For many children, and their parents, Preschool is the first time they’ve ever been to school. To facilitate a smooth transition into school, St. Margaret’s Preschool hosted Visiting Day on Tuesday, September 7. Teachers visited the children in their homes last week, now the children and parents visited the teacher in their school home. When children are familiar with the fun activities that are available to them, inside and outside, it is easier to say those first goodbyes.

Click here to view photos from Ms. Penny Tacquard’s two-day class of three-year-olds and three-day class of four-year-olds.

Relationships and trust are built in the Preschool–even before school begins. Before the start of Preschool each school year, families welcome their child’s teacher into their home for a brief Home Visit. Home visits provide a chance for parents to get acquainted with their child’s teacher and the child and teacher to get to know each other, thereby creating the beginning of a year-long partnership. Pictures taken of the child’s family become part of a class book and pictures of the child with a pet or favorite book become conversation starters with classmates. Snapshots of the students end up in the child’s “cubbie” and helper charts so that when school begins, the child feels welcome in his/her new environment. It’s a win/win situation that starts the year off right. As Maxine Greene, professor at Columbia Teacher’s College in New York City said, “It may be that education can only take place when we are friends of each other’s minds.”

“Videoconferencing at St. Margaret’s has opened up our classrooms to the world,” said Library Director, Darla Magaña. “The difference between reading about the Holocaust in a textbook and talking to someone who liberated Jews from Dachau concentration camp is an incomparable learning difference. To stay true to our focus of educating global learners, we need to let our global society into our students’ learning. At this point, the easiest way to do that is through videoconferencing.”

Below is a list of videoconferences that students participated in throughout the 2009-2010 school year:

• Grade 9 world history students met with Marcela Gaviria, journalist, award-winning filmmaker and PBS documentarian, and students from other high schools, to discuss the challenges facing U.S. troops in the Middle East
• Grade 6 students met with an archaeologist in Israel
• Grade 5 students met with a Rabbi in Israel to discuss Jewish customs
• Physiology students watched a live knee replacement
• Physiology students watched an autopsy and then went back to the classroom to view tissue slides and ultimately assess the patient’s cause of death
• Grade 3 students had a visit by Laurie Keller, an award-winning author of the book “Do Unto Otters”
• Grade 4 and 5 reading club (BOB) students met award-winning author, Linda Urban who spoke about her book “A Crooked Kind of Perfect”
• Grade 5 students met with award-winning author, Andrew Clements, a very prolific and loved writer who talked about his writing process
• Grade 4 students visited with their penpal “buddies” in Texas to discuss hobbies and other things they had in common
• Grade 7 students interviewed Andrea White, author of their summer reading assignment, “Surviving Antarctica”
• Actors from St. Margaret’s fall performance, “Children of a Lesser God,” met with their sign language coach to practice their lines
• World history students met with a veteran of D-Day
• American history students had a discussion with the son of a man who walked with the Little Rock Nine on the first day of school
• World history students spoke with a soldier who liberated Dachau concentration camp
• Constitutional law students spoke with one of America’s most censored authors, Chris Crutcher;  each student read a different book by him, all of which have been banned somewhere in America

“We’re looking forward to another year of this amazing technology and what it can do to assist in the education of our students,” said Mrs. Magaña. “We hope to encourage our students to interact more and more with other learners throughout the world. I love that videoconferencing allows us to meet with experts and gain first-hand knowledge and collaboration beyond the walls of our classrooms.”

Mr. Leneau discussed why fitness is important, gave instructions on basic exercises like balancing techniques, push-ups, sit-ups, running patterns, and hurdle jumping, and allowed the students to share their athletics experiences including playing soccer, baseball and dance. Practicing and developing motor skills early in life sets children up for future success in athletics and learning, says Mr. Leneau.

“It’s never too early to introduce the importance of being active and living a healthy lifestyle,” said Mr. Leneau. “Research shows that exercise and healthy living leads to better performance in the classroom.”

Seventh-graders Tanner Diehl, Chase Flemming and Yuta Murata assisted Mr. Leneau in the class instructions. “The guys had the opportunity to serve as leaders and model the exercises for the younger students. They were great about encouraging the kids with positive reinforcement and it strengthened their own understanding of the material,” said Mr. Leneau. “We could tell the preschoolers really enjoyed the lesson and being with the ‘big kids’.”

“Shel Silverstein wrote his poems from the perspective of a child,” Mr. Wheeler explained. He added that many of the Upper School students would be performing for the first time. “They are a little nervous.” For more than half of the students, 70 percent had never done a play before, he said. The students performed in theater-in-the-round, designed to increase the fun and level of interaction between the performers and the audience.

The next 50 minutes contained kid-friendly poems brought to life by performers in colorful costumes who energetically acted out often-familiar scenes. Popular poems included “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not Take the Garbage Out,” “Boa Constrictor” and “Sister for Sale.” Shel Silverstein’s poems are short, humorous, and imaginative which is what drew the Upper School students to his work. Mr. Wheeler says, “We took the poems and started experimenting with them and performing them for one another. We took the poems that really ‘popped’, that worked, and we created a show out of them.”

Click here for photo gallery.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Director of the Arts Darcy Rice says that the Theater 1 performance for Lower School students has a double purpose. “This performance provides a really great experience for the older kids. They might not perform in a drama again for the rest of their lives, but they will remember this experience. The performance also involves sharing theater with younger students and giving them a sense of what artistic options they might experience in their future years at St. Margaret’s.”

Whitney Fohrman, grade 5, said she really enjoyed the performance. “All of the actors were really good. It seemed like the actors were not acting at all, as if the entire performance came naturally to them.” Theater 1 student Emily Morton, grade 9, said that she thought her class’s performance, which represented their final for the school year, was pretty good. The course is designed to be a progression. Mr. Wheeler says, “I ease the students into a formal scripted performance throughout the course of the year. First quarter, we play improve games. Second quarter, the kids get up and do scenes in front of their peers. Third quarter, they are up in front of the public doing their Rockstars, but they’re not yet speaking. The final quarter, all of that previous work is displayed. We add in all of the technical elements.”

Students examined data from different perspectives before using their newly-developed, graph-making skills to sell products that they created.

“Students, you are going to make a water balloon catcher,” grade 7 math teacher Mrs. Windes said. “You will work in small groups and will bring the materials that you need from home to make your water balloon catcher in class.” Students brought random household items to class including laundry baskets, buckets and lacrosse sticks- all of which Mrs. Windes described as very clever.

With clever balloon catchers in hand, students went to Gateway Field to see which products worked. They field-tested their balloon catchers to see how well they protected a water balloon during the catch and recorded the data. Afterwards, Mrs. Windes told the students that they would be making their own commercials to sell their water balloon catchers.

To accomplish this multi-step assignment, students had been introduced to the general ideas and definitions of statistics. They studied different types of graphs and how data could be presented using graphs. Students also viewed commercials to analyze how data was presented in an attempt to sell products. Mrs. Windes asked students to consider how quickly a chart flashes during a commercial? “Did you read the fine print?” she asked. “What was the scale on the chart?”

To further their study, students accessed interactive websites that helped them take data and charts and change the scales to manipulate the data.

The culmination of the statistics unit was producing commercials created by seventh-grade math students.

Elizabeth Stephens, grade 7, shares her experience studying statistics:

Our world revolves around statistics. No, it is not just a pile of numbers, but instead is very useful. I am sure you have heard common math terms such as mean, median, mode, average and range. But have you really thought how these terms can actually help you in the real world?

During a recent unit in Mrs. Windes’ grade 7 math class, we explored the reality of statistics. Using technology, including Angel and Excel, my class and I got an even better grasp of the concept. At the beginning of the unit, we experimented with making box plots and stem and leaf plots which express data in specific groups. Along with this, we learned the importance of mean, median, mode, average and range. I never realized that there are so many scenarios in which these terms are vital.

As the unit progressed, we learned more ways of presenting data including histograms, bar charts and pie charts. Each of these charts was like a person with different qualities. For example, a bar graph allows different categories to be compared, while a histogram shows frequency. Little did I know that all these notes, quizzes and terms would lead to such an exciting project!

After preparing water balloon catchers, we put them to the test in an extreme experiment of water balloon catching. My group’s water balloon catcher was a purple beach bucket decked out in cellophane and tape. You could hear everyone’s delighted squeals as the water balloons landed in the catchers. Of course, you must be wondering how this has anything to do with statistics.

After we put our catchers to the test, we took the data and made charts to try to make our product look the best. This process is called manipulating the data. In the next few classes, we recorded funny and creative commercials to advertise our products with the manipulated data. At the end of the unit, it was hilarious to watch everyone’s unique, embellished advertisements.

The project was definitely my favorite part of the unit. Overall, this unit taught me many important skills, including using Excel, understanding statistics, and working as a team. Personally, I would have never guessed a boring word like statistics could lead to such an enjoyable unit and project that I will, without a doubt, remember for the rest of my life.

A selection of commercials produced by students is included below:

Though the steps taught are not significantly different to the techniques we’ve been teaching for years, Second Step is taught universally, to all children—not just those involved in ‘playground squabbles’. When the Middle School adopted the middle school version of the same curriculum, Jeannine Clarke, Middle School Principal and I thought that we’d get the two groups together.

The Second Step middle school program is a universal, classroom-based prevention program designed to decrease aggression, bullying, and substance abuse and increase students’ social skills and school success. As a program for all students, it provides a foundation for creating a safe, respectful learning environment.

In a unique approach that creates new learning opportunities made possible by our preschool through grade 12 model, St. Margaret’s Middle School students visit the Preschool classrooms to teach the Second Step preschool curriculum. Both the older and younger students connect with the material in new ways. The older children experience the material as teachers and leaders, while the younger students enjoy having the “big kids” spend time with them and learn the important lessons from these role models.

It’s a Preschool-Middle School Partnership!

Here’s what some preschoolers had to say about the program:

 
What is the best part of the Second Step Program?

“The best part is the soft bunny…He helps us stay quiet.” (talking about “Be Calm Bunny”) and we learn words like “frustrated.”

What have you learned to do when you’re angry?

“Take a belly breath and count to 4.”

How can you tell if someone is mad?

“By their face. Their eyes are scrunched up and their bottom lip is pinching out”

“And they have their hands on their hips”

“They have a mean voice”

How can you tell if someone is sad?

“They are looking down”

“And their eyes are crying”

How can you tell if someone is happy?

“They have shining eyes and a big smile.”

Here’s what our Middle School students said of the experience:

“It was fun to be with the little kids They were very good listeners. They seemed to be so calm.”

“They learned a lot about strong feelings. Things they can apply.”

“Sixth graders have problems more advanced, but they are the same problems.”

“They were good problem solvers and they picked up things quickly.”

“It’s nice that they learn it at this age, so if there’s not a teacher around, they can solve problems themselves.”

I have been a student at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School since preschool, for 15 years, and I have had many amazing opportunities presented to me over these years. One of these opportunities was in my physiology class. This is a class made up of primarily seniors and a few juniors, and we learn about the human body. I joined the class because it really caught my interest, knowing we would get to learn and understand what happens inside our own bodies. We recently went on two “field trips” to the Library’s 21st Century Learning Lab.

On the first day of school, our fabulous physiology teacher, Mrs. Nancy Linaweaver, explained to her physiology classes what “field trips” we would be going on during the year. Little did we know that there is a snazzy new way for students to experience a field trip without ever leaving campus. The Library has transformed a classroom into a video conference room so students can experience live broadcasts with someone off campus. Recently, our class watched an orthopedic surgeon perform a live knee replacement surgery using this new video conference technology. Prior to the surgery taking place, each student was given a packet filled with steps to follow during the procedure and all the information of the patient, who agreed to let us watch her live surgery. A live stream interactive feed broadcast from an operating room allowed us to interact with the doctor and ask him questions while he operated and explained the procedure. “This is a real-life opportunity for students to see inside the body,” he told us. “And the great thing about replacing an arthritic knee is it gives the patient a chance to live longer and more happily,” he said.

Some students covered their faces when the surgeon made a cut with the bone saw. One wants to work in medicine, but she thinks it will be in physical therapy where she can help people recover because surgery makes her too queasy. Senior John Carpenter and Junior Farrah Kharazmi said the experience took them outside of their regular learning. “Normally in class we learn and talk about it,” Farrah said. “But this made it more real.”

We had learned about osteoarthritis in class and watched PowerPoint presentations on the surgery’s steps to prepare, but being able to view the surgery and interact with the doctor offered a different kind of experience. The procedure showed how everything comes into place. Senior David Kushner’s said that at first, “the chiseling sound of the knee replacement surgery made me cringe.”

Another opportunity for our physiology class was to view an autopsy on a human cadaver. Last month, we were able to connect and view a real autopsy from start to finish guided by a forensic pathologist. Although students had an option to not view the autopsy if they were uncomfortable, we had a 100 percent turnout. After viewing the autopsy and talking with a forensic pathologist for about 90 minutes, students recorded the weights and sizes of the organs to analyze the possible cause(s) of death.

I think for St. Margaret’s to be able to provide this opportunity to students is wonderful. This project has helped students relate text book knowledge to real-life applications in the science field. We reflected on the autopsy afterwards, and students thought it was beneficial to be able to talk about the terms that they had learned in class. To be able to see real organs with your own eyes makes the learning much more interesting than reading a confusing text.

The physiology course overall focuses on developing critical thinking skills, and it is intended to enhance the understanding of the body’s major systems and the medical and clinical procedures to treat them. “To be able to put everything we have learned in a visual context and have a retired professional speak and interact with the students is an amazing opportunity. A lot of my students are interested in medical careers, so it was exciting for them to view what we’ve studied and how it relates to the real world,” Mrs. Linaweaver said.

Have you ever wondered how all those library books get placed on the shelf in just the right spot so they’re available when you need to find them? Well, with nearly 4,000 library materials circulated monthly, this may seem like a tall order, but not for the expert group of parent and student volunteers the Library has assisting each week. In fact, collectively, the Library’s volunteers have given over 1,100 hours of their time this school year alone to assist the staff in making the library run smoothly and efficiently. So next time you stop by the Library and are perusing the shelves for a book, take a minute to appreciate how it got there. Thank you to all of our volunteers!

Debating: the act of arguing in an organized manner while trying your very hardest to make your opponent look incapable of winning. To successfully prepare for a debate, you must, pretty much, research your head off. Well, at least if you want to present a great argument, you do.

For about three months, the seventh grade participated in a research unit. The research unit’s core came from the debate resolution: “The United Nations should substantially increase humanitarian assistance for countries in crisis.” For most of us, not once had the United Nations ever crossed our minds, which made the topic all the more interesting. We spent several weeks researching almost anything that had to do with the United Nations and humanitarian assistance, to prepare ourselves for the debates that would occur.

After we had all researched so much that we might burst, we assembled into teams, pro and con. The pro teams agreed that the United Nations should substantially increase humanitarian assistance for countries in crisis. The con teams, however, disagreed and argued that the United Nations should not substantially increase humanitarian assistance for countries in crisis. Without a moment to spare, we gathered all of our notes and started preparing for our debates. Teammates worked very hard all week at and outside of school, to be totally ready.

Once the debates were held in class, the judges chose eight students to be on the final debate teams. These final teams practiced vigorously during lunch for two weeks, until the final debate was held on Friday, April 23. On the pro team were seventh-graders Jack Cowan, JeanneAnn Faris, Trent Sorenson, and Ashley Kang. On the con team were seventh-graders Peighton McRobie, David Weaver, Liam McGregor, and Matthew Nicholas. The judges were Middle School Assistant Principal, Mr. Michael Allison; St. Margaret’s Board of Trustees President, Mr. Michael Berchtold; and leader of the Model UN group in the Upper School, Caroline Walters, grade 10.

Both teams were obviously very well prepared and performed their arguments with great skill. They were equally matched, so much so that the arguments bounced back and forth between the teams with much gusto. The teams both tried to find weaknesses in each other’s arguments. In the end, there had to be a winner, and the con team took the title.