Put your forks up for the Layers of the Earth
Posted by Craig Knebel
How can we tell what the layers of the Earth are? When we can only see the top two or three miles? Grade six students had an interesting and delicious lesson completing a unit on Earth Science about studying the layers of the Earth. Part of their “assessment” was a living lab, eating layers of the Earth Cake made by a student and their family. Students were instructed to “eat the thinnest layer; eat the hottest layer, and eat the thickest layer; and enjoy!
Return of Robotics!
Posted by Lloyd Mitchell
After a year long hiatus, robotics has returned to the Unquowa Tech Lab! Sixth graders kicked off an eleven week robotics unit beginning a long adventure that will lead to programming a fully autonomous robot. Their first step was learning to program with pinpoint accuracy. Taking their starting point, they practiced calculating precise measurements with the metric system to get the robot to stop as close as possible to the edge of the table (or a ridge on Mars!). The excitement was high and after a couple of tries they achieved success!!!
Commercials!
Posted by Megan Kirk
Every Friday sixth through eighth graders at the Unquowa School have a class called ensemble period. In voice and drama this class is used to create beautiful choral music, work on our acting skills through improv and script readings, learn choreography for large group numbers and much more! It is a class full of energy, laughter, and beauty! Last week students had the challenge of creating comedic commercials with a random object. The only catch was, you could not use the object as what it really is! For example, one group had a paper bowl. They could not use this prop as a bowl so they turned it into a hat and created their commercial based around that. Students had five minutes to brainstorm a plan with their groups, but then had to get on stage and improv their commercials. The students loved performing in front of one another! They worked on vocal projection, stage presence, and how to think on your feet as an actor. The laughter was contagious! Students left class with huge smiles on their faces and pride in their short scenes!
Learn from our Brook, not just a book!
Posted by Craig Knebel
The 6th grade science class took the lesson outside to come up with a definition of Erosion without looking at a textbook! They investigated evidence of erosion in our own Horse Tavern Brook on the The Unquowa School campus. Students sketched what they saw, then investigated the areas they had drawn. They were encouraged to just be kids – to discover, to ask why and how! Sometimes, a science lesson can purely just be about exploring!!!
Unquowa Cross Country Is Back!
Posted by Sarah Pollex
Our athletes know that best times are the ultimate prize. They are running against themselves and setting short-term and long-term goals to monitor their progress. On September 30, our Gators raced their first meet of the season at Penfield Beach. The tide was in but that didn’t discourage them! It only motivated our athletes to attack the course with more determination as they raced to the jetty and back again! We had a record number of runners place in the top five:
-Grade 5 girls: Dahlia 1st; Sierra 2nd
-Grade 5 boys: Oscar 1st; Jack 2nd
-Grade 6 girls: Emily 5th
-Grade 6 boys: Ryan 5th
-Grade 8 girls: Madison 3rd
-Grade 8 boys: Bryan 3rd
Congratulations to these individuals for placing in the top 5 and to the entire team for achieving personal best times!
6-8 Soccer Kicks the Season Off!
Posted by Lloyd Mitchell
6-8 Soccer trekked up to Ridgefield Academy for their first game of the 2021 season. Nerves were running and adrenaline was pumping as the squad stepped off the bus and onto the field to play against their first opponent of the season. The game seesawed back and forth for the entire first half ending with a just missed shot as the half ended by 8th grader Michael. At the end of the half, the score stood deadlocked at 0-0.
Second half proved to be another fierce half of soccer with both teams battling for possession and looking for that elusive first goal. In the final 5 minutes of the game, Ridgefield broke through our iron wall defense and tallied 3 goals in the final 5 minutes. While we didn’t come out on top, we are certainly proud of our showing in the first game in nearly 2 years! We look forward to getting back on the field for our next game! Go Gators!!!
