December 2010 - Four Rivers Charter Public School

Four Rivers Currents
December 2010
From the Principal’s Desk…
FOUR RIVERS FALL INTENSIVES: OUR VIRTUES REVEALED
This fall’s round of high school intensives was our best yet. The offerings and the thought that went into the
planning was a testament to our faculty. The spirit, the engagement, and the sheer respect that almost every
one of our students showed towards one another are testaments to our community. Check out what each group
accomplished:
The Music Group worked together to select and learn a piece together, combining vocalists, a cello, two electric
guitars, two keyboard, and electric drums. The two singers up front carried the song with dynamics and emotion. The group also created a recorded piece that will be ready for sharing in the next weeks.
The Screenwriting Group wrote an episode of Seinfeld. They began by watching a few episodes and then spent
the two days writing their episode. With roles well cast, the group did a reading of their script – with the bass
guitar transitions and everything. The characterizations were excellent, the jokes worked, they truly captured
the tone and flavor of the show.
The Rock-Climbing Intensive continued to expose more students to this exciting activity. Students learned how
to tie knots, belay, and climb different routes at the Northampton Athletic Center. A portion of the group got
out on the real cliffs of Erving to put their new skills to the test.
The Ping Pong Group covered a number of paddle/racket sports including badminton and tennis as well as table
tennis. They discovered the differences between these three related sports. They learned the rules and techniques, with some friendly competition thrown in.
The Art Group displayed their work with the sign saying the work speaks for itself. The group created works to
be considered for submission as public art for displaying in the school. Students created collages and landscape
paintings. They also discussed criteria for public art. There were some truly beautiful pieces created, some of
which will become part of the school’s public collection.
The Mad Science Group did a series of experiments, including creating crystals and flubber. They also did an
egg drop, dissolving an egg in vinegar, the baking soda and vinegar reaction (a classic), exploding bags, Cincinnati fire kites, Vulcan rockets, squeeze bottle rockets, CD hovercrafts, balancing 10 nails on one nail, and more.
With each experiment, they tried using the given directions. Then they’d try variations to see whether the different versions would work.
The Big City Group went to New York City to explore the advantages and
challenges of living in a big city. With visits to an Expeditionary Learning
school in the Bronx, Ground Zero, Central Park, Times Square, Grand
Central Station, the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue, and a fancy
office building, the group covered a lot of territory in a short amount of
time.
The Spanish Group also traveled to New York City, looking to see the city
and in particular to understand the role of Hispanics there. From the Dominican lunch at Validus Prep Academy to the Broadway show “In the
Heights” to a museum exhibit on Nueva York to a series of neighborhood
explorations, students learned tons while also using their Spanish language skills.
Continued on page 8
PAGE 2
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
Grade 7 News
BIKE TRIP MEMORIES
Our late October bike trip began on a misty
chilly morning as we pumped up our tires and
strapped on our helmets with the help of wonderful parent volunteers, and, for the first
time ever, one chaperone recruited from the
Senior class!
From Four Rivers, downhill to the bike path
and on to Greenfield High School’s Veteran’s Memorial Field the road was pretty bumpy, going up then down,
then flat, then up and down again. On to Beacon Field for a snack break then on to Highland Park by way of a
thin, wet, leafy trail through the woods where Neva occasionally slipped and slid. Tess and Robert got a little
lost and the trail was full of exposed roots. From there to the yellow gate end of Bear’s Den Road we went on a
back trail through the woods; it was covered in cobbles of many sizes and was very bumpy.
After the bumpy ride it all was all downhill, literally! We saved a lot of time speeding down the big hill even
though there was some unexpected construction on it and we had to swerve around some big trucks with the
help of a police man. The downhill was pretty steep. From there it was on to the bike path and Great Falls Discovery Center’s perfect picnic spot for lunch. By then it was sunny and we soon turned around and followed the
bike path back along the river where it was really beautiful and Robert and Sequoia raced, catching up with and
passing some of the people in the group ahead of us. Robert won. – Sequoia LeBreux and Robert Naranjo
As we crossed the bridge out of Turner’s Falls, Ms. Locke had her second flat tire of the day, outdoing Matt’s single flat tire at the start of the day. We continued under railroad bridges and past the golf course as we peddled
along at the lowest elevations of the ride. When our group got to the last segment, we grudgingly pedaled along
a slightly downhill road and ended the trip, exhausted, passing over the highway bridge and down the road back
to school. We traveled about 16.8 miles that day. We’re happy everyone made it and also had fun. – Kate Burnett
and Chester Hardina-Blanchette
I liked the trip because it showed our strengths and weaknesses. It also brought us together. Before the trip we
kept our distance from certain people, but the trip really brought us together as we got to learn more about each
other. Ninety-five % of the 7th grade was hanging out together, which I thought was pretty amazing. – Jasmine
Gomez
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
Grade 8
Hot Air Balloon Lifts Off by Joshua Savoie
Experimenting
with hot air
Working on a prototype
….and away!
PAGE 3
part that inflates) is a startling 77000 cubic feet and weighs 165 pounds, and the
gondola (basket) is 27 cubic feet, weighing in at a whooping 600 pounds including the fuel but not the passengers.
Nancy Curtis had this to say about her
experience as a balloonist “I go flying 15
to 16 times a year. I wish I could go more,
but usually I don’t have the time or the
crew” and you need a lot of crew, at least
4-5 to help set the balloon up, and to meet
you where you land.
On November 12, the 8th grade got a
special treat. Nancy Curtis, Director of
Special Education at Four Rivers, and
Paul Sena, a commercial pilot, brought
their hot air balloon to school. Ms.
Curtis' had recently visited the class to
talk about how balloons work, in connection with our science and engineering project to design and build hot air
balloons. We had to work fast while
the air was cool and the winds were
light. The whole 8th grade lent their
hands to setting up the balloon and
preparing it to launch.
The balloon, Ridge Runner, is small
for a balloon, but the envelope (the
Lliam ‘s
Balloon
“Ballooning and definitely a fair weather
sport. You need to know what the weather
is going to be, where you will land, and
how much fuel you will need,” said Paul
Up...
letting a helium
balloon go and
watching its path.
We check the envelope for tears
and if all checks
out we begin inflation. Another
amazing day at an
amazing school!
Sena. Paul taught us how important pre-flight checks are.
As he said, “in the air, if something’s not working you can’t
just pull over to the side of
the road because you’re
2000 feet over the road.”
First he checks for propane leaks. He checks the
direction of the wind by
We are now at the testing stage
Up...
Bringing in the professionals
PAGE 4
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
DIV II NEWS
9th Grade FARM PROJECT
The 9th grade had a successful culmination for their documentary
project on local agriculture, sharing their photography, farm narratives, and audio slideshows at an evening presentation on November
17th. Students and their families gathered to appreciate the students' hard work and to share various culinary creations with a local
food emphasis. Three of the farms profiled by the students were
represented at the event and these guests were impressed with the
quality of work done by the students. Several 9th grade students
reported that their parents left the event wanting to become farmers
themselves. Keep your eyes out for a posting of the audio slideshows
on the school web site.
Please consider giving to the 2010-2011
Sustainability Fund
Every gift, large or small, moves us
toward the excellence we all wish for
Four Rivers students.
The preparation of our
youth will shape the world
of our future.
SPANISH
In Spanish 1, detailed family trees allowed for an exploration into all
kinds of family relationships and a chance to talk about what people
in the family like to do. Time became the next focus and students
reviewed numbers through various games and then worked on using
numbers to say the time. Most recently,
students have begun step 1 of an ARTE
VIVO exploration. They learned about
Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist, and
then used modeling clay to make their own models in Botero's style. They will explore Picasso together before beginning work on individual artist mini-investigations.
Students in Spanish 2 finalized their recipe of memory piece which related a memory, a food and an artifact of a relative who had passed in the spirit of Day of the
Dead. They then turned their attention to a short story analysis of La Caperucita
Roja, learning the different phases of a story and how to identify theme, characters,
narration and place. They found that putting themselves into costumes helped them
with the stages of the writing and peer editing process for their own versions of the
sequel to La Caperucita Roja. Diving into the imperfect, which is the current challenge in this class, will give this group the tools that they need to write short illustrated short stories, entirely their own, before semester's end.
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
PAGE 5
DIV III NEWS
ENGLISH
How do we teach character? Can we teach morality through fiction? For our final project in 11th grade English,
students will be studying the short story as a form, and then writing short stories to teach about character virtues to
our prospective students.
Seniors are completing a study of professional communication: they've written resumes and cover letters; they've
practiced writing formal emails, and now they're presenting bills about Four Rivers at a Model Congress session.
After this professional communication unit, students will be spending a few weeks reading Shakespeare's As You
Like It. We will be going to see a performance of this play at Shakespeare & Company on December 17th; Senior
parents can look forward to information about this trip coming home soon.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In Civics, s completed their research and voter information project for the election earlier in the
month. They are now beginning weekly seminars on different topics in current events, based on what is
in the news, as well as their own interests. We have also been studying the origins of American government, situating these origins in Enlightenment social contract and rights thinking.
Students in World History have completed an overview and policy debate on global human rights and are
now beginning a case study in the French Revolution. This unit began with a one of our students, Carin
Allman-Wales, volunteering to role play the part of Charlotte Corday, the infamous murderer of JeanPaul Marat, with the class acting as interrogating police officers. Next week we will continue role playing with a whole class re-enactment of the meeting of the Estates-General to discuss the problems of
18th century France.
Scenes from
the Racket
Sport Intensive
with Mr. Stenson
and Ms. Roll
We played table tennis singles and doubles tournaments,
challenged our handeye coordination by
switching to badminton, and enjoyed
playing tennis at the
Bay Road club
where students rotated through small
group lessons, rallying, and games.
NEW FACULTY MEMBER
We welcome Alexandros Kiriakopoulos
who recently joined us to teach Physics for
the remainder of the school year.
Mr. Kiriakopoulos graduated from UMass
last spring with a B.S. in Physics and has
been subbing in Northampton and Holyoke
schools over the past few years. He has
also been working as a research analyst and
lab assistant at the Center for Biological
Physics for the past two years
Mr. K. will pick up with one topic remaining this semester and then
continue with the second
semester plan that will
focus on Electromagnetism.
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
PAGE 6
SNOW DAY INFORMATION
As cold and wintry weather moves in, here is a reminder of how to get information in the event
of a Snow Day.
•
The school uses an automated telephone calling system to notify every family of a snow
day, usually by 6:30 am.
•
We place an announcement on the school telephone answering machine, usually by 6:00
am. Call 775-4577.
•
In addition, closing information will be posted on the following radio and TV stations, usually by 6:00 am:
WWLP-TV Channel 22 ~ ABC40/FOX 6 TV ~ WHAI 98.3 FM Radio
WHMP 1240 AM ~ Bear Country 95.3 FM
If students are already at school and we close early, an announcement will be emailed and information will be posted on the above radio and TV stations. In addition students may be
asked to telephone their parents.
Driving conditions can vary throughout the county. If school is open but driving conditions in
NURSE’S NOTES
Mother Nature reminds us that winter is approaching
with cold, windy, and damp days. Here are a few suggestions to aid students in surviving:
Eat a good breakfast EVERY morning; include protein
Wear a hat if outdoors; much heat is lost through our scalp
Wear gloves and use lotion to prevent dry, chaffed hands
NEVER leave home without “chap stick”
Some class rooms are extremely warm and the barn will
be utilized until snow prohibits access. Layering clothes
will enable students to dress appropriately for either climate. PLEASE, PLEASE do not remove coats when hot
and perspiring when outdoors. Jackets may be opened for
2-3 minutes to “cool down”; then re-close. As always, maintain hydration with adequate water consumption.
Wishing you all a safe, happy Holiday season and vacation.
Jeanne Milton, RN, 775-4577 OR
jmilton@fourriverscharter.org
FAMILY COUNCIL THANKS
Thank you to everyone that helped donate
time, materials, and food for the Homemade
Holiday Craft Event!! We had a good time! A
special thanks to our student help!! It really
made a difference and you really came
through! I hope you also had fun. We plan to
establish this as a yearly event, the weekend
before Thanksgiving. Mark your calendars!
THE NEXT
FAMILY COUNCIL
MEETING
is Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00 pm
F OUR R IV ERS CU RRE NTS
PAGE 7
COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID NIGHT
for seniors & their families
Tuesday, December 14
7:00-9:00 pm
Common Room
This workshop is designed to help families navigate the financial aid process, including
the accurate and timely filing of the FAFSA and CSS Profile forms.
Our presenter will be:
Michael Ireland
Associate Director of Student Financial Services
at Smith College
Questions? Email astenson@fourriverscharter.org or call (413) 775-4577
Four Rivers Community
Coffee House
Friday, December 3
7:00-9:00 pm
Entertainment will include musical
acts and perhaps some poetry by
Students, Faculty, Families
Coffee, Tea and Desserts
will be for sale.
Donations appreciated.
All proceeds to benefit the
Arts Enrichment Fund
BJ’s Wholesale Warehouse
Sponsors Four Rivers
Family Council Spearheads a Team Effort
Vicki Fiske-White, parent and Family Council Co-Chair
who is a frequent customer of BJ’s asked herself, “Why
not?” and went straight to the store management one
day to ask how a school gets sponsored. After some convincing dialogue, BJ’s decided that it was Four Rivers’
turn and awarded the Family Council a $500 check to
benefit the school. The Family Council authorized the
purchase of a deluxe outdoor grill, on sale at BJ’s for
$500 and it was assembled by Gary Fiske-White and
used for at the first Family Council sponsored Community Day this fall. Since then, it has been used at the
first of what will be many barbecue days at our student
lunch program.
A beautiful banner with our logo underneath will now
hang for a year, high on the wall beyond the checkout
registers at BJ’s, thanks to the efforts of: Coach and
Wellness Teacher Amanda Griffith and the girls’ Ultimate team; Teacher Assistant Anita Falco who lovingly
made the large school logo a few years ago; and Laurie
Arruda who painstakingly touched up everything,
stitched the banner to the logo, and prepared it for
hanging.
Intensives ~ Continued from page 1
The Winter Camping Group returned from three days and two nights
out in the cold, harsh environment. Actually the weather was pretty
nice. In Russell, MA – south and west of here — the group stayed in
cabins, they hiked, they cooked food in foil packets over a fire, they
learned how to brush their teeth while leaving no trace, they got their
whole group through a Spider Web initiative, they ate a lot of gorp,
they did a night hike, and they purified their water.
Overall, it was simply wonderful to see our students and teachers
having such a good time together doing meaningful learning. What a
great group of people. Peter Garbus, Principal
ADDENDUM to STUDENT and FAMILY HANDBOOK
An addendum to the Student and Family Handbook was recently approved by the Four Rivers
Board of Trustees. Look for the 3-page addendum attached to the next Friday Flash AND also
on our web site! Copies will also be available in the school office.
“This institution is an equal opportunity provider. To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Four River Charter
Public School is
dedicated to educating young people for
lives of learning and
service. The school
offers a rigorous
academic program
aligned with the
Massachusetts curriculum frameworks
and an emphasis on
character development for moral and
social responsibility.
Three central themes
– nature, technology
and community –
pervade the teaching
and learning at the
school. Four Rivers
works closely with
parents and seeks
both to serve and
learn from the many
resources of Franklin
County.
248 Colrain Rd., Greenfield, MA 01301
Four Rivers Charter Public School
Rights, Washington, DC 20294”
SPANISH NEW YORK CITY INTENSIVE
Thirteen Spanish speaking students traveled to New York with the goals of identifying
New York neighborhoods with large Latino communities, being able to describe significant cultural contributions made by Latinos in the city and also to explain how places impact identity and how identities help to shape people. Interviews with students from
Validus Prep, another Expeditionary Learning school started off the 2-day adventure. Students then explored Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in Queens and then ate Mexican food
before seeing a Broadway show IN THE HEIGHTS about the Washington Heights
neighborhood in upper Manhattan. Tuesday was spent exploring Sunnyside and Museo del
Barrio, interviewing community members, identifying artifacts from the community that
help show identity and also observations of sights and sounds. One final stop in Washington Heights culminated the adventure and students compared what they saw in the show to
what they observed walking down the street.
Counter-clockwise from below left: Interviews with students at Validus Prep; the group on a street
corner in Jackson Heights; at Museo del Bario.
SPANISH ~ Ms. Beardslee
Students in the 7th and 8th grade Spanish classes participated in workshops to celebrate
Day of the Dead, which took place on November 1st and 2nd. The holiday is traditional in
Mexico and celebrates the passing of a life through creating an altar of memory, through
preparing sweets and through remembering loved ones through song and costume. In our
first workshop, 8th grade students presented pieces of their own mini-altars, made papel
picado, the traditional paper cut outs and painted maracas. For food, students used color
and shape to make pan de muerto, a sweet bread made with anise extract, and then made
truffles in the shape of skulls to include chocolate which is typical in the celebration either
as candy or as a spicy sauce, mole. Finally, students participated in relays that helped them
to learn the names of bones and put an entire skeleton together. Some were able to dress
La Catrina, a famous character of the celebration.
In Spanish 3 students finished studying poetry with an analysis of a poem of their
choice. Short stories formed the next focus of the course and students worked with works
by Gabriel García Márquez, Augusto Monterroso and Julio Cortázar. Keeping a writer's
journal along the way and making commentary through the blog allowed them to comment
on specific quotes and try their hands at using quotes from a text to tie directly the thesis of
their own text. Most recently, related to a vocabulary list about household chores, they designed their own robots and wrote detailed explanations to describe the ways that these robots were equipped to do these chores for them. In the next few weeks they will be writing
a more detailed analysis of La continuidad de los parques by Julio Cortázar.
LOST and FOUND ** LAST CALL
Anything in Lost and Found that is not claimed before December vacation will
be donated to charity during the break. This includes outerwear, shoes and
boots, shirts and pants, and one bicycle!
Card Order Form: ALL ORDERS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY DECEMBER 3rd
CARD PACK A: Photographs from current 9th graders
CARD PACK B: Photographs from current 10th graders
CARD PACK C: Photographs from current 11th graders
CARD PACK D: A mix of photographs from different years of vegetables, flowers, and fruits.
Name: ____________________________
This order can be sent home with student: _________________________________
Contact phone or email: __________________________________
Items
Pack of 5 card set A
Pack of 5 card set B
Pack of 5 card set C
Pack of 5 card set D
Cost
$5.00
$5.00
$5.00
$5.00
Quantity
Total Cost: _______________________________
Please make checks payable to: Four Rivers Charter Public School