Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2016

(Don't call it) Spirit Week


The week before Spring Break was positively packed with activity, even though there were only four days of school. Here's a quick recap. 



The Summers-Knoll student government organized the second annual Super Happy Fun Week. The schedule was as follows: 


Monday: Character Day Dress as a favorite character (from a book, from a movie etc).Tuesday: Pajama Day Wear your PJs.Wednesday: Fun RunThursday: Culture Day. The 7-8s will prepare lunchtime snacks from Sweden, Uganda, Argentina, and Japan (same menu as last year). The Choir will serenade us with songs from Kenya, Australia, and Texas



This photo is from character day, which might not be immediately obvious, given that many students were clearly determined to hide from the camera. 

Wednesday ended with an all-school Fun Run. It was particularly fun to see so many members of our community participating beyond just the students. Look carefully, and you'll spot teachers, staff, and parents also taking part. 
















The kids in Jason's math group have learned a lot about 'Flatland' this year. Originally published in 1884, there have been several adaptations of it over the years, and we've explored a few of them. It's a topic that we revisit from time to time, most recently as a project: Kids are creating their own games based on aspects of Flatland. 

We've brainstormed a number of different possibilities in terms of game mechanics and objectives, and lately kids have been constructing game materials, writing instructions, and play-testing prototypes with their classmates. 












One of the lovely things about our school is that students have the opportunity to take time from our regularly scheduled curriculum and activities to pursue individual projects. Bora and Eva have used this opportunity to develop clay-based projects, guided by Monica, our middle school art teacher. Check out their progress!
Bora and his cat

Eva and her dragon


We also recently hosted another Middle School Game Night. These are quickly becoming a tradition at Summers-Knoll, and they're a fun, low-stakes way to socialize and have fun. 

Upon reflection, I'm realizing that "low stakes" was the incorrect term to use, as I have rarely seen a group of people so invested in a game of Jenga. 




Friday, December 4, 2015

Weeks 9 - 13: Miscellany


I take a lot of photos over the course of a week. Here's a smattering of odds and ends from recent weeks. 


Juna is camera shy. 

Her classmates are not.




Henry!





Guest artist Leslie Sobel came to share her work with us several weeks ago. The middle school recently visited an exhibition of her work at the Village Theater in Canton. Monica has an entry up on her Middle School Art Blog as well.








Touring the theater















Nick!







We've been studying body systems in Science. Here are some photos of our class constructing a device to simulate the lung. 









And here we see kids puzzling through the muscular-skeletal system. They are attempting to construct a "muscle" that mimics the hinge joint of the human elbow.









Silent reading time:









Each Monday morning, the whole school gathers for an assembly. Here, the student government representatives articulate and demonstrate the rights and responsibilities that they have come up with.






Using the windows as a giant light box for tracing.








Bora!






As part of our exploration of the various body systems, we've been constructing paper models of ourselves with each system taped inside. It's yielded some odd photo opportunities.















We led the school assembly on Monday, November 23rd. We opted to talk about our three class values, demonstrated by brief skits.







Grandfriends Day!






Here we are playing 'Jenkins Says' with our Grandfriends. (Ask your kids/Grandfriends about the rules. It's fun!)




Giving the Grandfriends a tour of the school. "The Cove" is always a popular stop. 




Preparing scenery for the school play:








Winter is coming.