A Little Bit About Classes

Here's a quick update on what's happening in the classroom:

Math: The students began Bridges working on fundamentals, but now they're working on math magazines, complete with ads and equations, and a math masquerade, where the students imitate famous mathematicians, from Da Vinci to Einstein. The students have really thrown themselves into it, listening to audio files of the mathematicians' voices, and creating elaborate costumes. This week the students are presenting their work!

Science: The Science class this year has focused on forensic science, which is the field of science that involves detective work and solving crimes. The students have been working on several different cases, ficitious murders that they have to solve, as well as performing skits and doing field work, and they are getting closer and closer to cracking the case!

English: It's all about the presentation in English class! After Glenis Redmond finished with the students, they've been working on a variety of projects. The Iotas presented detailed poetry posters and are working on descriptive writing, while the Thetas are working on using Powerpoint to make a persuasive speech on a topic of their choice. The topics range from security in schools and the merits of paying college atheles to the death penalty and the nature of advertising. Finally, the Kappas are writing personal narratives about experiences in their lives that have changed them, in addition to watching the movie "The Education of Little Tree", which details the life experience of a Native American child growing up in the 19th century.

Art: Art has been moving at a clip, with all three classes nearing the end of their projects. Between learning how to water color, drawing faces and figures, and the ins and outs of 3-D design, the art class is busy! By the end of the program, we'll have 29 watercolors, 25 sketches of people and faces, and 18 model houses on our hands!

College Planning: Every week, the College Planning class gets the older students ready for college visits, but this week all 3 classes visited a school, so some extra preparation was in order! In addition, they have been working on the ins and outs of filling out applications, and all of the students have to give a speech about their future, from what they see in their future to what they can do to make that future a reality.

Social Studies: Debate, debate, debate! That's been the name of the game in Social Studies. They began with a discussion of Israel and the troubles in the Middle East, but have moved on to topics such as immigration and flag burning (they debated that on the 4th of July!). Many students not normally interested in Social Studies have been invigorated and stimulated by these open ended debates.

More on the 3rd week soon!