On the Road to High School

O

e Road to h t n

HIGH SCHOOL

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Ready or not, here comes high school As the mom of three scholars in elementary, middle, and high school, I had more than a few opportunities to see what’s going on at various locations. In the past couple weeks I followed elementary scholars touring the middle school, and then middle school scholars touring the high school. But I also spent a few days capturing what makes middle and high school special. I want to share as many pictures as I can if it helps get more families excited about EFMS and HSLA-BK.

Madeline Vega 2 On the Road to High School

Welcome to

MIDDLE SCHOOL Fourth graders take a tour to learn what might be coming at them next year

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Expect the

UNEXPECTED What classes and clubs look like at East Flatbush Middle School

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Welcome to

HIGH SCHOOL Eighth graders compete in a mini House Cup before visiting classrooms

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Room for all your

MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY HSLA-Brooklyn might be small but stars shine in a multitude of settings where everybody knows your name

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Welcome to

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Fourth graders take a tour to learn what might be coming at them next year

A greeting from the Sapphires and the old SA-BH Chess teacher, Mr. Campbell, before heading to homerooms.

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Divided into separate homerooms, scholars listened to a Q&A with middle school ambassadors and the Business Operations Manager.

One scholar’s reaction to hearing there is a real dance studio (right).

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Hands never stopped going up to ask questions after the presentation.

A schedule on the wall had many wondering how electives and work.

They would then visit some of the electives’ rooms, but not have the chance to see the upper grades deciding whether to eat, go to recess, or scan all the way out to go buy lunch.

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Having someone who worked at your elementary school just last year guiding the group put a different spin on this tour—like, if Ms. Keck can make the transition, so can you! Ms. Keck took one group of 4th graders winding up the stairs from the 5th grade section to the 8th grade rooms on their way to visit Dance and Chess.

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A stop in the dance studio can bring on all sorts of questions about the art on the walls, the styles of dance that are taught, if there’s a dance club, and so on.

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A room devoted to chess was the way when Bensonhurst opened ten years ago, but this group of scholars only knew Mr. Campbell pushing a cart of supplies into their homerooms.

Some names on the lockers were recognizable to scholars and staff.

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The tour ended with a pizza party in the gym. It was one more chance to ask former elementary teachers, like Ms. Tormey (top left), and ambassadors (above right) about what to expect.

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Expect the

UNEXPECTED

A day with middle school scholars ranged from happy to horrified, silent to thunderous

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While one 5th grade teacher called out emotions for his scholars to portray—and give them permission to not look so blank—their genuine looks of determination were endearing.

Up in 6th grade, they needed no encouragement to react in big ways.

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Friendship bracelets could be found across grades.

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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl seemed to have the most active discussion, but it was also a day for quizzes in science so I couldn’t hang around there long.

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Coach kept all his scholars busy with drills.

The amount of touches for each scholar in a group this large was impressive. They passed, dribbled, and shot constantly.

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SOME ELECTIVES ARE BIGGER Some electives are smaller

Basketball seemed to have three times as many scholars present compared to debate

Debate scholars worked in groups that varied in size depending on the project— sometimes two, sometimes four, sometimes half the class, according to one scholar.

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Real sets came out for both an elective and a Wednesday tournament. The silence in the tournament isn’t really on display here because scholars were so involved in all the games—but the room was intensely quiet.

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With so many selfdirected projects, scholars could be working on completely different skills at the same table, like shading and weaving.

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Many scholars posed with their friends, but there’s room for action on the playgrounds, in the fenced-in soccer area, or on the basketball court.

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ROOM TO Relax Playgrounds, hoops, and more options at recess

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WEDNESDAY Club While there are music elective classes, I stopped by to see the club play and sing

Scholars worked on new lyrics before practicing techniques.

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When scholars are dressed all in black, it’s a sign you’re observing the Wednesday club rather than electives.

Both groups worked on ballet techniques as well as current styles, though.

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GETTING INTO Character

Theater elective included warm-ups and discussions of what one needs to exercise in order to become a better actor—if that’s possible. Meanwhile, rehearsals for Fantastic Mr. Fox pushed scholars with better choices and memorization.

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Giving tours

TAKING TOURS

One 8th grade ambassador from EFMS (above) recognized me on his trip to HSLA-BK

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Welcome to

HIGH SCHOOL

To be sure more scholars know the Brooklyn location is open and ready to accept them, scholars toured HSLA-BK while there was still time to rank it first Like a real registration, scholars lined up according to their last names to receive a welcome packet that let them know which house they had been sorted into and which classes they would attend that day. After a dance performance, two houses left for class while two houses stayed to play games for a mini House Cup. Then they switched. Current high schoolers not only hosted the games, but also facilitated activities in classes.

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Welcome kits included a Brooklyn Bears bag and hat, pom poms, thundersticks, plastic hand-clappers, and House colored beads, sunglasses, and folder with the day’s schedule.

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Scholars sat with their respective houses: Tu, Mandela, Calderon, and Morrison. Festivities kicked off with dancers. Then Principal Rojas drew huge cheers when he announced phone pictures of the games were allowed.

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Mini House Cup

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The four houses make up the four teams. Points earned help the House win the championship trophy.

Staff played dodge ball alongside scholars, sometimes using them as shields. Scholars also acted as referees, score keepers, and emcees.

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An ambassador counts off scholars so they can run out when their number is called.

The objective of the new game was to run out, grab the ball, and return to your side without being tagged by the other person with your number.

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The action got a little messy at times, and teammates reacted accordingly.

When middle school scholars recognized their older peers, they usually hugged before catching up.

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Engineering The same way not everyone takes Engineering as an elective, not every middle schooler visited Ms. Ngo and Ms. Lea.

Scholars were tasked with creating the tallest, most stable structure possible with uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows.

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One table emulated the versions on display while other tables had high school scholars to guide them through the build.

Being the most active participant also led to being the participant most covered in marshmallow.

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Dance Middle school visitors gathered in the Great Hall to learn some choreography from high school scholars. Many took advantage of the extra seats to learn in a more relaxed manner until a dean told them to get up an participate.

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Lunch was served in the auditorium, where scholars had more time to talk to high schoolers and staff.

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More than

A GOOD SHOW

It’s easy to play games to make high school look like fun, but scholars seem to authentically find joy at school

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Room for all your

MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY HSLA-Brooklyn might be small but stars shine in a multitude of settings where everyone knows your name “She’s still here?” one scholar called out rather incredulously when I showed up in a third class of hers, and we all laughed. Editing my pictures later, it looked like I’d been following a really tight cast with the same faces showing up in multiple scenes. Scholars can expect to achieve a lot things at the Brooklyn high school, but anonymity isn’t one of them.

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A typical day at HSLA-BK includes not only core STEM and Humanities, but also time for visual and performing arts.

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Every Friday, staff plays music during transitions to highlight that month’s cultural celebration, like Women’s History coming up in March.

Teachers told me I wouldn’t have a problem finding a small class. If I wanted to see a bigger group, I needed to get to Principles of Chemistry with most of the sophomores. This group passed the AP Biology test with Ms. Clegg (right) but isn’t ready for AP Chemistry.

More math teachers means there are two sections of Precalculus, so Mr. Goldman is teaching only half the sophomores in this photo.

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All freshmen sit the AP World History test, but they don’t all need to be in the same classroom to prepare for it.

Sophomores take AP Art History for more college history credit.

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Some sections of ELA seemed much larger than others, but both grades are focused on classic works.

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Mr. Garcia wrote down a list of small classes for me when I first stopped into TWR to warn teachers I’d be around.

I couldn’t have guessed how much personal attention small classes meant. Mr. Garcia talked to everyone.

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A rt

On deadline, scholars stopped by during lunch to continue constructing their cardboard creations. Insects, plants, and aliens for the Spring Showcase inspired by Little Shop of Horrors seemed so small compared to the heads the first class I stopped in was crafting.

Hot glue guns and tape were on every table, but traditional art supplies still lined shelves in the studio.

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Teacher Guzman tries on a sculpture, offers feedback for the addition of spikes, and assists a scholar attaching her insect’s head.

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Dance One dance elective rehearsed and refined choreography for their performance of “Lose Control.” Scholars contributed ideas, including debating costume choices and how best to end the routine.

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The school may not have a marching band or football team, but that didn’t stop scholars from performing as if they were on a field at half time for In Living Culture. More dance acts followed in modern styles.

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This storytelling dance had scholars acting out as soon as their teacher left the room.

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Some acts overlapped in their transitions, creating an even more dynamic show.

Scholars submitted video auditions in November to be considered.

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The show celebrates Black History Month— and is a welcome relief to midterms and SAT practice tests.

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Music This year band was added to the course catalog. Some scholars learned to read music in Music 100 last year and were better prepared to pick up instruments this year. A few freshmen came in having already played in middle school.

Scholar-led clubs include an acapella group. Above, Ms. A recorded scholars for a pitch to go perform at Network.

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Theater

Breaking up the dance routines were acts like a barber shop and an awkward blind date. For an abbreviated Family Feud, scholars pretended to be staff and staff pretended to be scholars. The school musical will be Little Shop of Horrors in April.

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Thanks for reading!

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