Happy Holidays!

As 2014 draws to a close and our students engage in the Holiday festivities here at Berwick, I continue to be awed by their ability to balance the excitement of receiving, with the joy of giving. I have seen examples of empathy, caring and friendship in all of the grades, both on individual levels as well as in school wide initiatives to give to those less fortunate. Conversations with individuals or groups of students have focused very little on what they want for themselves, but instead, on how they plan to spend quality time with families over the holidays, or initiatives that they and their families are undertaking to be sure that children in their communities have enough toys and food.

The kindergarten students ran their annual hat and mitten drive; the second graders made lovely ornaments for the Unified Arts teachers (thanks to a wonderful parent who provided the supplies and assistance), and the third Graders’ food drive yielded over 500 items for the South Berwick food Pantry! More recently, they invited their parents to assist with the design and architecture of the most amazingly decorated gingerbread houses I have ever seen.

 But I have to say that the most anticipated annual 4^th Grade yard sale gave all students the opportunity to buy new or gently used toys and books with the money donated to a charity of the 4^th Graders’ choice. This incredibly fun event allowed me to witness the sensitivity of our 4^th Graders as they helped our little ones to pick out gifts for their family members and/or themselves! The highlight of the event for me was helping a pre-K youngster pay for and carry a wooden house he bought for a classmate who wanted to buy it but had forgotten to bring his money!

In SEL classes, we talked about what we would be doing over the holidays and if anyone thought they might be receiving gifts. All raised their hands with delight, until I asked the dreaded question: “What would you do if you received a gift that you didn't really like?” It didn't take very long for many of them to respond that they would express gratitude toward the giver, appreciating the time and thought involved in selecting or making the gift. Even our youngest students were able to articulate the importance of gratitude and how it makes others feel to be appreciated for their efforts. Listening to these thoughtful and heartfelt responses confirmed once again all that their parents and caregivers do to instill the concepts of kindness and empathy. Your devotion to both their academic as well as social emotional wellness is inspiring.

After our lesson, the students worked diligently making ornaments, sharing their excitement regarding who would be the recipient of these handmade treasures! Once again, no talk about what they hoped for for themselves, but what they could make and do for family and friends!

I know that I speak for Marilena and all of the faculty and staff in the Lower School in thanking you once again for your unending support and for instilling kindness and compassion in your children. We wish you the happiest of holidays and look forward to seeing you all in 2015!

5 Senses

12-14-2014

Can you imagine what your everyday life would be like without your five senses?  This week, the students explored what it would be like to lose some of their senses and relied on others.  The kindergarten had to use their sense of hearing to identify different sounds.   They learned that ear makes up two separate parts; the outer ear and the inner ear.  Your ear is made up of cartilage and skin that works like a cup to catch the sound as it travels past your head.  Sound travels from there to the tympanic membrane to the three smallest bones in your body.  From there it travels to the cochlea (the inner ear) and through a spiral shaped tube with changes vibrations into sound and sends that message to the brain.  Your brain uses the sound from both ears to determine the direction and distance of sound.       

The first graders loss their sense of sight by being blindfolded and they had to identify objects by their sense of touch.  The students had to describe to the class what the object felt like.  After they used descriptive words, they had to guess what the object was while still blindfolded.

The second grade will do their activity next week.  They will loss their sense of sight and have to use their sense of hearing to identify everyday objects hidden in containers.   They will learn about the eye and how it is similar to a camera.  The lens of the eye is at the front of your eyeball and helps to focus images onto the retina that is on the back of your eye.  The retina is covered with two different light sensitive cells called cones and rods.  The cones allow you to see color and the rods allow you to see better at night and with your peripheral vision.  All the information is sent to the brain upside down and the brain flips it right side up.  

The third graders worked on their sense of touch with a braille activity.  They used the braille alphabet to decode a message.  They were able to use their sense of sight and touch to decode this message. 

The fourth graders combined their sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell and had to go through an obstacle course while blindfolded.  They had a partner guide them through an obstacle course.  The first time the students went through, they could only listen to their partner, but could not see where they were going.  The second time the group went through, they could only receive silent signals from their partner.  The third time they went through the obstacle walkway, their partner was on the perimeter of the gymnasium giving verbal directions.