Adventure Awaits Virtual Gala and Auction

The x6 Multiplication Song is a great example of our 6 Cs approach and a culminating project for all of our multiplication learning in many, different, unusual forms!  In 3^rd grade, one of our big goals is to become proficient in our multiplication and division facts.  We skip count, we use repeated addition, we use facts we already know like the x5s and x2s and add on from there – so x6s could be a x5 facts plus a x1 fact.  Songs are a great way for the facts and multiples to stick in our head, and we love to listen and sing along to all the multiplication fact songs.

This x6 song is one of our favorites, and so as a class – in-person and e-learners, we collaborated on a way to bring this to life!  This project went through many different iterations using our creativity and critical thinking to try various approaches to the song both at home for our E-Learners and in-person in the classroom.  With an open-ended objective and using our collaborative project time, we experimented with different iterations and sections of the song so that each student had input and a section that reflected their skills and approach. While this project-learning style looks messy at first and it takes some time, it is a great way to have student-ownership of the project.  Through successive iterations, re-working of our ideas and taking ownership of our learning, the students were able to come up with a fabulous, polished, cohesive piece that reflects their talents and personalities – something that we always work to be able to showcase and communicate effectively.

This time for project-based learning is essential to embodying the 6 Cs. Collaborating and communicating our ideas takes time, patience and good-listening skills.  Creativity and problem-solving also are time-dependent – sometimes a little time-constraint generates that creativity, but also some open-ended time to try various ideas (and have the space for it not necessarily to pan out) is all part of the process.  Character and Citizenship are all continuously developed through this process, especially with each successive iteration – being able to bounce back from something not working, and supporting your friends through this process are all character and citizenship development and meaningful parts of this process and learning experience.

Our 5/6 students celebrated Pi Day 0n March 14. Pi is the ratio of the Circumference of a Circle to the Diameter, which is approximately 3.14159. The true value of Pi has not been calculated to a final decimal since Pi is an irrational number.  It currently has been computed to 31.4 trillion decimal places.

For 6^th Grade, we continued our Pi posters which were started last year just prior to our departure due to Covid. This was a great way to come full circle with the project. They were easily able to pick back up and continue their work and were excited to be able to finally finish!

 For 5^th Grade, they measured the circumference and diameters for different sized drawn circles then they had to calculate Pi based on their data. A few students came very close to the approximate value!  The students truly enjoyed this “hands on” project and found calculating Pi an awesome experience.

In the first part of Quarter 3, the class’s Hydrology Unit focused on the distribution and movement of water on Earth, while emphasizing the importance of water for life on Earth. The “World Waters Simulation” lab gave students the opportunity to collect data, analyze information, and support conclusions with evidence, while exploring the variables that affect access to clean water. In the second part of Quarter 3, the students turned our attention to the microscopic world. Students gained a greater understanding of the diversity of life on Earth at the microscopic level. Our Lab work centered around using microscopes, and a highlight was exploring a beautiful and unique protist called volvox. In the “Minecraft: Water Systems” project, students have been using creativity, critical thinking, communication, and research skills to create an aqueduct system that brings freshwater to a settlement, while demonstrating their understanding of the content from both of our units this quarter.

Our 6th Grade Humanities theme for Quarter 3 was “Narrating the Unknown.” Through this module of study, students learned about the challenges that the Jamestown settlers faced, examined solutions settlers used to create a colony in the New World, and developed an understanding of how science can uncover new historical truths. Students explored the story of Jamestown through multiple lenses from a variety of sources: a novel, historical speech, research article, and forensic anthropology text. They learned about true leadership, struggles within and outside of the settlement, the importance of communication and collaboration, ways in which a new environment challenged survival, and nature’s capacity to undo all of man’s plans.

Quarter 3 presented an excellent opportunity for integration with strong cross-curricular connections between Humanities, Science, and Technology. To complement and reinforce the Jamestown lessons, Science studies of blood, bones, and body systems allowed students to gain an understanding of what forensic scientists and archaeologists do to uncover mysteries and stories of the past. Through hands-on learning labs such as “Blood Typing” and “Who Owns These Bones,” students practiced careful analysis of evidence and discovered the importance of visual perception and keen observation skills. Additionally, students honed their tech-savvy utilizing the Minecraft for Education application to design their own Jamestown-like colonies and create forensic anthropology mysteries. The “Minecraft: Mystery in the Colony” project incorporated many of Academy’s 6 Cs including digital citizenship, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. Through these rich, engaging curricular experiences, 6th Grade students were able to showcase their knowledge in a variety of meaningful ways.

The race car project is one of the most anticipated projects of 8th Grade IPSH. Students are given two sheets of copy paper, plastic wheels, a straw to use as axle housing, and whatever type of glue they want. From these limited materials, students construct a race car that will carry a raw egg “passenger” down a ramp, hitting a wall.  Anticipation grows throughout the project as the cars begin to come to life, the ramp is assembled in the classroom and test runs are performed.

With the goal of the project to construct to the fastest and safest car, students then use data gathered during their test runs to calculate speed, momentum, and impact time.

This project hits many of the 6 C’s – collaboration in the brainstorming and troubleshooting phases, creativity in the design thinking process, critical thinking in developing a method to make a car out of two sheets of paper. Every year, students start the project not believing that they can accomplish this task, yet every year all students are able to successfully run their car down the ramp.

Singing is a big part of our culture at Academy at the Lakes, and singing during the pandemic has brought significant challenges across the globe.  Nonetheless, we have persevered!  Here are some selections from the 7th – 12th grade Boys’ and Girls’ singing groups.

In the Fall of 2020, before we felt it was safe to sing at all on campus, Mr. Heller’s Boys Chorus class learned about the 12-Bar Blues as a musical form.  The boys each wrote, performed, and recorded their own personal Blues, and here is one great example.  Dillon Connelly ’22 performs his Teenage Boy Blues: “All day, all night/Got my mom in my shorts.”  We hope you are entertained by this example of our boys’ work.

After reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, our 4th graders made the annual trek to the 69-acre Academy campus property, where they spent the day like characters from the book. The students filtered water like the main character Brian, with vessels full of items they found in the woods. Using pH strips, they were able to tell if the filtering worked – which it did! Each group of students worked collaboratively to start and sustain a fire and build a shelter, all while “tending” to rotating injuries with sticks and a few pieces of fabric.

At the end of this long day of critical thinking and physicality, the 4th graders were treated to s’mores that they roasted over the fire they built.

Mrs. Vreeland’s Advanced Placement Language and Composition students collaborated to design commercials that promoted an original product, an invention. In designing their commercials, students considered their target markets and purposefully included persuasive strategies and visual rhetoric to convince their audience to buy the product.  Additionally, they wrote an analysis of their commercial that explained the reasoning behind their rhetorical choices and how the strategies persuaded their target audience.

Mr. Metzger’s Middle Division Robotics class collaborated with Fourth Grade and their study of energy (focusing on mechanical, thermal, electrical, light, and sound). Fourth graders had a side project in the unit where they were tasked with designing/creating a prototype of a robot that utilizes each type of energy. The 7^th/8^th Grade Robotics class designed, built, and modified different robots using their Lego Mindstorms EV3 and VEX kits to be able to demonstrate them in action for 4^th Graders to analyze. Middle Division students created individual videos to communicate this to younger students. Then Mr. Metzger joined the individual videos together to share with Mrs. Picard.

Students is Ms. Sheaffer’s English Honors IV class prepared podcasts on subjects of their choice for NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge 2021 following the rules set by NPR and submitting to be considered for the contest by March 15. We will hear news of finalists by the first week of May via news stories on NPR. Students listened to other podcasts, researched their topics, and prepared scripts for the event. Next, using their cell phones, they recorded and edited the final event.