What Do Oceanography and Empathy Have In Common?

Our K-8 assemblies really have been phenominal this year, and today's edition continued with that excellence. What made it so special was both the quality of the student sharing -- powerful and important subjects of both environmental and social justice were discussed -- as well as the deeply respectful listening that the audience showed throughout the event!

After a welcome from Mitch, Strawberry Creek (4th/5th grade) presented a two-part showcase of learning. The first segment drew on their recent unit on oceanography and marine biology to explain what happens when garbage winds up in the ocean (i.e. the Pacific Trash Patch) through a skit, direct conversation, and a movie the students made (I'll try to update this post with the video!).

The second portion of their presentation was a panel discussion on the perjorative use of the phrase "That's so gay." Students shared the history of the word gay, how it came be used as a slur, and the importance of THINKing before speaking.

Student Life Coordinator Kate Klaire then made an announcement about the upcoming No Name Calling Week curriculum block, which began today in K-5 and will continue for the next four weeks.

The Middle School continued the assembly with a wonderful presentation on the service learning projects they implemented the day before Winter Break. Below are just a few of the pictures from the slideshow, with the text of their presentations embedded along the way.

The day before Winter Break was the first of four Advisory Service Days in the 7th and 8th grade.  There are four very different organizations that we are partnering with this year and every advisory will have the opportunity to volunteer at each of them.  The idea is that we get a chance to try out different kinds of service, and experience helping all different kinds of people in different ways, so that we can figure out for ourselves how we might like to serve in the future.   It was a great way to spend the day before the holidays.

Norman’s advisory went to the mouth of School House Creek where it empties into the Bay along the Bay Trail.  The Middle School has officially adopted this part of the shoreline.   Our intention in going was to clean up the beach and record data about what we collected.  We picked up trash and sorted it depending on what it was.  The reason they record the data is to try and get an idea of where the trash is coming from so they can maybe do something about it.  For example Shorebird Nature Center helped to get plastic bags banned in Berkeley by using this kind of data.  We found 556 pieces of plastic plus tons more identifiable items.  We liked seeing all of the different things that washed up on shore because so much more than you think ends up in the Bay.   It made us all think about how if we keep on using so much plastic, how much there will be in the environment when we have children.

Craig’s advisory went to TBS’s Early Childhood Center.  We went to help the teachers make the kids feel happy, so the kids will know what it feels like to spend time with older kids and so that we get experience spending time with younger kids.  We traced continents for their map work, painted with them, read to them, did magic tricks for them and helped them build with blocks.  We liked how well behaved the kids were and noticed what great imaginations they have.  It was fun to play in that way again.   For some of us it was cool to see our old ECC teachers.

Kim’s advisory went to St. Paul’s Towers in Oakland, near Lake Merritt.  It is a senior facility that has different levels of care for elderly people.  Before we went we talked to a geriatrician and she told us about different things they do there, the levels of care, and some of the challenges we might face in talking to them.   We went to bond with the elders and help to make their holidays happy.  We brought instruments and prepared some songs to sing.  They have always wanted us to sing for them and it was cool that they sang along. We also decorated cookies with them which we liked because it was an easy way to bond with them.  Some of them have dementia or can’t hear very well so sometimes its hard to talk to them.  It wasn’t an easy experience, but it was valuable to connect with a different generation.  We got to learn about what their lives were like.  It is good to have another perspective on things that is not your own.

 

Tanya’s advisory went to Glide Memorial Church to serve lunch.  Glide’s goal is to alleviate suffering and break the cycle of poverty for people.   One of the ways they do that is through their meals program.   We took BART there and spent the day serving  600 people hot lunch.  The majority of the people that came through were elderly.  Some of them didn’t look homeless but down on their luck and in need of a good meal.  We always have our meals and our wonderful lunch program and so many take that granted.   Downtown San Francisco is right next to the Tenderloin and the fact that Glide is able to be right on that border and reach so many people is amazing.

The assembly ended with Owen (our K-8 music teacher) leading the school in The Empathy Song, by local hero Brett Dennan.

Parent Ed event on Conflict Resolution

Scenes from Step-Up Day

Today was our annual Step-Up Day, when students at each level "step up" to the next level for the morning to experience what life will be like in the next grade: ECC to K, 1st to 2nd, 3rd to 4th, 5th to 6th, and 6th to 7th (the 8th grade spent the morning working on their graduation projects). This event helps children engage in the transition to a new role, whether moving to a new classroom or, for current K, 2nd, and 4th graders, experiencing what it will be like to be the elders in a  classroom with a younger cohort joining them. Here are some photos from the event.

Blackberry (K/1): During an open work period, children were at the listening station, painting with watercolors, doing needlepoint, and in the block area.

 

 

Laurel Creek (K/1): During an open work period, children were playing games, in the block area, in the dress-up, doing logic games on the computer, making flags, and working at the creation station.

 

Sweet Briar (2/3): During math period, children played the game "Skunk"

 

 

 


Temescal (2/3): During an open work period, children were using the Montessori maps, the Montessori bells, using geometric cubes to do multiplication, and drawing three dimensional shapes on 3D graph paper.

 

 


Cerrito and Strawberry (4/5): During a math workshop, children were in pairs and table groups playing games including Close to 100, Boxed In, Top Sums, Concentration, and Find That Number.

 

 

 

Recess Before Lunch

Here's the letter that went home this week about our implementation of Recess Before Lunch.

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Dear K-5 families,

As you may have heard from your child(ren), we are holding recess before lunch (“RBL”) this year. After successfully testing the program with the K/1 classrooms in the spring of 2011, we’ve decided to fully implement the program for grades K-5 for the 2011-2012 academic year.

RBL fits closely with our school’s emphasis on considering children’s social and emotional needs, along with their nutritional ones, as we design a program that is developmentally responsive. Our own experience, and the substantial research done in the field, shows that RBL leads to kids eating more lunch, since they aren’t in a hurry to get out to recess, and it also leads to a more courteous environment during the lunch period, as the kids have already had the chance to run, play, and get the gross motor exercise they need. Additional benefits that we have observed include decreased conflicts during recess, a smoother transition back into academic experiences in the afternoon, and improved afternoon attentiveness from the students.

If you are interested in learning more about RBL, I encourage you to read a widely distributed article that appeared in the NY Times last January. Additional info is available at the websites of Peaceful Playgrounds, the Montana Office of Public Instruction, and the School Nutrition Association, among many others.

Many of the other best practices of our lunch and recess program will continue. Like last year, the 2/3 students will have recess in either Strawberry Creek Park or Berkeley Way Mini-park once a week, while the 4/5 students will have recess in the park three times a week. Fortunately, this year we are also able to coordinate the 6^th grade to be with the 4/5 once a week as well. Teachers’ close supervision on the playground during recess is being augmented by the work done by Kate Klaire, our Recess and Social facilitator (and EGG Director), who is currently working with the students to establish recess agreements. And of course, we are continuing to supervise student hand-washing before they eat.

If you have any questions, please ask, and thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Zachary Roberts,

Associate Head of School

Social dynamics

Today I watched a 4/5 class struggle with resolving a difficult issue - exclusion during play and recess. One student had brought up the issue of exclusion through the notebook that serves as a place to log topics students want to discuss in class meetings. The class gathered in a circle, and using a koosh ball as a talking object, systematically gave everyone the chance to speak on the topic (only a few chose to pass). The class generally fell into two camps - a small group of students, perhaps four or five, who are concerned that exclusion occurs regularly during playtime, and a much larger group that wanted to protect their rights to play with whomever they chose during recess and free time. The conversation, while not a back-and-forth dialogue because of the speak-once mechanism of the meeting structure, still traced an arc of movement; the first group acknowledged and agreed with the view of the second group, but was still able to point out that having to ask to be included, as had been suggested, led to hurt feelings when the answer was "no". Going around the circle once took 15 minutes; they agreed to continue the conversation at a later time. There is no easy answer to this topic, of course, which is why I was so pleased to see them wrestling with the hard answer - to process different perspectives and experiences, and experiment with the modes of their peers.