KATE OSWALD
|
CHris Davitt
|
Brian Pinto Mathematics |
Joshua Shawver
|
REBECCA MCHUGH
|
do as the romans do - do as the greeks
MR. SHAWYER
Aqudeucts. Sawmills. Crane. These are just a few wonders of the Ancient Roman and Greek Empires. These structures and inventions are engineering marvels that still survive to this day. As part of the 7th grade physics unit, students worked with collected materials to create working models of these ancient Greek and Roman technologies and inventions. Students chose which technology or invention they wished to construct, researched the history and mechanics of that invention, and spent extensive hours designing and building - and often times re-building - working replicas of these ancient civilizations’ technologies and inventions. Amongst many concepts explored and learned, students discovered the history of Ancient Greece and Rome, building and design techniques and methods, and how their working models related to forces and motion. |
REGIONS BOOK
7TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES
In this project, students wrote and illustrated a children's book about regions. After "Exploration Days," in which they learned about the characteristics of a region as well as the term “point of view,” students chose one topic on which to become an expert. Then, each student researched and created a page for our book on their topic. Students’ research focused on their Essential Questions and our Objective: Students will apply knowledge and research of regions to compare local and global communities. |
WORLD WAR ii PROJECT: newspaper
8TH GRADE HUMANITIES
This project showcases the different skills the students have been learning this year in Social Studies and English. Students were expected to create a newspaper to exhibit their writing and analytical skills. Students were challenged to choose a topic about World War II that was of interest to them. Our essential question became: What kind of opportunities and hardships did the war create? Over the course of four weeks, students wrote an informational and argumentative research paper centering on the topic of their choice. In addition, students brainstormed, planned, and created an advertisement and political cartoon demonstrating their knowledge of their topic, as well as their knowledge of how these sources have been used throughout history. Students also created a testimonial speech about why The Diary of Anne Frank is important to read today. Students were challenged to use research skills and connect their topic to what they have learned this year. |
monte carlo pi
MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH
The Monte Carlo method of estimating pi compares the area of a square to the area of a circle inscribed within the square by placing a large number of points randomly within the figure. Students were asked to recreate an interactive version of this experiment, but given little direction about how to complete this task. You will see a variety of methods of accomplishing the goal, from dropping objects through a tube of old water bottles, to firing spit-balls at a moving target. |
casino games
ALGEBRA 1
For this project, students designed a gambling game (no money allowed). One of the regulations for this project is that there is no skill involved, and that in the long term, the “house” will always wins. In order to guarantee that players will lose, students were required to calculate the Expected Value of their game, which gives the average amount lost when the game is played a large number of times. Feeling lucky? |
Ancient Rome DAILY LIFE AND TRAVEL GUIDE
7TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES
In this Writing for Understanding activity students assumed the roles of “time travelers” to learn about the daily life during the height of the Roman Empire (circa 125 C.E.). First, students researched 4 notable Roman emperors and Roman achievements in science, engineering, and technology. Next, working in groups, students first matched trivia questions to aspects of daily life, such as education, family life, and housing. Then, for each aspect of daily life, groups examined written and visual information, answered the trivia question, completed a drawing, and recorded key differences between life in ancient Rome and modern times. Students then chose a topic of their choice and interest to individually research. Afterwards, students used all their notes to create an illustrated travel guide with practical tips to help other time travelers prepare for a trip back to ancient Rome. |
White's Pond Water Quality Project
GRADE 7 SCIENCE
What are the qualities of a healthy lake? With this as our guiding question, the 7th grade science class has been busy developing and carrying out various research projects to explore the water quality of local watersheds in Pittsfield, NH. Such aspects of these students’ research include pH levels, dissolved oxygen, and the biodiversity of pond organisms. This long-term research project is part of a larger unit on ecology, where students are given the chance to explore how organisms interact with the living and nonliving parts of the environment. Students also get a chance to apply their inquiry and research skills as scientists by asking questions, performing experiments and collecting and analyzing data. It is our hope that we can contribute all of our hard work and understanding of the quality of our local watersheds with the Pittsfield, NH community in order to maintain or improve the health and well-being of our waterways. |
|
O, The Places You'll Go!
MIDDLE SCHOOL LEARNING STUDIO
Here’s the scenario: the year is 2025. You are now in your late twenties, and you get an invitation to your high school reunion. Everyone wants to know what you’ve been up to, and you’ll need to explain it. You’ve gone through college, and you’ve started up your career. What will you be doing? What is your dream job? The objective of this project is to help you find all the answers you need to map out your life for the next 15 years. You'll need to find a career, a college, and a high school job. You'll need to find out how much it'll cost you to buy a house and pay for utilities and other expenses. They will complete a series of activities, and put together a portfolio detailing all aspects of their life in their late twenties. This will involve doing some calculations, but the main purpose is to have fun dreaming of the future while realizing what your dreams will cost! Students will participate in a Career Fair as the culminating event of the project. Students should bring their completed portfolio and professional resume to the career fair, and they should dress professionally. Members of the community will serve on panels to interview students in job fields they are interested in (as much as possible.) |
Making A Difference
8TH GRADE ENGLISH AND HISTORY
Students will explore issues in the school and/or community that are of concern to them. In groups or as a whole, students will decide on a problem or issue to address and work on a solution. Depending on the problem, the solution proposed could be anything from a Public service announcement to raise awareness to a money-making campaign to actually work towards solving a real life problem. We will utilize technology and get involved with community partners throughout the process. The final product will be something created by students that benefits or educates the community. We are looking for creative and motivated kids who want to get out and make a difference! |
In the Doghouse
7TH AND 8TH GRADE MATH AND SCIENCE
How can we apply math skills to everyday use? How does the design and structure of a doghouse keep it warm in winter and cool in the summer? Students in grades 7 and 8 were proposed the challenge of creating doghouses for a local animal shelter. Students applied concepts of scale and measurement to first build scale models of different sized doghouses and then build actual doghouses from these models. Students also explored concepts of thermal energy and how something as simple as the color of paint you use on a structure could have an impact on that structure's insulating capability. All doghouses and proceeds raised from doghouse sales are donated to a local animal shelter. |