The Weekly Newsletter
Week 36, June 26-30
Welcome back! This week was such a blast- it was natural disasters week! This week we all learned so much about all the different types of natural disasters, the science behind them, and safety/prevention information. Lots more information on this below! Here’s a look into our week!:
Monday was our end of the year party! Thank you all for coming to support these phenomenal kids. It was so special to have everyone together to celebrate this past year and all of the amazing progress everyone made. I feel that each person has grown so much in their own way, both personally and academically. There have been highs and lows, laughter and tears, joy and challenges. I also want to give a special shout out to the 8th graders who gave amazing speeches! Public speaking, and speech writing, is no easy feat! Thankfully you are a great (and supportive) crowd 🙂
First thing on Monday the navigators got to watch The Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped Out the Window and Disappeared. It was good they got to watch it, but let’s just say books are usually better than the book interpretation…and this was no exception 😉
On Monday, we launched our natural disasters project with discussing all the different types of natural disasters. The Eagles learned about prevention, why they happen, how to stay safe, and more! They split into teams and did research on each natural disaster, presented to the class, and then together we played an awesome game of Jeopardy- natural disaster edition.
Tuesday’s project time was all about tornadoes and hurricanes. We talked about human impact and how to reduce the risk of natural disasters. The students learned more as they created their own models of these two disasters: a hurricane demonstration with water, a bowl, and food coloring; and a vortex with water bottles and water.
On Wednesday, we learned all about tsunamis and volcanoes! We went over local information and where the tsunami zone is here in our area. The students then build their very own volcanoes! They had to give specific information about the location of the volcano, why it’s about to erupt, the type, and the why they chose the name they did. Then using vinegar and baking soda….they erupted!
In art this week, the students were given materials to make 4th of July flags. Although the assignment was introduced as “make your own American flag”, the kids got super creative with it and made all different kinds of flags, some paying homage to the states and some not! It was really fun!
Thursday’s project time was all about earthquakes and how to stay safe! The students did a virtual earthquake safety activity where they proofed a room and made sure all items were secure. Then they each built mini structures out of toothpicks and marshmallows to withstand a mini earthquake. They all passed with flying colors 🙂 Next they began their final projects: an invention to help keep people safer during a natural disaster. They all built their own models to present, along with a 3-5 minute presentation that they gave on Friday!
On Friday we had a socratic discussion about a Newsela article that discussed rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. The article discussed the potential harm such advancements could do to the world, while also weighing in the major positive aspects of it.
We wrapped up the project with an awesome hero’s journey presentation. Russ came in and shared his story about the category 5 hurricane he lived through: Hurricane Andrew! It was quite the story!