Amateur Architects: After school Reflection: Highlander

Amateur Architects

Amateur Architects was an after school program during session 3 for grades 5 through 8. Students explored basic and creative building projects using various reusable and recycled materials. They were given opportunities to use skills such as trial and error, problem solving, physics, and teamwork while completing all of their challenges. 

Below is a breakdown of the activities completed during Amateur Architects.

Week 1: Cup Stacking and Building with Cards

Materials Used: Dixie Cups and cards and fasteners 

Students were challenged to see who could build the tallest towers out of cards and cups. They experimented with different ways to build towers that would not fall as they got taller.

Week 2: Parachutes and Catapults

Parachute Materials Used: coffee filters, pipe cleaners, shoelaces, yarn, jewelry boxes, foam shapes

Catapults Materials Used: jewelry boxes, spoons, rubber bands, bottle caps, cardboard tubes, popsicle sticks 

Students were challenged to make parachutes that would fall straight down from the height of a chair. They were also challenged to build catapults that could fling a small foam circle.

Week 3: Marble Rollercoasters

Materials Used: Marble, foam insulation cut in half for the tracks, masking tape, cardboard tubes, shoe lace string, two folding chairs 

Students were given the challenge to build a rollercoaster in the hallway. Once they created their first rollercoaster they were then given the challenge to add loops, hills, and corkscrews

Week 4: Marshmallows and Toothpicks

Materials Used: Marshmallows, Toothpicks and paper plates

Students were given the directions that they were going to be given marshmallows and toothpicks and then they had to build the biggest tower they could with the materials provided. Students were given ten minutes to sketch out their ideas in their group of how they were going to build their tower before they were given their materials.

Week 5: Newspaper Bridges

Materials Used: newspaper and masking tape

After a five minute group planning time students were given the direction to build a bridge strong enough to hold at least four textbooks between two desks.

Week 6 and 7: Popsicle Bridges

Materials Used: popsicle sticks (large size), hot glue gun, newspaper

After being given fifteen minutes of group planning students were told that they were to build a bridge at least 12 inches long that could hold as much weight as possible. We then tested the bridges to see how many textbooks the bridge could hold between two desks before snapping or falling.

Valentine's Dance Februrary 10th

On Friday, February 10^th the Youth Advisory Board threw a Valentine’s Dance for sixth through eighth graders at Highlander Charter School. The dance was from 5:30 – 7:00 pm. The Youth Advisory Board was great hosts for the event and really made the event the great success that it was.

Hear from two members of the Youth Advisory Board about the prep for the dance and their favorite part of the dance:

Emmie Grenier 6^th Grade

To prepare for the Valentine’s Dance, we had to contact donors for food and candy. Many of the donors were people we knew, like parents and relatives. Then we had to get together the decorations and make the passes to the dance. We also had to design and print out flyers and advertisements to hang up around the school. At the dance, we had multiple stations. The stations were the candy and chocolate fountain station, the photo booth, the food station, tables were students could sit and eat, and the DJ station.

The dance turned our better than I expected. The music was amazing, and the candy was delicious. The photo station had a very, very nice background. There was even someone selling glow sticks, and delicious food was at the food station! The dancing was my favorite part of the dance. Everyone was everywhere at once, dancing and dancing and dancing! The music had a really danceable beat and everyone was so happy to dance. The dance was really really fun! The decorations were perfect, too!

Angel Vidal, 6^th Grade

To prepare for the valentine dance we had to find out where the materials were coming from. So thanks to Jodiana we were able to get food for the dance such as calzones and pizza. One other preparation for the dance was set up which meant setting up the streamers, music and lights. One of the hardest parts I think was setting up the stations which were the photo booth, candy bar, food table, glow stick station and the DJ booth. I think my favorite part of the dance was all of the music that was played. So in all, I think the dance turned out better than I thought it would have.

Special Thanks to:

LaSalle Bakery           Wild Flour Vegan Bakery           
Amelia Caito             Lisa Johnson

Ruth Guevara           Wilsa Galaxza

Miss Arroyo! 

The Youth Advisory Board

Valentine's Dance Slideshow

Thank you for coming!!

The Youth Advisory Board

Story-Telling Yoga After school Reflection: Times2 Academy

Story-Telling Yoga

Story-telling Yoga was one of my favorite programs. It was a mix of reading, writing, arts and crafts, games, and of course YOGA! This week we learned a variety of animal poses and students then wrote short stories including the animals we learned poses for. The students then took turns reading their stories while the others did yoga poses according to which animal name was said. 

Here are shortened versions of a couple of the stories!

 -- Nicole

Disney! After school Reflection: Times2 Academy

Disney!

      

One of my favorite afterschool activities at Times² has been our Disney class, where students get to learn more about their favorite Disney movies and characters. And as you can guess, the class is made of some very energetic 3^rd-5^th grade students who love Disney! So far we have made Toy Story bookmarks, played Disney character bingo, created Lion King masks, and even taken a Winnie the Pooh “Poohsonality” quiz (apparently I am Owl). I’ve always thought that the most “magical” part of Disney is its music, so we usually listen to the soundtrack of the weekly movie while we work. I’m glad that my students are excited about the class and happy to be a part of our mini-Disney World!

Roar! If these Lion King masks don’t scare you, I don’t know what will….

--Leah

ePals After school Reflection: Times2 Academy

ePals

ePals was a program designed for 3^rd-8^th graders to work on reading and writing skills in a fun way. We have been communicating with a classroom of 5^th-8^th graders from Christchurch, New Zealand. We learned how to write a letter and respond to letters via email. We also learned all about New Zealand, so we would have something to talk with our ePals about. Our New Zealand ePals attend a small school in a rural area. They have recently been affected by earthquakes some of the students were going through a difficult time. In Providence, earthquakes are not an issue that our students worry about. Hearing these concerns of the Christchurch ePals, TIMES2 students felt sorry for their friends, and lucky that earthquakes are a problem we do not have. Overall, the students in epals not only built their reading and writing skills, but gained a sense of global connectedness, and a broader view of the world outside Rhode Island.

Example of letters sent out and received:  

Caitlin,
Hello my name is Lesley I live in Rhode Island in providence I am 12 years-old 6th grade girl and I have 9 brothers and sisters. Five of them are my moms kids including me, and 4 of them are my dad’s girlfriend, but we all love each other no matter what. I live with my mom and my brothers, and sister me and my brother are some type of twins, we are 11months apart so me and him are very close to each other. My favorite sport is basketball, and my number is 12 I play for John Hope but my teammates aren’t so good at working together. My favorite food is rice and BBQ chicken. I am Dominican I attend Times2 Academy it is a school where you wear uniforms and I enjoy wearing uniforms. Because no one makes in front of what you are wearing, the colors of the uniform is dark purple and blue pants that have to be long. 

-Lesley

Hi Lesley, Thank you for your e-mail.
My name is Caitlin and I an 8 years old, I will be turning 9 on the 9th of May. I live in Christchurch New Zealand. I live in West Melron which is on the outskirts of Christchurch in the country. I live with my Mum (Linda), Dad (Craig) and little sister Alexandra who is 5 years old. We have 3 cats, 2 are Burmese called Indy & Zoe and we have just had my Grandmothers cat called Rosie come to live with us. I like sports & play Netball and Hockey at school. I love swimming, reading books, talking on the phone to my friends & watching TV. I have just done the school Triathlon and came first in the cycling.
-Caitlin

Thanks for reading about my after school program.
-- Nicole

Winterfest 2/2/12

Charter Corps hosted a Winterfest on Friday, February 3rd,  where all of the proceeds from the event went to help the Quinones Family. This event was the second fundraiser that Highlander has thrown to support one of the families that attends Highlander Charter School. During this event families participated in different crafts, games, a dance party,  a bake sale, listening to stories and raffles.  Leading to each activity was a candy scavenger hunt (where each color leads to a different activity) and at each location students and families were given to opportunity to get the activities color signed and then win a free raffle ticket. 

There were three different crafts offered at the event. The first one was Sock Snowman, where students were given to opportunity to create snowman out of socks and then stuffed them. Students decorated their snowman using markers, pipe cleaners, yarn and pom poms. Students also made fleece scarfs using felt, markers, stencils, and beads. Finally students were able to create snowflakes and write messages on them and even added a little color to their beautiful snowflakes. After creating their snowflakes students were given the opportunity to hang their creations of a beautiful golden tree.

Snowflake Tree

There was three games offered at the event. One game called knocking down snowflakes; where students had the opportunity to toss bean bags and try to knock down a pyramid of cardboard tubes. Students also participated in two different bean bag tosses one through a snowman and the other was trying to toss bean bags into snowball decorated cardboard tubes.  

Students also had the opportunity to take pictures with Frosty the Snowman in front of a beautiful backdrop, eat delicious treats from our bake sale, listen to the story The Gingerbread Boy. groove to the music at our dance party and win raffles such as a family four pack to the Providence Children's Museum, a rainy day basket and a pancake breakfast basket. 

Check out more photos at: Winterfest Slideshow

Digital Learning Day

This past Wednesday at Highlander was Digital Learning Day. During the school day and in afterschool teachers put extra emphasis on adding the technology throughout the school into their activities and regular plan of the day. Teachers used our media computer lab, SMART board, IPADS and laptops. Whether it’s using the SMART board to make a lesson more hands on, or practicing your math facts and reading skills on an IPAD there are many different ways that technology can be added to the school day.

Here are some of the technical activities done during homeroom time:

* K - went to the Media Lab to work on Lexia (which is a program which helps students develop reading skills) 

* 2nd Grade - played a Jeopardy Game on the SMART board to help them review topics from class such as their spelling words from the week, math and fact and opinion.

Here are some pictures of Kindergartners using the IPADs in their after school homeroom: 

Technology was also added into Afterschool Program classes:

* In American Sign Language K and 1st graders watched a video on the SMART board to help students learn family signs (mom, dad, grandma, brother, dog, cat, etc) and also sang the some "My Mother is a Baker" (the lyrics were viewed on the SMART board) to help them review the signs that they had just learned.

Reflection from the Teach Back Session 2

At the end of the second after school session students were able to show off some of what they had learning during their after school class in what we call at Highlander a Teach Back. The classes that volunteered to be a part of the Teach back were; Computer Gaming Class, Zumba!, Nature Art, That’s Bangin, Broadway Bound and American Sign Language. Students rotated around to each activity by grade level.

Zumba!:

During the Zumba Teach Back students were able to learn some background of what Zumba is and its history and even got to learn some Zumba moves. Students were shown a powerpoint describing the history of Zumba, which included videos and the basics of some of the main dances used in Zumba and basic steps that was just the tip of the iceberg of what the students learned during their after school Zumba class. 

Here is a brief summary of Zumba:

Are you ready to party yourself into shape? That’s exactly what the Zumba program is all about. It’s an exhilarating, effective, easy to follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health. At Highlander Charter School, students of all ages are participating in Zumba Fitness classes for an hour each week. They are learning international dance steps, such as Salsa and Meringue, and taking part in dance-oriented games, such as “Center Star,” where students take turns being the “Star” and breaking down dance steps for everyone to follow. Students are increasing their focus and self-confidence, boosting metabolism, and enhancing coordination, all while smiling, laughing, and having a blast! 

Nature Art:

Nature Art was focused on creating artistic expression through using raw, natural materials. During teach backs for Session 2, students of Nature Art taught rotating groups of fellow students how to make prints with food. We used apples and cucumbers, along with paints to demonstrate the fruit-printing technique that the students of Nature Art had perfected and enjoyed.

That's Bangin':

During the session of That’s Bangin’ we had been working with materials that can be found that you would not normally consider as instruments.  We had practiced playing along with songs, and doing improvisation as well as battling against one another.  For the teach back we were able to put all we’ve learned to use, and play with African drums.  The students that came to us were moving to the beats, and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  When the 7^th and 8^th graders came around we had battles between the students in the class and people from the audience, which was great. 

American Sign Language:

During the session of American Sign Language students learned a little about the history and significance of learning ASL. Students learned signs for colors, family, occupations, numbers and the ABCs. Students rotating through the activity got a chance to learn a little about American Sign Language and what the students had learned throughout the class.

Students showed the groups rotating through the ABCS and six favorite signs that were taught during the session (grandfather, blue, daughter, black, brother and police) and numbers 1 to 10. Students were also shown some basic sentences using the signs that the students had learned. Here are an example of some of the sentences taught: 1. My mother is a teacher and likes red and white.  2. My sister likes purple and red.  3. My grandma likes yellow and orange. After the signs were showed the audience had a chance to answer any questions about what they had just seen or about American Sign Language or the deaf community. 

Meet Kirsten Thomsen: Highlander

About Me:

Name: Kirsten Thomsen

Hometown: West Hartford, CT

College attended: Roger Williams University

Major: Psychology and Elementary Education

Siblings: Younger brother

Pets: None

Favorite Color: Turquoise

Hobbies: Needlepoint, photography, music

Favorite Subjects in School: Writing

Service Year:

Grade and School that you serve at: 2^nd Grade at Highlander

Why did you choose to serve a year with Americorps:

To continue to grow as an educator and to learn more about Charter Schools.

What has been your favorite part about working at Highlander:

Getting to know and learn for the diverse students at Highlander in the classroom and during after school time.

What do you hope to gain from your year of service:

I hope to gain more experience in the field of education and help me to figure out what I would like to do in the next few years to come.