Middle School Maker Club
The STRATEGIC VISION for Penn Charter is organized around SIX GOALS, each with a set of strategies.
GOAL 1: QUAKERISM GOAL 2: PROGRAM GOAL 3: TEACHING GOAL 4: TIME
Reimagine the use of time.
GOAL 5: SPACE GOAL 6: FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Educating Students to Live Lives that Make a Difference
MIDDLE SCHOOL CLUBS: FINDING WHAT LIGHTS THE FIRE Students can experience extraordinary and deep learning when they are passionate about the subject. Many students shine in the classroom, finding connections to the material that inspires them to soar. Others, while strong students, might still be seeking what lights their academic fire. Middle School affords an opportunity for exploration and leadership through clubs, and has been intentional about carving time into the school day specifically for clubs. Students pursue interests as varied as comics, jazz band, rock climbing, Junior Model UN and math. “The goal is that clubs are student-centered and student-driven,” said Assistant Director of Middle School Allen Vandegrift. They are a safe space for students to pursue interests and passions untethered to any academic assessment, and students are among peers interested in similar things. The classroom of Charlie Brown Hon. 1689 is abuzz with games strewn on desks, a guitar in the corner. “Avi came to me about starting a guitar club,” said Brown, advisor for both Guitar Club and Games Club. A couple of times a week, Avi Mondgock and others interested in playing the guitar gather in Balderston Commons to learn new songs. Avi comes to each session with sheet music and a plan. “I’m learning how to play in a group,” said the eighth-grader and accomplished guitarist, who led the club through several runs of the Eagles hit “Hotel California.” “It has helped my technique.” In Maker Club, students are working on an entry into the Future City Competition, this year focusing on imagining and building a no-waste city. Science teacher Susan Chan-Peter advises the club, which is growing by word of mouth. Adopting a project-based learning model, students have designed and begun to build a small model of a no-waste city, complete with an organic farm and solar panels. “Someone will code, someone will build, someone will write the essay,” explained seventh-grader Anna Larrabee. “It just depends on what you’re interested in doing.” Collaboration, project-based learning and time to ignite student passion are key components of Penn Charter’s Strategic Vision goals, set 10 years ago but still enhancing the student experience today. PC
