February 15, 2008 (Day 112)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we began the day by reading and discussing “Marks” by Linda Pastan. This poem is similar to “Schoolsville” by Billy Collins, a poem we read a few weeks ago, in that it uses the trappings and terminology of schools in a different setting. We found it humorous that the narrator bridled under the evaluations of her family and intended to “drop out” of her family. We followed this with a lesson that built upon yesterday’s exploration of Water Missions. This involved seeing the parallels to swimming pool technology/design. We know understand why pools have multiple drains on the bottom and skimmers with weirs at surface level. In Math, we played a geometry and shapes competition with wooden blocks. In Spanish, we practiced writing original sentences. Following this, Mrs. Rowland guided us in taking a dictation, and then we learned how to conjugate -ar verbs. In Humanities, the entire period swirled around the winding down of The Scarlet Letter. The main focus was upon the characters of Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Mrs Logan shared a Heinrich Heine poem (“Devil” – “I called the devil and he came”) about the devil that resonates with her when she thinks about Chillingworth. In Flex Time, we watched CNN Student news about the mental and physical exhaustion that presidential candidates endure. We also read and talked about the news that the chair of Charleston County Council, Tim Scott, is running for a Representative’s seat in the South Carolina Assembly (“Republican Scott could make history as he enters House District 117 race” — The Post and Courier, 1/15/2008).. If elected, he would be the first black Republican to serve in South Carolina’s government since the Reconstruction period immediately following the Civil War. 
In Science, we benefited from a thorough and engaging presentation about stormwater management from Richard Chinnis of Mount Pleasant Waterworks. We have now completed the trifecta of water sources and their handling (drinking water, waste water, and stormwater), and we have a comprehensive understanding of the issues intrinsic to each. This presentation also helped the students who are working in this area, and we intend to work with MPW to aid in educating the public stormwater.
February 14, 2008 (Day 111)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we began the day solving “find the average” problems that involve time measurements. We then wrote our thank you cards for yesterday’s Learning Outside the Classroom experience. The end of the class saw us analyzing political cartoons from The (Columbia) State, and it was a rewarding exercise to see how well we could do noting the visual allusions. In Math, our focus on percentages moved to percent change problems. 
While we were in Math, the Hibben K5 class brought us Valentine’s Day cards. They were very nice! In Spanish, we created Valentine’s Day cards in Spanish. In Humanities, our topic of discussion was the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and this included learning more about Paul Revere and the “also rans.”
In the afternoon, we traveled to Water Missions in West Ashley. Tucked into the back of a shopping center, the building houses an organization that has pioneered an ultra-portable water filtration system for developing countries and for post-disaster areas across the world. 
The technology was similar to that used at the MPW wastewater and water treatment plants, and this involved filtration systems (using media here) and chlorine (tablets). We saw a scale model that was created for explaining the concept, and it reminded us of the 3-D tangible models that the architects at LS3P create for projects they design. Although computer modeling is invaluable, the value of a scale “real” model is immeasurable. The use of “off the shelf” products packaged into a novel design that can be stacked and carried in a pick-up truck was very shrewd. We also learned about their exploration into the use of solar panels to power the pumps on the systems, and their use of a massive grid for tracking volunteer labor for the upcoming month created a strong connection for us to the spreadsheet applications we have worked on in our classes.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Wednesday, 2/20 – Moodle fact-check assignment due
Math
– for Friday, 2/15 – page 352 numbers 12-28 (even)
Spanish
– for Friday, 2/15 – study the verb “ir” meaning “to go”, write five original sentences using “ir” and your new vocabulary with the following subjects: 1) I 2) They 3) You, my friend 4) Mr. Kreutner and Mrs. Logan 5) You, our teachers (* for example, I go to the movies with my family every Friday)
– for Tuesday, 2/19 – study the verb forms on page 114, write original sentences while completing Acts 32&33 on page 115
Humanities
– for Friday, 2/15 – The Scarlet Letter – chapters 11&12 (and quiz)
Science
– ongoing MAD project research and preparation for tomorrow’s presentation from MPW Stormwater division
February 13, 2008 (Day 110)
Reflection
Our Learning Outside the Classroom experience for the week was participating in and watching events in the SCISA Literary Meet. This competition is held at Holly Hill Academy, and we arrived early in order to make the trek to Holly Hill before events began at 9:00. When not involved as competitors, we watched two middle school one-act plays (about 30 minutes each in length). We also observed several students performing in the extemporaneous speaking event in the middle and upper school divisions (and in the girl and boy) divisions. Topics that participants drew included ones relating to faith and elections, the impact of endorsements by celebrities and athletes on elections, the separation of students by gender in schools, etc. We then had lunch at Holly Hilly Country Corner restaurant and returned to University School by 1:30. Mentor Zach Thames arrived at this time and spent the rest of the day with us. To conclude the day, we work on determining averages using time as the unit (specifically involving questions about time of arrival & time of departure). We practiced with and without calculators, and we learned how to use MS Excel to set up and solve these problems in two different ways. We also watched CNN Student News, and this gave us an overview of the results from yesterday’s Potomac Primaries. We also picked up a life lesson about filling up a gas tank at a neighboring service station, and this included items about security, payment, gas storage, and differences in refining and differences in price and octane. Students who had never done so also worked the pump to fill up Mr. Kreutner’s car.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Wednesday, 2/20 – Moodle fact-check assignment due
Math
– for Thursday, 2/14 – p. 352 11-28 odd
Spanish
– For Thursday, 2/14 – complete the crossword puzzle, make a recording with a partner of Act 30 on page 113 in which you ask and answer the following: (how often do you go to each of the six places represented in the pictures, why do you go there, what do you like to do there). Be sure to say your names first
– for Friday, 2/15 – study the verb “ir” meaning “to go”, write five original sentences using “ir” and your new vocabulary with the following subjects: 1) I 2) They 3) You, my friend 4) Mr. Kreutner and Mrs. Logan 5) You, our teachers (* for example, I go to the movies with my family every Friday)
– for Tuesday, 2/19 – study the verb forms on page 114, write original sentences while completing Acts 32&33 on page 115
Humanities
– for Thursday, 2/14 – chapter 14 in text
– for Friday. 2/15 – The Scarlet Letter – chapters 11&12 (and quiz)
Science
– ongoing MAD project research and preparation for this week’s presentations from MPW Stormwater division and Water Missions International
February 12, 2008 (Day 109)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we watched Mrs. Rowland’s appearance on WCIV Newsabout the loss of her son seven years ago in a DUI accident. Sharing this with us and the public was hard for her, and we were touched by it. We also looked at figures from recent news reports about General Motors’ loss in comparison to ExxonMobil’s 4th quarter earnings. Both were around $40 billion, and it led us to speculate about the connection between the two and what could explain both numbers. We also talked about when the price goods, like gas, can change our behavior. We also continued our discussion from yesterday about price’s association with the quality of a good and the many preconceptions & misconceptions about this connection. In Math, we worked more on percentages, growth rate, and links to numbers shown in Mrs. Rowland’s video about check points and DUI arrests. In Spanish, we made digital audio recordings and practiced uploading them to Moodle. We also took a quiz and talked about our likes/dislikes Third Quarter multimedia project. In Humanities, Mrs. Logan led us in an examination of the simmering tensions that erupted in Boston in advance of the Revolutionary War, and this led to the study of Sam and John Adams. In Art, Mrs. Johnson provided a brief overview lecture of our areas of study in the class, and then we began charcoal sketches of an apple. In Science, we watched a short video that explained the organization of cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and complex organisms. We learned that sponges are simple multi-organisms but have more than one type of cell. We learned that tissues are not Kleenex (science humor!) but are a group of cells that serve one function. Different tissues form organs and different organs form a system. We studied this today as an introduction to human anatomy and physiology and how it relates to water in the living organisms. We also went over our Cell Test.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Wednesday, 2/20 – Moodle fact-check assignment due
Math
– for Thursday, 2/14 – p. 352 11-28 odd
Spanish
– For Thursday, 2/14 – complete the crossword puzzle, make a recording with a partner of Act 30 on page 113 in which you ask and answer the following: (how often do you go to each of the six places represented in the pictures, why do you go there, what do you like to do there). Be sure to say your names first
– for Friday, 2/15 – study the verb “ir” meaning “to go”, write five original sentences using “ir” and your new vocabulary with the following subjects: 1) I 2) They 3) You, my friend 4) Mr. Kreutner and Mrs. Logan 5) You, our teachers (* for example, I go to the movies with my family every Friday)
– for Tuesday, 2/19 – study the verb forms on page 114, write original sentences while completing Acts 32&33 on page 115
Humanities
– for Thursday, 2/14 – chapter 14 in text
– for Friday. 2/15 – The Scarlet Letter – chapters 11&12 (and quiz)
Science
– ongoing MAD project research and preparation for this week’s presentations from MPW Stormwater division and Water Missions International
February 11, 2008 (Day 108)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we looked at the week ahead, and then our focus shifted to recapping the weekend’s presidential primaries. As usual, we followed this with a scan of the latest Intrade numbers for the major candidates. Mr. Kreutner then shared a story with us about his seeing Art Garfunkel in concert over the weekend. His wife and he enjoyed the show, and a high point was Garfunkel’s playing several of the hits from his association with Paul Simon. This included “The Boxer,” and we watched a video of the sung when it was performed at the 1982 Central Park show. We then made a connection between the song and its theme to William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus” which we read a few weeks ago. Mr. Kreutner also noted that it was this song that was played for the police officers and fire fighters in attendance at the first episode of Saturday Night Live after the 9/11 attacks. In Math, we took an assessment on percentages and numbers. We then joined Mr. and Mrs. Rowland for our final shag lesson, and we added a male turn to our repertoire of moves. The lesson concluded with a “free” period in which we shagged with our partners and followed our own dance script. In Spanish, we reviewed the vocabulary (about everyday things one does) and then took a quiz. In Humanities, Thomas Paine was a central figure in the day’s discussion, and we examined part of his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense. We were also guided by the following essential question: “how much anger does it take to foment a revolution.” Mentor Zach Thames arrived after lunch and stayed until the end of the day. In Science, we were consumed with MAD project work and preparation for this week’s presentations and field visits, including MPW stormwater management and Water Missions International.
Assignments
* Mrs. Rowland invites you to watch tonight’s 6:00 local news on Channel 4. It features a story about the tragic loss of her son.
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Wednesday, 2/20 – Moodle fact-check assignment due
Math
– for Tuesday, 2/12 – p. 342 8-24 (identify part & whole)
Spanish
– for Tuesday, 2/12 – study all vocabulary on pages 108-112, prepare Act 30 on page 113 by saying the following for each of the six pictures: (how often you go to each place, why you go there, what you like to do there);
– For Thursday, 2/14 – complete the crossword puzzle, make a recording with a partner of Act 30 on page 113 in which you ask and answer the following: (how often do you go to each of the six places represented in the pictures, why do you go there, what do you like to do there). Be sure to say your names first;
– for Friday, 2/15 – study the verb “ir” meaning “to go”, write five original sentences using “ir” and your new vocabulary with the following subjects: 1) I 2) They 3) You, my friend 4) Mr. Kreutner and Mrs. Logan 5) You, our teachers (* for example, I go to the movies with my family every Friday);
– for Tuesday, 2/19 – study the verb forms on page 114, write original sentences while completing Acts 32&33 on page 115
Humanities
– for Tuesday, 2/12 – chapters 12&13 in text;
– for Thursday, 2/14 – chapter 14 in text;
– for Friday. 2/15 – The Scarlet Letter – chapters 11&12 (and quiz)
Science
– ongoing MAD project research and preparation for this week’s presentations from MPW Stormwater division and Water Missions International
