Friday, November 4, 2016

November 4, 2016

In this post...

  • MYP: Principled
  • Honored Pumpkins
  • Spring Break Trip to France & Italy - Last Chance!
  • Spring Journeys
  • What We Are Learning...highlights from Language Acquisition and Design
  • Things To Do in our Community

MYP: Principled

During the months of November and December, we are turning our attention to the IB Learner Profile attribute "Principled." Like the other attributes that reflect the end-goal of an IB education, the IB offers a very specific definition of what it means to be Principled.
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
Along with the other attributes in the Learner Profile, Principled points to a vision of what it means to be an educated member of the global community, and the attribute's focus on justice and dignity along with responsibility for our actions, impels us to support students' ability and initiative to serve people on the flipside of these virtues - those who experience injustice in mundane or profound ways, those whose dignity is trampled because of various circumstances. It's impossible for any single student - or even our community as a whole - to eradicate injustice and uplift all people, but the Learner Profile reminds us that each of us has a responsibility and capacity to contribute in small or big ways. Our students and colleagues in the Upper School have already developed a thriving service program, and it's inspiring to see Annie Wright students have a hand in making a difference in the lives of individuals and the work of organizations combating systemic injustice. As we continue to develop our service learning program in the Middle School and as we continue to support organizations like the Food Connection, it's important to remember that we are not doing these things in isolation. As a community, we are in a position of privilege to be able to identify concerns of justice and dignity, propose solutions, and contribute to making a difference. In these efforts, we can be proud to be a community that strives to be Principled.

In Chapel this week, we invited Advisory groups to reflect on what it means to be principled in various contexts - in academics, in relationships, in our community, in decision-making, and outside our community. Their insights were profound, revealing both their values and hinting at behaviors and actions that they see in themselves and their peers. My take away from their insights is simple: students hold themselves and each other to very high standards, especially when it comes to questions of fairness and respect (even if they don't always live up to those very high standards). More importantly, they articulated concrete ways to reach those lofty goals and embody the attribute - as individuals and as a community.

Honored Pumpkins

The results are in! Our panel of guest judges, which included staff from throughout the school and the Fifth Grade, has awarded the honors of Fifth Grade Fan Favorite, Most Scary, Most Original, and Best Overall to the following Advisory groups: 

 Fifth Grade Fan Favorite: Price Advisory (7th Grade)

Most Scary: Rockne/Lorance Advisory (7th Grade)

Most Original: Hunt Advisory (6th Grade)

Best Overall: Wagstaff Advisory (8th Grade)

Spring Break Trip - Last Chance!

Saturday, November 5 is the deadline to sign up for the Spring Break trip to France and Italy! The "Abundance" Journey focuses on Patronage of the Arts, as studied in 7th Grade Music. The group will fly to Paris, travel by the fast train to Nice, and travel on to Monaco, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. While the trip is especially geared toward 7th & 8th Grade students, 6th Grade students who are ready for independent international travel are also eligible as space is allowed. Click here for the itinerary and to sign up! Please contact Ms. Gettel for further details. 

Spring Journeys

If you haven't already, please register your student for the Spring Journeys via the links below by October 16, 2016. 

What we are learning...

This week, we highlight our Individuals & Societies and PHE programs!

Individuals & Societies
In Sixth Grade Individuals & Societies the students showed their wonderful ability to research, synthesize information and to create through their Seven Wonders project. The end result was some amazing work, which I am hoping they have already shared with you. We ended last week with a pre-reading activity to show the importance of gathering as much information from the book prior to actually reading the chapter. From there we will begin our examination of the ancient Greeks. The text will become more prevalent as we examine chapters and also start taking notes from what they are reading. I would encourage them to get in the habit of reviewing their notes every few days just to make sure the material is fresh and to reduce the need for cramming before any unit tests. Sophist debates are on the horizon.

In Seventh Grade, the current statement of inquiry is the following: The local circumstances and power structures for a group of people can shape their identity and their interest in political revolution. Here’s the shortened version that students more readily see and remember: Circumstances shape identity. We’re using this statement to help the kids make sense of some geography and more specifically to make sense of the American Revolution. But it’s also a statement that can help the kids make sense of the election season. If you can engage your son or daughter in a conversation about how circumstances shape identity, it will help with their conceptual understanding of the world.
In Eighth Grade, students are continuing their exploration into the philosophies of our Founding Fathers. With their first major project, the students are researching a significant individual of the American Revolution who contributed to the formation of the American government. Our Statement of Inquiry for this unit is: Government systems are formed when shared cultures and ideologies create working relationships. We will be examining the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in the following week.  

PHE
Over the past two months the students have been arming themselves with the tools to create their own Personal Fitness Plan to round out our What is Fitness unit. They recently learned that math terms such as equation and variable come into play in PHE. The FITT Principle (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type) is a set of variable that when applied created an equation for an effective exercise program. Students will soon receive their packet to begin creating this plan as well as write SMART goals for their own health and fitness that they would like to work out throughout the year. We have encouraged students to include their families in their health and fitness plans and create family time to get out and be active together. Watch soon for the introduction of our next unit, Nutrition: Fuel Your Body!


In all grade levels, we have just completed the first set of rotations in the middle school PHE class that focuses on the social and emotional side of health. Ann Dicks, Day School Counselor, will rotate through each section for two rotations at a time, and will invite other speakers in as well throughout the year to ensure we are meeting the social and emotional needs of the students. In this first rotation we focused on the competency area of self-awareness. This includes a deep understanding of a variety of emotions, the ways they are felt in our bodies, positive ways to manage emotions and opportunities to practice empathy with others. We also followed up on the presentation by guest speaker Michael Gurian on gender and the brain. We will continue to explore self-awareness and will introduce self-regulation in the next rotation. In the rotation before the Thanksgiving break, Angela Heath will work with students during PHE on digital citizenship, exploring appropriate use of technology and the importance of setting boundaries.

Things To Do in our Community...

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