In this post...
- Service Learning Days
- What we are learning: highlights from Individuals & Societies
- Things to do in our community
Service Learning Days
On Thursday and Friday, Middle School students engaged in our first Service Learning Days. SL Days are guided by two important goals. First, SL Days give students a chance to engage in direct service, indirect service, and advocacy with a variety of organizations in our region. These days gave students to intersect across grade levels, reinforcing and expanding our own sense of community. In a broader sense, it engages with our Schools' initiative to engage with Tacoma, the region, and the world, inviting students to step outside their "comfort zones" and learn about the experiences, challenges, and structures that shape our world. To do this, students rely on all of the information, concepts, and skills that they develop at school and apply them to the service of other people.
The second goal of SL Days is to lay a foundation for a Middle School service program that not only responds to the goals of the MYP but also shapes our curriculum. Our students are smart, savvy, and sophisticated in many regards, and they have the ability to serve and to shape so much more than our program. Our service program will grow organically, and these annual SL Days will be the "high point," an outgrowth of students' own inquiries into the problems and needs of our world.
This year's SL Days have been an experiment - in structures, schedules, partnerships - and they will evolve over time. If you are aware of organizations in the area that would be positive partners for our MS Students, please reach out to Bill Hulseman or Tiffany Shaw!
What we are learning...
In 7th Grade the students delivered presentations this week on a revolution or civil war in another country and then tried to compare that conflict to the American experience. In addition to deepening their conceptual understanding, the project was another opportunity to work on research and presentation skills. If you didn’t get an opportunity to be a practice audience, you should ask for a showing.
In 8th Grade we are in nearing the end of our Civil War unit, reviewing what was learned in 7th grade and building on our previous knowledge to tackle bigger concepts. Cause and effect as well as states’ rights issues have been a constant theme throughout the unit. The students are finishing up their essays for the Gilder Lehrman Institute and we will be starting our unit on Immigration when they return from the break.
Things to do in our community...
- Looking for ways to explore Tacoma and Seattle? Stay up to date with the events calendar on The Tacoma Weekly and Visit Seattle.
