PANTHERPOST
October28,2016
Theyearisofftoagreatstart!Ourswimmingunitforthefallisalmostover,andourteachers
havemanymoregreatactivitiesplannedfortheyear.ThePantherPostwillbesenthomeat
thebeginningofeverymonthofferinganin-depthlookatwhatishappeninginthePBA
classroomandtohighlightspecialactivitieshappeningattheDaySchool.Aswemoveinto
thetrimester,pleaseberemindedoftheacademiccalendar,attachedtotheemail.Afew
keydatesarehighlightedhere.
ThankyouallforyoursupportofPBAduringthistimeoftransition!Lookingforwardtothe
restoftheyear!
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
10
3
4
11
23
24-25
28
Monday
Thursday
Friday Friday Wednesday
Thurs-Fri
Monday
FallHoliday:NoschoolorEDP
ParentTeacherConferences,4-6pm
ParentTeacherConferences,NoSchoolorEDP
Veteran’sDay:NoSchoolorEDP
EndofFirstTrimester
HalfDay,schoolendsat12:30pm,NOEDP
ThanksgivingHoliday,NoSchoolorEDP
StaffandFacultyWorkDay,NoSchoolorEDP
1
Math–KevinFox
th
7 Grade
We’vebeenflippingcoins,pickingcards,androllingdicetofigure
probability.We’vebeenfiguringoutpermutationsforeverything
fromlicenseplatepatternstophonenumbers.Wealsofiguredout
numbersofpermutationsofsingersforthesoloquartetforthe
AllegriMiserere.We’vetalkedabout“and”vs“or”inprobability,
andtheboysaregettingtoknowtheircalculatorswellaswehave
26lettersor52cardsinmanyproblems.
Theboyshadtheirthirdarithmeticquiz,andalmosteverystudent
improved,sowe’remakingprogressonbeingmoreaccurateand
quickerwiththoseskills.Westillhaveworktodothere,sowe
switchedfromtwotothreewarmuparithmeticproblemseveryday.
IaddedamissinghomeworkcolumntoSchoologysoyoucantrack
thosethere.
Math–KevinFox
8 Grade Theboys’mostrecenttestwasonsolvingequations.Therewere
linearequations,equationswithonevariable,andequationswith
onlyletters,allwheretheyhadtoisolatethedesiredvariableusing
inverseoperations.We’vemovedontotheslope-interceptformof
linearequationsandhowtographequationsinthatform.They
havepickeduponthisveryquickly,withconceptssuchasnegative
slopesandhorizontallines.Wehavebeenplayingaversionof
SimonSays,wheretheboysusetheirarmstomakelineswith
differentslopesandintercepts.Theyhavetokeeptheireyesclosed
sotheycan’tseeothers’lines,andwerecentlyaddedinthe
equationsforverticallines.
Theboyshadtheirthirdarithmeticquiz,andtheygottheirhighest
averageever,maybethefirstclassI’veevertaughtthatgota
double-digitaverage(outof12)ononeofthesequizzes.
Ms.HoerlandIdidsomeanalysisoftheERBscoresforthe8th
grade,andwesawsomedramaticimprovementinthemathscores
from6thto7thgrade.
IaddedamissinghomeworkcolumntoSchoologysoyoucantrack
thosethere.
th
Mr.Leo
6thGradeMath
Studentsfinishedupourunitonthenumberlinebycompleting
complexcodesusingtheir6footpluslongnumberlines.Ingroups,
studentswouldcompleteaseriesof5addition/subtraction
problemswithnegativenumbers.Theywouldthencheckwith
myselftoseeiftheywereontherighttrackattheendofthefirst
code.Iftheywere,theywentontocodeline2,iftheywerenot
theywentbackandreviewedtheirwork.Therewasonereader,
onemarkerandonerecorderpergroup.Studentswereengaged
andworkinghardtocompletetheircodes.
Afterwards,studentstooktheirnumberlinequiz,andmore
importantlyweregiventimetomakecorrectionsandlearnfrom
theirmistakes.Ournextunitisonadding/subtracting/multiplying
anddividingfractions.Wearecurrentlyworkingonfindingthe
greatestcommonfactorsbetweentwonumbersusingthefactor
treemethodaswellassomenicetricks.
2
NatschaBach-4th/5thGradeHomeroom
Thefourthandfifthgradecombinationclasstransitionedwiththe
helpofPresidentTheodoreRooseveltfromNationalParksinto
studyingtheelection.Wehavebeenfocusingonthebranchesof
government,checksandbalances,theelectoralcollege,the
timelineofvotingrightsinourcountry,andmanyother
fascinatingfacts.Wehavemanagedtosteerclearofinfusingour
classroomwiththe“interestingcurrentevents”surroundingthe
presidentialdebatesandcharacterattackswhichwouldnot
benefitourclassroom.Eachstudentselectedapresidentoftheir
choosingtoresearchandwriteabiographicalspeechabout.We
begantheprocesscollectingfacts,wearenoworganizingthem
intooutlineformwhichwillthenbecomeourspeechesforour
2ndannualPBALivingMuseum.Pleasecomeandhearspeeches
fromsomeofyourfavoriteU.S.PresidentsonNovember17that
8:40aminthetheatre.
InartwelearnedaboutAgamographsandcoloredapatriotic
agamographtoexperiencehowartcanmoveandchange.In
math,thefourthgradersaredoingdoubledigitmultiplicationand
willmovesoonintodivision.Thefifthgradersjustfinishedorder
ofoperationsandwillmovenowtousingitinreallifeword
problems.Wearecurrentlyfinishingourreadinggroupsandasa
wholeclassdivingbackintoJuniorGreatBookswhichinvolves
classwidediscussionsandusingthetexttouncoverdepthsabout
whyweshouldexpressorsadnessorkeepittoourselvesinGhost
Cat.Theboysjournaledaboutwhattheywoulddoiftheywere
President.Weareworkingonwritingproposalsforbillsforour
schoolwide“MockElection”inNovemberwhichwillinclude
classroomproposals,schoolwideproposals,aswellasstatewide
proposals.Thisinformationwillbegatheredandmadeinto
graphsandchartsinordertorepresentanddispersethewinning
initiatives.Weareworkingourwayeastboundinmemorizingour
statesandcapitals.
CoachScott
WearefinishinguptheSoccerUnittoday.Studentspracticed:
1.
Passing
2.
Trapping
3.
Dribbling
4.
Shooting
Thetournamentfinalsaretodayandthekidsarereadytogo!
Nextup,wehavethemuchanticipatedfootballunit.Studentsare
excitedtobeginthisunitasFootballisapopularsporthereatPBA.
StefaniEcheverria–Latin
In7thgradeLatin,wehavetakenamomenttoslowdownandreview
ournounandadjectiveendingsandcaseusages;sincetheboys
struggledonaquizaboutthismaterial.Theboyslearnedand
implementedaspecificprocessforapproachingthenew,more
challengingsentencestheyarenowbeingfacedwith,andwerealso
introducedtotheNationalLatinExamforthefirsttime.Wehavealso
beenbeginningsomeculturalstudyoftheRomanworld,beginningwith
Romanreligion.IhavealsodesignatedFridaysasLatin"fundays,"in
whichtheboysaregivenamoreinteractive/creativeeducational
assignment.LastFriday,forexample,theboyslearnedaboutRoman
graffitithathasbeenpreservedinthecitiesofPompeiiand
HerculaneumandpracticedwritingtheirownLatinsentences,whichI
thenletthem"graffiti"withwashablepaintonmyclassroomwalls.
In8thgradeLatin,theboysarereading(forthefirsttimeever!)afull,
unabridgedLatintext.InthespiritofHalloween,Ichoseawerewolf
storybytheRomansatiristPetronius.Althoughitisadifficulttransition
fromtextbookpassagesandshorterparagraphstoreading"real"Latin
atlength,theboysareslowlygainingconfidenceintheirLatinreading
skillsanditissogratifyingseethematthispointafteralltheirhardwork
memorizingcharts/listsinthepastyear!Wehavealsobeenfurthering
ourculturalstudyoftheRomanworld,beginningwiththereignofthe
emperorAugustus.Aswiththe7thgrade,IhavealsodesignatedFridays
asLatin"fundays,"inwhichtheboysaregivenamore
interactive/creativeeducationalassignment.LastFriday,forexample,
theboyslearnedaboutRomangraffitithathasbeenpreservedinthe
citiesofPompeiiandHerculaneumandpracticedwritingtheirownLatin
sentences,whichIthenletthem"graffiti"withwashablepaintonmy
classroomwalls.
3
8thGrade
MeganCole–Spanish
Theboyswrote12questionstoaskclassmatesusingvocabulary
aboutchores,eventsanditemsinthehome.Thentheyeachhadto
answerthesequestionsincompleteSpanishsentences!Theydida
greatjob,fewerrorsandexcellentflowintheirspeaking.Thenthey
tookaquizonhomeitemsandpracticedconversationwithTener
que(tohaveto)andotherTenerexpressions.Theyreviewedand
completedapacketonstemchangingverbs.Wereadthe
TelehistoriaandpracticedHayque+chores(howtosay"one
must......")
IalsointroducedCardinalNumbersandwepracticedhowtouse
theminSpanishsentences.TheyalllearnedtotravelinSalsa
dancing(movingindifferentdirectionswhilemaintainingthesame
rhythms)somethingthatisalwaysachallengetoget!I'msoproud
ofthem!Thenextfewweekstheboyswilllearnhowtocreateand
saycommandsinSpanish.Wewillalsospendsomemoretime
learningtoSalsadance(practicetravelingandintroduceturns)and
reviewtheirregularpresenttenseconjugationsofDecir,Venir,Dar,
Poner,Salir,andTraer.
5thGrade
WestartedandcompletedourlengthypacketonSpanish
adjectives.Theboyslearnedhowtomodifyadjectivesaccordingto
thenoun'sgenderandquantity.WepracticedputtingSpanish
phrasestogether,usinganarticle,nounandadjective.IIntroduced
andwepracticedbasicgreetingsandsentencesstarterverbsin
preparationforthe"YoSoy"project.Forthenextfewweeks,we
willworkonphrases,sentencestructureandthe"YoSoy"Project,
wheretheboyswillcreateaposterboardorsomeothertypeof
physicaldemonstrationdescribingwhotheyareinSpanish.
th
6 Grade
Theboysmadetheirverbcharts!Theydidagreatjobchartingboth
regularandirregularverbs!Theyalsohadstudiedandtookaquiz
onfamily,events,partiesandholidaysvocabulary.Wepracticed
songsonlyricstraining.Wereviewedpossessiveadjectivesandthe
verbsIr,jugar,Ser,Tener,JugarandEstar.Iintroducedquizletfor
learningvocabularyandtheboyssetuptheirfirstsetofflashcards
online.Theboysalsocreatedquestionstoaskclassmatesabout
familymembersinSpanishandansweredthemincompleteSpanish
sentences!Wealsoreviewedfoodanddescriptiveadjectives.The
nextfewweekswewillstarthousevocabulary;learningroomsand
furnitureinSpanish.Theywilldoasmallprojectcreatingand
labelingthieridealhouseinSpanish!
th
7 Grade
TheboyscreatedquestionsinSpanishforclassmatesusing
descriptiveadjectivesandaskingwhattypeofactivitiestheylikeand
don'tliketodo.Then,theyaskedeachotherthesequestions,
answeringincompeteSpanishsentences!Theboysalsolearned
howdoyousetupstudysetsofSpanishvocabulary
onquizlet.com.Afterstudyingthese,theytookaquizThursdayon
Theseactivities.WereviewedstemverbsandtheverbsGustar,Ser
andIr.Thenextfewweekswewillreadthe
chapter'sTelehistoria,learnhowtotelltimeandsaywhatis
happeningwheninSpanish.Wewillreviewandpracticetheverb
Tener(tohave)andregular-arverbs,alongwithlearningvocabulary
relatedtoclasssubjects,schoolandtimeexpressions.
4
StefaniEcheverria–History
Mr.Gabri–English
th
6 Grade
In6thgradehistory,theboysjustfinishedtheirthirdhistoryunit
andhadanexamonthismaterial--Mesopotamia,theancient
Israelites,andthePhoenicians/Lydians.Theirexamhadthreeparts,
whichexemplifymygoalsfortheboysinhistoryclass.Thefirstpart
testedpurefactsbasedontheCaliforniastatestandardsforhistory.
Thesecondparttaskedtheboyswithanalyzingthesefactstowrite
anessaycomparing/contrastingdifferentaspects(economy,
geography,religion)oftwoofthesethreeancientsocieties.
Thethirdpartaimedtoshowthemtheimportanceoflearning
historyinordertoanalyzetheirowncontemporaryworld--itwasa
"modernrelevance"portioninwhichtheboysweregivenanarticle
fromtheNewYorkTimesaboutanewarchaeologicaldiscoveryand
askedtorelateittothemeswehavediscussedinclass(inthiscase,
theimportanceofwritingforthesethreeancientsocietieswe've
learnedabout).WearenowinthemiddleofaunitonancientEgypt,
andinadditiontoourtextbook/academicmaterialwehavebeen
mummifyingachickenusingsimilarmethodstotheancient
Egyptians--achickenthatwewillultimatelyalsobuildahistorically
accuratesarcophagusandpyramidforandthengiveafuneralbased
onEgyptianfunerealtexts
Afterfinishingourunitonshortstories,studentsinallgrades
startedreadingMarkTwain’sTomSawyer.It’sinterestingteaching
thesametexttostudentsofdifferentages,becausetheyrespondto
thesametextdifferentlyand/orrespondtodifferentaspectsofthe
sametext.Ofcourse,Twain’sclassicwasoriginallymeantforadults.
ItwasonlyafterothersreadhismanuscriptthatTwaincametothe
discomfitingconclusionthathiscoming-of-agestorymightbebetter
suitedforanadolescentaudience.Inturn,Twain’snovel(despiteits
ratherstraightforwardstyle)createscomplexitybyaddressing,and
elicitingtheresponseof,differentaudiences.Teachingstudentshow
toreadTwain’stextonmultiplelevelsisthechallengehere;
especiallywhenitcomestothosethemesandviewpointsthatthey
arenotoldenoughtofullyappreciate.Inasinglepassage,
describingadolescentboysengagedinmockwarfare,Twaincan
simultaneouslycelebratetheimaginationofyoungboys(while
pokingfunattheirnaiveté),critiquethehierarchicalpracticesofthe
military,andsatirizewarfarebyrevealingitschildishabsurdity.
Variousreadingsofapassageliketheonedescribedemerge,once
werealizethatthetoneofatext,likethetonalityofapieceof
music,isopentointerpretation.Ineachreadingofthepassage,the
authorisliterallysayingthesamething—whatchangesishowwe
imaginehimsayingitandwhatweinterprethimtomeaninsayingit
thatway.
InadditiontoreadingshortstoriesandTomSawyer,studentshave
alsobeenworkingonvocabularyandwriting.Teachingstudentsto
expressthemselvesfluently,takeprideintheirwork,enjoythe
processofwriting,andwritesomethingworthreadingiswhatwe
areaimingfor.Inaword,theemphasishereisquality.Justas
singinginthewrongkeyorhittingafalsenoteisnotacceptablein
musicclass,writingpoorlyconstructedsentencesorparagraphs
won’tbeacceptedinEnglishclass.Iwantstudentstogetinthe
habitofperfectingtheirwork,andsincethisissomethingthey
alreadydointheirmusicclasses,I’mhopingthattheycanapplythe
sameworkethictotheirwrittenwork.Nextweek,the8thgraders
willbeginworkingonthe4thdraftofashort,analyticalessaythey
arewriting.Meanwhile,the7thgradersbeginworkontheir3rd
draftandthe6thgradersontheirseconddraft.Thoughitisstill
earlyintheschoolyear,I’malreadyseeingalotofgrowthand
progress.
th
7 Grade
In7thgradehistory,wehavejustfinishedourunitsonIslam--
comprisingthreesmallerunitsonIslamasareligion/thebirthof
IslamontheArabianpeninsula;IslamandtheMughalEmpireof
India;andthethreeIslamicempiresofWestAfrica(Ghana,Mali,
andSonghai).Theboystooktheirexamonthismaterial,which7th
wascomprisedofthreepartswhich(asIalsonotedof6thgrade
history)exemplifymygoalsfortheboysinhistoryclass.Thefirst
parttestedpurefactsbasedontheCaliforniastatestandardsfor
history.Thesecondparttaskedtheboyswithanalyzingthesefacts
towriteanessay--inthiscaseontheimportanceofgeography
(climate,geographicalfeatureslikedeserts,accesstotraderoutes,
etc)inthespreadofIslamandcomparing/contrastinghow
geographyeffectedthedevelopmentoftwoofthesethreeIslamic
empires.
(CONTINUEREADINGONPAGE6)
5
(CONTINUEDFROMPAGE5)
th
7 Grade
Thethirdpartaimedtoshowthemtheimportanceoflearning
historyinordertoanalyzetheirowncontemporaryworld--itwasa
"modernrelevance"portioninwhichtheboysweregivenacartoon
fromtheNewYorker(Abrahambirthingtriplets)andaskedto
explainitbasedonwhatthey'velearnedinhistoryaboutthe
similaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthethreeabrahamicreligions.
Theboysalsopresentedtheirgroupprojectslastweek,inwhich
eachgroupwastaskedwithcreatingatraveladvertisementforone
oftheancientWestAfricanempires.Wehavenowmovedontoour
nextmajorunit--ancientChina(fromtheperiodofdisunionthrough
theSui,Tang,andSongdynasties).
Inadditiontoourtextbook/academicreadings,inthisunitweare
alsofocusingonthecreativeliteratureproducedduringtheTang
andSongdynasties--especiallypoetry.Ithoughtourmusicalboys
wouldparticularlyenjoythisbecausemuchofthispoetryisvery
lyricalandsettomusic,andwewillbeabletolistentovideosof
modernChinesemusiciansperformingthispoetryusing
reconstructionsofancientinstruments.
th
8 Grade
In8thgradehistorywehavejustfinishedourfirstthreeunits,
comprisingEuropeancolonizationoftheAmericas,thepathtothe
Americanrevolution,andtheRevolutionarywarandsubsequent
jettisoningoftheArticlesofConfederation/earlyissuesaround
draftingtheconstitution.Manyoftheboyshadcomplaintsduring
thisunitthattheyhadalreadylearnedmuchofthematerialinthe
textbook/thattheCaliforniastatestandardsisbasedon--afact
backedupbytheirperformanceonadiagnosticexam.Thus,Ihave
beensupplementingthisstandardmaterialwithAPUSHistory
materials--hopefullypreparingthemwelltofacethiscurriculumin
highschool.Forexample,wehavebeentryingtodiscussnotonly
basicfactsaroundtheDeclarationofIndependence,butalsoread
othertextssuchasThomasPaine'sCommonSenseanddiscusshow
largerphilosophicalideasarisingatthistimeinfluencedthe
declaration.Thus,theboys'examonthismaterial(onMonday)will
bebipartite,withthefirstpartcoveringtheCaliforniastate
standardsmaterial,andthesecondpartaskingthemtousethese
factstocraftamorecomplexessayanalyzingthecause/effectsof
majorhistoricaleventsonthreelevels(economic,philosophical,and
political/social).Inpreparationforthisexam,thisweekwerenewed
theever-popular"hisketball"(historybasketball)asareviewgame.
Forournextunit,theratificationoftheconstitution,wewillnot
onlybeclosereadingtheconstitutionbutalsoconnectingthe
constitutiontothemodernprocessesofelectionsand
creating/ratifyinglegislationinkeepingwiththehistoricupcoming
election.Wewillalsobediscussingelectoralprocessesspecificto
thestateofCalifornia,suchasthereferendumprocess.
6
Mr.Leo–Science
th
th
4 /5 Grade
ThefourthandfifthgradeclassfinishedupourunitontheHistoryof
Environmentalismbyperforminganotherplay,thistimefocusingon
JohnMuir’slife,hisaccomplishmentsandhisstruggles.Everyone
hadapartthistime,andstudentsweresointoitweperformedit
twoseparatetimes,oneasawarmupandtheotherforMs.Bach.
Inournextunit,wewillbecoveringwhatplantsneedtosurvive,
howtoidentifydifferenttrees,andwewillbeginourwintercrop
cycleinthegarden.
th
7 Grade
StudentsfinishedupourunitoninsectsbycompletingtheirInsect
LabreportandtakingafieldtriptotheESSIGMuseumof
EntomologyatUCBerkeley.PeterOboyski,thedirectorofthe
museum,sharedoneofthelargestcollectionofinsectsintheworld
withstudents.Somehighlightswereseeingtwobeetlesthatwere
collectedbyCharlesDarwinhimself,aswellasonecollectedby
AlfredRusselWallace.StudentsobservedtheGoliathBeetle,oneof
thelargestanddensestintheworld,andalsosawoneofonlythree
knowncollectionsofXercesblueintheworld,aspeciesofbutterfly
thatlivedinthesanddunesoftheSunsetDistrictinSanFrancisco
beforegoingwentextinctin1943duetohabitatloss.Lastbutnot
least,studentssawhowinsectlarvaedevelopmentcanbeusedby
forensicscientiststodeterminethetimeofdeathforamammal.
Inournextunit,wewillbezoomingintothemicroscopicleveltosee
howcellsfunctionandreproduce.
th
6 Grade
Studentsfinishedupourunitonmappingandarecurrentlyinthe
middleofourunitontherockcycleandplatetectonics.Students
identifieddifferentmineralsusingadichotomouskey,seeinghow
certainmineralsreactwhenincontactwithSulfuricAcid.Students
becamerocksandtraveledthroughtherockcycle,creatingcomics
afterwardsillustratingtheiradventures.Theyalsoplayedaboard
gamewhichfurtherstressedthetimingofcertainrockcycle
transitions.
CurrentlytheyarecreatingascaledversionoftheEarth’sinterior
whichwillbefinishedupthisweek.Eachstudentdeterminedhow
bigtheirslicemustbe,thepertaininglayerswithin,andwewill
culminatetheactivitybyputtingthemalltogethertocreatea
giganticEarth’sInteriorrecreation.
Nextup,studentswillbeexploringhowourtectonicplatesareable
tomovebeneathourfeet.
th
8 Grade
Studentsfinisheduptheirrecentunitonspeed,velocityand
accelerationbyfirstdetermininghowmuchvelocityisneededtogo
overahillversusthroughaloopofthesamesize.Afterwards,
studentscreated,asateam,amonstrousmarblerunthroughthe
theatre,creatingpointsthathighlightedwhatwasstudied,
specifically,potentialandkineticenergy,friction,andacceleration
bychangingdirection.
Studentsarecurrentlyexploringtheeffectsoffrictiononforce,
takingalookintohowstatic,sliding,fluidandrollingcanbe
observedandtheirrelationshipwithforce.
7