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Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Tremendous Transformations in Writing” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Today, our classroom was filled with more creating, collaborating, and community-building. We started our day with an in-depth look at character development. We watched a short video from “Pixar in a Box” that invited us to think about how conflict can reveal character and lead to transformation. We applied this new knowledge to the short...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “The Science of Senses” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Hello families! Today was SIGHT DAY in our Science of the Senses course! To begin our day, students engaged in a “turning our brains on” introduction activity, which involved exploring the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition images (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/). It’s worth checking out if you’re interested! The students viewed an image of Slime Mold (which is...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Coding and Robotics” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Today was all about autonomous driving machines! These lessons involved quite a bit of math, so I started the day by reading Count on Me by Miguel Tanco. This book introduced our first vocabulary term for today: trajectory. We also worked as a group to define “line.” Our unplugged activity helped students conceptualize the difference...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Creature Connections: Animals, Humans, and the Natural World” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 9, 2025—Dear Families, Day three of SAVY Summer 2025: Creature Connections was another day filled with learning and discovery, and I know your SAVY zoologist will be excited to tell you about it! We started the day focused on our concept of interactions. We watched a video from Kid President about kindness and analyzed...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Creative Contraptions: A Study of Inventions” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 9, 2025—Day three of Creative Contraptions has been busy and full of fun! We began by discussing simple machines. We talked about how simple machines do not change the amount of work, but they make it easier. We also watched a quick video of a Rube Goldberg machine designed to pour milk into a cup. We...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Wonders of Electrochemistry” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—SAVY Families, Day 2 of Wonders of Electrochemistry was action-packed with discoveries, challenges, and meaningful discussions! Today, we focused on the dynamic duo that makes electrochemistry tick: oxidation and reduction reactions, also known as REDOX reactions. We started the day by thinking critically with our ice breaker, “What could we use to power our...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Social Determinants of Health: How Communities and Policies Impact Well-Being” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Good afternoon, We had a great second day of class! We covered a lot of new material today related to the Social Determinants of Health and policy. Our class took time today to explore the intersection of policy, local government, and public health, and how these systems influence the health and well-being of our communities. ...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Math & Music” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Today’s Math and Music class dove deep into the world of copyright. We began by discussing what makes a work qualify as copyright infringement versus simply drawing inspiration from another artist’s creation. The conversation sparked some lively debate as students explored how originality and influence intersect in music. Some students argued that if it sounded...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Truth v Perception” (5th-6th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Hello families! The theme of today was ‘twisting our perceptions’. We started out discussing things we can empirically know with our senses, a la Aristotle, before jumping into an icebreaker called ‘Two Truths and a Lie.’ We then asked ourselves how to determine the truth from a lie, and what is disillusionment? We talked about...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Solving the Chemical Spill: Navigating Ecological and Chemical Systems” (5th-6th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Dear Parents, This continues to be a fun group of students who are full of ideas, hypotheses, and questions! This morning, we checked on yesterday’s experiment. The students discussed their observations regarding the reactions of the items in the vinegar (substance “A”) and baking soda (substance “B”). Later, after looking at topographic maps,...