Reebops:

Students in Class II are studying genetics and inheritance in science. They created figures called "Reebops" out of marshmallows, gumdrops, toothpicks, etc. Each "reebop" had unique characteristics selected at random from chromosome strips made to represent the dominant or recessive alleles inherited from the parents.

Eminent Domain:

Students in class V have created models of properties that they must defend against the government in an Eminent Domain hearing.  They also must care for their property during a number of situations that may affect their home or business (lost jobs, health inspections, winning the lottery, floods, tax payments, etc.).

Marshmallow Catapults:

Students in Class II applied their knowledge of energy and forces to create catapults out of shoeboxes, rubber bands, plastic spoons and other everyday materials. They tested their creations to see which catapult could shoot a marshmallow the farthest, and the closest to a designated target.

Roller Coaster:

Students in Class IV worked cooperatively over a 3 week period to construct a K'nex roller coaster. The finished product contains over 3000 pieces and stands just over 5 feet tall.

Worry Dolls:

Students learned the Guatemalan folklore about worry dolls than created their own.

Animation Theater:

Students in Class II & IV participated in a workshop presented by Eli Whitney Museum. The students learned how to wire circuits that caused four LEDs to flash in sequence and created four frame drawings to project in their "mini-theaters".

Electricity:

Logan and Ron experiment with switches, batteries, wire and small light bulbs.

Inauguration 2009:

Students school wide joined together to witness the Inauguration of our 44th President Barak Obama as he was sworn into office.

Parent Night:

Students and parents of Class IV spent an evening together arranging flowers, swapping homemade cookies and conversing.

Holiday Baking:

The members of Class II spent some time celebrating the season by
baking holiday cookies to share with their friends and families.

New Arrivals:

Class V welcomes the addition of a guinea pig (Lenny) and two hamsters (Boris and Mickey D). Our new guests will be observed as they demonstrate different aspects of animal behavior.

Soccer:

Students are learning skills and concepts needed to play soccer.

Mag Lev Trains:

Students in Class II and IV participated in a workshop presented by
the Eli Whitney Museum. The students built models of magnetic
levitation trains.

Math Class:

Two students in Class I working in math enjoying the gifts that come from teaching and learning together.

Cooking:

Parents and Students from Class III picked apples from Lyman Orchard and baked homemade apple pie!

Day of the Dead Celebration:

Class III made Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) to share with the school on Nov. 7th.

Woven Mandalas:

In art, students have continued to explore circular design. Most recently they created woven mandalas. 

Current Events:

Class V held a presidential forum based on their studies of political figures.

Parent Breakfast:

Students in Class II prepared a breakfast for their parents using locally grown and organic ingredients.  They also participated in a guessing game, in which they had to ask questions to find out the identity of a mystery person whose name had been placed on their back.

Camping:

The students in Class IV went to Little City Campground for a day. They built a campfire, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, played outdoors and went for a hike in the woods.

Foraging:

Class V has been learning about foraging behaviors in animals. Students participated in a simulation activity related to this topic.

Glaze Firing:

A fresh batch of beautiful pottery creations hot out of the kiln.

Force and Motion:

As a part of a "force and motion" unit in science, Class 1 explores the motion of marbles and the forces acting on them. This experience provided opportunities for the students to reflect on the process of invention and problem-solving.

Climbing:

This month in Physical Education, students are using the LDFDS climbing wall to challenge themselves and get off the ground!

Multimedia Presentations:

Students are hard at work in Technology class, adding the finishing touches and music to their Keynote presentations about the topic of their choice.

Student Boxes:

In Class I, Students put together boxes representing important aspects of themselves using photographs, words and drawings.

Fall Gardening:

The students in class V are using the garden to learn about annual and perennial plants.  They are harvesting annual seeds and planting perennial bulbs this fall.

Adventure Education:

Students have been participating in activities designed to improve cooperation, communication, physical fitness, decision making, and problem solving.

Goldfish Pond:

The students in class IV are using the tea garden pond to study ecosystems. They are learning about different kinds of organisms that inhabit the pond—in particular, the Koi (goldfish). Mark and Charlie are shown observing/feeding the fry (baby Koi).

Day of the Dead:

In order to expand our appreciation of different cultures we will focus on celebrations that are held around the world. For our first effort, Class III created Calacas (a colloquial Mexican name for a skeleton) to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos ("Day of the Dead," which is similar to our Halloween celebration).

Election Mobiles:

Students in Class II are studying the upcoming presidential election. They are creating mobiles to display information about the candidates and the issues.

Mandalas:

Students are creating mixed media mandalas in art class.

Pottery Outside:

Taking advantage of the nice weather, pottery classes were held outside this week. Students got a chance to try their hands at using the pottery wheels.

John Slade Ely House Art Exhibit:

Nine of our high school students are showing their artwork at the John Slade Ely House, an art gallery in downtown New Haven. The gallery is hosting their Annual Greater New Haven High School Art Exhibit from April 18th-29th.

Jane Goodall:

Classes I and II are reading Jane Goodall's autobiography, My Life with the Chimpanzees. In reading this novel, we hope to captivate the students with Jane's story, inspire them through her determination and move them to find and act for a cause they believe in. On Friday April 27th, we will be attending A Conversation with Dr. Jane at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT.

The Iditarod:

Classes I, II and III followed the Iditarod. Not only were students having fun following a musher through the race, but this was also an opportunity to review map skills, gather statistical data, learn about Alaskan wildlife and research historical information. Students had the unique opportunity to speak over the phone with Melanie Gould, a musher in this year's Iditarod. The students were excited and had so many questions for her!

Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference:

LDFDS Staff attended Thirteen/WNET's and WLIW's Celebration of Teaching and Learning in New York City, on March 24, 2007. The themes of the 2007 conference for K-12 educators were global awareness, the nature of learning and integration of technology. Attendees had the opportunity to choose workshops presented by nationally recognized speakers and prominent educators.

Former Vice President Al Gore closed the session with a powerful discussion of the impact of global warming.

Odyssey of the Mind:

All five classrooms are busy working on this year's Odyssey of the Mind challenges. Students will present their solutions to parents and the entire school in June.

Literature Celebration Days:

This year, classes I and II will celebrate words and language by sponsoring a monthly literature event. In September, the classes wrote "silly" stories. Students wore silly clothes and shared their favorite silly stories. In October, they hosted a "word celebration" day. Each student selected a word and designed a t-shirt - featuring the word - to wear to school.

Apple Picking:

On October 10th, classes I and II took a field trip to Bishop's Orchard in Guilford to tour the orchard and to pick apples.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center:

On Friday, October 13, 2006, students and staff participated in an Open House at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Milford. The lab conducts both aquaculture and habitat research. Students were able to view, first hand, the work that is done there: testing for bacteria and viruses; growing algae for food sources; developing breeding techniques for scallops and oysters; x-raying organisms for defects and examining what they consume; and, implanting sensors in fish to track movement. A highlight of the trip was the "touch" tank. Students were able to handle horseshoe crabs, blue crabs, skates, flounder, scallops, oysters, hermit crabs, snails and other organisms native to Long Island Sound.

Building Big:

Through films, reading and science labs, building big teaches about the history and scientific principles behind the creation of some of the world's most famous bridges, dams, domes, skyscrapers, and tunnels. The class learned about principles of physics through building bridges, a geodesic dome, and pyramids. Students tested the integrity of the structures by exposing them to the forces of wind, pressure, and weight.

Junkbots:

For our latest art project we explored the art form known as Found Object Sculpture. Simply put, this involves taking any objects that you can find and assembling them into a three-dimensional sculpture. We were able to find (through the kind donations from our staff) several old, broken computers, radios, printers, toys, etc. and then took them apart until they were unrecognizable pieces of plastic and metal. Their assignment was to take these pieces of "junk" and build sculptures resembling robots that were interesting from all angles, had moving parts, and plenty of personality. Here are the first Junkbots off the assembly line...

Professional Development Highlights for School Year 2004-2005

Lorraine D. Foster's approach to professional development is to pursue training in an intensive and ongoing manner. In the fall of 2002, the staff attended the Bank Street College of Education in New York City for 5 weekends of training in Mel Levine's "Schools Attuned" program. "Schools Attuned" is based on the study of eight neurodevelopmental constucts that affect how children learn. This year, we will continue the work through monthly in-service training conducted by Andrea M. Spencer, Ph.D.