Spring 2016 PRAXIS SAU 67

PRAXIS SAU 67 Serving the Communities of Dunbarton and Bow Spring 2016

A Celebration of Learning We have three mission statements in SAU 67: Care for each person every day, focus on learn- ing and teach to touch the future. This issue of Praxis (theory into action) focuses on a cele- bration of learning. When I was in my freshman spring of college and grinding away at my biology major, I took a seminar in experiential education and it changed my plans. I was going to be a medical doc- tor and instead I became a teacher and eventually a doctor of education. It was the early eighties and a lot of my education had focused on learning facts and concepts through lecture and homework, but I was about to discover a different philosophy and practice for learning. The seminal American philosopher of education is John Dewey who was part of the progres- sive movement. The freshman year I read his short book, Experience and Education written in 1938 and it changed my view and my life. Education was not about the transmission of facts from one generation to the next, but it is the active construction of new knowledge by each learner. It is not passive receiving, but active, engaging and transforming experience. Dewey stated that, “Education is not preparation for life, Education is life itself.” The purpose of education was to provide experiences for students. Reflection on that experience would provide insight on how to better live future experience. Learning is becoming cognizant on how we live to be able to live better. It is not relegated to school and something we do now for later reward, but instead is a fundamental part of being human. Our role as educators is to provide well designed experiences for students and help them re- flect on them so that as they grow and change they can better and more independently han- dle future experiences. We do need to learn facts and concepts, but that is not the goal. The goal is to apply the learning to new experience and to transfer knowledge to new situations. Experiential education can look messy and sometimes the learning is hard to define as it oc- curs in each student. As you look through this issue highlighting projects and experiences for students in SAU 67, keep in mind what each student is learning through the experience and how it will help them with their future work. To focus on learning means that we want our students to be actively involved in complex problems that have no easy or right answers. We want them to struggle, think and solve problems and debate and examine issues. Then make good decisions and ultimately make our world better, and also we want them to see this as a lifelong process and not just something they do before they grow up and enter the real world. Education is life itself. Dr. C

Like a Haiku, a captionless photo and the notes of a song, Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” resonates a different meaning for each audience member. With very few props or scenery the play relies on the script and the actors. Ladders are used for a scene where two youth talk to each other from their second floor rooms, in different houses. It’s not what the houses look like that OUR TOWN predominate the scene, but the words spoken 'Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the mind – not in between these two that things, not in 'scenery.” Wilder paint the scenery. Putting on a play with minimal scenery is quite an undertaking. Wilder uses this metaphor to emphasize quality over quantity.

Softball is fun Acrostic Poems Planting flowers In Acrostic Poems the first letter of each line spells out a word. In this case Riding bikes SPRING In the garden there is a rabbit Here first grade students, at Dunbarton Nothing is planted in the garden Elementary School, write acrostic poems that Grace is planning flowers celebrate not only spring, but the ability to apply the skill of writing. Read these samples to By Grace A. understand what spring looks like from the vantage point of a first grade student. Swinging on a swing Spring is fun, very fun Planting in the garden Playing on the trampoline Racing around the driveway Running in the grass with no shoes Ice cream is yummy I love to ride bikes Nice outside Now I want to go swimming Garden Grass is fun to roll in! By Isabella L. By Madelynn B. Sports Spring has sprung Splashing in puddles Purple flowers Purple petals Playing outside Rainy Rain rushing Rainy days Itchy bugs Icky pollen Itchy bugs Gunky allergies No more snow No snow Nasty bugs Green grass Green grass By: Luke D. By: Elizabeth J. By: Kalyn W.

Greek Mythology: Greek myths were very functional. They were a type of entertainment. They attempted to explain natural phenomena. They also were a way to capture and retell historical events, in a time when most people could not read or write. One aspect of this project asked BMS students to compare the qualities of their Greek character with someone else. At the root of this activity is understanding that Greek myths and their meanings are embedded in our current society. For example Nike, the Greek character who can run and fly at great speeds, lends her name to a well known sneaker company.

Costa Rica Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Language Culture Food Bugs Students spent time at a local orphanage and de- livered over 800 pounds of supplies that were do- nated by BHS students, families, community mem- bers, the Rotary Club and local businesses. Items included shoes (Thank you Joe Kings), diapers, toothbrushes, toys, school supplies, art supplies, clothing and athletic equipment.

The Costa Rica ELO unfolded over a year. Stu- dents helped with every aspect of planning the experience, researching, traveling to Cos- ta Rica and then each presented a video doc- umentary of their growth. Students Spent time at an orphanage, hiked 200+ acres of a biodynamic organic farm and learned about the culture while executing their Spanish speaking skills. They saw first hand Spider monkeys, blue moth butterflies the size of dinner plates….. …..poison arrow dart frogs, 3-toed sloths with their babies and multiple waterfalls. Zip lining from mountain top to mountain top rounded out their adventure. This experience was a true interdisciplinary ex- perience. Students applied the academic skills that have been learning in school to this real word experience.

DES 4th Grade Oh, The Places We’ll Go…. From colonial trades presentations, capping off learning about New Hampshire Government at the State House and research at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.

ROCKET LAUNCH As part of our fifth grade Engineering and Design Unit, Mrs. Virta's class went through the process of designing and building paper rockets. Students experimented with different materials. Rockets took flight via a launcher powered by a bicycle pump. Students calculated the flight time data and recorded averages. Rocket launching is a fun and engaging lesson- students have a blast! IF I WERE IN CHARGE Students in 4th grade class ponder what life would be like if they were in charge of the world! UKULELE! “If you learn how to print a Ukulele on our 3D printer, I’ll learn to play it!” said Mr. Dixon. Challenge on! Justin G. prints a full size Ukulele in the Learning Commons maker space.

GOOGLE CARDBOARD Virtual Field Trip Students “Traveled,” to ancient Rome and the Great Wall of China. Some went on an expedition to Mt. Everest and an engineering lab. Bridget De Angelis and Kelly Ardita worked with the Expeditions program to bring a 21st Century Learning Experience into the classroom. Teachers used the virtual technology to enhance curriculums and to take students on exciting visits to places studied throughout the year. The technology fully immersed the students in a 360 degree experience. One ex- pedition sent students to the Great Wall of China while others brought the students to ru- ins of Rome or to the summit of Mount Everest. This technology allows first hand experi- ence of places around the globe.

SIMILARITY AWARENESS “Living beyond disability,” is the focus of the University of New Hampshire’s Similarity Awareness Program. The program helps students to better understand the quality of life options for individuals with disabilities. BMS 7th Grade “Showing kids with or without disabilities, we’re more similar than we are different.”

BES 4th grade students use their writing skills to express why they are proud to be an American. A student in 4th grade working on a geometry performance task to demonstrate mastery of concepts.

Authentic Learning requires students to create a tangible product and present it to the world. Bow Elementary School Presents “A Blast From The Past” The fourth grade students of BES, along with their classroom teachers, music teacher, Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Recipient, Heidi Pauer, and Artist is Resi- dence Jeff Warner set out to write a play about NH History. The entire play was written by the students. The play was crafted around the four seasons and narrated through the eyes of “The Old Man On The Moun- tain.” Starting with the original inhabitants, Native Americans. The play takes the audience through the history of New Hampshire. Students incorpo- rated lyrics, as they learned the art of story telling through mu- sic. Props, costumes, staging, and cues helped to bring the story of NH alive for the audi- ence.

tudents learn NH His- tory as part of the fourth grade curricu- S Students also lum. learn to play the recorder as part of the 4th grade music curriculum. The process of writing this play provides stu- dents with a canvas for au- thentic learning to take place. Memorizing facts, taking quiz- zes and writing papers are all important learning tasks. When students start to create knowledge that is when we can truly see that they known, understand and are able to do. Here students have made con- nections beyond the immedi- ate subject areas they studied.

On Friday, May 13th, au- thor/Illustrator, Marty Kelley, was delightfully welcomed to BES with a forest of dec- orated trees on the doors throughout the hallways of BES. In celebration of his visit and one of his books, Fall is Not Easy, students and teachers created trees with all kinds of personality! The school community also participated in adding words and phrases to spe- cial seasonal trees created by first graders in Ms. Visiting Author Thompson’s room which were hung in the library as Marty Kelley another way of welcoming Marty Kelley to our school. (Front Cover) Each grade level visited with Marty Kelley through- out the day in the BES Li- brary. Everyone had the op- portunity to enjoy his sense of humor, his illustrations, and his stories, while learn- ing about the process of il- lustrating and writing a book and his message to keep on trying! This was a fun and inspiring event for all! Thank you to the PTO for funding this author/ illustrator’s visit!

On Friday, May 13, Bow Memorial th 8 graders attended the CU 4 Reali- ty Fair at NHTI in Concord. The th 8 graders spent part of their year getting ready for this trip by partici- pating in lessons in their specials classes; Transitions with Mrs. Estafan and Family and Consumer Science with Mrs. Trexler. With their chosen career (researched in Transitions) and their money smarts (gained in classroom activities in FACS), the kids boarded the busses dressed for success and carrying their portfolios with their personal financial worksheet. At the fair, students undergo a process of determining their per- sonal expenses for: housing, trans- portation, entertainment, food, in- surance, and utilities among many others. Using their worksheet pro- vided by our sponsors, St. Mary’s Bank and New Hampshire Federal Credit Union, the students visited many stations at which a buying de- cision had to be made. The entire gym was humming with conversa- tions from banking volunteers who run the stations and from both small and large groupings of students as they compared their progress to- ward living within their means and not going over budget. And so the goal of the fair: Students will learn what it takes to make ends meet from month to month and will have a better appreciation of the im- portance of budgeting, financial planning and making wise career choices. BMS CU4Reality Fair

Grade 6 Family and Consumer Sciences students creating a healthy 'edible arrange- ment' during our healthy snack week lab. Ideas for arrangements were shared with- in two teams who then 'create' a visually pleasing presentation of fresh fruits with dips.

SOPHOMORE ART INTEGRATION Students created a visual response to a thought-provoking question. Student work was on exhibit at the NHTI Library



After watching the documentary, Wasteland, by Lucy Walker, the students were given the task to explore artwork from all over Latin America. We modeled the project after the artist Vik Muniz and recreated works of art using found objects. This required students to collaborate, collect and create several values of color and forced them to step back to view the whole picture. The end results were captivating from afar and become very interesting as you moved closer and recog- nized objects or trash from everyday life. Not only did this make the creators think about our use of waste but the viewer also walked away with an appreciation for being environ- mentally aware of what we throw away.

Every spring, the fifth grade students begin a special read- ing challenge: preparing to vote for the Great Stone Face Book Award. Twenty books are se- lected to be part of the librarian generated award nominee list. The goal is for students to read as many of the twenty nomineed titles as they can and vote for their top choice by April vacation. This year, one of those titles was written by local author, Paul Durham who visit- ed BMS on March 31. The take- aways for the students from his visit were many: for example the importance of persever- ance and a willingness to fail when chasing your goals. Paul also incorporated elements of history such as a discussion of banned books and the origins Visiting Author of plague masks. His highly in- teractive presentation also in- Paul Durham cluded a book trailer, a slide- show, trivia, mask-wearing, and plenty of volunteer participa- tion. In the end, BMS students selected Paul’s magical book, The Luck Uglies as the BMS Great Stone Face win- ner! Thank you to our PTO for supporting this important pro- motion of reading!

BMS Annie Jr.



BES Education Fair

What happens to food once it enters our body? Having studied cells, organelles, and body systems, students participated in an over- sized modelling of the human digestive sys- tem which began with pizza, coffee, cocoa puffs, and apples and ended in “poop.” They used a masher as teeth to mechanical- ly grind the food, a large ziplock bag for the stomach to mechanically churn the food which then entered one leg of pantyhose that acted as the small intestine allowing nutrients to be absorbed by the blood stream. Next the food went through tube socks where water was removed. Next the material entered a baggy that acted as the rectum storing feces and finally into the large bowl which acted as the toilet.

BMS Cell Structure and Function Models

Introduction to DNA Fingerprinting BMS Students were introduced to DNA fingerprinting that began with a classroom crime scene and involved a suspect with a super-power (speed). They then analyzed the gel and de- termined the culprit that had the mutation for super-speed.

Environmental Science Water Testing

Graduates receive congratulation wishes from Bow Elementary Students Our Graduates Bow High School Class of 2016

One Last Journey Together On The Bus