School News Roundup

My First Week at an American School

Ever wonder what it’s like to spend a week in a brand new place?  What about being in an America school for the first time?  Long Branch 5th teacher Mark Osofsky asked 5th grader Barbara some questions during her first week in an American school after attending her early school years in Germany.
What is one difference between school in Germany and school in America?
Spanish class was different and something I was not used to. We were never expected to learn Spanish in Germany. I was also not used to teacher walking all around the room throughout the day. In Germany the teacher spent most of the time in the front of the room.
After your first week, what is one part of school that you are excited to experience?
After the first week I am actually very excited for Spanish because it will be useful later on in my life. I have also met many other students who speak Spanish, so it is nice to learn their language as well. I am also excited for art class, which sounds awesome, because we did not have that in Germany.
What ways would you like to get involved at Long Branch? Do you have any interest in playing an instrument or joining an enrichment club at Long Branch?
I am really interested in chorus. I love singing and was part of the school choir in Germany. It is nice to see some things are the same. I am also interested in play clarinet or viola. Some after school enrichment that I would like to try is flag football and kids fitness.
What advice would you give to a student attending a new school in a new country?
Being in a new school is bit stressful. It is so new to me, everything is new. It will definitely grow on you and I really like this school now! My friends keep helping me so don’t be afraid to ask for help. 
What advice would you give to your fellow students when a new student joins their class?
Start making friends with them. Don’t look at them weird or treat them differently. Be willing and open to meeting them and being their friend.

Students, Teachers Team up to Create AR Sandbox

Students and staff at Discovery and the Arlington Career Center collaborated to build an augmented reality sandbox at each school. Following examples from UC Davis, Discovery science teacher Andrew Bridges, Yorktown consumer science teacher Greg Rusk, Stu Jessup and ITC Keith Reeves built and configured the device. It uses a short-throw projector, a high-powered-GPU standalone Linux machine, and an XBox 360 Kinect camera to instantly project a color-coded topographical map of whatever sand shape is made beneath it, and can simulate the introduction of water flow over the topography. Staff created a video showcasing the AR sandbox. Robert Johnson and his Career Center students are working on the second phase of their AR sandbox after completing the initial design last spring. You can see more here and here.

Drew Elementary Celebrates Grandparents Day.

Students and their grandparents or special friends read together and had an opportunity to do activities together to celebrate Grandparents Day at Drew.

Campbell Students Watch Butterflies Emerge 

Glencarlyn Library Master Gardener Judy Funderbunk was recently on vacation in the Poconos where she collected a number of monarch caterpillars and chrysalises. Since she has shared a number of outdoor experiences with the Campbell students, she offered to deliver them to the school. Several classrooms are now observing several stages in the monarch butterfly life cycle. On Fri, Sept. 13, Shannon O’Connor’s 5th grade class was the first to see a butterfly emerge. The students and teachers alike have enjoyed this experience immensely and look forward to waiting for the remaining butterflies to emerge.

Check out the Snakes!

Yorktown EL science teacher Justine Springberg‘s class was lucky to get an early date for their Outdoor Lab exploration. The students practiced speaking English and learned about how scientists observe their environment with a hike and visit to the Nature Lab. A delicious cookout rounded out the day and helped make the trip especially memorable.

Abingdon Teachers Attend Special Event with Mo Willems at the Kennedy Center

Abingdon teachers attended the Educator Open House at the REACH on 9/16/19. REACH is the Kennedy Center’s new complex which houses rehearsal space for musicians and dancers as well classrooms for student and educators. This was an invitation-only event for educators from select Kennedy Center partnerships. Abingdon continues its partnership with the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA)  which began in 2006. This partnership helps teachers develop their expertise in integrating the arts with the teaching of other school subjects (such as history, language arts, science) with coaching and professional development on these strategies. Teachers were treated to a special event featuring a keynote conversation with author/illustrator Mo Willems, the inaugural Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence, and Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress. They also experienced all the spaces of the REACH through music, storytelling, visual art, dance, and media workshops and performances, and learned about education opportunities in the Moonshot Studio.