Second Grade Learns About H2O
In science, second graders have been learning about the water cycle and the three states of matter. We discussed stages of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection and watched a video to help us see the cycle in action. To demonstrate their understanding, students labeled each stage and explained how the cycle worked in their own words. Some of us even created motions to describe each stage!
– Sunny Lee, grade 2 teacher
Seventh Grade Learns About COVID-19 From Expert
Seventh grade started off this week with a fabulous presentation from Dr. Ingrid Katz P ’22, associate faculty director at the Harvard Global Health Institute. Dr. Katz spoke with the class about the latest news and developments in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19. We learned about everything from scientists’ current understanding for why teenagers are less prone to develop severe COVID-19, to looking at cutting-edge infrared technology showing aerosolized droplets leaving a persons’ nose and mouth, with and without a mask. Students also enjoyed the chance to work in groups to discuss the issues that real policymakers are grappling with today, including determining who should be first in line for the vaccine. This presentation sparked some intriguing conversations in science class this week as we continued to look at the structure of viruses, the mechanism by which they infect organisms, as well as how the immune system fights back.
– Leal Carter, grades 7 & 8 science teacher
Fourth Grade Starts Pyramid Construction
The fourth grade pyramid architects, builders, and scribes have been hard at work during these past three weeks to construct model pyramids. Most students chose to make a true pyramid, which has the four triangular faces and a square base that many of us are familiar with. Some requirements for this project were that the pyramid needed to be no taller than 9 inches, made of recycled materials, and include at least one burial chamber. Students used many skills such as measurement, art (for drawing tomb paintings), geometry (for figuring out dimensions for the faces of their pyramids), and above all, creativity! To culminate this project, students contributed videos to a Flipgrid describing their pyramids and the process.
– Mary Norman, grade 4 teacher
Spanish Classes Celebrate Learning About the Holidays
It is a festive time in our Spanish classes filled with the joy and happiness of the season. Sixth grade students learned vocabulary related to the holidays, family members, family traditions, and Mexican celebrations at this time of the year. Click here for a video message to the BDS community: ¡Felices fiestas!
We also invite you to learn about some of the seventh grade students’ best moments of 2020 and various Hispanic countries’ traditions for the holiday season. Please click here to see the traditional music and watch cultural videos that the students’ in eighth grade have put together. We hope you enjoy the presentations.
– Ana Maria Restrepo, middle school Spanish teacher
