Grade 7

Fifth Grade continues to explore aspects of Growth Mindset, not only in our weekly Brain Game sessions, but also in our academic subjects as well. This past Friday, we visited the 7^th grade who had spent the past few weeks developing a Breakout Box challenge to help us review for our test on India.

If you’ve never heard of a Breakout Box, it’s an activity inspired by escape rooms—those group challenges that have popped up everywhere and can be done with multi-generational groups of relatives or friends. You’re trapped in a room (literally) and given a series of challenges, a few clues and a ticking clock to remind you that you need to step it up! Sometimes the escape room is a room, but it can also be an empty apartment or even an Egyptian tomb you need to excavate!

The Breakout Box is similar in that it’s an immersive collaborate learning experience where groups of students work together to solve puzzles and codes that allow them to unlock several padlocks, and ultimately, the box itself.  The challenges encourage critical thinking skills and teamwork, and help to develop perseverance, along with giving an opportunity (in our case) to review concepts and themes of ancient India.

After providing 7^th grade with the content I wanted to review, advisors Sue Benner and Sarah Pitcher mentored the students to create the challenges. And on Friday, we finally got together. I’m happy to say that 5^th grade managed to unlock the box by the end of the period, and we loved the opportunity to spend time with the 7^th grade. Ad added bonus was the surprise treat inside the locked box. Thanks to the Upper School students and Mrs. Benner and Mrs. Pitcher for their tremendous efforts  to create this simply stellar brain game!

Hope you enjoy these photos from our Breakout Box session!

Bonne année 2018!

Oh what fun we had in 7th grade French class prior to the holiday break.

I wanted to share some pictures from a special project that the 7th grade French class was able to enjoy as a reward for being the first French class out of our 6th, 7th and 8th grades to earn 20 points in the ‘8 minutes consécutives en francais!’ competition. This friendly competition is to promote full immersion into speaking in French during class time. For each 8 full minutes that we speak in French, as a class, a point is earned.

Each of the 3 classes worked hard to take the lead, but the 7th grade was the first to reach the goal. Their reward was to have a ‘fete’ where they embarked on a culinary adventure…making their own Buche de Noel from scratch, and then enjoying it, bien sur!

Each student brought in a different ingredient to assemble the buche.

We spent one class period making and baking the buche, and another class period decorating, eating, and learning about the recipe.
One the second day, once the bowls were washed and the last morsel of the cake enjoyed, the students were tasked to put in order a jumble of the recipe directions, all in French.

Here are some pictures of the fun we had!

Best,

Madame Daire