SAVY Category
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 5, “Exploring Epidemiology One Microorganism at a Time” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 18, 2025—Dear parents, This morning, we observed, analyzed, and drew conclusions about our moldy bread and homemade pickle experiments. Then, we sampled our pickles. We discussed bacteria growth conditions. The students learned the difference between symbiotic (beneficial) vs. pathogenic (harmful) relationships. And, we talked about animal symbiotic relationships. We learned how some bacteria are helpful to...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 5, “Water and Weather” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 18, 2025—Today marked the final day of our week-long exploration of Water and Weather, and students truly shone as young meteorologists and scientists. The day began with excitement as students learned they would be creating and presenting their own weather forecasts! Working in teams, they ventured outside to collect weather data, predicted tomorrow’s conditions, and practiced...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 5, “Intro to Coding” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 18, 2025—We had an awesome final day of class! Students were focused, worked hard, and managed time well. Our final project allowed students to be game designers. To help get creative juices flowing, I read What Do You Do With An Idea? By Kobi Yamada. We reviewed the engineering design process before beginning the challenge. Each...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 5, “Encounters with Measurement” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 18, 2025—Dear SAVY Families, I can’t believe that we have already completed SAVY Summer 2025 Session Five: Encounters with Measurement. This week has been incredibly fun for me as I learned from and with the SAVY mathematicians. I hope your SAVY mathematicians feel the same! Most of our day was spent on completing our final project....
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “Writing History: Truth and Lessons in the Past” (7th-8th)
Jul. 17, 2025—Day Four! This was a WOW! A day in the life of the Writing History class. Students were given several actual resources: numerous newspaper clippings from the Nashville area around the time of WWII, actual war letters received between a husband and wife, black and white photos, and a selection of certificates and official letters...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “Utopia or Dystopia: The Nature of Power” (7th-8th)
Jul. 17, 2025—Hello Families and Students! What a great morning and afternoon as we continued to make leadership decisions for our city-states and face real-world scenarios that might threaten the peace, disrupt our economies, and tip our power structures. As we continued to develop our city-states, we needed to take a closer look at different economic systems...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “Hidden Chemistry: Everyday Chemical Reactions” (7th-8th)
Jul. 17, 2025—SAVY Families, Today in Hidden Chemistry: Everyday Chemical Reactions, we explored the fascinating chemistry behind the food we eat. Students investigated how different chemical reactions transform ingredients during cooking and baking, making meaningful connections between science and the kitchen. Our learning objectives today focused on helping students understand that food preparation involves scientific principles and...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “The Origins of Math: Discovery or Invention?” (5th-6th)
Jul. 17, 2025—As it has been our tradition since Tuesday, we started the day with cognitive puzzles, flying contraptions, and mad marbles. Since the Origins of Math scholars have collectively and individually raised their skills and confidence in math and word puzzles. Today, several volunteers presented their solutions to the most difficult Mensa problems. It is worth...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “Programming and Robotics” (5th-6th)
Jul. 17, 2025—Day 4 of Programming and Robotics led us straight into discussions about autonomous vehicles and exploring ways to build and program them. We began the day learning about autonomous taxis, how many variables engineers have to account for, and how important sensors are to the process. We then took a little in-building field trip to observe...
Summer SAVY, Session 5 Day 4, “From Myth to Modern Legend: Greek Mythology” (5th-6th)
Jul. 17, 2025—Today in Greek Mythology, we focused on the later elements of the Greek mythology canon. In particular, we learned about Orpheus, Atalanta (one of the most famous female heroes in the mythology canon), and Jason and the Argonauts. We even had a foot race to simulate the one that Atalanta participated in! Then in the...