Seventh graders are learning this year in art to make a tessellation.  In technology class, we looked at using math and geometric shapes in SketchUp to create a tessellation.   Following a set of carefully laid out directions, the students quickly realized how they could create a simple tessellation with only a few steps.   Eager to take it to the next step, several students discovered that with the assistance of technology, they could very quickly duplicate their project to create elaborate and detailed patterns.   We look forward to seeing how this math connection leads to their success of creating these tessellations in art class.

Back in November, our sixth, seventh and eighth graders participated in the American Mathematics Contest along with more than 2200 other schools. The AMC is a 25-question, multiple-choice test. The related high school contest is part of the series of competitions that leads to the IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad.)

At assembly on January 4, Mrs. Haseltine announced the results. In third place we have a tie between seventh-grader Paul and eighth-grader Gwyneth. Seventh-grader Ian placed second and the school winner is eighth-grader Hannah, who received a school winner pin and whose name is now on the school AMC plaque.

Congratulations to everyone who participated for their excellent effort and achievement!

Seventh grade has been swimming in adjectives — alto, delgado, inteligente, estudioso, rubio — and getting everything in order is no easy task, as Spanish adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.  To practice, students wrote anonymous paragraphs describing themselves, which were then randomly redistributed to their classmates.  Based on the adjectives (and gender clues), seventh graders tracked down their mystery person.  Keep up the good work, detectives!

Seventh graders recently visited the first grade to do a mini-lesson on classroom objects.  Once paired up with a buddy, the seventh graders were charged with sharing a hand drawn picture of the classroom with their buddy and describing it to them in Spanish.  After studying the drawing, each pair was responsible for hanging up several labels on designated objects throughout the classroom.  Finally, our seventh graders equipped with the dialogues that they have been working on for their podcast project, led the first graders in a fun, interactive speaking/listening vocabulary drill to reinforce the new words. ¡Bien hecho clase!

A pre-algebra lesson on combining like terms was enhanced by the use of technology when some of the seventh graders shared their personal iPads with their classmates and used an app called Mathination. This app takes advantage of the iPad gestures: drag terms to rearrange them, pinch to combine terms or reduce fractions, stretch an expression to apply the distributive law. The app only allows for permitted manipulations of the algebraic terms, so you can only create equivalent expressions. There are model problems but you can also type in your own problems. While this was a worthwhile activity, it is not a reason to purchase an iPad, regardless of what your children might say!

Students have completed their first skit in music class!  Students were placed in groups of two or three and had to rehearse and then perform a short skit in front of the class.  Students did an excellent job in this activity! Students were focusing on how to become the characters in their skits, and make the audience believe that they were someone else.

Half of the students in eighth grade led the sixth, seventh, and remaining eighth graders on tours of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum after completing their four weeks of docent training in October. The Student Docents asked questions of their peers while viewing the museum’s current exhibitions including Chelpa Ferro, Kate Eric, Jessica Stockholder, Type A, and Judi Werthein. Additionally, the students worked on a group hands-on activity in the education center. As the current theme of the museum is related to collaboration, the students were asked to work on a group piece by each contributing to each other’s drawings. The tours were once again a great success, and it is always a pleasure to be involved in one of the Student Docent’s conversations about the art. We are looking forward to the Spring, when the other eighth graders will train to be docents and give tours of the museum to the fourth and fifth graders.

The 7th grade made a field trip to the Bronx Zoo recently to wrap up a unit on food chains and food webs. The students learned adaptations of both predators and prey hosted by Zoo naturalist Ron Griffith. The highlight of the day according to students was the guided tour Ron led the class on around the exhibits of the African Jungle. As Ron was trying to explain about how certain frogs catch fish with their hands and not their tongue, a dominant male Mandrill monkey put on a show in the neighboring window.  Acknowledging defeat (fish and frogs versus a complete family monkey show) Ron went on to explain behaviors of young adults, females and others in the large monkey family. His talk even drew outsiders to our group when he explained why a large juvenile lowland gorilla enjoyed banging on the glass and scaring a woman visitor to the zoo.