Middle School Students Publish Book
This year, our middle school students undertook the ambitious project of publishing a book. Led by our cultural studies teacher, Perry Lloyd, the students wrote poems and short stories with the goal of publishing the collection at the end of the year. This collection is deep, thoughtful and has far exceeded our expectations. “I have found great rewards in blending literature, social studies, and writing into cultural studies curriculum which I believe has enhanced these young students’ abilities to think critically. Writing is a...
read moreYEARBOOKS
2021-2022 Yearbooks now on sale for $32. Click on the link below to order yours before May 2nd.
read moreReal Life Challenge
In the elementary class, students have many practical life lessons including preparing snacks, sewing, hammering and much more. In the middle school class, students also do many of the same practical life lessons, but on a more advanced level. New this year, the Real Life Challenge was introduced to 6th through 8th grade students. This lesson includes: 1. Finding a career, researching education requirements and salary, thinking about the entry level pay that would come with a career straight out of college 2. Calculating monthly gross pay by...
read moreBuilding Strong Minds
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” Socrates This week our middle school students experienced their first Socratic seminar. Socratic seminars are collaborative, intellectual conversations centered around a text. The students spent the week interacting with the short story “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan. They numbered paragraphs, explored vocabulary, annotated the story, and brainstormed open-ended, higher-level questions. These activities culminated in the seminar where the students took...
read moreHands On Learning
Materials Handmade with Care Imagine, as a young student, coming into a classroom that feels like it is prepared especially for you. There are beautiful materials on low shelves that are interesting and inviting. Imagine finding materials that are handmade, just for you with care and attention to every detail. That’s what we are blessed with in our lower elementary classroom. An important part of any Montessori-inspired classroom, is that the children work with their hands and learn through their senses. Thanks to our very talented...
read moreFair vs. Equal
What is the difference between treating people equally and treating people fairly? That’s what the “Band-Aid Lesson” is all about. Through this interactive and engaging lesson, out students found out that equal doesn’t always mean fair. Mrs. Freeman invited all her students to come to the center rug. Then she asked the children to imagine that they each had some sort of injury. Once they had their injuries in mind, she called them up individually. One-by-one, the children told her about their imaginary scraped knees,...
read moreInspiration from a local artist
On the last day of the school year, we took one last trip up to the Foothills Arts Council. We take the kids there periodically to look at the artwork and to create their own art. The visit on Friday included a special treat, a Q&A session with local artist Geoffrey Walker. When we arrived, Geoffrey was casually playing the piano that sits in the gallery at the Foothills Arts Council. I don’t think all of kids immediately realized that he was the creator of the 2-D and 3-D artwork that is currently on exhibit. They began looking...
read moreHittin’ the trail
As part of our Earth Day celebration this year, our students took a field trip to one of the beautiful trails here in Elkin. This trip was fun, educational, and most of all, a way for our school to give back to our community. The trails are such a valuable asset in our community. Our students enjoy using the trails and wanted to do a service project to benefit them. The Elkin Valley Trails Association (EVTA) seeks to create and maintain a higher quality of life while boosting the local economy. The group focuses primarily on building and...
read moreHow to design an outdoor classroom
Over the summer, we will be moving into our new school building. That means that we will have lots of work to do up-fitting the new space inside and out. For our school, having an outdoor classroom is a critical part of our curriculum. Joe, from West Depot Architecture, has been working with the students to design the new outdoor classroom. They started with a design charrette to define the project and to brainstorm ideas. First, they took a walk up to the new property so that they could see how the land slopes, which parts are in shade and...
read moreWhen coming in 38th is better than 1st
If you know me, you know that I am competitive. So you might think that I would be upset that our Science Olympiad team came in 38th in the Battery Buggy competition this weekend. Not true. This is why I am so proud of our team. This is the third year that our school has participated in the NC Science Olympiad but the first year in the Middle School Division, which has a state tournament for the regional winners. Our Battery Buggy team placed first in the regional middle school competition at Wake Forest. So, this weekend the team of Henry...
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