Welcome to Spaces and Moments: The Unquowa Blog Page

Something is always going on at Unquowa and this is the place to keep up with all the exciting happenings. Whether in the classroom, the makerspace, on stage, or at play, every space and every moment is a chance to discover, connect, learn, and have fun. Check here frequently for news, campus-wide events, and other highlights from around campus, all posted by our inspiring teachers!

Early Childhood Earth Day

Posted by Faith Barbuto

On Monday, October 8th, our early childhood students and teachers spent the day in the great outdoors, celebrating the earth by creating our own version of Forest Kindergarten. It was a day filled with explorative play, nature-based crafts and activities and community building! Children enjoyed making muddy faces, sun catchers and headbands out of natural materials. Our literacy activity revealed how children felt when in the forest. We came inside only briefly to wash our hands and prepare a delicious make-your-own trail mix! The extended time outside allowed for building intricate block structures. Lunch was also hands on as we cooked our own snodbrod (or Danish hot dogs wrapped in dough) over the fire. The afternoon consisted of making boats out of leaves and apples and testing their buoyancy. We capped off the day with an outdoor obstacle course. Many thanks to all those who made this day possible, a great time was had by all!

An Apple A Day

Posted by Faith Barbuto

We started our week with a fun filled Autumn trip to Silverman’s Farm to pick apples. We took festive pictures, dove into corn pits and had so much fun picking apples! Each child brought home a bag of apples but what they didn’t know was they were really bringing home a bag of science experiments. On Tuesday, each child brought in a peeled cored apple and we added them to a crock pot to make homemade applesauce. We made predictions about how it would taste and marveled over how the shape and texture of the apples were completely changed by the heat. Our next experiment was to see if an apple would float. Then we made predictions about what was inside the apples and we cut into the apples to find out. We learned how to read a diagram and found out that hidden inside every apple is the shape of a star. We tasted lots of different apples and made a graph to show our favorite color. We also studied how an apple grows and made a life cycle to review the four seasons of an apple tree! How do you like them apples?

Third Graders Investigate Flowers

Posted by Mary Curran

Third graders have been examining the structures and processes of roots, stems, leaves, flowers and seeds. As part of their plant study, students learned the importance of flowers and their role in reproduction and attracting pollinators. The young botanists investigated a nasturtium flower from the Unquowa garden and carefully documented their observations. They recorded the number of petals and stamens and were challenged to identify the pistil. Many students even located the nectar at the base of the flower with a toothpick and were excited by its exceptionally sweet taste!

Lifting Our Eyes

Posted by Vincent O’Hara

The great British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton once said “If geography itself has any significance it is that we are made to lift our eyes from our small provincial selves to the whole magnificent world.” The seventh-grade humanities students have begun their year-long journey around the world. Studying the aspects of culture, they are learning about how the language, religion, government, daily life, art, economy, history, and social groups make a place unique. Our class is beginning with identifying US geography and from there we will travel due south to South America for our next novel and cultural exploration. Along the way, we will be lifting our eyes to all the beautiful geographic and cultural diversity our world has to offer.

What a Comeback!

Posted by Ms. DeAngelis

Unquowa’s fifth and sixth grade team made an incredible comeback at last Tuesday’s game against Saint Luke’s. At the end of the first half, St. Luke’s was ahead 4-1, but our Gators don’t give up that easily! Unquowa took to the field in the second half with renewed determination, and scored three more times, bringing the score to 5-4. With just six minutes left in the game, and Unquowa poised for a tie (if not a win), the referee was forced to call a break for weather as thunder boomed over head. It might not have been the outcome that our players were hoping for, but their determination and skill on the field are only increasing. This team is one to watch!

“No trying to be funny allowed!”

Posted by Alyson Cahill

6th-8th Grade After-School Improv has gotten off to a very productive (and hilarious) start! We are 16 players strong; constantly taking risks and learning how important it is to work as an ensemble-based performing team. One of the main components of improv is “don’t try so hard to be funny.” The goal is to make everyone ELSE onstage look good and by doing so, everyone is funny! By closely listening to your scene partner and reacting quickly to what they say, the comedy comes very naturally. Students are also learning the crucial element of acceptance in improvisational comedy. We begin every class with a warm-up activity called “Yes, And…” to highlight this critical component of improv. Each week brings lots of learning, listening, and of course laughter!