February 9, 2018

What we are learning...

Mr. John Rockne, Math Teacher

What is your favorite color? Green, the color of forests. 

What is your favorite book? David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens.
What is your favorite movie? "The Wizard of Oz."

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a house builder. 

What is your favorite song? Bob Dylan, "Ballad of a Thin Man."

If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? I would travel to this great Pacific Northwest in the 1830s as a fur trapper.

Where were you born? Boise, Idaho.

Any interesting trivia about you? My middle name is Knute, and I am related to the famous coach of Notre Dame.

Where did you attend Middle School? Sacred Heart in Boise.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? P. Bede taught me Algebra, and K. Price taught me how to enjoy travel with children.

My 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes are all now investigating the Concept of Relationships. Sixth graders are relating the variable x to y in equations and forming lines. Seventh graders have moved deeper into this x and y relationship so that the lines are now intersecting. Eighth graders have been optimizing linear relationships by graphing linear inequalities. These relations form the foundation for understanding natural and human worlds in powerful ways. For example, gathering data and relating it in a bar graph is a way to detect patterns and make reliable predictions. The justifications for things such as climate change or the use of investment strategies depend on these mathematical techniques. People who value the clarity that math can provide find a clear path forward into a future of independence and self-reliance. Inspiring middle school students to focus on math as a way to bring order to their lives is an enduring and elusive challenge that keeps my mind active.     

Don't Let Your Phone Control You

Last week, Common Sense Media published a brief article about the ways that smartphone technology and apps are designed to manipulate users' reactions, including our emotional responses. Tips for avoiding that manipulation and feeling of addiction to our phones include: 

• Turn off all notifications, except those from people. 
• Go grayscale. 
• Limit what's on your home screen. 
• Type to find apps. 
• Take social media off your phone. 
• Charge your phone outside of your bedroom. 
• Fight fire with fire. 

The last recommendation might need a little fleshing out. There are apps designed to manage the triggers built in by app and phone designers and engineers, and the site also provides a series of recommendations for kids to use on their devices that help develop time management and healthier habits. Apps range from task managers and anxiety-alleviating calendars to usage-trackers and homework tracking. If your student uses a device and struggles with the attachment to it, or if your student could use some help with time management or staying on task, take a look!

The most important piece of the article isn't necessarily the useful recommendations - it's the recognition that adults are susceptible of being attached to devices just as much as kids. What the article doesn't articulate, though, is the role of adults - parents, teachers, coaches - in modeling healthier use of technology. If we hope our students will develop skills to integrate technology to enhance their learning and their lives - and to avoid the rabbit hole of distraction that smartphones and other technologies invite - we need to model it ourselves. 

February 2, 2018

"The Danger of a Single Story"

In Wednesday's MS Chapel, the Hartmann Advisory introduced the February observance of African American History Month with some of the history of the observance and with Chimananda Adichie's influential TED Talk, "The Danger of a Single Story." Reflecting on her own experiences of being reduced to a "single story," and her own experiences reducing others to a "single story." "Single story" refers to defining an experience based on a single account that provides an incomplete, inaccurate, and potentially damaging understanding of others. It's easy to see the connection between single stories and the development of stereotypes and the marginalization and discrimination that might stem from them.

Certainly, Adichie's reflection speaks to the need to attend to and integrate a diversity of voices and perspectives in the course of learning. This is precisely the kind of work that our teachers do when they attend to diversity, equity, multiculturalism, and inclusion in their curricula and in their classrooms, and it also relates to the vision and initiatives of Teaching Tolerance and similar organizations. However, Adichie's message should also speak to each of us personally to ask critical and, sometimes, difficult questions about our points of view. How do we tell stories about each other? Do we actually seek multiple perspectives when seeking the truth? When we hear stories about others that are incomplete, untrue, or damaging...what do we do next?

Adichie closes her talk with a powerful summary. "When we reject the single story," she says, "when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise." As we continue to reflect on these insights and engage in learning about African American history and culture - not just throughout the month but throughout the year! - our students and we will begin to build "a kind of paradise."

Mind/Shift: Self-doubt and Learning

The Mind/Shift podcast and website explores current research, trends, and resources for understanding and promoting "growth mindset" in individuals. A recent article by Linda Flanagan on the site looks at the impact of self-doubt on one's mindset. High levels of self-doubt seem to correspond with fixed mindsets and the experience of stress. "Though common," she writes, "relentless suspicion about one's abilities corrodes confidence and limits learning, even when that anxiety produces successful outcomes." That doubt might translate into a persistent fear of failure or impeded clear thinking. Flanagan identifies these steps for parents and teachers to buoy students' well-being:

• Change the meaning of doubt. 
• Challenge the self-doubting thoughts.
• Step back in time. 
• Focus on process rather than results. 
• Visualize your successful future self. 

Visit Mind/Shift to flesh out what these recommendations mean and to find more resources for developing a growth mindset in your student...and in yourself!

What we are learning...

Dr. Vicky Lovejoy, Math Teacher

What is your favorite color? Alternating patterns of teal and purple. 

What is your favorite movie? "Out of Africa."

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a veterinarian. 

What is your favorite song? Brad Paisley, "It Could Get Better Than This."
If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? I would love to visit New Zealand at a time before it was heavily populated. I'd love to see the native plants and animals as it is an entirely different evolutionary path.

Where were you born? Leavenworth, Kansas.

Any interesting trivia about you? I used to train and compete with horses, and now train and compete in performance sports with dogs.

Where did you attend Middle School? Colorado Springs.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? My Calculus teacher and my Physiology teacher both had a big influence on me. 

January 26, 2018

Parent Education: Substance Abuse Prevention

On Monday, February 5, we will welcome back substance abuse prevention specialist from FDC Prevention Works. The specialist will speak to students during the day, and all parents are invited and encouraged to attend a special session at 7:00pm in the Great Hall. To register for the event, click here.

What we are learning...

Mr. John Hunt, Individuals & Societies, Math, and Design Teacher

What is your favorite color? Blue. 

What is your favorite book? To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
What is your favorite movie? "The Empire Strikes Back"...pure drama.

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a famous travel writing, concert reviewing, food critic. 
Who is your favorite musical artist? Wilco, hands down!

If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? Nepal, to see Mount Everest.
Where were you born? Michigan

Any interesting trivia about you? I have met two former US Presidents.

Where did you attend Middle School? Ring Lardner Junior High.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? Tie between Mrs. Eckelshymer, my 8th Grade English teacher, and Mr. Szakas, my 10th Grade Western Civilizations teacher. (And of course I follow the wisdom taught by John Rockne.)

In Individuals and Society, the students are about to wrap up the first chapter on Ancient Greece in their books. We have examined the different types of government Greece has had and ended with an overview of two of the strongest two Greek city-state Sparta and Athens. Along the way we talked about the Trojan War and watched a Lego retelling of the tale, participated in sophist debates and discussed the importance of  the Greeks concept of Democracy and how it has shaped our system of government. The presentations this week were great. I always enjoy letting the class become the teachers, I learned much from them. Our first major content test will take place in a week or so. Please make sure your children are reviewing their notes periodically. From here the pace will start to pick up a bit so we can get through information in the book more rapidly as we delve in Ancient Rome. They are a great group, with lots of insightful ideas and always with a plethora of questions.

January 19, 2018

Service Learning Days 2018

This week included our second annual Middle School Service Learning Days. As a complement to our fall Experience Days, Service Learning Days are designed to give students the opportunity not only enable students to provide assistance to people or organizations in need but also to develop a deeper understanding of the factors that result in social inequalities, injustice, marginalization, or suffering. Early in the academic year, we introduced the concept and cycle of service learning. While programming goes by different names - service, service learning, social action, social justice, etc. - the goal is always twofold: to improve the lives of others, and personal growth. As we continue to build our Middle School service program, we hope to expose our students to a variety of categories or contexts for service and to give our students a chance to engage in different types of service. 

For SL Days 2018, students in Grade 6 experienced an orientation to service learning, focusing on what it means to be part of a community, contributing to the life of the community, and identifying and understanding the needs of a community. Central to this is developing empathy, which is also a primary goal for our Design program. Over the last couple of days, students reflected on what it means to be of service to others, helped out in Early Childhood and Lower School classrooms, and finished their Cardboard Arcade and welcomed LS students to test out and enjoy the games. 

Students in Grades 7 and 8 went to one of seven sites - Mary's Place Donations Center, Mary's Place Family Center, Puget Sound Pet Food Bank, The REACH Center, St. Leo's Food Connection, Tacoma Children's Museum/The Muse, and Westside Stables. Each group had a unique schedule, including a mix of direct service and time to develop an understanding of the issues that each organization is responding to - the groups that went to Mary's Place, the REACH Center, and St. Leo's focused on poverty and homelessness; the groups that went to the Pet Food Bank and Westside stables focused on care for the environment and animals; and the group that went to The Muse focused on childcare, education, and early childhood development and on poverty. This is just a starting point - most groups finished their SL Days thinking about ways they could take action to respond to the need they've witnessed and started to understand, and this plants a seed for the Community Project that students will complete in Grade 8 in future years.

As we continue building our MS Service Program, if you are aware of or involved with organizations that would benefit from our students' help, or that could help our students develop a deeper understanding of different categories of service, please reach out to Mr. Hulseman!

Reminder about PSA

Since coming back from Winter Break, we've seen a spike in PSA violations. PSA refers to our policy around using technology. While on campus, Middle School students may only use devices (laptop, cell phone, etc.) with a teacher's Permission, under a teacher's Supervision, and it must be Academic or school-related. Students found violating this rule will lose their device for the remainder of the day, and repeated violations will lead to further consequences. If you have any questions about our PSA policy, please contact Ms. Clare Wagstaff. 

Attendance and Achievement

There are so many facets to understanding education - the research that is available is overwhelming! While much of recent attention in educational research focuses on advances in understanding neuroscience and its impact on learning or on social-emotional development, some "old" truths hold up. One of those is the relationship between attendance and achievement. At Annie Wright, we build our calendar and schedule very thoughtfully, putting the experience of students and shaping an optimal learning environment at the center of our considerations. For the last few years, the Middle School has been lucky to have a long Thanksgiving break, a long winter break, a February break, and a March break, but our observations indicate that, especially with MS Journeys in May, this makes for a very choppy spring. Next year, we'll be streamlining this a bit with a single, two-week spring break.

Even with ample break time, many of our students are committed to a variety of things outside school that demand time away from school, but, typically, those students who are heavily scheduled also develop effective time-management skills - in some part, because they just have to. These skills are a necessary antidote to lost learning time, but most Middle School students are in the process of developing the skills associated with assiduousness, grit, intrinsic motivation, time-management, and follow-through. When students miss school, they risk falling behind - not in a competitive sense, but in terms of their own intellectual and neurological development. Missing school has bigger consequences, too. Drawing on current research on attendance and achievement at the University of Chicago, Attendance Works highlights 5 Key Findings for Middle Grades:

1. Middle grade attendance and GPA provide the best indication of how students will perform in high school classes. 
2. Students who are chronically absent or receiving Fs in the middle grades are at very high risk of being off-track for graduation in ninth grade, and eventually dropping out of school. 
3. College readiness depends on very strong grades in middle school, as well as high school. 
4. Improving grades and attendance in the middle grades can have a large pay-off for high school success; even more so than improving test scores. 
5. High school selection matters for whether students graduate and earn the credentials needed for college. 

Attendance Works also identifies ten important facts about school attendance. While this research is looking at data about students throughout the US and the experience of independent school students can be different or present less risk, it does point to the relationship between attendance and growth - one more data set to shape our calendar!

Parent Education: Substance Abuse Prevention

On Monday, February 5, we will welcome back substance abuse prevention specialist from FDC Prevention Works. The specialist will speak to students during the day, and all parents are invited and encouraged to attend a special session at 7:00pm in the Great Hall. To register for the event, click here.

What we are learning...

Mr. Stuart Hake, Strings and Orchestra Teacher

What is your favorite color? Blue. No, purple. No, blue...

What is your favorite book? John Nichols, The Milagro Beanfield War
What is your favorite movie? "It's a Wonderful Life"

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a freelance cellist or a Jack in the Box manager. 
What is your favorite piece of music? Beethoven's 9th, or Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused" from The Song Remains the Same

If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? Kennedy Space Center, July 16, 1969.
Where were you born? Endicott, NY

Any interesting trivia about you? I spent three years as a 'supertitle projectionist' for the Arizona Opera in the 90s.

Where did you attend Middle School? Vestal, NY and Las Cruces, NM.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? Marianna Gabbi in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In the Sixth-Grade Strings class, our current unit which is winding to a close is called ‘Instrumental Technique’ with a statement of inquiry that says: “Changing technical skills and intellectual understanding are necessary to continually improve playing.” This is the longest unit of the year and lays the foundation of playing the instruments so that we can investigate all the other units in the course. We start with how to hold the bow and the instrument and move all the way to reading simple musical lines in our classroom book. It’s a process that takes months. Developing physical coordination and habits, tonal sensibilities, practice skills/routines, and critical thinking unfold across many weeks and watching the transformation in the students is very exciting. With instruments, learning is so visible and immediate for students. Hearing “I GOT IT!” after a first time through a song (or an eighth time) is such a great expression of how each student connects with their personal development on a step by step basis. The key ATL of the unit is resilience and if all the kids can truly internalize how to “bounce back after adversity, mistakes and failures”, whether it’s an entire performance or just getting the bowing backward, this is a huge tool for them to leave the class with. By the way, sometimes they actually are pretty fun to listen to as well!

MS Service Learning Days

Rosters for Service Learning Days are below. Students have received information about their placements as well as dress and lunch. 

For parents: 

Dress for Service Learning Days: Civvies

Lunch: Students in Grade 6 will have the opportunity to have lunch in the Dining Room; they may bring lunch or eat at Flik. Students in Grades 7 & 8 must bring lunch and a reusable water bottle. 

Site:	Mary's Place Donations Center	Mary's Place Family Center	Puget Sound Pet Food Bank	The REACH Center	St Leo's Food Connection	Tacoma Children's Museum	Westside Stables
Chaperone	Ms. Paco/Mr. Hulseman	Dr. Lovejoy	Mr. Price	Ms. Calcote	Ms. Taylor	Ms. Leenstra	Ms. McConnell
On campus meeting point:	MS Office	MS Lounge	Mr. Price's Room	Ms. Calcote's Room	Ms. Taylor's Room	Art Room	Ms. McConnell's Room
	Carei, Adia	Altayar, Lana	Beaurpere, Tristan	Beck, Alec	Bessler, Leo	Arnold, Lauren	Davis, Jaeger
	Comstock, Riley	Bishop-Jones, McKayla	Crist, Abbie	Carlisle, Zoe	Burrington, Olivia	Carlson, Sarah	Flint, Willow
	Grier, Kendall	Cook, Lauren	Ferencko, Nic	Enebrad, Connor	Cefalu, Nico	Deng, Pauline	Gray, Wyndham
	Hall, Caroline	Hayes, Gwynnie	Harkins, Madisen	Enomoto, Kamalani	Collie, Kate	Gomlak, Trixie	Hayes, Owen
	Hanly, Tommy	Hutchinson, Tara	Holmes, Emma	Escobar, Mia	Dinicola, Kevin	Hicks, Dana	Johannes, Ava
	Khan, Simren	Junior, Yayoi	Howard, Leo	Gibson, Nadine	Dugan, Seth	Lawson, Kaitlyn	Kontos-Cohen, Saul
	Lane, Johnathan	La Rosa, Sofia	Hyun, Caleb	Guerra, Sofia	Hoover, Jazzy	Len, Emma	McConnell, Buanand
	Parrott, Anna	Leise, Emily	Kontos-Cohen, Ekaterina	Hancock, Logan	Hutchinson, Kiran	Oie, Jacob	Redal, Mia
	Soustelle, Elodie	McCormick, Willa	Montgomery, Jack	Johnston, Tyson	McBee, Gabe	Vier, Amy	Salamone, Samantha
	Zhang, Zasha	Stringfellow, Charles	Strate, Maddie	Kunz, Taya	Ory, Elliott	Wang, Diana	Seher, Savanna
				Pendras, Maxine
				Smith, Adam
				Stark, Courtney
				Stockton, Cameron
				Wartelle, Rae