Sunday, October 26, 2014

Flying Drones in 8th Grade History



Eighth grade student Jack R. found an unusual way to connect with his history curriculum - a year long study of major contemporary world events. With topics like ISIS, Russia and the Ukraine, The NSA, Merkel and the European Union, and Drone Technology in the Military, students are encourage to explore individual and authentic ways to engage with the to the material. Jack's interest led him to learn how to work with consumer grade drone technology as a way to understand military usage, reporting,  "Showing how drones work instead of just reading about it helped me to understand the it more."



Sunday, October 19, 2014

MS detox Experiment a Success


Middle school faculty and students met over lunch last week to share their reflections and to discuss their experience of #DigiDetoxGA. When 7th grader, Zack Thurlow, was asked the question: How would you summarize the detox in three words? he quickly responded, "Not that hard." Cianni Williams, another 7th grader,  had a different experience, calling it "agonizing" noting social pressure to be on her device. She continued commenting that it was painful to know that she was missing out on what her friends were doing and saying.  A silver lining, though, for Cianni: "At least I got a scarf out of it." She took up knitting during her time away from her phone.

Jarrett Anderson, one of the faculty participating in the detox reports, "The detox allowed us use of technology for reasons related to our jobs as faculty and students of GA, and many discussed the difficulty in finding where those professional obligations start and stop. We also talked about how technology has become such a reflex, that we didn't even notice when we'd starting checking e-mail for personal reasons. Technology's massive presence in our lives, and the power of habits!"

Faculty and students plan on continuing the conversations around the use of devices, mindfulness about habits, and other issues related to our daily use of technology.







Sunday, October 12, 2014

Lower School Tinker Lab Open for Business



After months of work the Lower School Tinker Lab is open and ready for business!  Students, faculty, and administrators gathered this week for an official opening reception complete with a ribbon cutting and a performance of "Thank you for The Tinker Lab" performed by very excited pre-kindergarten students!


















Sunday, October 5, 2014

Upper School Science, Math, and Arts Faculty Collaborate on S.T.E.A.M. Project




Last spring a group of faculty from the sciences, mathematics, arts, and humanities gathered to begin developing STEAM curriculum for US students.  US Math teacher, Danielle Rock is directing the process planning which will be ongoing throughout the year to develop minimester course offerings.  The Harmonograph Project (a mechanical apparatus that employs pendulums to create a geometric image ) will be implemented in 2015-16.