21st Century Learning for Pre-K-8 in Shelburne, VT
As their culminating project on Cities & Towns, the K/1 class took parents and classmates on a “City Tour”. Here, we had the opportunity to visit and learn about the model cities & towns that they designed and built. Each city & town model included both places that are “needs”, as well as “wants.”
For our Spring CLIC week (Create, Learn, Innovate, Celebrate), students worked on a week-long design project with Burton. The challenge was to improve a snowboard prototype from a visual, technical or marketing perspective to make it more appealing to young riders. Students working collaboratively in groups to design a new prototype, which they presented to Burton representatives at the end of the week. Their ideas were very creative, ranging from light-up snowboards to snowboard/ski combinations to snowboards with collectible charms!
As a culmination of their inquiry into Ancient Egypt, students studied a topic of interest and created an exhibition of learning, which included hand-made artifacts, written explanations, and audio clips with QR codes.
As part of their Transportation unit, K/1 students have been learning about force, motion and energy in STEM. Here, they are using race cars and a track to investigate how friction impacts motion.
As their culminating project for a hands-on unit about simple machines, the 2/3/4 students are faced with the challenge of creating a compound machine that uses two or more simple machines to do its job. As part of the Design Thinking process, they created prototypes to test their designs. After reflecting on what works and what could be improved, they will begin to build their final product. More photos to come!
During an after school enrichment class, students learned to code Ozobot robots using a visually-based coding programming called Ozoblocky. They learned to write code on our chromebooks and program the robots to perform a variety of tasks, including navigating an obstacle course. Stay tuned for details about additional coding opportunities at Vermont Day School!
This week, 2/3/4 students are preparing for student led conferences with their parents and teachers. This is an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and progress, set goals and showcase the digital portfolios they have been working on all year.
As part of their year long study of Ancient Cultures, the 2/3/4s have been charged with the question of “How do we learn from the past?” Over the course of the next 8 weeks, they will explore Ancient Egypt culture through the eyes of archaeologists. They are studying real Egyptian artifacts, on loan to us from the Flemming Museum, and learning how to make inferences and observations. We look forward to their culminating project: the creation of a museum gallery. Stay tuned for additional details to follow!
As part of our 100th day of school celebration, students reflected on ways that they could demonstrate kindness to others.
During our winter CLIC week, students worked on all aspects of the production of “Sing Me a Story” musical. Throughout the week, they rehearsed lines, practiced the songs, and designed the sets and costumes. The week culminated with the final production at the Shelburne Town Hall. We are very proud of our students for their hard work and creativity throughout the week and fabulous stage strong presence during the final show!
The Vermont Day School Valentine’s Postal Service is now open for business! As part of their year long study of Community, the K/1 class is learning about the different roles that people and organizations play within a town/city community. Each student has a zip code and the K/1 students are responsible for sorting the mail each day. On Friday, they will deliver the mail to each student during our school-wide Valentine’s celebration. There is lots of learning and excitement in the air!
We are very proud of our 2/3/4 students for their impressive Mayan storytelling! As part of an integrated Global Studies and Literacy unit, students wrote, memorized and presented original Mayan myths, legends and fables that showcased their knowledge about Ancient Mayan culture. Students presented their stories with style, creativity and confidence!
