Happy Friday! This week, as part of the academic spotlight, I have highlighted a specific subject by grade. The teaching and learning happening here at Brookwood is truly inspiring and I continue to be amazed by what I see each day.
At the bottom of my letter, I have included some information about the upcoming parent and student presentations that will take place on Tuesday, February 25. I hope you will join me for the presentation at 8:30 a.m. For your convenience, I have included the RSVP link here.
ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT
Grade 5: Literacy Fifth graders have launched into their genre study of graphic novels and fantasy books. They have each selected a graphic novel and fantasy novel to read, as well as a fantasy film to view. They are then analyzing the literature to identify the features and characteristics of the genre. Furthermore, students are practicing their summarizing skills and their recognition of character traits through these mediums. In addition to reading novels from each genre, students are tasked with composing their own graphic novel! Using what they know about how art helps to build meaning, students will plan out their narrative, and use the components of a graphic novel to structure their stories.
Grade 6: Science In sixth grade science students are learning all about what drives weather. They have gained understanding about how heat transfer, the uneven heating and cooling of Earth's surfaces, and the tilt of the earth's axis play a role in driving weather. In the next few weeks, students will be investigating how clouds form, how wind and air pressure, and how ocean currents play a role in driving weather. This understanding of how different parts of our Earth affect weather will allow students to dive into investigations on storms, climates, and climate change.
Grade 7: History In seventh grade history, students are in the process of exploring the Bill of Rights as the last part of their Constitution and civics unit. Initially, they explored the first Amendment by looking at both the freedoms it grants while also investigating the many exceptions to these freedoms. Then they explored the 2nd Amendment by engaging in a fierce debate where half the students supported limiting gun restrictions while the other argued to expand these restrictions. Teams explored the issue using a wide variety of sources provided by Mr. Diamond and strong emphasis was placed on citing sources and considering bias when evaluating one's research. This is the final week of the civics unit, and for this last portion classes are focusing on the controversial Fourth Amendment which protects Americans from illegal searches and seizures. Like most of the Bill of Rights, understanding the Fourth means investigating the many exceptions to this amendment, as there are several. As always, students complete weekly writing assignments that explore the topic of that given week. For this week, students must consider whether the Fourth Amendment helps Americans by protecting them, or if it is actually harmful due to the added pressure it puts on law enforcement to collect evidence in such a strict and limited fashion. There's a big test coming up at the end of next week, and they will begin to prepare for that this Friday.
Grade 8: Algebra Eighth grade Algebra students have been exploring functions over the last several weeks, focusing on the relationship between inputs and outputs and the picture generated by functions. In many ways functions share much in common with other equations with one exception; for every input, there is one and only one output. Like the axiom “all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares,” all functions are equations but not all equations are functions. Functions lend themselves particularly well to graphing, a fun and functional way to explore how functions, well… function.
8th graders have been provided an open-ended bonus exploration of what is known as the Birthday Paradox. Students have been exploring the underlying mathematics the Birthday Paradox exposes and have been challenged to explain how the paradox works. The exploration has spurred conversations from game theory to casinos and lotteries. Check it out – it's one of the myriad of beautiful mathematical phenomena that surround us on a daily basis.
MINDING YOUR MIND - Parent & Student Presentations Minding Your Mind will be on campus for mental health programming for parents, students, and faculty on Tuesday, February 25.
- A parent presentation facilitated by Educational Psychologist Linda Price M.Ed., CAGS, entitled Growing Together: Supporting Upper School Students and Parent Well-Being will be held from 8:30am-10:00am in the DWC.
- Student presentations will be an assembly style format. Quinton C., a Minding Your Mind young adult speaker will speak for 30 minutes to 5th and 6th grade and then 30 minutes to 7th and 8th grade. The presentation is entitled Changing Minds: Stories Over Stigma. If you would prefer that your child attend the presentation on Tuesday, February 25th, please contact your child’s advisory or me.
Sincerely,
Jay Tebbens
Head of Upper School
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.png&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Get Ready for the 8th Grade Play")
