The Independent School Report

by Colin Martin
Head of Middle School
Chatsworth Hills Academy
Chatsworth, California
Originally Published in News from the Top of the Hill, February 2008

I walked into Mr. Miller’s class the other day to see students in various and colorful costumes and with multiple and impressive props performing plays they had created. I couldn’t get in the door of Mrs. Robbins’ room as there were volcanoes blocking the door – I hate it when that happens – and Power Point presentations going on inside. Mrs. Warburton has “journals” from internment camps written by her students on the walls of her room. Have you had a chance to visit some of these classrooms lately? When you’re on campus, peek in and look around: your children have been busy and their work is impressive.

Here are a few sneak peeks at what students have been up to:

In Mrs. Warburton’s 5th grade literature class, students have been doing an in-depth study of Under the Blood Red Sun and exploring the many topics raised in the book – Pearl Harbor, internment camps, reparations, the 442nd regiment and Japanese culture. Students wrote journal entries as if they were living in an internment camp. They also wrote essays about the history of “our” family katana, and they even learned Japanese vocabulary. The 7th grade literature students finished their review of Wringer and had several discussions of the many themes in the novel. They also conducted a study of character analysis to prepare for the five paragraph essay on their final. You’d think the volume in class would have lowered since the raps the students wrote and performed earlier in the year, but apparently the discussions were pretty animated, too.

In Mrs. Shibel’s algebra class, students have embarked on the Stock Market project. Each student started out with $10,000 and had to purchase at least five stocks and spend as much as possible. They then tracked the stocks for one month and recorded weekly gains and losses. Things were looking good for several weeks – but the investors decided to stay in the market one more week and ended up losing their money. It was a great learning experience.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Warburton’s pre-algebra class was making some gains of its own and completed four chapters by the end of the semester. Nice work, guys! You might notice steam coming from the pre-algebra students’ ears as their brains have been working so hard. Our 8th grade students have been exploring the functions of the human body in science and generated questions regarding blood pressure, height, weight, comparisons between boys and girls, etc. Using classmates as test subjects the students collected data and using the computer lab organized their information in Excel spread sheets. They then wrote formal lab reports. Meanwhile, 7th grade science students tested various surfaces for bacterial content and wrote formal lab reports on their findings. You’d be amazed at what they discovered – it was certainly an eye-opening experience for the students (have you noticed any 7th graders washing their hands more often?).

More explosive results were being achieved in Mrs. Robbins’ 6th grade science class where students were presenting some pretty impressive volcanoes (they weren’t your parents’ lava lamps, for sure) and Power Point presentations on how volcanoes work.

Across the centuries in Mr. Miller’s social studies classes, things have been popping, too. 5th grade students recently wrote and performed skits exploring the interactions between Native Americans and European explorers during the European colonization of North America. Half-way across the world, 6th grade students were immersed in ancient India and exploring the development of its religion and culture through reading diverse genres of literature. Students also role-played historical figures and wrote their own folklore stories. To the north and west and a few centuries later, 7th grade students have been studying the development of European nations in the Middle Ages. There are some great stories on the walls of Mr. Miller’s room that weave history and imagination together as students used creative writing to explore oral history and the origins of myths.

There has also been a flurry of activity outside of the classrooms as 8th grade applications for high schools have been completed and processed in time to meet deadlines. Students have been going to interviews and tours, and we wish them the best of luck in the process!