Learning Team Meetings...

...are just around the corner! In the spirit of progressive education, I wanted to share this "blast from the past" video which seems to support those snappy song lyrics: Everything old is new again! Check out "Progressive Education in the 1940s" to see what I mean!

With regards to your upcoming LTMs, each 8th grader has been presented with a list of questions to entertain as she conducts her final SGS Learning Team Meeting! Should you be curious, the worksheet is posted on our SGS homework blog at http://my8thgrade.blogspot.com/

We look forward to seeing you all at learning team meetings next week. Because my LTMs are scheduled back-to-back, I will greatly appreciate timely entrances and exits...as will your 8th graders, I'm sure!

Forensics Labs Day 1

Black History Month Independent Study

Each February we present the girls with a Black History Month Challenge, in the form of an independent study, entitled: Black History Month 2009 - Mission Possible. The parameters of this assignment are published in their entirety on our SGS 8th Grade Homework blog - so be sure to check it out! We're envisioning a visit to the Northwest African American Museum on Thursday afternoon, February 12th - a meaningful opportunity within walking distance of SGS! You are encouraged to commune with your 8th grader on what invariably proves to be a most interesting endeavor. Recognizing that we're each on our own journey of awareness, our goal is to have each student identity and define her growing edge with regards to the African-American experience...and then challenge it! Your sage suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

World News This Week

Last week, we introduced the girls to our Geographic Areas of Concern (GAOC) program in which they are going to be taking their knowledge of the world's countries a step further. Each week, students will be responsible for one region of the world and will be asked to scan the news headlines for their region - from non-U.S. sources. Along with a partner, they will select one article to report in-depth on either through a short essay post to our GAOC blog or by oral presentation to the class, due every Thursday. Over the next ten weeks, they will cover all ten regions of the world and by the end will have written 5 essays and given 5 oral reports.

Each week, the GAOC oral presentations will give the whole class a sense of what's happened in the world that week. They'll be given a short online quiz the next morning to make sure they got it all. For girls who are absent, they will be able to review the articles on the GAOC blog and take the quiz when they return.

We had a few class periods last week to show the girls how to use Google News to scan for headlines and search for news from a particular region or country and also to practice and crtitique how to give a concise presentation of the news. This Thursday will be our first "for real" GAOC day with essays written and presentations done for all girls across all regions of the world, with lots more to follow in the coming weeks.

Pig Autopsy Position Paper

We wanted to give you a heads up about an assignment that we gave the girls over the weekend. The assignment is to answer the bioethics question, "Should I use a real pig to conduct a forensic investigation to simulate a human autopsy?" Today in class, we introduced an ethical decision making framework that they will use as they justify their position, noting key facts, questions, stakeholders, possible solutions and their ultimate decision and the justification behind it. The opportunity to perform a pig autopsy will come at the end of February and we want girls to be thoughtful in their decision on how to take part in this experience. There are many possible solutions to their involvement and we are open to ideas. If you have any questions about this assignment, please direct them to Darin or Bert.