WEEK ONE
Hey DGS! Our first week together proved to be full of exploration and connection, just as we’d hoped! Wednesday kicked off our school year with middle school settling into our new space, aptly nicknamed “The Treehouse.” We continued with a ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with candle lighting and singing to welcome our year and celebrate our new building.
Silver-capped mushrooms covered the field during our candle ceremony.
Because this is my first year at DGS, I focused on getting to know students and on having students make connections with each other for these few beginning days. Academics will follow this coming week.
Wednesday involved a riveting game of giant Jenga, where each student got to pull a block from the tower in exchange for answering a question. They loved it! Upper Elementary may have loved it a little less, saying they could hear our tower falling. (Quiet feet will be integral to third floor living.)
Hexagons connecting classmates….
Thursday, students made personal hexagons, putting simple facts about themselves on each of the six sides. Then, we paired up in a variety of combinations and discovered commonalities with our classmates. Finally, the hexagons went on the wall as a reminder that we have far more in common than we may have realized. (Apparently there are a lot of pets in middle school!)
Friday we continued the theme of connection by visiting Urban Air and the lake for outside bonding. It was pretty much one of the best starts to a school year since I can remember, and I hope your students felt the same!
Looking forward:
We will be creating Identity Pages - Students are asked to bring pictures and small found objects from home that are able to be glued to cardboard.
English classes will begin with creation stories from various cultures around the world.
Middle school as a whole will spend this week discussing major long-term projects, such as the DGS Art Auction, our Extended Learning Field Trip, and externships and community service projects.
History will begin the following week with the creation of our world from a scientific and historical standpoint.
Until next time……
Peace,
Patricia
Comments