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.
Readers Theatre!
Posted by Megan Kirk
Second grade is taking advantage of our outdoor stage to perform some readers theatre! We have been working on how to create or characters, stage directions, vocal projection, diction, and how to read from a script! Second graders have been having a blast working on a short play called Slumber Party in the Woods!
Russian Luncheon – Priyatnava Appetita!
Posted by Ariel Warshaw
Over the last few weeks, 7th grade Humanities students have been learning about the Russian Revolution, the spread of communism, and the Soviet Union. To go along with our study of the history, they have been reading Animal Farm by George Orwell, which is an allegory about the Russian Revolution. To wrap up this unit, the 7th graders prepared a delectable Russian lunch for the entire school. See below for their menu. Priyatnava Appetita!
Soup: Shchi – This rustic tomato-based soup is filled with cabbage, potatoes, and dill. It’s vegetarian and delicious!
Main: Traditional Beef Stroganoff – This hearty dish contains beef sirloin in a mushroom and onion cream sauce. It’s truly scrumptious!
Side: Buttered Egg Noodles – The perfect vehicle for all that rich stroganoff sauce!
Salad: Russian Carrot Salad – This salad has grated carrots with sautéed onions in a vinegar, paprika, and coriander dressing. Since the stroganoff is thick and creamy, the salad goes perfectly with it and cuts through the heaviness. It’s very tasty and fresh!
Dessert: Russian Tea Cakes – These shortbread cookies are rolled in powdered sugar after baking and melt in your mouth. It’s hard to eat just one!
Making New Friends in School and Beyond!
Posted by Faith Barbuto
While we sometimes struggle to find enough time to meet, once we are together our PK and 5A buddies certainly are not lacking in enthusiasm. We started the year super exited to return to in person collaboration by reading books together! When my PK students wanted to learn more about the game 4Square, the 5th graders eagerly accepted the challenge! They researched the rules and how to play and demonstrated for us. They played along side us and I was so impressed with their patience and innovation! One idea Mrs Raggio and I wanted to execute was to write letters to a retirement home and establish some penpals. We did not have a list of who to write to so we decided to just send some out titled, Dear New Friend. Together the buddies wrote letters telling their prospective penpals a little about themselves and asking them some questions in hopes of getting a return letter. And we did! We were so excited to see the responses come in. With tears in our eyes we read how happy they were to get our letters! Hopefully this is beginning of a beautiful friendship.
A “Red Scare” Simulation
Posted by Ariel Warshaw
To culminate our mini-unit on the Second Red Scare in America, 8th grade Humanities students participated in a dynamic activity that replicated the hysteria and unfounded accusations of the McCarthy Era. Those familiar with the party game “Mafia” were excited to engage in this different version. Most students were assigned the role of Citizen, and then 1 played Sen. Joseph McCarthy, 2 played members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), 1 played an FBI Agent, 1 played the Lawyer, and finally 2 were Communists (Alger Hiss and Julius Rosenberg). These were randomly decided by role playing cards. The goal was to figure out who the 2 communists were before they stole US secrets. This activity really highlighted the wild accusations and unjust methodology used at the time, and proved to be an incredibly engaging finale to our study of this era!
Change for Change
Posted by Betsey Young
It was not a “coin-cedence” that Grade Two launched “Change for Change”. To help us make “cents” of our unit on money and a small difference in the world, we collected change from our Unquowa community during the month of April. We are proud and grateful to have raised $583.62 for Save the Children! “cent-sational”!
