Spirit Week!
9/27/2017
Not everyone can say that they get to teach cellular respiration to a bunch of tacky tourists. Nor have they have gotten a zoo full of animals to model mitosis. What about playing four square dressed to impress or playing Capture the Flag in pajamas? We’re sure that by just reading about it you are wondering how you could change your profession to do what we get to do everyday!!! What was most fun about this week was the “all in” attitude and support for each other seen in the middle school. Throughout this first 5 weeks of school, we have watched the middle schoolers strengthen friendships and feel confident to try new things - sometimes only with the support and encouragement of one another. How else could a dog and a giraffe orchestrate a butterfly, elephant, pig, and other animals in a mitosis dance? This support and confidence plays out in student academic achievement as well. Already, most classes have wrapped up introductory units and moved on to deeper learning focuses. It will be in these more challenging content areas that students will need to have the courage to ask when they don’t understand, to reach out to a friend for help, or find a way to help a friend get through the work. We all need each other’s support, even if it is just a friendly smile to let us know that we’re in it together. That is what Spirit Week celebrates. Middle schoolers passed with flying colors! Researchers at work...
9/22/2017
Students began exploring the countries of Central America and the Caribbean this week as part of our study of world regions. Each country has been assigned to a student “expert” who will research, create a map of the country, and develop a 5-10 minute oral presentation for the class. In this way students will gain a sense of the entire region while developing expertise in one area. They are gathering information from a variety of sources, evaluating sources for credibility, and synthesizing their findings for an audience. Transforming their new knowledge into a coherent oral presentation will build students’ communication skills as they courageously present to classmates. The usual suspects are expected to be a part of the presentation, including details like area, population, languages spoken, major products, and historical events. But more importantly, we want to learn about environmental, economic, social, or political issues that each country currently faces. These topics will serve to launch deeper study of the region and inquiry into how it connects with the rest of the world. Our yearlong study of the world’s regions and cultures will enable students to develop global perspective as they generate and research compelling questions such as:
We've Got Spirit...Students also had a chance to practice communication, creativity, and collaboration this week as the middle school team planned and presented an all-school assembly on Friday morning. From script-writing and emceeing to costume-modeling and music selection, middle schoolers stepped up and out to prepare the student body for next week’s Spirit Week! Well done, team! We’re looking forward to seeing some awesome spirit next week! Other Important Dates:
Cell Membrane Permeability
9/15/2017
What does it mean for something to be semipermeable? This week in science, 7th and 8th graders created a model replicating a cell that would demonstrate the answer to this question. They put a starch solution a Ziplock bag and placed it in an iodine solution to see if the plastic was permeable in any way. What they discovered was that it was semipermeable. Only some substances could move through the membrane of the baggie. To their surprise, the starch solution inside the baggie turned purple and the remaining solution outside the “cell” became a lighter yellow/brown than the original iodine solution. So, while the iodine molecule could diffuse through the membrane, the starch compound was too big to pass through. Similar results were found in their original Eggsperiments. Here they used a variety of solutions and measured the size of the egg to verify the direction of osmosis (passive transport). Learning the meaning of the words and concepts they use in science is only one objective of the lab. Students must also think and write in an organized, scientific fashion so that anyone could duplicate their work and get similar results. Students hypothesize about the results they expect. This requires activating all prior knowledge on the subject and applying new concepts that they are learning. Next week, students will test their knowledge and then move on to cell processes which build on what they have been learning about so far. Building Relationships
9/9/2017
The Middle School Retreat is an essential part of the Middle School Program at PNA. This is the place where bonds are formed among new and old friends alike. It is a place where students and teachers can develop relationships outside of the academic arena. Independence and trust become the underlying foundation and purpose of the trip. This year, the theme of the retreat was loosely based on “storytelling” as this type of sharing requires everyone to present a little bit of him/herself to others. Throughout the trip, students were asked to collect their experiences in a journal so that they could have one life story to tell the group on the last day. There were plenty of experiences to choose from at the camp such as jumping into a 50 degree lake, playing porch tag, capture the flag, and pair squared tag, acting in a melodrama, rock climbing, horseback riding, kayaking, archery, singing on the bus, playing Sasquatch, roasting s’mores, ...you get the picture. Students could also choose a story from their lives outside of PNA. Everyone was able to find the “perfect story” to tell! This year’s batch of Middle Schoolers have already shown themselves to be incredibly dependable, caring, inclusive, brave, and willing! As a result, teachers and fellow students have deepened their trust in each other which ultimately leads to the personal growth we all want to see in our young adolescents. We are now ready for the academic school year to begin in earnest! |
Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
Categories |