Monday (June 8)

Hello SAVY Families,  

The animal expert in your family had a thrilling first day of SAVY Session 1: Creature Connections. I am eager to tell you about the learning that took place today!  

To start the day, we laid the foundation for our course. Through a reading of The Great Kapok Tree, students were introduced to the concept of interactions. An interaction is defined as “communication or direct involvement between someone or something.” Students noted interactions between living plants and animals and nonliving factors in the story. We then had our first of many mini debates: Should humans cut down trees for the purpose of shelter and safety? It was fascinating to see the SAVY students present their thoughts, and many of them changed their ideas once more evidence from The Great Kapok Tree was presented. To end this lesson, our class came up with four generalizations of interactions: interactions are inevitable, interactions allow for changes, interactions are caused by multiple influences, and interactions can be positive, negative, or mutually beneficial.  

Later, we focused our learning on interactions between living and nonliving things in an environment. First, students had to draw their own model of a food chain, noting how their chosen animals interact with one another through energy transfer. Then, we thought about these food chains in the context of their environment including both the biotic, living, factors, and abiotic, nonliving, factors. Using a series of six cubes, different biotic and abiotic factors were thrown into each of the students’ environments. The SAVY students were challenged to think about the effect of that new biotic or abiotic factor on their environment and draw a model for how that may affect all other living and nonliving things. For example: how would increasing a producer change the environment and the food chain? What happens if you decrease one of the consumers? How would a change in the temperature impact the environment? The discussions from this activity lead many of the SAVY students to make deep connections to the constantly changing world around them. We watched a short video to introduce the concept of climate change and discussed how major changes, like climates or natural disasters, may affect a series of living and nonliving things. Finally, students were faced with a problem: your school is building a new gymnasium, but that will require a pond to be filled in. How will this change, which will benefit your school, harm the environment?  

At the end of the day, we met for closing circle and tied all our learning together through a series of inquiry-based questions and by connecting our activities to the generalizations of interactions. I am so impressed with the students’ hard work today, and I am looking forward to learning together for the rest of this week! 

Questions to ask your SAVY Student:  

• What is an interaction? What interactions do you notice between two living things? Two nonliving things? A living and a non-living thing? 

• How do interactions allow for change? 

• Should humans ever cut down trees? What about human safety and shelter? What are the pros and cons of deforestation? 

• How was your ecosystem impacted during the six-cube activity? 

• Can you define the new vocabulary words from today? Examples: Interaction, ecosystem, food chain, producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, decomposers, biotic factors, abiotic factors. 

Sincerely,  

Miss Anna Gruchot  

Tuesday (June 9)

Dear SAVY Families,  

Happy Tuesday and Day Two of SAVY Summer 2026 Session One: Creature Connections! The zoologist in your family explored habitats, ecosystems, and the impact of small and large changes to habitats and ecosystems. I am looking forward to sharing our day with you! 

To start our day, we watched a crash course video about food webs. This connected to our learning about food chains from yesterday, but this time, the zoologists had to differentiate between a simple food chain and a complex food web. Students once again created their own simple food chain, highlighting their favorite animal. Then, using books and videos, students added to their food chain to create a more realistic food web of their ecosystem. Working with partners, students completed the sentence stem: “If _____ was removed from the food chain, then ___,” and each student was encouraged to complete the sentence in three different ways. Finally, students cemented their understanding of the difference between a habitat and an ecosystem through playing a simple game of “I have / who has?”  

After lunch, we shifted our focus to an ELA perspective. Students got to listen to two poems, In the Leafy Forest of Green by Alexandria Junker and A Series of Deaths by Michael Lindy. Both poems gave insights into interactions in the animal world. Through a class inquiry-based discussion, we made meaning of both poems and connected them to our generalizations of interactions. The SAVY zoologists chose which poem they preferred and completed a literary analysis wheel about their chosen poem. Then, we connected these poems to our morning activity by discussing the changes to environments presented in the poems and how these changes impacted the environment. After this, we analyzed the painting “Surprised!” by Henri Rousseau, also known as “Tiger in a Tropical Storm.” We analyzed how the painter clearly showed the tiger’s interactions with its environment and connected this image to our generalizations of interactions. Finally, students got a chance to use their new poem knowledge, and the painting of the tiger, to write their own poem. Most students were brave enough to read their poems aloud to the class! In the words of one of the students, “Wow! I just wrote my very first poem!” 

To complete our day, we spent time studying a real-world problem in our country: the introduction of feral pigs using the debate question: “Should humans help control the growth or decline of animal populations?” Some students had background knowledge about this, but for others, it was completely new. Using beans, we created a simulation of what population expansion looks like. This allowed the zoologists to better visualize the scope of the problem in America. Each group was assigned a time, and at either 20, 30, 40, or 50 seconds, their population of beans doubled. The zoologists noted trends in the number of beans in their population and related this to real life hogs. We watched a part of a documentary about the hog problem in America and viewed maps to have further information about the situation. To end the lesson, we returned to our original debate question. Students were encouraged to reconsider their original answer using the new information that was provided to them and provide their new evidence. I was impressed with the zoologists’ willingness to take a risk and change their opinions! 

I am looking forward to continuing our learning this week at SAVY Summer 2026 Session One: Creature Connections. Have a great night! 

Questions to ask your SAVY Student:  

1. How did you change your simple food chain to a food web?  

1. If one animal was removed from your food web, what would happen?  

1. Which poem did you prefer? How did it relate to changes in ecosystems? 

1. Did you enjoy writing a poem about the tiger? What did you write about in this poem? 

1. Should humans help control the growth or decline of animal populations? Why or why not? How did your study of feral hogs influence your opinion? 

 Sincerely, 

Miss Gruchot

Wednesday (June 10)

Dear families,  

Day three of SAVY Summer 2026: 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 this video to see how kindness promotes positive interactions. Then, we split up into two groups. Each group read a story by Jacqueline Woodson and analyzed how these stories connect to our generalizations of interactions. While these stories were not directly about animals, we used the lessons we learned and connected them back to what we have learned about animals. Finally, each group presented their stories, and we used our knowledge of both stories to create an interactions map.  

Then, we moved on to the focus of the day: zoos and animals in captivity. We started with a question: should animals be kept in zoos? The question was intentionally left vague, so many students had trouble picking a side. We had a mini debate where students were tasked with providing evidence from their existing schema to say why “Yes, animals should be kept in zoos,” or “No, animals should not be kept in zoos.” I know many SAVY zoologists felt frustrated after this debate, as there is very real evidence for both sides of the question. After the debate, we watched videos about the modern zoo to build upon our evidence from the debate. SAVY zoologists used the videos to recognize the pros and cons of the modern zoo, and many quickly wanted to change their answers from the debate. We then met our friend Ivan, the shopping mall gorilla, and read a picture book about his story. We discussed questions such as “What interactions led to Ivan’s release?” and “How does your knowledge about ecosystems help you better understand the message or theme of the true story of Ivan?” To finish our debate about zoos, the SAVY zoologists were paired up to create a skit. In this skit, students became Katherine Applegate or Mack from the Big Top Mall. Each character presented their best evidence for why animals should be kept in captivity or not. Once again, there was some clear discomfort from the SAVY zoologists, especially those who had to present evidence to an argument they did not fully agree with. To end our interactions with Ivan, we analyzed some of the artwork that he did while in captivity, and we used Ivan’s technique to create our own watercolor paintings. 

To end our day, we began studying real life zoos to see what they consider when creating an ecosystem to mimic an animal's real-life habitat. First, the SAVY zoologists chose a common animal they were likely to find at all three zoos. Then, the zoologists chose three zoos in which they could examine their chosen animal habitat. Many SAVY zoologists chose the Nashville Zoo and two others they had personal connections to. The zoologists noted similarities and differences between each of the three zoos. Finally, the SAVY zoologists chose their favorite zoo and created a poster highlighting what the zoo did well in mimicking their animal environment and providing suggestions for what the zoo could improve upon. I was impressed with their creativity! 

Questions to ask your zoologist tonight: 

• Should animals be kept in captivity? What evidence supports “Yes,” and what evidence supports “No?” 

• What interactions led to Ivan’s release? 

• How does your knowledge about ecosystems help you better understand the message or theme of the true story of Ivan? 

• What zoo did you choose to present on? What did they do well in creating your animal’s habitat? How do you suggest they improve your animal’s habitat? 

I am looking forward to the rest of our week together as we continue to learn about interactions and all sorts of creatures! 

Sincerely, 

Miss Gruchot 

Thursday (June 11)

coming soon 

Friday (June 12)

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

This week, our class is full of Super Scientist Scholars! How exciting it was to meet all new friends, learn about the Scientific Method, and build our own systems. Today, we learned what a scientist is and how they go about observing the world, questioning the world, testing how it could be better, and communicating their findings with others.  

We donned our lab coats and began entries in our Science Journals, starting by defining what a scientist is. We then created an interactive Scientific Method wheel and concluded with a systems diagram along with vocabulary and definitions. 

To apply our knowledge of systems, we worked with a partner to brainstorm a type of system we would like to design. We discussed and gathered the tools necessary to build our system prototype, and work collaboratively to build our system. Our final step was to present the system to the class explaining what their system does and the parts that make the system work.  

Today, students focused on building foundational knowledge. Now that the students are familiar with the universal concepts of the scientific method and systems, we are ready to apply that knowledge as we move forward examining plants and researching how plants can be turned into fuel  

 Questions to ask your student tonight: 

• What does it mean to be a scientist? 

• Can you explain the steps of the Scientific Method? 

• What kind of system did you and your partner design, and what does it do? 

• How did the different parts of your system work together? 

• What are you excited to learn next about plants or fuel? 

Looking forward to another great day of learning tomorrow! 

Tuesday (June 9)

Terrific Terrarium Tuesday!  

We kicked off this morning by learning about terrariums and how terrariums are a type of system. The container is the boundary, the soil, rocks, plants are the elements, the inputs are sunlight and water, and the outputs are oxygen and water. 

We then completed a concept map to demonstrate what we already know about plants. The creativity of the students in how they communicated this knowledge was fantastic. I am blown away by the unique communication style of each camper. One camper told me that the leaves of the plant were the “kitchen” where the food is made! What a great analogy. 

We donned our lab coats, grabbed our clipboards and pencils, and went on a walking “field trip” looking for flowers. We used our senses to observe them, documented our findings, then brought samples back to class to further investigate their similarities and differences. We used the science tool of a magnifying glass to test our hypothesis: Do the two types of flowers have the same number of petals? 

After examining our flowers, we used our senses to observe a dry and wet lima bean. We discovered that a lima bean has a coat, the “lunchbox” inside and the future plant (embryo).  Then we wondered, “Do other seeds have coats?” This question led us to dissect kidney and fava beans. Our conclusion was that all seeds have coats! As we brainstormed other questions we had about seeds, we wondered if only bean seeds had coats? What about other seeds? One student explained that he learned that seeds have coats like raincoats because we couldn’t get the coat off the dry seed but easily off the ones that had been soaked. 

Questions to ask your children tonight? 

How many petals were on the flowers you observed? 

What part of the Scientific Method did you use today? 

Was their hypothesis about petals and seed coats confirmed or refuted? 

Tomorrow is going to be another “plantiful” day as we are given our mission from the College, “a researcher found a plant that could be used to fuel cars! What would that mean to the world?”. 

Wednesday (June 10)

Energy was high and imagination was higher as we focused entirely on learning and communicating our knowledge through various performing arts. We began the day by writing a narrative story board about 3 seeds. The students created their characters' traits, actions, and names. They wrote/illustrated a story that included conflict and a resolution in addition to how the characters interacted with each other. They were so engaged in the project that we spent more time than was originally anticipated. We shared our stories with the class and WOW do I have some storytellers this week! 

We then watched a short video on photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration. Each student was assigned a character for one of the skits; Photosynthesis, Transpiration, Respiration. They were each given their lines. Then we spent time rehearsing before each group performed in front of the class. The students really represented their character well both in designing their masks and in performing the skit.  

To synthesize our learning for today, we wrote in our Science Journals about transpiration, respiration, and photosynthesis. We also documented what scientific tools we have used, drew a diagram of the bean seed, and added vocabulary terms. Scientists always document their findings. 

Mission Biofuel is set to begin tomorrow! 

 Questions to ask: 

• What character were you? 

• What was your bean story about? 

• Do leaves sweat? 

• Respiration is breathing for what? 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

What an exciting start to our Autobiography Adventures! Our talented students spent the day exploring the stories that make each of them unique while beginning the process of becoming authors of their own life stories. 

To kick off our study, students created a special “looking glass” craft that encouraged them to reflect on who they are, where they have been, and the experiences that have shaped them. Through this creative activity, students began examining their lives from a new perspective and thinking about the memories, milestones, and moments that matter most. 

We also had a lively discussion about the difference between an autobiography and a memoir. Students discovered that autobiographies tell the story of a person’s entire life, while memoirs focus on specific experiences, events, or themes. It was fascinating to hear students share examples and begin considering which stories from their own lives might be worth telling. 

As part of our unit, we began reading Knots in My Yo-Yo String by Jerry Spinelli. Students were immediately engaged by Spinelli’s humorous and honest recollections of his childhood. As we read, we will examine how authors use memories, details, and reflections to bring their personal stories to life. 

Since every great story begins with understanding its characters, we also spent time getting to know one another better. Through discussions and sharing activities, students learned more about their classmates’ interests, experiences, and personalities while building a supportive community of writers. 

Finally, the most exciting part—students began writing their own autobiographies! They brainstormed important memories, organized ideas, and started putting their stories on paper. We are looking forward to watching these young authors develop their writing skills and discover the power of sharing their own unique experiences. 

We can't wait to see where their stories take us! 

If you’d like to continue learning at home, please allow your student to interview you this evening about the day they were born. There’s an optional sheet I sent home for some targeted discussion questions. This can be great background information for their autobiographies! 

Some questions to ask your students tonight: 

• What is an autobiography, and how is it different from a memoir? 

• What are some important memories or moments you chose to write about? 

• What did you learn about your classmates? 

Looking forward to another great day of learning tomorrow! 

Tuesday (June 9)

Today was another exciting day in Autobiography Adventures as students continued exploring the many ways we can tell our own stories! 

We began by learning about self-portraits and discussing how artists use them to communicate not only what they look like, but also who they are. Students examined examples of self-portraits and talked about the details, symbols, and artistic choices that help reveal a person's personality, interests, and experiences. They then began designing their own self-portraits, thoughtfully considering how to represent themselves as unique individuals. We can't wait to see these creative works come to life! 

Our class also continued reading Knots in My Yo-Yo String by Jerry Spinelli. As we follow Spinelli's childhood memories, students are noticing how authors use vivid details and personal reflections to make their life stories engaging and meaningful. These observations help students strengthen their own autobiographical writing. 

One of the highlights of the day was a special virtual author visit with Kevin Kurtz. Students had the opportunity to hear directly from an author about the writing process, the inspiration behind his books, and the importance of curiosity and observation in storytelling. The presentation sparked thoughtful questions and encouraged our young writers to think more deeply about their own work. 

To wrap up our time together, students continued drafting their autobiographies. They worked on developing memories, adding descriptive details, and organizing events from their lives into engaging narratives. It has been wonderful to watch students gain confidence as they discover that their own experiences are worth sharing. 

We are excited to continue building our autobiographies and learning more about ourselves as both writers and storytellers! 

A possible extension activity for home could be for everyone to tell a funny story about themselves that happened in the last two years. 

Questions to ask your child: 

• What did you learn from Kevin Kurtz about being a writer? 

• What memory are you writing about right now? Why did you choose it? 

• How are you making your story more detailed or interesting for your readers? 

Wednesday (June 10)

Today, our writers explored a unique way of telling life stories through music! 

We began by discussing how musicians and composers often draw from their own experiences when creating songs and musical works. Students examined autobiographical elements in the work of modern artists such as Billie Eilish as well as historical composers like Ludwig van Beethoven. Through these examples, students discovered that personal stories can be shared not only through books and writing, but also through music. 

Inspired by these artists, students created their own "Life's Playlist." They selected songs that represented important memories, milestones, emotions, interests, and experiences from different stages of their lives. As they explained their choices, students reflected on how music can capture moments and feelings that help tell the story of who we are. 

We also took a break from writing to put our grammar and vocabulary skills to the test with an exciting game of Jeopardy! Students worked collaboratively to answer questions, review important concepts, and demonstrate their growing language skills. The friendly competition kept everyone engaged while reinforcing key writing tools that will strengthen their autobiographies. 

To finish the day, students returned to their autobiographical writing. They continued drafting, revising, and expanding their personal narratives, using details, reflections, and strong language to bring their stories to life. It is exciting to see each student's unique voice emerging as their autobiographies continue to grow. 

Today's activities reminded us that every person has a story worth telling—and that stories can be shared through many different forms, from books and memoirs to music and art! 

Students can share their playlist tonight and discuss possible song selections for other members of their family. 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

Welcome to our Toy Company & Robotics Adventure! Today was an exciting kickoff to our summer program, and your children jumped right into a full day of creativity, teamwork, and hands-on robotics exploration. Day one set the foundation for both our Toy Company Challenge and our work with LEGO SPIKE Prime robotics, and your students impressed us with their curiosity, collaboration, and big ideas. 

We began the morning by establishing classroom expectations and discussing what it means to work as a team. Students then had 10 minutes to build anything they wanted using LEGO bricks. This quick design challenge helped them warm up their creative thinking and gave everyone a chance to introduce themselves and share their unique build with the class 

Next, students participated in an unplugged coding activity called “My Robotic Friends.” Working in table groups, they wrote simple arrow‑based commands to guide their partners in stacking cups to match a picture. This activity helped students understand how programmers must give clear, step‑by‑step instructions. This is an essential skill for robotics. 

One of the highlights of the day was forming our toy companies! Students were placed into teams of three and challenged to choose a company name and design a logo. 

Each team incorporated elements from their individual LEGO builds into their company identity. This challenge encouraged teamwork, decision‑making, and creative problem‑solving. We’ll rely on these skills throughout the week. 

Students were introduced to the components of the SPIKE Prime robotics kit, including motors, sensors, the hub, and various Technic pieces. They began creating illustrated glossaries in their engineering notebooks, which they will continue to build throughout the program. 

After lunch, we explored the world of computer science through a short video about software engineers. This helped them connect today’s coding and robotics work to real‑world careers. 

In the afternoon, students began building the “Break Dancer Robot.” They explored If/Then and If/Else coding blocks, how motors move using time, speed, and degrees, and how to synchronize movement with lights and sound. 

Teams experimented with making their robots “dance” and will continue refining their prototypes tomorrow. Some groups even began writing pseudocode to describe another team’s dance routine. 

To end the day, students rotated through leveled coding stations based on their pre‑assessment: 

• Level 1: Scratch building 

• Level 2: Code.org Dance Party 

• Level 3: Spike Prime Free Build 

This allowed every student to work at an appropriate challenge level while continuing to build confidence with coding concepts. 

Your children were engaged, thoughtful, and enthusiastic throughout the entire day. They asked great questions, supported their teammates, and showed real excitement about the work ahead. We can already tell that this is going to be an incredible week of learning, building, and innovation. 

We can’t wait for Day 2! 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Tiffany Moore 

Tuesday (June 9) 

Our second day of SAVY was packed with hands‑on building, problem‑solving, and big conversations about how coding shapes the world around us. Students continued developing their toy companies while diving deeper into robotics, automation, and the history behind modern computer science. 

We began the day by revisiting our schedule and reviewing the team expectations students created yesterday. Then, students were introduced to Grace Hopper, a pioneering computer scientist whose work helped shape the programming languages we use today. They learned how her experiences during World War II, especially the attack on Pearl Harbor, inspired her to pursue coding. 

After the discussion, students practiced turning everyday English phrases into simple computer style commands. This activity helped them understand why coding languages were created and how they make communication with computers more efficient. 

Next, students explored “If/Then conditionals” through an unplugged activity using playing cards. Working with partners, they created rules such as: 

• If the card is red, then clap once. 

• If the card is a face card, then stand up. 

This helped students internalize how robots and computers make decisions based on conditions. 

Students then shifted into engineering mode as they built a robot designed to check each dancing robot before it ships to toy stores. While building, we discussed: how factory robots detect colors, shapes, and sizes, why accuracy and repeatability matter, and how If/Then logic helps machines make decisions. Teams that finished early took on an extra challenge by designing a sturdy, minimal‑packaging shipping box for their robot. 

After lunch, students learned a new and very important coding skill, “debugging”. We added the term to our classroom coding glossary and talked about why every programmer, no matter how experienced, must learn to find and fix errors. 

Students then completed a Spike Prime debugging challenge where they had to diagnose and repair the code controlling a warehouse delivery cart. Before coding, they brainstormed real‑world consequences using the sentence stem, “If the delivery cart is out of order, then ______.” Their ideas showed strong systems thinking and an understanding of how automation affects the flow of goods. 

Today’s career spotlight focused on Aerospace Engineers and how computer science plays a major role in designing spacecraft, satellites, and aviation technology. Students created posters highlighting what aerospace engineers do and how coding helps them solve complex problems. 

To wrap up the day, students rotated through leveled coding stations: 

• Level 1: Code.org Foundations 

• Level 2: Scratch.org (MIT) 

These stations allowed students to practice coding at a level that matched their current skills while continuing to build confidence and independence. 

Day 2 was full of curiosity, teamwork, and problem‑solving. Students are becoming more confident with coding concepts like conditionals, debugging, and automation, and they’re beginning to see how these skills connect to real careers and industries. We’re excited to see their creativity continue to grow as we move into Day 3! 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Tiffany Moore 

Wednesday (June 10)

Day 3 was all about movement, math, and machine intelligence as students explored how robots “think” and how sensors guide autonomous driving. After starting the morning by revisiting expectations and setting a positive tone, students dove into an interdisciplinary lesson on trajectories, discovering how math helps robots move accurately and predictably. Through a hands‑on unplugged activity, they created taped paths, tested how objects traveled along them, and experimented with how a single “block” of code can change a robot’s behavior. These early activities helped students visualize how coding, math, and physical movement work together. 

Students then built a simple LEGO SPIKE Prime driving base and investigated how autonomous driving machines operate. They experimented with speed, precision, and the gyro sensor to improve stability, and many groups analyzed data to understand how different speeds affected accuracy. Later, students added sensors and attachments to interact with objects—testing programs that used ultrasonic and color sensors, then modifying code so their robot could lower an arm, collect a cube, and return it from a set distance. Early finishers pushed their robots further with additional challenges, while others explored real‑world robotics careers and the importance of teamwork, training, and problem‑solving in tech fields. 

To close the day, students rotated through leveled coding stations, ranging from SPIKE Essentials builds to Code.org’s Minecraft Designer, allowing everyone to work at their own pace while strengthening creativity and computational thinking. Today’s work asked students to think like engineers: predicting outcomes, testing ideas, adjusting designs, and using math to improve accuracy. Their confidence with sensors, movement, and autonomous driving grew tremendously, and we can’t wait to see how they build on these skills tomorrow. 

Questions families can ask to spark conversation: 

• What was the most interesting thing you learned about how robots move or “think”? 

• How did sensors help your robot make decisions today? 

• What design or coding change made the biggest difference in your robot’s performance? 

• When your robot didn’t do what you expected, how did you and your team solve problems? 

• Which coding station did you choose at the end of the day, and what did you create there? 

Optional at-home resources to continue learning: 

• Code.org: Try a short puzzle or minigame to practice sequencing and logic. 

• Scratch (MIT): Create simple animations or games using block‑based coding. 

• Khan Academy Kids or Math Playground: Explore math skills connected to angles, measurement, and patterns. 

• YouTube Channels (kid‑friendly): Crash Course Kids or SciShow Kids for STEM concepts related to sensors, engineering, and problem‑solving. 

We’re excited to see how they apply these skills as we move into Day 4! 

Sincerely,  

Mrs. Tiffany Moore 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

Codes are all around us! This morning, our students enjoyed a lively “Quiz, Quiz, Trade” activity, which gave them a fun way to get to know one another while practicing new ways to connect. We also began learning our classroom routines, including our daily morning meeting greetings and playing a game called “Red Herrings.” Building a strong classroom community, where students feel safe taking intellectual risks and working through challenges, is a key focus as we begin our week. Our daily schedule will remain consistent, so be sure to ask your child about their morning meeting greetings and the game of Red Herrings! 

Next, students were introduced to the Caesar Cipher, where they explored its historical significance and practiced decoding secret messages using patterns and logical thinking. This activity challenged them to recognize shifts in letters and apply problem-solving strategies to uncover hidden meanings. 

In math, we began by watching a short video on the history of number systems to build background knowledge and spark curiosity. We then focused on our familiar base ten system, reviewing how to read large numbers and break them apart to understand the value of each digit based on its place. Students strengthened their understanding of place value by examining how each position represents powers of ten. 

From there, we extended our learning by exploring the Egyptian numeral system. Students discovered how the ancient Egyptians used distinct symbols to represent different powers of ten and how numbers were formed by combining those symbols. We compared this system to our base ten system, noting that, unlike ours, it does not rely on place value. This comparison helped deepen students’ understanding of why place value is such an efficient and powerful tool in our number system. 

 We are off to a great start as we begin forming our ideas about who may have stolen the feast in our class mystery, The Eleventh Hour, which will guide our learning all week. Today we learned that Horace invited 11 guests to his 11th birthday party on November 11th, but when it was time to eat at 11:00, the feast had disappeared! Encourage your child to share their predictions about who might be responsible. Each illustration challenges us to use our growing codebreaking skills! 

Extension Idea: Ask your child to write their birthday, or a family member’s birthday, including the year, using the Egyptian numeral system as a secret code. 

I look forward to another great day of learning tomorrow! 

Catherine Hayes 

Tuesday (June 9)

It was an amazing day full of learning and growth! Those sneaky costumed animals kept us thinking! With each page we decode, we are discovering more and more. Exploring multiple-meaning words, puns, and idioms is really deepening our understanding of the language in the book. 

There were quite a few surprises today, and students are beginning to realize that some of our clues may actually be red herrings. Our predictions are constantly evolving, so we are encouraging students to support their ideas with evidence from the text rather than relying on hunches. 

During our History Minute, we learned how codes were used during the Revolutionary War to protect important information and communicate through spies like Nathan Hale and Lydia Darragh. Students were especially interested in learning about the Culper Spy Ring. 

After a quick review of Egyptian numbers, students had the opportunity to create their own cartouche. In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval used to show that the text inside is a royal name or in our case a special birthdate (see picture below). 

Today’s math lesson focused on Roman numerals. We discussed places where Roman numerals are still used today and discovered that, like the Egyptian number system, they do not rely on place value—although the placement of symbols still affects their value. Students reinforced their understanding by playing an engaging game of Roman Numeral War and decoding a quote from Julius Caesar. 

Extensions: 

• Read Fun with Roman Numerals by David A. Adler or How Did Romans Count to 100? by Lucy D. Hayes 

• Go on a scavenger hunt at home or in a store to find and decode Roman numerals 

Many students have also been asking about sequels, so I encourage you to check out The Jewel Fish of Karnak by Graeme Base. 

Have a wonderful evening!  

Catherine Hayes 

Wednesday (June 10)

Gifted learners are often challenged by working in partnerships or teams. Our group is doing an excellent job of capitalizing on one another's strengths to find the clues and decode the pages of our story. We know that the time the feast was stolen is a crucial piece of evidence, so we are looking more closely at the time on each page. Today they had to do some writing about their evidence and justify their argument to a partner. I was so proud of the active listening and accountable talk moves I heard in class! Great work!  

Historically, we learned about Morse code in the World Wars, since it was one of the codes in our story pages today. We also reviewed both the Roman and Egyptian Number Systems, connecting them together and seeing patterns across them both. We ended the day solving Morse Code riddles we wrote for each other. It was a fun and productive day. What a pleasure and joy it is to work with your students and watch them grow! 

Extension Idea: Play a game of red herrings at home! Your students know and understand the rules. Watch out for multiple-meaning words, setting clues, and have fun asking yes or no questions to decode the meaning.  Each of the "mysteries" is part of a longer untold story which is "behind the scenes." It is up to the students to deduce the rest of the story from clues derived from answers to their Yes/No questions. Your amazing kiddos LOVE these! 

Here's a new one to try at the dinner table: 
A man lives on the twelfth floor of a building. Each morning, he gets up, showers, gets dressed, takes the elevator to the first floor, and goes to work. Each evening, he comes home, takes the elevator to the sixth floor, runs up to the twelfth floor and he’s home. Why doesn’t he take the elevator to the twelfth floor when he comes home? 

Answer: The man is too short to reach the button for the twelfth floor. He can reach the bottom buttons so he can go down in the morning, but he can only reach as high as the sixth button so that is why he walks the rest of the way up. 

Have a wonderful evening,  

Catherine Hayes 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

We had an exciting first day in Introduction to Forensic Anthropology! Students got to know Dr. Fracchia, classroom assistant Sandy, and each other as we explored an overview of the field of anthropology. Be sure to ask your student what anthropology is and what it means when we add ‘forensic’ to the discipline. We discussed forensic context and what it means for something to be ‘of forensic significance.’ Our class even practiced determining if something is bone and whether or not it’s human! 

Students were introduced to the four subfields of anthropology (cultural, linguistic, archaeology, and biological) and discussed how each applies in a forensic context. Students learned an overview of skeletal anatomy, including standard anatomical position and terminology. They practiced what they learned by working in groups to conduct a skeletal inventory and lay out a full skeleton in an anatomical position. Ask your students to reflect on the activity by rating how challenging they found reassembling the human body. Then, encourage them to recall and list as many bones as they can remember! 

All human skeletal materials used in class today were casts, so that students can practice appropriate handling techniques for skeletal remains as we prepare for our visit to the Osteology Lab later this week.  

Tomorrow we are excited to continue our discussion about identification and will have a visit from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Special Agent Heather Hammond who will provide a fingerprinting hands-on (ha ha) activity.  

All the Best, 

Dr. Fracchia 

Tuesday (June 9)

Hi SAVY Families! 

Hopefully your students will have a lot to tell you about the topics we covered today. Our morning theme was Identification. We discussed the difference between general and specific identification and the types of evidence we might use for each. We had a visit from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Special Agent/Forensic Science Supervisor Heather Hammond. She demonstrated the basics of fingerprint collection and examination, and we got to try out magnetic dust printing. Students also practiced matching partial print characteristics with a sample print. 

In the afternoon, we explored methods used in crime scene recovery, and the students organized their own line search. They were able to recover 76 out of 100 PAPERCLIPS from the grass “scene” on the Magnolia lawn. Not bad for their first line search! Imagine their excitement when they found a REAL skeleton after their search (ok, so it was a lizard skeleton, but I was impressed).  

Tomorrow we will host Special Agent Jeff Moseley and his K9 partner Honey. They will provide us with a demonstration of how accelerants are detected at fire scenes.   

Questions to ask your child: 

• What did you learn about fingerprints that surprised you? 

• What was your favorite part of using the magnetic dust? 

• What made it challenging to find all the evidence? 

• What did you learn about working as a team during the search? 

All the Best, 

Dr. Fracchia 

Wednesday (June 10)

Welcome Back, SAVY Families! 

Today we continued our discussion about methods of identification with another SPECIFIC identification method- DNA. Students were able to collect their own cheek cells and release the DNA inside to make it more visible. They each got to bring home a small centrifuge tube containing some of the DNA they were able to precipitate out of their original sample of cheek cells. (The liquid in the tube is household rubbing alcohol and can be safely disposed of down a sink drain or in a trash can, if you desire.) 

We also had two exciting guests today- TBI Special Agent Jeff Moseley and his K9 partner, Honey, an accelerant detection expert. We learned about Honey’s training over the past 6 years and saw her demonstrate how she works at fire scenes to detect evidence of accelerant use. We were all very excited to meet Honey, who also enjoyed belly rubs from the class. Ask to see Honey’s K9 stats card! Each student received a baseball card-style photo and fact card about Honey today from SA Moseley.  

Tomorrow we will visit the Osteology Lab in the Department of Anthropology- my campus teaching lab. Students will begin work on their skeletal case studies using the methods we have been discussing in class. Students will estimate a biological profile for their case study. This will include estimated age, sex, stature, and ancestry for their unknown individual.  

I am excited to see how the students apply what they have learned so far! 

Questions to ask your child: 

• Why is DNA useful for identifying people? 

• What steps did you take to get the DNA out of your cheek cells? 

• Can two people have the same DNA? Why or why not? 

• How does Honey help investigators at a fire scene? 

 All the Best, 

Dr. Fracchia 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

Hello! My name is Meara Waxman, and I am thrilled that your children have joined us for Greek Mythology 2.0 this week! We had a wonderful first day. After introducing ourselves and doing some goal setting for the week, we dove into the course material by learning about some of the forgotten Titans (the oldest generation of Greek Mythology). Students were assigned one titan to study, and then they each presented their findings to the class!  

From there, we transitioned into reading the story of Arachne, the woman who weaves webs until she angers Athena, who turns her into a spider. After studying the original myth, students got into groups, and we had our very own web-weaving competition to see who could make the most "spidery" string webs. Each group got a superlative, so make sure to ask your children what award each web won! 

In the afternoon, we learned about some of the forgotten gods that reside in the underworld (most people tend to only know about Hades, but there are quite a few figures in the underworld). We had a guessing game for some of the gods, and then each student was assigned one god to represent for a mock trial of Tantalus in the underworld! I enjoyed getting to see everyone’s personalities shine through during the trial. Tomorrow, they will get another chance to represent minor gods with a debate on which god is the most underrated in the mythology canon! 

At the end of the day, we started working on one of our week-long projects. Students will get to create their own Greek Mythology board game!  

Some dinner table questions: 

1. Which of the titan or god figures that we studied today is your favorite, and why? 

1. How did your group’s web challenge go? What superlative did you get? 

1. Which god did you represent in the underworld trial?  

1. What is your idea for your board game project? 

Thank you, and I look forward to a fun-filled week with the students! 

Warmly, 

Meara Waxman 

Tuesday (June 9)

Happy Wednesday! We had another fun day in Greek Mythology 2.0! Today we continued our study of heroes from the mythology canon. We began by learning about Heracles, the most famous hero of all, and debunking some of the common but misguided stories about his labors. We also learned about his wife Deiniera and his fight with the river god Asopus towards the end of his life!  

We also put on a class play to learn about the forgotten figures in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Everyone did a great job, and I especially enjoyed seeing the props that everyone made! From there, we studied the story of Atalanta, Althea, and Meleager, and then we had our own version of Atalanta’s foot race outside!  

Next, we reviewed the myth of Perseus and examined different versions of how Medusa has been portrayed in modern culture over the years, specifically focusing on why she is such a famous figure while her sisters are forgotten. From there, we also reviewed Theseus and the labyrinth (which most of the students were already familiar with) and created our own labyrinths for our classmates to solve! 

In the afternoon, students had an opportunity to choose any inanimate object that they would want to come to life if they could have it, and they drew or created a representation of that item to share. This brief activity led us into studying the myth of Pygmalion and Galetea. Finally, we spent the last portion of the afternoon working on our board game projects. The students are making good progress, and I can't wait to play the games together on Friday! 

Some dinner table questions: 

1. Which role did you play in the story of Jason and the Argonauts? 

1. Which of the myths that we studied today was your favorite, and why? 

1. How is your board game project coming along?  

Tomorrow will be our "Trojan War" day, and students will participate in a full-day competition! I am so excited, and I hope that the students are, too! 

Warmly, 

Ms. Waxman 

Wednesday (June 10)

Happy Wednesday! We had another fun day in Greek Mythology 2.0! Today we continued our study of heroes from the mythology canon. We began by learning about Hercules, the most famous hero of all, and debunking some of the common but misguided stories about his labors. We also learned about his wife Deiniera and his fight with the river god Asopus towards the end of his life!  

Next, we reviewed the myth of Perseus and examined different versions of how Medusa has been portrayed in modern culture over the years, specifically focusing on why she is such a famous figure while her sisters are forgotten. I was so impressed with the students’ discussion and their willingness to build off each other’s ideas! 

We also put on a class play to learn about the forgotten figures in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Everyone did a great job, and I especially enjoyed seeing the props that everyone made! From there, we studied the stories of Orpheus, Atalanta, Althea, and Meleager, since they were part of the group that made up the Argonauts, as well. Tomorrow, we will have our own version of Atalanta’s foot race outside (weather permitting)! 

Finally, we spent the last portion of the afternoon working on our board game projects. The students are making good progress, and I can't wait to play the games together on Friday! 

Some dinner table questions: 

1. Which role did you play in the story of Jason and the Argonauts? 

1. Which of the myths that we studied today was your favorite, and why? 

1. How is your board game project coming along?  

Tomorrow will be our "Trojan War" day, and students will participate in a full-day competition! I am so excited, and I hope that the students are too! 

Warmly, 

Ms. Waxman 

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon 

Monday (June 8)

Good evening!  The first day of Molecular Genetics was successful.  We started the day with a brief discussion of class rules and expectations.  We then played a game of Getting to Know You Bingo.  Our lesson started with them thinking about the differences between living vs. nonliving matter.  They were asked to determine if something was alive (rock, cedar tree, green stuff on a stick, brownish banana…) which led to a discussion of the characteristics of life.  Next, we reviewed the kingdoms of life and viewed cells from each kingdom.  They entered information on a data sheet and made drawings of cells from different organisms.  Ask your child this evening if they remember the cells that we viewed.  They were very excited to use the scopes and had to be pried away from them for lunch.    

After lunch and ORA, we turned our attention to the extraction of DNA.  As is common, we used strawberries because they yield a large quantity of DNA….  

They enjoyed squishing the berries and learned why soap, salt, and rubbing alcohol are used in the process.  They did a good job with this activity, and every group successfully extracted DNA.  They we very curious about what it would look like and enjoyed playing with it.  Some of them may have brought home strawberry DNA in a ziplock.   

One of my goals with Molecular Genetics is for the students to appreciate science as a process and the history of discoveries.  To that end, we talk about life, and the discovery of DNA (what he called nuclein) by Friedrich Miescher in the 1860s, before we get to the structure of DNA (Watson, Crick, Franklin) on Wednesday.  Tomorrow, we cover Gregor Mendel and the hereditary discoveries he made in the mid 1800’s using the “lowly” pea plant.  The kids were on task and did great work.  It was a good first day.  Ask your child about today’s activities with an emphasis on the DNA extraction process. See everyone tomorrow! 

Tuesday (June 9)

Today we started with a four-corners getting-to-know-you activity.  We then took a “quiz” and reviewed what we learned yesterday.  It was then time to start our unit on heredity/genetics.  We watched a short video on Gregor Mendel and his pea studies that elucidated the fundamentals of heredity.  Terms we covered today include genetics, heredity, trait, gene, allele, dominance, recessive, genotype, and phenotype.  We used Punnett squares to perform crosses and discovered that one can predict the outcome of a cross using the Punnett square.  We finished the morning with a discussion of family trees (pedigrees) and they began sketching out their family tree.  

After lunch, we worked more on the family trees and saw how it’s possible to track the inheritance of a trait using the tree.  Their “homework” tonight is to ask you about their family tree and the inheritance of traits in your family.  We considered simplified forms of traits such as hair and eye color, and freckles.  While these traits are not necessarily single-gene, with dominant and recessive alleles, it is instructive to think of them in this way.  Here is a hypothetical tree for dimples with the filled-in symbols representing individuals with dimples.  Dimples are generally thought to be caused by a dominant allele.      

Ask your child to explain the tree.  What do the circles and squares represent?  Why is it not possible for individuals 1 and 2 in generation III to have dimples?  They may want to work on their tree and fill in the phenotype (form of the trait) for each individual.  We finished the day with the Crazy Traits activity where two identical heterozygous parents have multiple children.  (each parent has the same form of the trait but has a dominant and recessive allele in their genotype).  They saw how the children were similar, but none were identical or exactly like either parent.  They had a lot of fun with this activity and will probably be excited to tell you about it. Have a great evening!

Wednesday (June 10)

Today we were busy.  We started with a “speed dating” getting-to-know-you activity and a review of the previous days.  Then we began our study of evolution with a a “field trip” to the lawn to make observations of adaptations.  Students walked around checking out the plants and few animals on the quad.  They saw some good examples including flight, large flat leaves, thick persistent leaves of the Magnolia, mosquitos and their attraction to people, and a Ginko seed that was germinating and sending the shoot up against gravity.  The students asked what would happen if we turned the seed over, so we discussed how it would bend and start going up again.  They learned that adaptations are everywhere, and it’s hard to characteristics of organisms that are not adaptive in some way.   

Encourage your child to consider the environment and how natural selection has shaped our world and how we have shaped the world via artificial selection.  What about pets that they have is adaptive?  What traits are maladaptive?  If they were going to create a breed of dog what traits would they want in that breed?   

Next was a discussion of Charles Darwin and his journey on the H.M.S. Beagle.  One of their stops was the island of Mauritius where Dodos were endemic.  They learned that by the time Darwin was there in 1836, the Dodos were already extinct.  We talked about the process of natural selection and viewed an excellent example of natural selection in the rock pocket mouse in the deserts of New Mexico.  Your child should be able to explain this example with some detail (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjeSEngKGrg). 

Our last activity of the morning was studying the structure of DNA. Some of the people involved with figuring this out include Watson & Crick, Rosaland Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins.  Students built a model using Twizzlers, mini-marshmallows, and toothpicks.  Their model may or may not have made it home intact.  They learned about the base-pairing rules and the idea of the DNA sequence.  At that point we looked at a karyotype, a picture of the arranged pairs of chromosomes. They gained an appreciation for the amount of DNA that we have in each cell and that nucleic acids are large molecules.  Here are some of the final products: 

After lunch and ORA, we studied the processes of transcription and translation and practiced transcribing and translating a “gene”.  It was challenging (using uracil instead of thymine in RNA), but they got the hang of it and became quite proficient at using the genetic code.  Ask them what it means that there is repetition in the code.   

We finished the day with a preview of the project they’ll begin working on tomorrow, the Genetic Condition/Disease project.  Each student will choose a genetically-based condition, do research, and prepare a mini-poster that they will present to the class and bring home.  Some of them already have something in mind.  They may start their research tonight and can come to class with printed images.  They do not have to include images and can draw instead, but they are free to do so.  They cannot print on campus.  We had a good day! Thanks for allowing us to work with your impressive children.   

Thursday

coming soon 

Friday

coming soon