo Reports The Friday before Spring Break was a ZOO in 1st Grade... literally! After weeks of researching their animals, writing their reports, crafting their appropriate habitats out of recycled materials, and sculpting the animals, the 1st graders presented their projects to students and faculty at the 1st Grade Zoo. From zebras and tigers to pandas and dolphins, both in-person and virtual students rattled off facts about their animals and their environments. Everyone in 1st Grade should be so proud of all their hard work!
Musica Maestro! 8th Grade Multi-Genre Research Project Lower School Shares the Love Ilevame a Casa Sticker Stories Dr. Michael Thompson Mindfulness: Learning about Body Systems Buckingham Friends School p. 215-794-7491 www.bfs.org 5684 York Road Lahaska, PA 18931
01
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
Continuous Coil Mixed Media Project 5th Graders are finishing up their continuous coil mixed media projects in Art. Students started by creating a continuous line drawing, which they then used those as inspiration for continuous coils of clay. The students are now working on background paintings, which will be connected both physically and visually with the clay. Says Art Teacher Kris Sinisi, "I love this project because it's purposefully open-ended. It allows the students to follow their own creative inspirations - be it from literature, art, real life, landscapes. Their personalities get to really shine through."
02
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
3rd Grade Sap Boiling Mr. Haupert's long-running tradition of tapping the sugar maples and making maple syrup with the students continues! Over the course of two weeks, the third graders made the daily trek out to the Buckingham Friends Meeting cemetery to measure and collect the sap. Using their math skills to calculate the volume of sap, the students had to determine which tree yielded the most sap each day. As a culmination of the project, Mr. Haupert and the kids enjoyed a bonfire and day outside boiling down the sap. It took 5 gallons of sap to make a cup and a half of delicious maple syrup. The kids undoubtedly have a newfound appreciation of what goes into that delicious pancake topping now!
03
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
Lessons from Lower School Lower School was abuzz with activity! Kindergarten had a special visit from Skippy the Skip Counting Alien who helped them perfect their skip counting by 2s, 5s, & 10s. The students created their very own Skippy and showed off their mastery of skip counting. Meanwhile, Second Graders learned about copy editing. Dr. R taught the students about shorthand editing techniques as well as the quality of work that goes into a final printed copy. Hint: take your time and make sure to work in pencil! 1st Graders have been working on writing fairy tales and started work on their cover pages. We look forward to reading such magical tales of "The Missing Wand," "Sam and the Twirling Ghost," "The Talking Bobby," and many more. All of them are sure to be instant classics!
Musica Maestro! "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." - Plato Mr. Cox had his hands full this winter! With the colder weather and COVID restrictions prohibiting singing indoors, Mr. Cox had to get creative! From signing songs and learning percussion-based instrumental instruction to units on composers and various musical genres, Mr. Cox filled the students with knowledge and melodies. Now that the warmer weather has returned, Mr. Cox has moved many of his classes outdoors. This week alone 1st Grade could be heard singing on the grass lawn and 3rd Grade was heard echoing their recorder tunes amongst the trees. It's truly joyous to hear BFS come alive with the musical melodies of the children again!
04
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
8th Grade English: Multi-Genre Research Project "A multi-genre paper arises from research, experience, and imagination. ...Each piece is self-contained, making a point of its own, yet connected by theme or topic and sometimes by language, images, and content. The trick is to make such a paper hang together" (Romano, Blending Genre, Altering Style i-xi) When 8th Grade English Teacher Kara Shaw assigned the multigenre research project, she knew she was asking the students to bring their A-game. A multi-genre research paper is a nontraditional paper using different genres and mediums to explore topics by presenting different perspectives. This particulate project is focused on policies, programs, and institutional practices and their effect on equality and equity among different groups of people. Says Shaw, "This is a high school level project. I don't do it every year, but I knew this class could rise to the occasion." And right she was! With topics ranging from maternal mortality, police brutality, urban housing segregation, the impact of income tax rates on varying economic brackets, and the Black Lives Matter movement, the final paper will contain four parts: an expository essay on their topic of choice and three multi-genre pieces that will be narrative, argumentative, and informative. Some examples of the multi-genre pieces are infographics, another essay with a different angle on the topic, or even a public service announcement video. The 8th Graders are now at the mid-way point in their project and will spend the next few weeks finishing their projects before presenting them to the class. Says Shaw, "I love this project because it challenges students to think, create, and be heard! I'm so proud of how they've all grown as writers already."
05
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
Lower School Shares the Love with a Valentine's Day Community Service Project Lower School took Valentine's Day to heart by showering those in need with a little extra love this year. Led by Kindergarten CoTeacher Stephanie Ftouh, the Lower School students crafted Valentine's Day cards for each of the 112 senior citizens living in a low-income housing residence in Philadelphia. The valentines were then distributed by HACE, an organization that builds just and equitable neighborhoods for residents and small businesses of Eastern North Philadelphia and has helped create a supportive community for frail seniors. Lower School teachers explained to students that one of the most serious problems many of the residents in the building face is loneliness. By sending a Valentine, the students could send a bit of love and hopefully brighten their day. Great job Lower Schoolers!
Ilevame a Casa: 7th Grade Spanish The 7th Graders in Señora Rodriguez's Spanish class were challenged to get creative! After watching a clip from the movie, "Ilevame a Casa" ("Take Me Home"), the students crafted their own stories about a child and a dog using the verb "to be" (ser and estar). From PowerPoint presentations to fully illustrated comic strips, the students gave oral presentations of their original stories to the entire class. ¡Bien hecho a todos!
06
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
Sticker Stories Choose a sticker, ANY sticker. What does it make you think of? Now, quick... don't over think it.... WRITE! This was the task 2nd graders were given during a creative writing workshop with Dr. Rostine. From one simple little sticker, the pages filled with stories! Some were about daring adventures and others were heartwarming tales, but all of them were beautiful examples of what you can do with a little dash of creativity!
Dr. Michael Thompson Met with Faculty Continuing with BFS's commitment to self-care and personal development, Dr. Michael Thompson met with our faculty recently to discuss teaching in a pandemic, in particular how to sustain momentum and maintain morale. Dr. Thompson, who graciously met with faculty and parents last spring, is a talented and experienced school psychologist and an accomplished author and speaker with a special balance of wisdom, skills, empathy, and understanding. In what was a moving faculty meeting, teachers were able to share concerns (both during the past few months and also current), discuss what they admired about one another, and focus on how to "refill their well" in order to maintain momentum. Thank you, Dr. Thompson, for this heartfelt discussion!
07
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
Mindfulness: Learning About Body Systems As part of Mrs. Fox's Mindfulness curriculum, 5th Graders have been learning about the interconnectedness of the human body systems. Breaking up into small research groups, the students chose a body system to study, learned how it works with the other body systems, and compared the human system to that of an animal of their choice. Both in-person and virtual students presented their research last week with slide shows and posters that featured animals such as cats, caterpillars, turtles, and more. The class was surprised to learn about all the similarities between humans and animals, particularly other mammals!
08
NOTEWORTHY REVIEW | ISSUE 3
