What’s Happening
From September’s opening day to June’s closing ceremonies, we document and share events from all over our campus in an attempt to continuously communicate all the diverse goings-on at The Unquowa School. From school-wide events, assemblies, visiting presenters and other highlights from around campus, here’s a sample of what’s happening…
Pen & Paper, Volume 13, “New Horizons.”
Posted by Eric Snow
We are proud to announce this year’s edition of Pen & Paper, Volume 13, “New Horizons.” This edition is organized around the themes of change and transition, beginnings and endings, aspirations and dreams. The Pen & Paper editorial team has worked hard to select, edit, and organize this issue, and we couldn’t be prouder to share it with the Unquowa community. This issue is 130 pages made up of 95 pieces of art, photography, short stories, and poetry taken from submissions and the 7th and 8th Grade Voices of Change projects. There are a total of 32 contributors.
Grade 5 Theater Corps
Posted by Sarah Raggio
One of our final activities centered around our last book choice, My Brother Sam Is Dead, was a “Write and Perform Task” demonstrating one of the many conflicts that arose within the text. The students were asked to discuss the conflict, choose their characters, write a script to explain the conflict and perform it the following day. In true 5th Grade style, they independently kicked it up a notch and decided to make props. Equipped with only their imaginations, tape, a stapler, some paper and about 10 minutes, they quickly had props to use and share. They constructed campfires, hats, belts, books, muskets and bayonets and because only one group was performing at a time, they shared their creations with the other groups. With a few makeshift costumes from various closets in my house, the performances were a big hit! Way to be creative Grade 5!
Toe-ga Party!
Posted by Faith Barbuto
No not that kind of toga, this is yoga for your toes! My eager party goers were instructed to take their shoes and socks off before entering the classroom. They were visibly excited! They came in to find upbeat music, their Assembly floor cushions and pompoms dumped all over the floor. They were told to use their toes to pick up as many pompoms as they could from the floor and place them on a cushion, only one rule, they could not place them on their own cushion! This is a clever way to promote sharing and empathy while also eliminating the competition aspect of the game. They had so much fun but it got messy! No worries, clean up was step two of the fun! Different sized containers were placed around the room and children were encouraged to try throwing and blowing pompoms into each. They don’t realize they are actually doing the deep breathing part of the exercise! We experimented with the different containers and noticed which were harder to get them into- mindfulness in disguise. Before we cleaned them all up I had each child chose their favorite pompom to hold for later and then we used those to practice our Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath breathing technique by trying to blow the pompom off our cupped hand. They were over the moon when I let them take that pompom home for more practice! I learned this and so much more in my recent Deep Play for Kids certification training. I can’t wait to bring more of this to Unquowa. Classes coming soon!
Spring Musical – Seussical Jr.
Posted by Megan Kirk
Enjoy the magical performance of the 6th-8th grade Spring Musical.
Area and Perimeter Zoos!
Posted by Karen Engelke
This was a fun project for students to practice real-world math. Students used area, perimeter, and critical thinking skills to design a layout for a zoo. They were challenged to create exhibits that would adequately fit the given dimensions of each animal and the requirements needed to house them properly. They were also tasked with fitting as many exhibits as possible within the given grid paper. Lastly, they were asked to name and decorate their zoos. It was a fantastic project that the students really enjoyed.
Rainforest Adventures
Posted by Maureen Diallo
The first-grade scientists are coming to the end of a fun-filled Rainforest unit in Science! The class has explored each layer of the rainforest, including the forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent layer. They zoomed in on some pretty amazing trees and plants, such as the bromeliad which has its own water tank and is a habitat for many bugs and frogs. Our classroom became the rainforest canopy and was filled with student-created animals like spider monkeys, macaws, and emerald tree boas. The first graders also created endangered rainforest animal posters to help teach others about animals in the rainforest. Each first grader gathered all of their knowledge of the Rainforest to create a nonfiction writing piece with a supporting illustration. As a final piece to our Rainforest unit, the first graders traveled to the Beardsley Zoo and were able to see many of the animals that they learned about like the golden lion tamarind monkey, ocelot, emerald tree boa, jaguar, sloth, and spider monkey.
