6th and 7th grade Research Night

Global Events-Past Present and Future

The Cuban Missile Crisis, Ocean Pollution, Gene Editing and the Sinking of the Titanic. These are only a few of the Global events-Past, Present, and Future that the sixth and seventh-year students will be presenting on Research night. In order for education to have meaning, it must be relevant and learner-centric. The learner must take the information that is presented and construct his/her own meaning and understanding. Research night gives our student the opportunity to learn about a topic of their choice and create a presentation to share with the community. The students chose this theme for their research and had the freedom to choose an event they felt passionate about.

The students are immensely proud of their work and so are we.

The Middle School has missed the 8th years this week as they are away at their internships. We can’t wait to hear all about it when they return!

In Science, 6th year students completed their project depicting planetary alignment. Each planet was designed and positioned in relation to one another. Students did an excellent job! 7th year physical science students demonstrated their knowledge of molecules using clay. Each student chose a molecule of choice, researching its proper arrangement and bonding. At the end of last week, 8th years finished their solar system bulletin board. The addition of constellations and the asteroid belt added the finishing touches.

In 6th year Humanities class, we are studying Ancient Egypt. We learned about the Egyptian creation myth and the importance of gods and goddesses in the Ancient Egypt civilization. We also began reading Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s novel, The Egypt Game. 7th years have been discussing the decades of conflicts in Sudan and Southern Sudan as they began Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water.

For 7th year’s Poetry Tuesday, we read “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins. It discusses life reflection by a youngster and the realization of what comes with getting older- the loss of innocence and weight of the world. Kids are fully aware of this change, and in some ways, they look forward to it. In other ways, it’s terrifying.

We discussed if there is a balance between staying young and childlike and bearing the responsibility that comes with getting older. There is a line in the poem that says, “It seems only yesterday I used to believe/there was nothing under my skin but light./ If you cut me I would shine./” I asked the class, “How can we keep the light within ourselves shining?” I told them that I keep the light by teaching and surrounding myself with young adults each day. It never lets me forget the importance of staying young within my soul.

As much as adults want to protect children from the harsh realities of getting older, it happens quicker than we would like; however, knowing that they remember and love being young gives comfort that despite the real-world realization they discover, they still hold onto their lights.

.

Happy Friday! Middle School continued to have a packed week of progress in classes.

6th and 7th year Humanities students are working on their presentations for Research Night which is next Thursday, 2/8 at 6:30 p.m. Remaining interesting and engaged are the goals, and students are creating presentations that are not run by a script! This is scary for some, but in the end, they will find great success.

8th year Humanities students are studying Reconstruction, the post-Civil War time when the Confederacy is brought back into the Union and slavery is abolished. Students looked at the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation for African Americans in the years following the Civil War. As a separate conversation and analysis, students also watched a moving speech given by Lupita Nyong’o about beauty in Black America.

6th year Earth Science students have been working on the solar system. Students are designing models to represent the planets’ distances from the sun, size comparisons, and relative position from one another.

Parent Teacher Conferences should be scheduled with advisors only. They will be on February 15 (1 pm start – last conference at 7:30 pm) and February 16 (7:30 am start and last conference at 11:30 am). Please schedule your appointment by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, February 14^th.

If you would like to meet outside of the scheduled conference times, please email your child’s advisor directly and set up a mutually convenient time.  In addition, if you would like to meet with one of our enrichment teachers, please email them directly to set up a time to meet. Enrichment teachers will be available for parent conferences on Thursday, February 15^th from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am. We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

Community is a word we reflect on often at FWM. Humanities students continued working on their unit projects for Lois Lowry’s, The Giver, this week. Their challenge is to develop a community that, in their opinions, most resembles the concept of utopia. The students are finding that the word “community” has important meaning for schools, towns, and society. While there are a plethora of variants on the word’s meaning, one dictionary used the word “fellowship” in its definition.

The FWM community is certainly a fellowship and functions as companions, looking out for each other’s best interests.  The excitement during this week’s cooking elective was completely different because the food the students were preparing was for their peers. There was more attention to the process and making sure everything was done correctly. The pride in sharing a meal together that they prepared certainly embodied a close community.

Whether kids are coming together during an amazing science lab, creating human percentages in groups during math class, playing in a soccer game, or editing and revising each other’s writing, the middle school is demonstrating what it means to be a community every single day. The teachers are proud of their continued fellowship.