Middle School Service Reflection Day
On Friday, May 13th the Middle School gathered to reflect on and celebrate the past year of service projects. This annual event consists of discussions about the individual projects and an assembly at which a video is shown, awards are given, and reports are presented. The group that regularly visited Inglis House, one of the toughest service projects, was enthusiastic. They talked about the difficulties: sometimes it was discouraging, sometimes it was hard to find things to talk about with the residents. Nevertheless, all of the participants would do it again, and they had ideas for making the experience better both for themselves and for the residents: they should go more often, do more dancing, have more activities. “You really need to bring something to talk about,” said one student, “you have to lead the conversation.” Cumulatively, over 4000 service hours were logged.
Pre-K Sign a Rainbow in Upper School
The Pre-K made the trek to Upper School to perform some songs in sign language in what was surely one of the high point assemblies of the year for the Upper School students. The Pre-K has been learning American Sign Language with Lower School Head, Maggie Granados this year. In addition to the songs they signed, they taught the Upper School students how to sign words including giraffe, orange, blue, and happy.
Parking Lot Math
On the parking lot outside Brownell House, there is a large circle, drawn in chalk, along with some mathematical notations: p = . . . It seems that the sixth grade, under the direction of Joey Scornavacchi, was deriving the number for pi. They were given a rope, a tape measure, a piece of sidewalk chalk, and a calculator. By measuring the circumference and diameter of the circle, they could figure out the value of pi, thus proving for themselves how and why it works. They also had a bit of a history lesson, learning how people originally figured out the number. “They did really well!” said Joey. “The standard is 3.14. One group arrived at 3.37 and the other at 3.26.” And they won’t forget it.
D.A.R.E. Graduation
Fifth graders earned their diplomas having completed the D.A.R.E. course offered by Lower Merion Township Officer Joseph Haungs. During the course, students learned about resisting pressure to try alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, and the effects that drugs and alcohol have. At the completion of the course, students wrote essays on what they had learned throughout the unit. The students received D.A.R.E. t-shirts and a certificate of completion.
Blum Receives National Service Award
Samantha Blum, a current sophomore, received a National Service Award on May 26, 2005 "in recognition of extraordinary dedication to enhancing the lives of individuals with special needs." The award was presented by The North American Consortium of Special Educators in Central Agencies for Jewish Education and the Jewish Education Service of North America at a culminating ceremony at the Auerbach Central Agency of Jewish Education in Elkins Park. Samantha was one of twenty Reta Emerson Fellows who participated in a year-long training program and weekly volunteer experience for working with children with special needs in a religious school setting. Her work with children living on the spectrum of autism and fragile-X syndrome was "challenging and rewarding."
Inventions: The Musical
The Electric Slide, Yellow Submarine, and Lollipop, were some of the songs fourth graders used to entertain classmates and parents in their original play, Inventions: The Musical. The play highlighted some of the important inventions of the 20th century, including the telephone, the locomotive, blue jeans, the light bulb, and even the lollipop. The play was written by Ingrid Serrell, and directed by all the fourth grade teachers, and it was clear from the smiles on the faces of the performers that they were having a lot of fun presenting it to the packed house.
June 1, 2005
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