Students in 6th grade social studies took a few weeks away from the 18th century and jumped ahead to the 20th to study the 19th Amendment and the fight for women’s suffrage, which was the subject of the annual essay contest led by the Daughters of the American Revolution. After working on these essays, students feel better prepared looking forward to Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association’s Law Day in the spring. Sixth grade students will now focus on the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights to close out the semester.
In 7th and 8th grade, students recently researched and debated historical arguments of the Constitutional Convention, practicing valuable skills and really getting passionate about the nation’s government. This assignment allowed for students to form their own opinions about the way the government was designed and to appreciate and to question different aspects of the US Constitution. Students will now begin a unit on the Bill of Rights, which ties nicely into the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association’s Law Day theme for 2019. Next up, students will take an essay assessment over the people, events, goings-on, and geography they have studied in American history this semester.
In high school, students have been learning about the early American republic. To tie in with this theme and further student learning and interest, students chose research projects related to reforms, inventions, and politics of the Early Republic and will present them to classmates. High school students will take an in-class essay assessment on Tuesday, December 11th as part of finals week before moving on to learn of sectional conflict leading to the Civil War.
Model United Nations
Students in MUN are working hard to understand the many committees that make up the United Nations. For the month of December, MUN is focusing on current events in the many countries students have chosen to represent. Teachers will introduce scenarios to small groups of students, and committee teams will work to present solutions to real-world problems.
Student Council
Upper school students voted for their 2018-19 President and Vice President in November and are now in the process of electing representatives from the middle and high school. Three representatives from each group will be chosen on December 4, and then Student Council will resume regular meetings and plan its goals for the 2018-19 school year.
