"Energy Matters" Physical Science Culminating Event

After learning Newton's Laws of Motion and using information from research, students constructed a "car seat" out of a milk carton to keep a raw egg safe.  

The car seats were launched with increased force from increased distances until only 3 eggs remained intact after several wall-crash trials.  

Congratulations to Desiree, Cassie B., and Avery!
Thanks also to the parents who came to watch and served as 

egg launchers!

"Back to the Summer"

7th Graders sat down for the first table read of their end-of-year production, "Back to the Summer" - a time-travelling play under the direction of Claire Draper.  Casting will be announced soon!

8th Grade Symbolism Poetry from "The Outsiders"

Part the Stars with Such Sweet Sorrow

The nightly stars are a symbol of thought.
So nice to see, but time has fought.
As time goes by you ask why,
they are so far away you just want to fly.
Soon the sun will rise,
shining bright; like diamonds glistening in your eyes.
Sadly time has gone and won to tomorrow,

you part the stars with such sweet sorrow.

by Cassie & Corey

Regret like a thousand pound weight
Vulnerable and heroic is a symbol of Johnny Cade,
his family and life is a barricade.
He did a heroic deed,
now his life is full of pain and greed.
Johnny lives with murder and sorrow,
he might not live till tomorrow.
He stabbed his victim with a blade,

regret like a thousand pound weight lies on Johnny Cade.

by Kerianna & Sophia

The Sky is Blue!

The sky is a symbol of life,
and it’s as sharp as a knife,
I love blue,
I love my shoes;
Life is a disaster,
but anyone can be their own master,
Who are you,

The sky is blue.

by Skylar & Jack

BROUGHT TOGETHER BY FAME

Socs are a symbol of hate,
will they cause Johnnys fate?
Cutting off Greasers hair,
They’re like wild bears.
Always pulling blades,
Watching sunsets fade.
Is everyone the same?

Brought together by fame.

by Kira & Briana

“We Won!”

Blue Mustangs are a symbol of the social gang,
Lurking panthers ready to make a bang,
Coming from behind to find the hoodlums;
They see them as the local bums.
When they’re in each others sight,
That is when they start to fight,
Once it’s over they drive away.

“We won!” Socs always say.

by Alyssa & Desiree

So Free Me and I Promise To Never Complain

Life is a symbol of Freedom
Not made to be imprisoned in a kingdom
Its a right not something that we need to make a fight
While slavery holds only the bold sneak out at night
And those who complain
Will wish for freedom in vain
I want out and I promise it won't be in vain

So free me and I promise to never complain

by David & Daniel

Desiree's Bonus 8th Grade Vocab Activity

Hey 8th Graders!  Use this link to try out a bonus vocabulary activity (Thanks, Desiree!).  

Can you interpret the images to find the matching vocabulary term?  

(from The Outsiders List 2 Chapters 5-8)

S - S - S - SCIENCE!

Stream Table to investigate erosion and flooding.

Water sampling and testing to investigate soil and water quality to develop rain gardens

What's Happening?

21st Century

Designers have been Diving into Density! (and apparently using those "alliteration" skills learned in Language Arts!)  Lab experiments have students finding mass with triple beam balances and finding the volume of both regular (L x W x H) and irregular (water displacement in GCs) objects.  We've also kicked off our work toward researching, planting, and maintaining rain gardens on specific sites of our school's land.


Math

8th graders are solving algebraic equations to find the value of a variable.  The equations involve the distributive property, combining like terms, and other algebraic properties.

7th graders are working on rates of change and percents.


Language Arts

Story Element Book Projects have been a big focus in the beginning of Trimester 3.  Vocabulary development continues with studies on using vocabulary in context (in our case, from a news article) to unlock meaning.  Students continue to improve their writing skills through RACE responses about their Independent Reading books (so please make sure you're reading at least 30 minutes a night!)


This & That

It's time for all of our students to develop their Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) to think about their future.  8th graders will be preparing their capstone speeches to deliver in June.

Stewardship and Community Jobs continue to progress.

Now that the weather is finally looking like spring, we hope to be getting outside more, for both academic learning opportunities and wellness opportunities.

Culminating Event - Trimester 2 - Out of this World!

Dynamic Design recently held the culminating event for our 2nd trimester theme, "Out of this World" Earth & Space Science. In a variety of formats, students presented a geologic history timeline, the future of earth & space science technology, e-Cybermission Challenge portfolios, and more. We want to thank our families for a great turnout and for actively participating with the students.

Sneak Preview: We've already kicked off our next theme, "Energy Matters!" Can you guess what it's about? Stay tuned for more!

It's "snow" much fun!

Thanks to the school for getting these awesome snow tubes, and thanks to our learning community's "Healthy Helpers" wellness group for planning a fun outdoor afternoon to get some exercise!

Apparently Morgan was too tired to pull Raeanna up the hill!

Andoni smothered Justin to get in on the ride!

Alyssa and Desiree taking a spin down the hill!

Corey hit the jump just in time for Ms. Maguire to hit the shutter!

Trimester 2 Learning Showcases

Please use the links below to sign up for Learning Showcases.  We're looking forward to seeing all our Dynamic Design families!

Monday, March 24

Tuesday, March 25

Wednesday, March 26

Thursday, March 27

Call or email the team with any questions.

What's New?

We've been awfully busy in Dynamic Design.  So busy we forget to update this blog!

In Language Arts, students have been delving into some complex literary terms vocabulary - everything from foreshadowing to diction to connotation, to name a few!  They are also getting instruction, gaining new skills, and refining their research report writing process. The theme of the research?  The 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, of course!  Focusing on one American Olympian, students are researching to report on the question, "How did this Olympian get to where they are today?" and they will report on performance results from the games, as well.  A few have already been lucky enough to have selected gold-medal-winning American Olympians, such as Men's Slopestyle Snowboarding Gold Medalist Sage Kotsenburg!

In Math, 8th graders are looking at data and statistics with histograms, box-and-whisker plots, and more.  7th graders have moved from ratios into unit rates and finding equations.  Both groups are doing a lot of work to improve their basic math computation skills, such as working with fractions, decimals, and percents.  Students use WIN time for individualized self-directed instruction and practice to test out of their skills and to prepare them for the next Basic Math Skills Assessment.

21st Century has us digging deep into earth and space science.  We have learned about rocks, minerals, the solar system, plate tectonics, and more.  Mr. Citro has all kinds of models, materials, hands-on labs, and investigations for everyone to explore.  In addition, he tries to work in "the science of the Olympics" during morning meeting, from the friction caused by skis on snow, to the types of energy produced and absorbed during crashes and falls!

MLK Jr. Day

Students in Dynamic Design used the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for a lesson on primary source documents and comprehending/analyzing informational text.  As a culmination of the mini-lessons used to celebrate his day, the students performed two sections of his "I Have a Dream" speech in a speak chorus format.

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours!

 

Stewardship & Citizenship Culminating Video Presentation

Check out this great video on our first trimester work put together by the Dynamic Design Video Production Team!

CULMINATING EVENT SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

The week of December 16th is the Culminating Event Week for our first thematic unit, "We the People: Government and Citizenship."

We have a variety of events planned during the week for our students to demonstrate the work they have been doing all trimester long as active and involved citizens within our Dynamic Design Learning Community, the St. Albans City School community, and extending beyond to greater community needs and government.  The schedule is as follows:

Monday, Dec 16	11:30am - 12:00n	Team Job Presentations	Students will present the work they do in Dynamic Design team jobs to demonstrate citizenship (oral group presentations)
Tuesday, Dec 17	8:30am - 9:30am	Guest Speaker: VT Representative Mike McCarthy (Franklin 3-1)	Mike, a state representative for St. Albans and local business owner, will lead a discussion on the importance of young people being involved as active citizens in local government and organizations. (Mike is currently one of only 7 out of 180 members of the state legislature under age 35!)
Tuesday, Dec 17	11:30am - 12:00n	Stewardship Presentations	In a gallery-style display, students will present the work they do on a weekly basis to fill a need and serve the St. Albans City School community, thinking about how to extend that work to the greater community.
Wednesday, Dec 18	11:30am - 12:00n	Socratic Seminar	Each week, students have responded to various text and media in a socratic seminar discussion.  On this day, they will model the seminar, a method for deep questioning and higher-level understanding, in 3 separate groups according to topic choice of interest (Local crime & drugs, Sports Injuries, The desensitizing effect of media on youth)
Thursday, Dec 19	11:30am - 12:00n	Government Video	Students have produced a short video on the Dynamic Design government established for this theme’s project-based learning and on what citizenship means to our students now.

Please feel free to join us for any or all of these events as your schedule allows.  We look forward to seeing you.

Learning Showcases

Thank you to all who participated in our learning showcases last week. We hope everyone received helpful information, and we look forward to our Designers working toward their newly set Trimester 2 Goals. If you weren't able to come in and would still like to set up a Learning Showcase to see your student's work and check-in with the Dynamic Design teachers, please feel free to email or call (527-0565 x2013).

Day of Code

On Monday, December 9th, City School participated in a school-wide "Day of Code" event to celebrate Computer Science Education Week.  Students did coding activities in content area classes, including a writing contest, participated in virtual and interactive presentations with local game programmers and website developers, did both online and unplugged coding activities, and a few girls took part in a roundtable conversation about women in computer science careers.

Big Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this day together.

Check out the Day of Code Website for more information about our day.

Learning Showcase Conference Sign-Ups

The week of December 2nd is time for Learning Showcases. Your son or daughter will present their e-Portfolio to you, and it is a time to check in with teachers to review PowerSchool grade reports and if you have any questions or concerns.

Please sign up for only one slot. You may see duplicate or overlapping times - this is because we run multiple showcases at a time and the team rotates through.

Follow these links (click on the date) to view available times and sign up for a showcase. Please sign up using both Your Name(s) and (Student's name). Thanks!

Monday, December 2 (afternoon)

Tuesday, December 3 (afternoon)

Wednesday, December 4 (early morning, afternoon, and early evening)

Thursday, December 5 (early morning, afternoon, and evening)


(Remember, there is no school on Friday, December 6th!)

Notice: Picture Retakes

Reminder: Picture Retake day is Wednesday, November 20th

In the library from 8-11am.

New students and students who missed picture day:

Order forms are available at the front desk.

Students wanting picture retakes:

Bring in the original packet of pictures to the photographer on Retake Day

7th Grade Language Arts

Designers just wrapped up a unit exploring Figurative Language.  As a culmination, students rewrote classic fairy tales and fables with figurative language throughout.  Below, Cassie, Jordon, and Justin K. take the time to read and plan their stories.

Every week, all Designers are studying new vocabulary.  These words are challenging and rigorous.  To prepare for the assessment, the class played a game on Thursday.  Below, the team of Morgan, Victoria, Skye, and Andoni literally put their heads together to think collaboratively while trying to earn points.

Government in Action

The Dynamic Design Government is up and running.  Bills are being drafted, presented, and voted on in the Legislative Branch.  The Executive Branch decides whether to sign or veto those bills, and the Judicial Branch rules on the Constitutionality of the bills.  Every community member has a role.