Seniors kept busy on their day off on Monday, working to prepare their college essays. Ms. Latham and Mr. O’Brien, the college counselors, set the day aside for students to work one-on-one in virtual conferences with the two of them, Ms. Foley, Mr. Day, Ms. Breitman, and Ms. Seid to receive feedback on their college essays and personal statements. Students signed up for half-hour shifts throughout the day. Along with Financial Aid Night, and evenings devoted to preparing Juniors and Seniors for the college search, these conferences have allowed students to continue to have the close attention of teachers, advisors, and college counselors as they work to plan their futures.
Ninth graders in Mr. Baum’s English class started Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart last week and are continuing their studies of Indigenous groups. The book covers life in Nigeria before colonialism and the arrival of the Europeans and religious missionaries. Over the summer the ninth graders also read books from the Binti series. This science fiction novella by Nnedi Okorafor tells the story of the intergalactic Himba ethnic group, based on the Himba people, an indigenous group for Namibia. As the grade will proceed with other books about societies and rebellion, they will evaluate classical Greek texts like Antigone and science fiction stories Fahrenheit 451. Evaluating common themes through different lenses in English class allows students to broaden their critical thinking skills and make cross-cultural connections to see how history repeats itself through various writings.
Students in AP Language and Communication with Mr. Day have turned their attention to politics in recent weeks. Students used the Presidential and Vice Presidential debate to evaluate various rhetorical skills used by each of the candidates to get their points across. Meanwhile, Mr. Day is also making modern day in his 10th grade English classes, drawing connections between the experiences of Penelope and Telemachus in the Odyssey to the experiences of citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic. By making these modern connections to classical concepts, he is showing students how their education in history and literature remains relevant in everyday current events.
In Ms. Barlev’s eighth grade science class, students are taking a hands-on approach to the solar system. She has provided students with an activity pack including foam balls, toothpicks and a flashlight to gain a better understanding of aspects of the solar system. This week students worked in groups to discuss how to use these materials to present the solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, moon phases, transition between day and night, and solar year using props to demonstrate how these natural events occur. Students used Zoom to meet and discuss these topics during the asynchronous class, and they will be presenting their demonstrations during synchronous time in class. Ms. Barlev, and our science teachers know that a hands-on approach to learning natural phenomena helps kids wrap their bodies and brains around the ideas and commit them to memory. The social interaction of group work is important during distance learning because it allows students to connect and build on each other’s ideas.
In Ancient Civilizations class with Mr. Wills, seventh graders are currently learning about archaeology and the early discoveries of human fossils and artifacts in Africa. This weekend students will start to collect interesting artifacts in their homes, and share them with the class. Their class presentations in the coming weeks will be like a game show, or like the PBS show, Antique Roadshow. Mr. Wills likes to keep history fresh and modern, by helping students connect themes from ancient times to discussions about modern day life. This includes conversations in class about politics and his work as the advisor for Model UN.
In the flower beds near the parking lot, Director of Facilities Mr. Figueroa has cultivated new life with his world renowned green thumb. In the flower boxes, which once were largely barren, new life has appeared, in the form of numerous blossoms and butterflies. Mr. Figueroa has previously taught a gardening elective at Latin, and helped build the tremendous garden at the school’s front, which includes multiple edible plants like basil. He also cultivates hydroponic tower gardens that grow greens in the school and maintains Latin’s bee hive, helping gather our school’s own collection of honey.
