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!

Team Job Groups

On Thursday, our newly formed Team Job groups presented themselves to the Learning Community.  The purpose of the groups is to help our learning community run safely & efficiently, to help everyone achieve, and for everyone to feel included and cared about.  Each group had to write their Mission Statement and create a list of their Responsibilities.  The groups are:  Clean Team, Snack Team, Compost Team, Bulletin Board Team, Tech Team, Garden Team, Energy Team, Celebration Team, Wellness Team, Team-Building Team, Supply Team, and Team Council.

Click here to see pictures of the Teams!

Chefs-in-Training

A few of our students have recently been assigned a job to be in charge of our team's fresh fruit and vegetable snack and composting.  Then, they got a special opportunity to work with our principal, Ms. Cavallo, and our Farm-to-School Coordinator, Mrs. Smith, to prepare, from scratch, a fresh lemon-blueberry salad dressing for the Open House meal.  This group had a lot of fun and were so proud to show off their finished product - the Dynamic Design teachers even got a special preview tasting!

News from Language Arts

In Language Arts, students are presenting their first major book project, a "Book Trailer" about their independent summer reading book.

Created by Nick