Urban Garden Chronicles: Part 1

by Francesca (International)

Urban Garden Club is in full bloom during midwinter with talk of preserving vegetables the old fashioned way. During my after school program, students learned the benefits of preserving their own, locally sourced vegetables to enjoy throughout the winter months instead of buying fruits and vegetables from different parts of the world. We talked about how buying produce from other, sunnier countries was not only detrimental to the environment due to the fossil fuels used for their journey to our local supermarkets, but really just didn't taste good! The students then had the opportunity to can their own locally purchased cucumbers and carrots in an apple cider vinegar canning liquid. They also had the opportunity to add different natural flavorings such as garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Here are some pictures of the pickling process!

Reflection Friday: What is something great you've done with technology, this year?

Francesca (International): Because every room at International Charter School is equipped with a projector and iPad, I am lucky enough to use them during my after school program, Wellness. Watching my elementary school students synchronously perform step aerobics was pretty amazing for them and myself.

Leah (International): Something great I've done with technology this year has been using our Nexus 7 tablets to make recordings of the students for our Books on Tape project. This service project produced an impressive binder of poetry that was read and illustrated by the kids at ICS. The recording app was very easy to use, and the kids did great!

Nellie (Highlander): Something great that I have done with technology this year is helping my teacher track student progress using Metryx. This was important when we were studying this book. Another good thing that I did with technology was share music and lyrics as part of my lesson with them.

Kimberly (Highlander): Some great things that I have done with technology are holding an after school lesson with the smart board having the students grow a plant controlling heat and the amount of water that they put in. It had to be an even amount of both water and Sunlight so that the plant grows to its full beauty. The students were excited and had a great time while at the same time they learned the importance of growing plants and how there had to be a balance of both water and Sun to grow their plant.

Deyan (Serve Rhode Island): While I was working at Highlander, I ran an after school program called Pokemon Showdown, where students had a chance to build their own Pokemon teams and challenge each other using an online video game simulator. As they built their teams, they learned how to use an online database (the Smogon Strategy Pokedex) to research the Pokemon and strategies they were using. Playing Pokemon may seem like just fun and games, but the online research skills my students gained will benefit them for years to come!

Itza (International): With the greatest tool, my camera, I've captured so many sweet moments, funny faces, and awe inspiring accomplishments from my students.

Dianny (International): Unfortunately, at my school site we don't have the technological resources to be able to do "great technological things". We don't have smart boards, iPads, or classroom computers that actually work. The only technological resource we have is a prehistoric computer lab with about 19 laptops for the entire school's use. But soon this is going to change!

Yairy (Segue): Something great I've done with technology this academic year is learning about the site that allows you to track students.

Jill (Highlander): This year my students earn iPad time when they have a good week in after school. They enjoy doing Academic enrichment on the iPads.

Brandford (Highlander): The sixth grade classroom that I serve in has been able to benefit from the use of technology with the implementation of the MyMetryx system. Students have been able to monitor their progression in literacy. I use MyMetrix to track my students in fluency, reading comprehension, and tone/articulation. This is useful because students can see the areas that they need improvement in and work to improving them.

Opening Minds

by Nellie (Highlander)

Since the beginning of the year my teacher and I start our language arts class with a quote. The class has to read it aloud and then we select people to interpret what it means or how they can connect it to something in their lives.   The quotes started getting a bit boring so we wanted to try something that would freshen things up.  We opened it up for the students to be able to be teachers for about fifteen minutes of the class and showcase something that they are good at and want their peers to learn.  Each student would teach something for one week, and they would also be responsible for some sort of assessment of the class to make sure they are engaged and learning.  Our first student is very into vocabulary and even goes on a website everyday to improve her vocabulary.  Each day she would teach a new word to the class and then the class would have to try and use it in a sentence to see if they understood it.  At the end of the week she made up a quiz with all the words she taught and they had to match the words with the definition.  For the second part of the quiz they had to choose a certain number of words and then use them in a paragraph, to show mastery.  To this day students are using her vocabulary, and have more of an interest to use words that they might normally not.

Earth Day

by Jill (Highlander)

Earth day is the one day of the year that everyone sits down to think about how they are impacting the Earth. With kids, the best way to do this is hands-on: pick up litter, plant a tree, or just get outside and take a look around. At camp this month, my science class talked a lot about our impact on the Earth, and we enjoyed our activity that taught us about pollution and the oceans. I highly recommend that you try this out with kids, but try to do it outside if you can - it gets very messy!

You will need a large-ish plastic or metal tub or bowl filled with water (at least an inch deep), a spoon or two, some sand or dirt- about half of a cup, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, and some small bits of sponge (you will have to cut these up small).

In your basin, you have a small bit of the ocean. Notice how clean and clear the water is! This is a pristine ocean. As we know, however, accidents happen. This includes oil and trash spills, and we know that sometimes these things are spilled on purpose as well (think: garbage barges). Take the sponge pieces and "spill" them into the water. Talk about what sorts of trash can be found in the ocean, and how it affects animals and their habitats. Take a few minutes to try to scoop the sponges out with a spoon. Can you clean your ocean completely? (probably not)

Then, spill some sand/dirt in the water. Sometimes, water can carry dirt and garbage into the ocean (like sewer water). Can the sand be cleaned out? Try it!

Finally, oil spills happen all of the time. When you spill the oil in the ocean, can that be removed easily? Try it out!

From this experiment, children can easily observe what can happen if we don't throw our litter away, advocate for responsible disposal habits of our city trash, and decrease our reliance on oil.

Happy Earth Day, ya'll!

Extreme Team Fun

by Brandford (Highlander)

One of my after school programs was called Extreme Team Fun. Students worked together to complete various activities that demanded communication, listening skills, team work, and strategy. One obstacle that students played was called Lone Island. Working together students would have to get from one side of the gym to the other. There were 11 students and they only had 9 place mats as their traveling source. The gym floor was transformed into hot molten lava and the only thing they could use was the plates to get across, but the plate only worked if there was contact from a human. So if students dropped the plate and did not have a foot or hand on it I would take it away leaving one less place mat.

When I first introduced this game to the students some stated that they wouldn't be able to make it across but as I assured them that they could it would only take communication, patience, and excellent ram work to make it possible. Two of the older students began to exemplify their leadership skills and organized the group. They begun to strategize a plan to make it across the molten hot lava and with the succession of their planning almost all of the students made it.

Even though students didn't make it all the way across I assured them that sometimes the accomplishment is in the journey itself. You all first believed that you wouldn't be able to make it half way. Not only did you surpass that but given if we had more time you all would have made it.

Reflection Friday: Why do you serve?

Dianny (International): I serve because I knew it was the right thing for me to do. Serving through Charter Corps allows me the opportunity to be a positive role model in the life of many children and hopefully inspire them to do the same in the future. Not only am I giving, but by serving I am gaining experience and discovering my true passion(s) in life; service is reciprocal.  

Leah (International): I serve because my presence and engagement in the classroom and in after school has mattered to hundreds of kids. These two years have been vital in developing my interests and investment in working with children in my career, and without them, I would have a much more superficial understanding of what meaningful work really looks like.

Itza (International): Why I serve is best summarized by Mahatma Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Kimberly (Highlander): Why Do I serve? I serve because I want to make a difference in my community, and show that things may never be perfect but you can always take one step forward towards a better future. 

Francesca (International): I serve because it is an excellent opportunity to give back to my community while exploring possible career choices in my future.

Deyan (Serve Rhode Island): I serve because I believe young people deserve to be listened to and respected. Through my service, both directly with youth and through the lesson plans and trainings I develop, I am helping to build an environment where that kind of respect and cooperation is possible. I strive to learn as much from the young people I serve as they do from me.

Yairy (Segue): I serve because I enjoy helping others. Service to others is a way others can benefit from my strengths. 

Jill (Highlander): I serve because I want to make a difference in the life of my students. I want to inspire and educate them, and help them be the best they can.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

by Leah (ICS)

The International Charter School is certainly a very unique place, and a feature that adds to that distinctiveness is the ICS Children’s Garden. The garden was started in 2007 to promote the idea of an “outdoor classroom” at ICS, and it serves to bring hands-on experience of planting and tending to a garden as well as the appreciation for where our food comes from. The kids are very proud of their garden, as it plays a significant part in the ICS student identity.

The fourth graders recently had a garden clean up day, where they plucked and pruned all of the overgrown weeds and debris that accumulated over the winter. The idea was to clear away any unnecessary stuff that might get in the way of organized planting, and they did a heck of a good job. I figure it would have taken me days if I had to do it myself…! Alright, weeks.

ICS fourth graders exerting the same energy per minute that Ms. Leah exerts per month (in joules, respectively).

The students were supplied with big bags, rakes, and brooms before they began clearing out their garden space. Then, they went to town. It was an impressive thing to watch, as I didn’t see a single kid out of the 34 total that pulled back out of boredom, laziness, or fear of the dirty-dirt. They were so into it!

I think the students were so quick to clean the garden because it’s something that they’re proud of. They know the food it yields, and that the food belongs to them. This year the fourth graders made french fries out of the potatoes they planted last year, and this spring they’ll be planting again to enjoy another treat to look forward to in fifth grade. The typical products that come out of the garden are corn, salad greens, tomatoes, sunflowers, and happiness.

This now desolate, barren flatland will soon be glowing with lush vegetable extravagance.

This garden is just another thing that makes ICS so awesome. Especially in a world so saturated with ipods, cell phones, and video games, it’s nice to have the kids connect to something of the earth. The garden is something they can call their own, and for them, that’s just one more thing that strengthens their community.

And honestly, who could say no to french fries?

After school kindergarteners admire the budding flowers that have started to grow this month…

just call them kinders in the garten.