2018 Culminations Celebrate Learning
“We challenge students with real and interesting problems to solve, and through these they are continually practicing the skills that will allow them to be deep thinkers and to make change in the world when they leave Nueva. Culminations allow students to showcase this learning in a real way, making the learning visible to the larger community, and providing a venue to express the interdisciplinary work that happens at Nueva.” —
Middle School Head Liza Raynal
PreK On Culmination Night, PreK performed dances from their ODC class and recited poetry for their families in the ballroom. Afterwards, families rotated through six stations illustrating the students’ study of the human body.
PreK
The six human body stations covered the digestive system, human growth and development, cells, skin, bones, and the sense of touch (a study of Braille).
Students shared their learning through many hands-on activities they created.
PreK
Kindergarten The Kindergarten projects demonstrated the students’ love of nature, use of Structured Word Inquiry, and understanding of widespread humanitarian causes, like water consumption and world hunger. They tackled these complex issues with grace, open-hearted compassion, and a profound desire to help others. Kindergarten
“We love you in this world!” — Kindergarten student
Kindergarten
“The night was kind of a cloud of excitement with sharing things!” — First-grade student, reflecting on culmination
Grade 1
Grade 1 First-grade students opened culmination night with a group dance performance in the Ballroom. They showed their parents the SEL toolboxes they assembled in art class and the multistep calculations they used to create miniature rooftop gardens. Grade 1
Grade 2 On culmination night, the Hillsborough Café came alive with the artifacts that commemorate the second grader’s year-long lessons and Nueva’s life-long traditions. Second graders presented cooperative board games and Scratch video games. The games were made to be played and shared with the first graders, and served to strengthen the students’ SEL skills. Students also explored their roots. Second graders learned about immigration and created dioramas that depicted the immigrant journey of a family member or friend. Many of the projects were dedicated to loved ones, and the captions were sophisticated and heartfelt.
“I dedicate my diorama to my grandfather, Gong Gong. I appreciate Gong Gong for always being with me all the time.” — Second-grade student Grade 2
“Every year at this time, I am filled with memories of my own childhood, the ending of another school year, the excitement of moving forward, and the hopes for summer.” — Lisa Hinshelwood Lower School SEL Teacher
Grade 2
Grade 3 Passion Project presentations filled the Library at third-grade culmination night, showcasing student learning over the last semester of the year. Authentic learning at its best, these projects offer a complexity that enables students to demonstrate creativity, higher-level thinking skills, and multiple intelligences. Each student selected a topic of interest, and, guided by focus questions, completed research. They then applied what they learned to create something new.
Grade 3
Mo C. studied roller coaster design and safety, and then created both a virtual model and a physical model using the principles he’d learned.
Hana J. capitalized on her passion for designing and sewing by learning the history of handbags and making one of her own.
Grade 3
Amalia C. took her joy of drawing flowers to new levels, studying the flower drawings of different cultures and creating her own illustrations.
Callum S. investigated football player safety, and used what he learned to imagine and build a helmet prototype.
Grade 3
Grade 4 The I-Lab was filled with creations as students presented their LED lamps and their Ancient Structures.
In a comprehensive, 16-week Design Thinking project, students brought light into the life of a family member by creating a LED lamp specially crafted to meet the needs of their loved one. Grade 4
Connecting their STEM class with their year-long “Path of the Hero� theme, students used scale modeling to recreate ancient structures using only toothpicks and wood glue. Examples of their creations include the Chichen Itza, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramid of Giza, and the Temple of Artemis.
Grade 4
The evening ended with a Nueva tradition: a full-length, completely student-created fourth-grade play, Hera's Worst Nightmare: The Story of Heracles. With the thematic study of “The Path of the Hero� as backdrop, students chose the story, researched it, wrote and edited the script, composed the lyrics and music, created choreography, made costumes and props, and ran the lights and sound. They did it all!
Grade 4
Grade 5 After a light dinner on the J Plaza, fifth-grade music performances kicked off an evening of expression and celebration. Families moved in rotations through the LS Art Room, I-Lab, and J-Building classrooms to witness student projects across their rich curriculum.
Grade 5
Interdisciplinary project work on display included: Animals: Studies in creation myths (Humanities), proportion (Math), evolutionary history and ecology (Science and Writing), and drawings and wire sculpture (Art and Writing). Native Americans: Artifacts studies (Humanities), Native American research (Writing), Crow Canyon trip guide books (fifth grade Pueblo Time), chalk pastel drawings of Native American foods (Pueblo Time), and reflections on the Chocktaw novel How I Became a Ghost.
Students also shared their Pueblo Dwellings (Design Engineering class) and Invent Your Own Math Problem with their families.
Grade 5
Many pieces of work, including landscape watercolors inspired by the work of Georgia O’Keefe, were part of their deep study of the history of the Southwest, which culminated in the students’ trip to Crow Canyon in May.
Grade 5
Grade 6 The middle school campus was bathed in sunlight as sixth graders shared their work of the past semester. On display in the Library were each student’s writing, including historical fiction, poetry, passion projects, and their Washington, DC, guidebooks. These pieces showed the range of their work and the depth of their experiences. Historical figures in clay relief were also on display, connecting art to their historical fiction.
Grade 6
The display of monument drawings illustrated their close observations of our nation’s existing structures observed while on their Washington, DC, trip. Each student drew a monument honoring a person special to them.
Grade 6
With support from faculty, “clients� from all over the world were interviewed, giving students the opportunity to design for a real user. Grade 6
In the CafĂŠ, students presented their Sustainable Living Projects, which incorporated studies in science, math, Design Thinking, art, and world languages. The challenge: to design and build a prototype of an affordable house meeting the needs a real client family living in the country of their language study.
Grade 7 Two evenings of student performances showcased the seventh-grade Drama Conservatory: Henry V, Part I; Henry V, Part II; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Sense and Sensibility; and Improv. These evenings celebrated the students’ work with professional directors and actors, which began in February.
Grade 7
Nueva’s unique Drama Conservatory provides deep study of the literature, character development, performance, and collaboration so essential to theater productions, while enabling students to discover strengths within themselves that transcend traditional academics.
Grade 7
“At the beginning of the semester, I honestly dreaded the thought of Shakespeare. After all, who would enjoy memorizing ridiculously long passages of flowery language? However, the drama unit helped me to see these plays from a new perspective and through performing these plays I was able to gain a new appreciation for not just Shakespeare but for all of theater.” — Cate W., Henry V in Henry V Pt. II
Grade 7
“Our group felt very connected to one another, which really matters in Improv. The more connected, the better the performance. You don’t feel self-conscious. I grew personally, learning to think faster and listen carefully to catch the comedic offerings of my classmates.” — Winston L., Improv Performer