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.

VKAT's Red Ribbon Week

All week, Dynamic Design has been supporting Vermont Kids Against Tobacco's "Red Ribbon Week."  Students got to wear hats on Monday, sports shirts on Tuesday, and Wednesday was Wear Red Day:

Thursday, we'll sport Super Hero clothes, and Friday is Raider Pride Blue & White Day!

What's Happening in Dynamic Design?

From Open House to NECAPs and everything in between, Dynamic Design has been very busy! In addition to all the great learning we're doing, we've been having a lot of fun, too! Here are some highlights and pictures from the last few weeks:

• Dynamic Design continued their annual tradition of decorating the SACS' Cafeteria for the Open House Harvest Dinner; it's always a fun service project!

     

• We also took a field trip to the Shelburne Museum and participated in workshops aligned with our current Government & Citizenship Thematic Unit; we'd like to thank the staff there for a great experience! 

   

 

• This week, to have a break and a special treat during the hard work of NECAP testing, our students worked with Mrs. Smith, our Farm-to-School Coordinator, to make Apple Crisp from some of our healthy snack - YUM! 

• On Thursday, October 10th, a group of Dynamic Design students presented to the St. Albans City School Board about the work we do to facilitate and promote Sustainable Fundraising in our school. The students did a great job, and thank you to the School Board for hosting us! 

• On Friday, October 11th, some Dynamic Design alumni and current BFA students came to talk to our 7th and 8th graders about the transition to high school and how our students can best prepare for it. Their information was very insightful and helpful! 

 

Learning in the Classroom and Beyond!

Dynamic Design is engaging in some deep learning!  In addition to preparing for NECAPs next week, students are learning more about American systems of government in various ways.  This includes the creation and operation of our own branches of government, complete with a Constitution, as well as deep analysis of the current government shutdown and other current events by means of Socratic Seminar discussions.  Through a variety of interactive and cooperative learning, students are learning more and more about government and what it means to be a good citizen.

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This Friday, October 4, we also ventured to the Shelburne Museum to participate in the Passport to Learning, an exciting series that meets the educational standards of Vermont’s Common Core. Students participated in various workshops that relate to the content covered in our current 21st Century theme, Citizenship & Government. Workshops included a traditional town hall meeting, exploring the judicial system, and simulating a barter & trade economic system. It was a great day to explore.

Click here to view an album of fun photos from the field trip!