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Solar and Wind Power: Engineering by Design

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Solar and Wind Power: Engineering by Design

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Writers' Workshop Choose Your Own Adventure

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Writers' Workshop Choose Your Own Adventure

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Every year, thousands of Latin students across the United States and the world take the National Latin Exam (NLE). The NLE is not meant to be a competition, but rather an opportunity for students "to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and success in their study of the Latin language and culture."Depending upon their score in relation to the national average, students may earn certificates, medals, and may even qualify for scholarships. This year, 31 of our Grade 7 students participated in the Introduction to Latin level exam. The national score average this year was 33/40, higher than past years. We are pleased to report that 16 students received certificates and 12 of them were also awarded medals (8 silver and 4 gold). We are very proud of all the Grade 7 students for the time and effort they have put into their Latin study.

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Grade 4 students are studying the Quabbin Reservoir, looking at a timeline of the creation of the reservoir and discussing the reasons why it was created. As part of their yearlong focus on water in science class (having recently constructed their own watersheds) students will learn about the Quabbin Reservoir’s impact on the people and geography of Massachusetts in both social studies and science. Also, we will have a virtual visit from a member of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation who will speak to students about her focused work at the Quabbin Reservoir.

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Grade 5 students just completed a "Choose Your Own Adventure" project in which they collaborated to write Fantasy/Science Fiction stories. Upon completion, students formatted their work to look like a published novel. To top off this unit, students used an app called Tinkercad to design and print out a 3D figurine that accompanies their story. The photo above is a 3D dragon designed by a group of students who wrote their SciFi story about different dragons you can form a bond with and their different powers.

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Fantasy stories (Jameson) for assembly.mp4

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As part of their unit on renewable energy, Grade 6 students engaged in the engineering by design process to build wind turbines, pictured above. Throughout this unit in science class, students answered essential questions such as: What are renewable sources of energy? What is the engineering process? How is failure integral to success in engineering? They then put their design to the test and reflected on effective design or revisions to be made.

Also in science class, students just completed their Environmental Passion Project in which they chose an environmental issue they care about, performed research, and presented their findings with a call to action/impact. Students could choose from topics that impact our local community and state, such as: invasive plants or animals; water pollution; recycling; hazardous waste; wind energy or solar power; artificial turf fields; trash reduction through "swap shops" and/or "pay-as-you-throw" fees; electric vehicle use; and many more!

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In order to build an understanding of form vs. function, engineering, and circuitry, as well as hone in on abilities to problem solve, collaborate, think critically, and be creative, Grade 8 science spent time last term working with Vex Robotics. There were two challenges that students had to complete within their groups. In challenge #1, students were tasked with following a set of directions to build a standard clawbot. This step familiarized students with the tools, components, and functionality of the robots. In challenge #2, students built a competition robot to see who could create the best robot for a robotics competition. Teams used their clawbot from the first challenge as a base setup for their competition robot. From there they removed and added on any features of their choosing to achieve the goals of the head-to-head robotics competition. After meticulous work and collaboration throughout both challenges, our Grade 8 robots competed in the arena featured in the picture above, which was set up in our School's Discovery Barn (which opened this winter).