Creative Short Stories in Fourth and Fifth Grade

Friday, April 19, 2013: Students in Fourth and Fifth Grade English are hard at work fine tuning their short stories, an annual project in the Spring. In Fourth Grade, English students learn how to dissect a story line (setting, conflict, rising action) as well as identify the protagonist and antagonist. Currently, they are putting their knowledge of what makes a good story to work by creating their own unique short story. They have spent the last couple weeks developing their story, creating story boards and draft illustrations, as well as working on powerful opening lines. The best part about the project is that they repeat it in Fifth Grade. Fourth and Fifth Grade Humanities teacher, Annie Garrett, remarked that she was blown away by how far the Fifth Grade students have come after reading their first drafts. The rigorous editing process that seemed arduous to the Fifth Graders last year, paid off this year. Miss Annie reports their first drafts were filled with descriptive words and plots were well thoughtout and creative.

Volcanoes Erupting in Fourth Grade

Friday, April 19, 2013: Today, Fourth Graders headed to Marolt Open Space to bring their studies to life. Over the past couple weeks, students have been learning all about volcanoes: cinder cone, sheild, and composite. In addition, they have learned about platetectonics and the fact that the Earth is always growing and changing below the surface. Students were organized into groups to create their own volcanoes based on one of the three types of volcanoes and then presented them to the class. Fourth Graders then watched a replication of the famous 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens put on by Middle School Science teacher Mark Sumera and Fourth Grade Science teacher Clark Addington. Click here for pictures.

Prep for life: almost-graduates lead their own parent-teacher conferences

Friday, April 12, 2013: Here's an important signpost on the journey: Eighth Graders leading their own parent-teacher conferences. Over the years at ACDS, students develop their public speaking and presentation skills, and they showcase these skills as they lead their own progress conferences in May of their final semester. The teenagers present portfolios of their work from Middle School and talk about their strengths and stretches. Parents of some of last year’s graduates had this to say about the student-led conferences:

Mike Kaplan: “At this age, kids rarely report back to their parents, in a meaningful way, anything about school. These conferences not only required our daughter to thoughtfully reflect back on her middle school years, but to clearly articulate key experiences and learning to teachers and her parents.”

Liz Howie: “Having (our daughter) guide the discussion made for a more thoughtful and meaningful conference, and  gave us a better understanding of our daughter. The preparation involved on her end gave her a better understanding of herself as well, and it was so positive to see it all supported and reinforced by her teachers.”

From the Assistant Head of School: renewing mind, body, spirit -- plus, the teaching lineup for next year

Tuesday, April 9, 2013: Andy Davies reflects on the state of the school as we get ready for our move back to Castle Creek. Thoughts on the upcoming curriculum review, design of the new classroom spaces, and the "special sauce" that is the ACDS spirit. Click here for Andy's letter to parents; click here for the teaching assignments and bios for 2013-14.

From the Board of Trustees: progressive growth, bus included in tuition, calendar dates for next year

Thursday, April 4, 2013: The Board of Trustees of Aspen Country Day School is charged with setting the overall strategic direction fo the school, among other things. Here is the latest in a series of period board updates. This one focuses on how the school intends to grow slowly over the next few years. There's also info about the board decision to include bus service in tuition -- a way to encourage more families to use the bus service, which has greatly improved "time on task" in the classroooms this year. Also in this message, key dates for the coming academic year. The full official calendar will be released in mid-May. Click here for the board update of April 4.

ACDS Third Grade wins EcoArt Challenge

Friday, April 5, 2013: Congratulations to Third Graders and art teacher Paula Ponto for winning First Place in the Elementary Division for the EcoArt Challenge. Their piece Reduce, Reuse, Redragon included materials from plastic bags, empty cans, magazines, and tennis balls. The prize for First Place was $500, which will be used for something fun and new in the art department. Click here to view the process.

Snow Science in Second Grade

Thusday, April 4, 2013: On Thursday, Second Graders joined the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and spent the morning snowshoeing on Richmond Ridge, participating in a winter challenge course, and meeting with ski patrol about ski and avalanche safety.

The ACES educators showed students animal tracks and talked to them about what animals/plants do to survive the winter months. Two of students were buried in snow and the avalanche dogs "rescued" them. Click here for pictures from the field trip.

Seeds Sprouting in Seventh Grade Science

Wednesday, April 3, 2013: This week, the Seventh Grade began their plant unit. They started by planting seeds while learning the requirements of what plants need to live, such as light, water, and ideal temperature. Later, students will learn more about photosythesis and its importance to life on Earth, and about the reproductive elements of the plants. They will dissect them to oberve first-hand the plants' reproductive structures. Click here to view them planting seeds this week.

Andy Davies Appointed Assistant Head of School

Friday, March 29: John Suitor writes: I am pleased to announce that Andy Davies has been named assistant head of school. This is in addition to her current assignment as director of curriculum at ACDS.

Scott Hicks, who formerly served as assistant head, has increasingly focused on the new campus in addition to his duties as chief financial officer of the school.

This additional title for Andy more accurately reflects her roles and responsibilities at Country Day, where she not only manages faculty, handles student discipline, and teaches Eighth Grade English, but also is the point person for our ongoing curriculum review and upcoming reaccreditation.

Meeting of the Minds - A Panel of the Greatest Minds in American History

Thursday, March 14, 2013: This week some of the greatest minds throughout American History converged for a lively discussion in Harris Hall. The Eighth Grade students selected interesting American personalities, past and present, and then read biographies of those individuals. Then they were grouped into panels, where they devised thought-provoking questions that they discussed in front of an audience as their characters at the Annual Meeting of the Minds. This annual event was a great display of knowledge and insight. Some of the notable minds included: Michelle Obama, Dorothea Lange, Stevie Wonder, Ernest Hemingway, Allen Foster Dulles, and John D. Rockefeller.

Egypt: Project-Based Learning in the Fourth Grade

Wednesday, March 13, 2013: On Wednesday, students and families gathered for presentations of Fourth Graders about all things Egypt. Over the course of the last couple months, Fourth Grade students have been working hard researching and learning about Ancient Egyptian culture. Each student chose a god, goddess, or pharoah that was an integral part of the culture out a hat and then gathered facts from books, videos, and the internet about their chosen figure. On Wednesday, each student became his/her god, goddess, or pharaoh and gave a speech about his/her importance in Egyptian culture. Another part of the project included group collaboration on a topic of Egyptian life including Mummies, Daily Life, the Nile, Pyramids, and more. Each group created a lively poster with 3-D elements to explain their findings and teach those who came to the presentation more about Egyptian life. Click here for photos.

Animal Ambassadors - First Grade Explore Continents and Animals that Live There

Tuesday, March 12, 2013: For the past month, First Graders have been researching and learning about an animal of their choice. As ambassadors of the animals, the First Graders presented their findings to parents and classmates through oral presentations over the past week. The entire process helped students learn about the research process, understand the difference between fact and fiction, locate resources, build a library, and use the internet to find out information and gather photos of their animals. While putting together their visual aid for their presentations, First Grade teacher Susi Zedlacher introduced “the web” to illustrate different topics to cover about the animal. She also reiterated the importance of oral language skills as well as a visual aid to help make the presentations more interesting for the audience. The project integrated their geography studies, English, and Social Studies. Click here for photos.

Technology Integration at ACDS by Andy Davies, Director of Curriculum

Friday, March 8, 2013: Anyone who picks up a newspaper or reads anything about education knows that the role of technology is increasing exponentially in schools. Young children are more conversant in the use of digital devices than most of their parents, and advocates of wholesale revision of education delivery believe that educators need to teach “kids where they are” and most kids love technology. Those of us who have been in education a long time understand that most reform efforts have essential elements, yet need to be viewed through a thoughtful and critical lens, think Whole Language, back to basics, accountability.

At ACDS we approach technology use through considering essential questions:

Read more...

Seventh Grade Participates in National History Day

Monday, March 4, 2013: National History Day makes history come alive for America's youth by engaging them in the discovery of the historic, cultural, and social experiences of the past. Through hands-on experiences and presentations, today's youth are better able to inform the present and shape the future. NHD inspires children through exciting competitions and transforms teaching through project-based curriculum and instruction.

All seventh grade students from both ACDS and AMS researched topics related to this year's theme, Turning Points in History, and then created exhibits that contained less than 500 words defending their respective thesis. Following the local exhibition (at AMS) history teacher, Zeke Tiernan, took a group of students to Grand Junction to compete in the Colorado Regional History competition. The projects were: The Invention of the Camera (Anders P. and Lillian S.), The invention of the Television (Emily W., Carter C., Sam W., Sander E.), Invention of the Airplane (Eva C., Alura P., Myles P.), The Berlin Wall (Jamie H., Madelyne L., Danielle S.), The Great Depression: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (Devon P., Molly Scharlin B-H., Sarah Scharlin B-H), Apollo 8 (Kim N., Darci J., Ki-lin B.), and the Invention of the Telephone (Catherine C. and Summer S.). Catherine and Summer took second place with their mock phone booth and will compete at the state competition on May 4. Click here for pictures.

Create A Species - Seventh Grade Science

Thursday, February 28, 2013: An annual project for Seventh Grade science, Create A Species, finished this week with their final presentations. The Create-A-Species Project helps students understand how evolution affects animal species over time based on elements such as environmental changes, changes in habitat, and changes to the food chain.

The first element of the project included choosing an animal and then creating a handmade book to compile all the facts and showcase pictures of what they discovered. Seventh Graders shared their initial learnings with the Kindergarten and First Grade by reading their handmade books on their species. The First Grade is also studying animals and their habitats as well. After they finished their books, the Seventh Graders moved on to the second part of the project which entailed creating a species of the future from the one they previously studied. The students used their knowledge of the current species as well as predicted some of the environmental impacts of the future that would mutate the current species. Click here to see pictures of the students reading their books to Kindergarten and First Grade and their final projects.

Second Grade Explores Economics Through Project-Based Learning

Friday, February 22, 2013: The Second Grade finished their unit on economics with a fair selling products they worked long and hard to make. Parents, teachers, and students flooded the cafeteria on Friday and used pretend money to pay for handmade crafts such as jewelry, sculptures, American flags, pompom hearts and animals, frames, duct tape necklaces and boxes, and panda drawings. The Second Grade students were full of excitement the entire day and enjoyed complete success, with all the small businesses selling out of their goods. The class is calculating their profit and look forward to donating real money to charity. Thank you to all who came! Click here to see pictures.

Fourth Graders Explore Animals and Their Habitats

Thursday, February 14, 2013: Over the course of the past month, Fourth Grade students have been studying animals and their habitats. Each student chose an animal to research, then produced a visual project about the animal explaining where it lives, how big it is, is it extinct, etc. Using the internet and books to find information and photos, students created colorful and lively posters and dioramas showcasing their animals. On Thursday, parents and students came to the Fourth Grade Science room and learned about all the animals the Fourth Graders studied. One interesting fact Fourth Grader Logan S. discovered: the Megalodon’s body was 70 feet long and its mouth was 12 feet tall! Click here for pictures of the project.

Seventh Graders Share Science with Younger Students

Thursday, February 14, 2013: An annual project for Seventh Grade science, Create A Species, kicked off last week. The Create A Species project helps students understand how evolution affects animal species over time via environmental changes, changes in habitat, and changes to the food chain. Each student chose an animal and then created a handmade book with facts and pictures. On Thursday, Seventh Graders shared their discoveries with the Kindergarten and First Grade. The First Grade happens to be studying animals and their habitat as well. The Seventh Graders now move on to the second part of the project, envisioning how the animal they studied could evolve over time into a species of the future. The students will use their knowledge of the current species and predict future environmental impacts that would mutate the current species. The culminating element of the second half of the project is a paper written from the perspective of an evolutionary biologist in the distant future. Click here to see pictures of the students reading their books to Kindergarten and First Grade.

Pen Pals in Pakistan

Wednesday, February 13, 2013: On Wednesday, Seventh and Third Graders joined together to respond to the introductory letter from their pen pals in Pakistan. This is a new program and the school is working in partnership with the Marshall Fund to connect our students with students in Pakistan. Each Seventh Grader paired up with his/her buddy last week to write their introductory note which included facts about themselves and questions they had for their pen pal. Now both sides are matched up and the groups will continue to write letters  to each other until Spring Break. Click here for pictures of the students writing their letters.

Celebrating the 100th Day of School

Friday, February 8, 2013 On Friday, Kindergarten and First Grade celebrated the 100th Day of School. Throughout the year, each grade has been working with the numbers 1-100, counting in 5s and 10s and other activities to strengthen numeracy. In a joint class on Friday, all the students participated in activities related to the number 100 which included: bringing in 100 of something, drawing yourself at the age 100, creating a link of 100, contracting a lego structure of 100, and worksheets surrounding the number 100. Some of the highlights included Colby V. bring in 100 stuffed animals and the drawings of what they predicted they would like at age 100. Click here for pictures from the day!

Sister Cities' Students Visit ACDS

Thursday, February 7, 2013: On Thursday, twenty-one students from Chamonix, France visited ACDS. Eighth Grade ACDS students, Melanie D. and Will P., who will be traveling to Chamonix in the Spring, welcomed them to the school. Each French student introduced themselves at a Middle School Assembly. Afterwards, they traveled to a variety of classes of all ages. They began making Valentine's Day cookies with the PreK Three and Four. Next, students spent time in Mr. T's Sixth Grade History class and Mr. Pepitone's Seventh Grade Math class. Finally, they interacted with Kindergarten and First Grade French classes. Click here for pictures.

Lower School Science -  Exploring and Discovering

Thursday, February 7, 2013Over the past week, Lower School Science students have been busy taking field trips and learning about the environment around them.  In Kindergarten, students are studying the human body and gearing up for a pig's heart dissection at the end of February. Each student will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on dissection identifying the different parts of the heart.

On Thursday, the First Grade concluded their unit on the study of animal behavior in the winter with a trip to the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Students in Second Grade are learning about the local trees of the area and identifying them by their unique characteristics. Students utilized tree keys to identify trees on and around the Meadows campus. Click here to see Second Grader Madeline H. explaining the difference between a spruce and fir.

Finally, the Third Grade visited ACES last week to wrap up their unit on water and snow science. The explored such questions as what is snow made of, why does it insulate, and what causes avalanches? Click here for pictures from the last week of Lower School Science.

The World of Big and Small, Sixth Grade Math

Tuesday, February 5, 2013: The Sixth Grade math students have been studying ratios, proportions, and scale. They have been practicing metric measurement skills and using a scale to determine proportions. The students applied these skills to create a 3d scale model of an object of their choice as part of a project entitled "The World of Big and Small." Click here for pictures.

My Pet Rock, Sixth Grade Earth Science

Friday, February 1, 2013: This week marked the end of the Sixth Grade Science project "My Pet Rock." Each sttudent chose a rock, igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, that they wished to "adopt." They wrote papers that included information such as: where they found the rock, how they chose it, tests they chould to do find out what type of rock it was, a visual of a rock cycle, and the location of their rock in that cycle. Students used all the information they gathered to solve the mysteries of how rocks form, speficially their own.

Batik, a new Middle School Elective

Tuesday, January 29, 2013: Brett Nelson, Lower School math coordinator and outdoor education leader, is also leading the exploration of the ancient Javanese art of Batik with Middle School students during this elective cycle. This is the first time the elective has been offered, and students are loving it. Batik is a wax-resist process; students apply wax to fabric before submerging it in a dye bath. The waxed part remains undyed while the rest becomes colored. Then another layer of wax is added, followed by another dye bath, and so on. After all the desired dyeing has been completed, the wax is removed by boiling the material. Other electives this quarter include: textiles, strings, theater, digital photography, book making, marketing, and yoga. Click here for photos from Batik.

Learning and Understanding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Message

Thursday, January 24, 2013: In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, students of all ages took time over the course of the last week to understand his important message in a variety of different ways. In the younger grades, children read books such as Martin’s Big Words and articles from Time For Kids as well as discussed the meanings of love, hate, prejudice, violence, and tolerance. Students also had the chance to write their own “I Have A Dream” speeches on how they would like to make the world a better place.

Fourth Grade students read and analyzed the "I Have a Dream" speech through a literary lens, highlighting metaphors, similes, and identifying rhetorical techniques, such as repetition and the use of specific, concrete details which made the speech so eloquent and memorable.  The Fourth Graders also read and viewed Richard Blanco's Inaugural Poem, "One Today," and wrote their original poems inspired by this piece and the teachings of Dr. King.  

In Fifth Grade, students in Social Studies viewed and discussed sections of the PBS Eyes on the Prize documentary series delineating the American Civil Rights Movement. From the passion inflamed after the murder of Emmett Till, through the Montgomery bus boycotts and nonviolent sit-ins, to the March on Washington leading up to Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the students were exposed to the cultural and political context of Dr. King’s legacy.  The students then discussed Dr. King’s message on a deeper level in concert with their English novel, The Cay. Fifth Graders each wrote a paragraph to explain how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to end segregation in America through peaceful protests inspired by his eloquent oration.  As Laura M., fifth grader, concluded in her paragraph, "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a profound impact on America during the Civil Rights Movement, and his acts of non-violent action are still admired today."

In Sixth Grade English, students watched his speech, reflected by looking at famous pictures of the time, and discussed his life and influence. Soon, students will start reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and continue to discuss African-American history, particularly the events which led up to the Civil Rights Movement. Eighth Grade English students began reading To Kill A Mockingbird as they examine the question: Why is it hard to do the right thing?  In addition, students will use Kohlberg’s stages of moral development to inform and guide their analysis of the characters. In Middle School Social Studies, students discussed his importance as leader as well as reading his famous letter from Birmingham jail.

Eighth Graders Spend the Morning Teaching PreK Students

January 23, 2013: On Wednesday, PreK students enjoyed a morning of play and learning with their Eighth Grade buddies. The older students paired up with the PreK Four students to work on counting and fine motor skills by handling pencils and markers. In PreK Three, the students worked together to create a book illustrating the story of the Three Little Pigs.

After spending some time learning, the students made a play substance made out of glue and shaving cream – messy but fun! The bonds the younger students and older students are getting stronger with each buddy grade meeting, and it is the highlight of the day for all the students. Click here for pictures.

Bad news/good news: student engagement

January 18, 2013: Director of Advancement Carolyn Hines on a thought-provoking essay in The Atlantic. First the bad news: a Gallup Student Poll of 1700 public school students from 37 states that shows alarming declines in "student engagement" from U.S. grade schools to high schools. But then the good news: the level of student engagement at our own school. Something to consider in the midst of a busy academic year, read more. 

What is Rigor?

January 11, 2013: Curriculum Director Andy Davies reflects on the experience of the ACDS academic journey: "While we agree that there is a place for data accumulated through standardized tests, we believe strongly that the role of an independent school is to demand that students can do more than “perform” on a multiple choice test, so they develop the ability to think deeply and creatively about complex ideas. When this happens.. that's rigor." Read more

Mr. Potato Head Hits the Slopes - Winterskol 2013

January 11, 2013: Every year Art teacher Paula Ponto chooses a handful of Eighth Grade students to participate in a ice sculpture contest in conjunction with the annual Aspen Winterskol Event. Students spent the entire snowy day today sculpting and creating "Mr. Potato Head on Skis." Click here for photos of the sculpture.

Third Grade House Design and Construction Project

January 9, 2013: Before break, the Third Grade designed and constructed model homes as part of this semester’s culminating project. Students collaborated in groups of three that were created through letters each student wrote sharing which of their strengths would best fit being an architect, a construction manager, or an interior designer.

To begin creating their model house, each group figured out the desired area of a room by designing a blueprint on graph paper. Using this scale, they measured and cut foam board to construct their model. The interior designer led the group to measure and cut different styles of flooring to put in each of the rooms.

Shimukappu Students Visit ACDS

January 10, 2013:  On Thursday, students from Aspen's Sister City Shimukappu, Japan visited ACDS. In the fall, three of the Eighth Graders participated in the exchange program in Japan. Now their turn to host, the Eighth Graders showed the students their campus as well as participated in art acitivites as well as interacting with ACDS students of all ages. Click here for the Shimukappu/Aspen exchage photo album.

More stories from the 2012-13 school year

Click here for more stories from the journey of 2012-13