Learning Updates for Week of January 25 to January 29

January 29, 2021

Fourth Grade: Research Begins On Ancient Egypt

This week our fourth grade researchers began taking notes for a report about an ancient Egyptian topic of choice. Topics include everything from famous pharaohs to food and farming to magic and medicine. Students found resources from the library catalog, formulated research questions, and have been reading about their topics. In the coming weeks, they will write about what they have learned and present their findings at our Ancient Egyptian Symposium.

– Lana Holman, grade 4 teacher

Seventh Grade Math Tackles Real-World Applications

Seventh grade students recently completed their third math unit of study for the school year. Titled “Comparing and Scaling,” this textbook covered topics such as fractions, ratios, proportions, and percents. The students learned to apply each of these mathematical tools to answer questions and solve problems ranging from unit costs for groceries at a store, to how much to tip based on a restaurant bill, to what ratio of paint mixtures will result in a desired color outcome. Their exam for unit 3 focused exclusively on these real-world applications of math, and as such, brought to life math as applicable to and necessary in the real-world.

The fourth unit of math study is on “Filling and Wrapping.” This textbook focuses on surface area and volume of a variety of three-dimensional objects, including cylinders, cones, spheres, and rectangular and polygonal prisms. While our math studies will focus solely on the first three dimensions, a tangential question about dimensions during class on Tuesday led to a remarkable impromptu exploration of the existence of a total of 10 dimensions in our universe (according to string-theory theoretical physicists). The discussion fascinated students and left them wanting to learn more. Once again, we proved that math is never dull but a vehicle that can open the mind to the entire universe, or in the case of 10 dimensions an infinite number of multiverses. If this leaves you curious to learn more, ask a seventh grader!

– Stephen Bennhoff, middle school math teacher

Video Highlights: This Week In Physical Education

This week in physical education, our students, from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade worked on a wide variety of activities to increase fitness and sharpen skills including kicking, striking, throwing, jumping, dribbling, shooting, and much more! Starting this week, we’ll provide video highlights so you can see each grade in action. Click here to watch! And make sure to ask your student(s) about what they’re learning in PE!

– Abbey Nyland, physical education teacher

By Belmont Day School |

June 2, 2023

Seventh Graders Explore Many Dimensions in Math As seventh grade students wrap up their last math unit of the year, they’re expanding on some geometric ideas to think beyond the two and three-dimensional figures from their workbooks. What would a…
The second grade class poses together at Gaining Ground.

BDS

May 26, 2023

We are proud to present the final tally for our second grade changemakers’ efforts to raise funds for Gaining Ground. During Read for Seeds, this group of second graders read 59,774 pages in two weeks and raised $5,097.84 to support…

By John O'Neill, director of athletics |

May 26, 2023

The boys’ lacrosse team exploded for five goals in the fourth quarter against Shady Hill this week for a come-from-behind 7-4 win. The win was the team’s third straight, improving their record to 5-3 and guaranteeing a winning season with…
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