Hello Readers,
It's been a jam-packed first three weeks in middle school! Students are settling in to a routine, and the teachers are solidly into their academic units for the year. It has honestly been an absolute joy to get back into the swing of things and connect with all of our students.
Good Morning, MIDDLE SCHOOL!!
This year we're mixing academics up a bit, and instead of having a distinct English class and history class, we have a whole group block for humanities. The two subjects will often be taught as interdisciplinary unit studies and will largely follow historical subjects.
First unit so far:
What does it mean to be an American?
Students have reflected on this question for themselves and have been tasked with asking someone outside of DGS the same. They have brought back a wide variety of answers and continue to share their reflections.
Additionally, I have read excerpts from two books that offer voices and stories from American immigrants and American citizens. Out of Many, One by George W. Bush and HUMANS by Brandon Stanton. We have also listened to middle school voices from the podcast, This American Life, and we have explored how various people around the country identify or struggle to identify as an American.
As we tie up this introductory unit, we will go directly into two new guiding questions:
What are our responsibilities as Americans? and Who governs us?
From now until the election, middle school will dive into how our current local, state, and federal governing bodies operate. We will head back in time to the American Revolutionary War to discover who wrote our country's structures and why we are governed the way we are today.
Additionally, in Philosophy, Mr. Matt has been addressing propaganda, the media, bias, the art of forming an argument, and analyzing historic debates.
As we head into the election season, our middle schoolers should be able to watch the country go through this process as informed students with the ability to have relevant discussions. I look forward to hearing their voices through this series.
In other news, we have a few fun announcements!!
Miss Kim submitted Olivia's drawing to a contest for the the Charlotte chapter of the Greek educators' organization, DKG.
Olivia won!!!!
Her drawing is being used as their logo for their annual national conference to be held in Charlotte this year. We are thrilled to have Olivia represent our middle school with her art. Woot Woot!!
In lieu of our field trip day, we walked to town, visited the library, and ate lunch on the Green. We stopped by Ben and Jerry's for a sweet treat before walking back to DGS. While we were there, the lovely owner, Karen, led us in a team building activity and awarded Gisele and Lily with a free scoop for their spectacular efforts. So fun!
Ben and Jerry's!
Besides working together for free ice cream, we also saved this caterpillar that likes Tulip Poplars. It's been a good week!
Next up this coming week, we'll share some of our answers to What does it mean to be an American? and we'll shed light on our field trip plans for the year..... It's going to be such an incredible journey......
Peace,
Patricia
Great start to the year, Middle School!