INSPIRE Winter 2016 • Phillips Brooks School

a magazine for parents, alumni, and friends of pbs | WINTER 2016

Winter 2016

Above: Preschoolers are jumping with joy in their new classroom space!

1 2 4 8 16

Engage: Notes from the Head of School From the Board of Trustees

Feature Story: Curriculum Growth and Development

Curriculum Highlights: Connect Friday

Short Feature: Dr. Marc Brackett

Magazine Editor Photography

Amy Woropay Alex Johnson Amy Woropay

The Phillips Brooks School Magazine is published twice annually for the alumni, parents, friends, faculty and staff of PBS. We are interested in your comments and suggestions. Please address them to Phillips Brooks School, Attn: PBS Magazine, 2245 Avy Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025.

Copyright Š 2016 Phillips Brooks School All Rights Reserved.

engage: notes from scott

CELEBRATING OUR FOUNDERS AND OUR FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

Take our minds, and think through them.

Take our lips, and speak through them.

Take our hearts, and set them on fire.

This poem offers insight into the essence of PBS and the important learning our students experience here. A PBS education offers excellent academics, and our students are gifted readers, artists, musicians, scientists, mathematicians and computer wizards. Yet a PBS education goes much deeper at the same time:

¡¡ Our students are learning every day about growing their minds to think creatively. We need creative thinking in our world.

¡¡ PBS students are learning to have lips to speak courageously. We need courageous speaking in our world.

¡¡ Students at our school have hearts on fire for what’s right.

We need hearts working for justice in our world.

As we look back, it’s important to connect these powerful messages to our school’s founding and why we can be proud to be part of the PBS community. Last September, PBS held its Inaugural Founder’s Day to celebrate the school’s guiding principles, which are still relevant today, and to remember the founders who worked so hard to bring them to life.

for speaking courageously and having a heart for justice. In particular, he opposed slavery at a time when our country was at war over it. He was early in supporting women’s equality and also gave a profound speech reflecting on the death of President Abraham Lincoln.

We benefit today from our namesake, Phillips Brooks, and from the important work of our school’s founders whose vision is more relevant than ever. Our founders would be proud to know the modern-day PBS:

¡¡ A school where we learn to think creatively; ¡¡ Making sure our students learn to speak courageously; ¡¡ And having hearts on fire for what’s right in school and in our world.

These are some of the skills required for what is known today as emotional intelligence. In combination with our top-notch academic program, it is one key to our school’s success and the reason our students and graduates are the leaders, differencemakers, and change-agents in their communities.

Thank you for carrying forward the work of our founders through your support of PBS! Dr. Scott Erickson Head of School Article based on Dr. Erickson’s talk at PBS Founder’s Day 2015

Some of our school’s founders worked behind the scenes. Other founders have names we recognize as leaders at PBS: Founding Mothers like Bitsie Root and Nona Wittlinger; a Founding Father like Jack Towner.

As one of our founders, Bitsie was a woman of action who served as head of school for 15 years. She was known for her creative mind and her courageous speaking, both skills necessary to ensure a successful start for PBS. She collaborated with her fellow founders to enact their vision: PBS would make a real difference in the lives of countless students and families. She said, “It is who we are, not what we have, that is important.”

When our founders were looking for a school name, they chose Phillips Brooks, a nineteenth century clergyman who was known

Augmented Reality Interactive Content

Download the Free Layar App

Scan the Page with the Layar

Discover Interactive Content

App Symbol Tap any video square that appears to start the video and view full screen.

WINTER 2016 | 1

From the Board of Trustees

“Healthy, engaged students learning from inspiring teachers – it is all because of you.”

– Karen L. Fisher

I want to say how sincerely grateful we – the Board and the school – are to everyone who has given to Phillips Brooks.

Generosity, a hallmark of the community since PBS was founded back in 1978, is alive and as strong as ever, as these following pages or a quick moment on campus attest. Your giving of time and financial resources is a powerful tool, fueling the success of our school and affecting every PBS student every day.

associate teachers to some grade levels to further support faculty. These two programs, and others, made possible through your willingness to support the school, are among the reasons we have one of the most inspirational, motivated faculty in the area. When your child is so inspired about what was learned at school that he bubbles over with it at the dinner table, know that his teacher was motivated as a direct result of giving at PBS.

In fact, when you next come across a Kindergartner who knows what a “variable” is when describing her science experiments, know it is because of you. Looking for ways to enrich the curriculum, a Board-driven strategic initiative, Scott and his team established a brilliant plan to rotate every discipline through a Curriculum Deep Dive (CDD), every three years, keeping PBS on top of the best and most current pedagogical thinking in each area. Spanish, math and technology were the first investigated. Some of the changes include a new communicative approach to Spanish instruction, new math concepts added to the curriculum, and a new relationship with Common Sense Media. CDD takes place outside of the school year, requiring extra resources as faculty and staff devote their time solely to this endeavor – so it is only possible because of your generosity.

Like nearly all independent schools, tuition levels at Phillips Brooks are set well below the costs of an education as the Board tries to balance those costs with accessibility goals, the burden on our families, what our peer schools are charging and even what message it sends to area parents about our school. We must raise money every single year just to cover annual costs. Your giving – from annual fund contributions, donations from the benefit and the major gifts initiative makes up the difference. Your generosity means that rather than funding current expenses from the corpus of the endowment, we are adding to it. Rather than cutting program, rather than just preserving the program, we are continually strengthening it. This is the very nature of a successful school. But the goal, really, isn’t a successful school – it is what a successful school means to our students. Healthy, engaged students learning from inspiring teachers – it is all because of you.

Another strategic initiative is supporting our faculty. The Board did our own deep dive on compensation resulting in a realignment of compensation levels vis-à-vis living in the Bay Area and what our peer schools – schools competing for our teachers – were offering. Additionally, Scott added more

2 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

Karen L. Fisher Board Chair, PBS Parent ’04, ‘06

WINTER 2016 | 3

Curriculum Growth and Development Plan In June 2015, all PBS educators committed to launching a new Curriculum Growth and Development Plan with the following guiding principles: ¡¡ Grounded in our mission and core values ¡¡ Looks closely at what we teach and how we teach it ¡¡ Informed by current research and best practices ¡¡ Supported by outside experts so we capture innovative approaches ¡¡ Develops a tool to measure ongoing success It’s essential for our students to be continually motivated by an academic program that sets them up for success at PBS, in middle school, and beyond. So this faculty-driven, collaborative process creates a formal way for curriculum to be repeatedly studied and developed for years to come.

4 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

feature: Curriculum Growth and Development Plan The two parts that comprise this Curriculum Growth and Development Plan are the Curriculum Deep Dive (CDD) and Phillips Brooks Summer Institute (PBSi), which address specific curriculum areas (CDD) and new initiatives (PBSi).

Both had their inaugural meetings last summer and were a huge success!

Faculty enjoyed coming together outside of the classroom to discuss math, Spanish and technology (CDD) as well as the Associate Teacher Program, Faculty Peerto-Peer Mentoring and New Schedule Design (PBSi). This real-time professional development is making a difference in the experience of our students and the leadership of our teachers.

“I always want our students to love learning and be challenged by our curriculum. In addition, I am committed to our balanced program: Top-notch academics fully integrated with social-emotional learning. Our program will continue to be known for deepening the emotional intelligence of our students, even as we formally study our curriculum. It’s a sign of a strong school to initiate a formal review plan for PBS academics. I’m glad to be part of a faculty that actively seeks to continually grow and strengthen our program.”

– Dr. Scott Erickson, Head of School

At PBS we value lifelong love of learning. Professional development has been and will always be a hallmark and priority of the PBS program. Our teachers expand their skills and practices by learning from the best educators in the field, incorporating relevant research into their teaching, and seeking to make an impact on their students’ daily experiences. Here are some examples since summer 2015: Structured Word Inquiry with Pete Bowers Phoebe Mauricio, Leslie Richardson, Diana Rivers, Courtney Samuelson, Dana Doolin

Learning and the Brain Conference Dana Doolin, Phoebe Mauricio, Leslie Richardson

Cal Poly Elementary Physical Education Workshop Stan Drake, Dave Jackson

Connecting Numbers and Operations in the Classroom Nicole Theriault

Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (Orton-Gillingham Course) Jerene Donovan

Elena Aguilar Consulting, Peer Coaching Course Phoebe Mauricio, Meeta Gaitonde

Summer Seminar for Language Teachers Isabel Ochoa

Handwriting without Tears Erik Romano, Andrew Cruz

Responsive Classroom Amanda Tachis, Jerene Donovan, Ariel Petersen, Zac Oldenburg, Casey Carlson, Andrew Cruz, Erik Romano

Reading Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University Allie Thrall, Marie Marseille, Margie Tully

UCLA Extension for Supervision/Administration of Early Learning Center Stephanie Hall-Koester

Projecting Possibilities for Writers with Matt Glover Marie Marseille, Zac Oldenburg, Lisa Busby, Diana Rivers, Amanda Tachis, Leslie Richardson, Nicole Robinson

Council for Advancement and Support of Education with NAIS Annual Conference Amy Woropay, Erin Wright, Christine Tamez

Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Conference Tamara Stephens

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference Phoebe Mauricio, Courtney Sameulson, Kelly Hoy, Dana Doolin

Bay Area Teacher Development Collaborative: Leadership 101 Series Leslie Richardson

Total Physical Response with Storytelling Isabel Ochoa

Bay Area Teacher Development Collaborative Leadership Cohort Lisa Busby

Boston Globe Horn Book Symposium Maeve Knoth

Charlotte Huck Children’s Literature Conference Maeve Knoth, Margie Tully

International Society for Technology in Education Conference Ben Thomasian

Mindfulness Fundamentals Jessica Senn

American Choral Directors Association Western Division Conference Tamara Stephens

National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference Scott Erickson, Lisa Busby, Leslie Richardson, Caroline Varner, Meeta Gaitonde

National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference Lisa Busby, Leslie Richardson, Caroline Varner, Meeta Gaitonde Workshop presentations by Scott Erickson: “Brand Clarity is Key to Your Leadership and to Your School’s Success” California Association of Independent Schools Trustee-School Heads Conference Workshop presentations by Scott Erickson: “Fresh and Innovative Approaches to Head Evaluation” and “Brand Clarity is Key to Your Leadership and to Your School’s Success”

WINTER 2016 | 5

feature: Curriculum Growth and Development Plan

Math Curriculum PBS math students are engaged in question-based learning, become proficient mathematical thinkers and are challenged through complex problem solving. To ensure continued excellence and growth, the CDD math team began by doing a thorough review of our Preschool-Fifth Grade math curriculum to identify common threads and connections. They looked at other schools and reviewed research on a wide range of new studies from well-known math educators. They also capitalized on outside expertise at Stanford through Professor Jo Boaler’s YouCubed organization, which observed our math program in December and made recommendations that we’re now discussing for implementation. The math CDD has affirmed that students are engaged and successful when our math program is exploratory, filled

with questions, fun, focused on concepts, builds in complexity, values mistakes, and is ready to capitalize on light-bulb moments at any time. Indeed, we know that, at its best, math learning can be messy, with twists and turns, not a straightforward process. We also know that memory is important for math learning, but that focusing on the memorization of math facts can inhibit the development of key skills and concepts.

“Our math program provides a strong number sense, in which children see numbers, relate them to patterns, make real world connections and deepen their learning.”

–Phoebe Mauricio, Second Grade Teacher

Associate Teacher Program PBS students, parents and lead teachers frequently comment on how much they admire, respect and love our assistant teachers. To ensure the continued excellence and growth of the program supporting our assistants, one PBSi team studied what we do currently, reviewed research on effective teacher training programs and proposed a plan for moving our work to the highest possible level. One finding from the team was clear: “Assistant” teacher doesn’t fully capture the important role they play, so we’ve made a shift in title and are more intentional about how we support their growth as teachers. The PBS Associate Teacher Program is a more accurate and current description of their role in our classrooms. They are apprentices who work closely with lead mentor teachers and develop their teaching skills with expert guidance. The Associate Teacher Program is now focused on an overarching goal: To create a deeply collaborative teaching relationship where both leads and associates reflect on their teaching craft and identify ways to grow and improve.

6 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

“PBS is thrilled to be in the position to attract exceptional associate teachers and support them as they begin their careers in education.

We are consistently the first-choice school for associate teachers because they recognize that PBS takes their professional and emotional growth seriously. Our associate teachers are engaged and happy, and each of them contributes enormously to the success of our school.”

– Lisa Busby, Associate Head of School

feature: Curriculum Growth and Development Plan

Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program Research shows demonstrable benefits to our students’ learning when teachers coach and mentor each other. Effective peer support encourages collaborative, reflective practice so teachers grow through non-evaluative means. Mentorship allows them to apply their learning more deeply, frequently and consistently than teachers working alone. The faculty PBSi team discussed and outlined the essential responsibilities of peer mentors, and in particular, the team expressed a renewed commitment to helping new teachers transition to PBS and be successful. This past fall, we’ve acted on this commitment by establishing a mentorship program for the newest members of our community. Experienced PBS teachers are supporting their new colleagues with coaching, resources, information about our culture and traditions and even a welcome gift. In addition, over the course of this year, our faculty will explore these goals:

¡¡ Enhance systems to continually grow a culture of reflective practice and mutual support among faculty.

¡¡ Continue to research and draw on the expertise of other

“Everyone wins when faculty collaborates this closely and deeply, most importantly, the students!”

– Leslie Richardson, Learning Support Coordinator

mentorship programs.

¡¡ Build an archive of resources, templates and activities to enhance teaching practices..

New Daily Schedule

Connect Friday at PBS

Why a new schedule? An outstanding daily schedule facilitates One of the highlights in our new schedule is Connect Friday. a top-quality learning experience for children. Over the past Fridays have the same timetable every week, and are not several years, PBS’s curriculum developed a great deal, while included in the A-F rotation. There is intentional time for our static schedule has not “The new schedule provides us with a lot of flexibility collaborative been optimal. We identified teaching and learning the need for a change, so a within our day. We have found more opportunities to across curricular summer PBSi group focused areas, including do new and interesting projects and incorporate the on creating a new model. opportunities The team incorporated for cross-grade students’ interests. It also helps us develop a more research and feedback experiences. Allfrom Roxanne Higgins, flexible brain as we learn new routines and adapt to school community President of Independent time takes place changes.” – Marie Marseille, Third Grade Teacher School Management first thing on (ISM), who conducted a fullFriday mornings: scale assessment of our schedule last spring. The team also GATHER, Family Friday and our other assemblies are featured incorporated feedback from faculty and students, with the in a carefully planned rotation throughout the year. Then primary goal of putting students first to enhance and deepen specialists and classroom their program experience. A brand-new six-day rotational teachers collaborate on monthschedule was created (Days A-F), with a fixed Friday now long focused projects with called “Connect Friday.” Six primary benefits of the new daily each grade. Through the four schedule: different “Connect” sessions

¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡

Students come first

Maximized learning time Community focused

¡¡ Better pacing and routine ¡¡ Time allotted for faculty

Full school ELC-5 coordination

collaboration

each month, the experience for students and teachers has been energizing.

WINTER 2016 | 7

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Preschool Authored by Preschool Teaching Team Isabel Ochoa, Spanish In Preschool, we have enjoyed connecting with Señorita Ochoa, learning and practicing Spanish through songs, play and handson activities. During morning meeting time, students usually sing a Spanish song and practice counting the number of students who are present and absent (uno, dos, tres…). We also make crafts, color and play. During these activities, students practice vocabulary that connects to the task they are engaged in. If children are playing with blocks, we will practice shapes, use descriptive words (grande/big, pequeño/small…) and other relevant vocabulary.

During a Connect Friday period in October, we worked on different Dia de Los Muertos crafts. Señorita Ochoa came to our space and brought us mariposas (butterflies) and calavera (skull) masks to decorate on three consecutive Fridays. When working on their mariposa craft, we reviewed colors, shapes, class supplies and other expressions that related to this task.

Preschoolers learned basic vocabulary that revolved around this cultural celebration. Connecting with Spanish is a great a chance for the youngest PBS students to work with a teacher they will have in the years to come; and there’s no better way to learn and engage Preschool-aged children than through play and fun activities!

8 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

PreK

Authored by PreK Teaching Team Barby Little, Science Teacher Ben Smith, Science Associate Teacher “It’s a dinosaur bone!” “It smells like dirt!” “No, it smells like dinosaur poop!” The PreK students were abuzz with ideas, observations and theories about the mysterious object. After discovering it his yard at home, a child had brought the bone fragment in to the ELC for further investigation. Ever curious, PreK children know that school is a place where we research, experiment and learn about things that we don’t know about.

On these investigative journeys, we teachers look to PBS specialist teachers, Ben Smith and Barby Little, as experts who can provide their subject matter knowledge as we explore topics that have emerged from the children’s interests. By connecting and collaborating with the specialists, we are able to draw on their resources and relevant experience. In this case, with little animal bone knowledge ourselves, the PreK teachers immediately enlisted the expertise of science specialists to help the children think more deeply about this natural object.

Connecting with the science team, students learned that the first step they would need to take in their investigation was to clean the bone to make sure it was safe to handle. During the next science session, the team helped the children look closely at the bone and make observations. Students noticed the middle of the bone, the marrow, which one child thought

looked like a “coral reef.” Then, the science team presented another bone, a skull, for the children to look at and compare to the mystery bone. Many children hypothesized that the skull was also a “dinosaur bone.” When the teachers pointed out how small it was, one child refined his theory and suggested that it was from a small “flying dinosaur.” Using our observations and documentation of these interactions, PreK teachers and science specialists were able to reflect and collaborate on formulating the next steps to take with the children. Ben Smith commented, “As science teachers, our time with the PreK is usually limited, so when we get the chance to focus on something that the students are already really curious about we can absolutely run with it. The bone offered the perfect opportunity for students to ask questions and make hypotheses, just like all scientists do. I can’t wait to see where this topic leads!”

The PreK is eagerly awaiting the next visit from the science specialists, when Barby Little promised to bring more bones from their collection!

WINTER 2016 | 9

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Kindergarten Authored by Kindergarten Teaching Team Isabel Ochoa, Spanish Teacher For our first kindergarten Connect of the year we teamed with Spanish. Students did a tour of the school and learned the names of all the specialist classes in Spanish. We then played a scavenger hunt game. We divided the students into small groups and showed them pictures of tools/objects that were used in specialist classes (i.e. paint brush, instrument etc.). The next step was for them to find the class where that particular tool was used and name it in Spanish. This was a very kinesthetic and productive experience. It also served as an opportunity to tour the school and show the children the location of their specialist classes. For our second Connect, the students learned the names of classroom supplies and practiced the vocabulary playing Tic-TacToe with a partner. For our third and fourth Connect, students continued to review and practice Spanish vocabulary through games such as Four Corners and Hot and Cold, a game where one student hides an object in the classroom and another tries to find it, as the rest of the class chorally repeats the vocabulary word in Spanish in a soft or loud voice. This was a game-filled Connect in which students moved around, played and learned Spanish while having fun!

10 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

First Grade Authored by First Grade Teaching Team Barby Little, Science Teacher Ben Smith, Science Associate Teacher Our first grade science Connect Fridays have been focused on nature sketching. While the students do hands-on experiments during each science class, we thought it would be a fun and an educational change of pace to do nature sketching–and who better to teach it than Barby Little, PBS science teacher who formerly taught both science and art! During our first Connect, students met in the science lab and practiced sketching with pencils. They learned that everything is made of lines and shapes, so they practiced different lines, circles,

ovals and more shapes. They then transferred that knowledge to sketching pictures of different birds. They added color to make their sketches even more lifelike. The students enjoyed the activity immensely and loved the freedom of sketching. For our next Connect, we divided into groups and went to different parts of our beautiful campus to do some real sketching in nature! Our third Connect meeting involved a field trip to Sharon Heights Park. After a nice walk, the students sketched what they saw around the beautiful pond. Students chose their favorite sketch from their sketchbook to recreate on watercolor paper, using pencils and watercolors for our final science Connect. It is wonderful to have extra planning time with the first grade and science teams together so we can give students this experience, which they would not typically have during the school week. The students love this Connect time! Said one student, “I really like to draw and I’m happy that we draw nature.” Another student remarked, “I like nature and I like science, and it’s really fun to draw and sit there in the quiet and sketch.”

WINTER 2016 | 11

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Second Grade Authored by Second Grade Teaching Team Maeve Knoth, Librarian The recipe for a successful Connect Friday collaboration between library and second grade started with a book. Take Everybody Cooks Rice, a picture book by Norah Dooley, add a bit of measuring, a cup of global citizenship, a serving of math, a dash of map reading and sauté for four Fridays running. The second grade Connect with library explored a global concept through a very tiny grain of rice.

Dooley’s book uses the story of neighborhood children visiting each other during the late afternoon, as families are preparing their suppers, to discuss rice dishes from all over the world.

Once we finished the story, we mapped out the countries and rice dishes mentioned, brainstormed all the ways we have personally eaten rice and got cooking.

12 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

We were fortunate to have some of our families come to class to celebrate Diwali with us, share traditions, information and make rice pudding. Second graders and some of their families also helped to make the Indian dish Biryani together.

The students chopped, grated and sautéed.

We learned about spices and cooking techniques. Traveling a bit farther on the globe, students learned about rice in East Asian countries and, again with the help of a generous parent, we made spring rolls wrapped in rice noodles. Cooking in class is always a welcome challenge, and the new Connect Friday schedule allowed us to have the time and faculty support necessary for this complex project.

Students enjoyed expanding out a concept that is so simple in its daily application – a grain of rice – through a much bigger, global, culinary lens. They took risks, used new tools, tasted new flavors and made new connections between themselves and families all over the world.

They made big messes, cleaned up after themselves and had fun!

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Third Grade Authored by Third Grade Teaching Team Pamela Ritchey, Art Teacher When you walk around the PBS campus, you see rocks, twigs, leaves, dirt and tan bark. After our Connect time with art, third graders see these natural elements of our campus as potential tools to create art! Studying the different regions of California has been an important feature of the third grade global education curriculum for several years. During our Connect time, students were given the opportunity to deepen their studies while also incorporating art and social learning, by studying the works of the artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Goldsworthy’s work provided the inspiration for the third graders to build an understanding of the natural resources of the region we live in, and to appreciate the beauty of our campus.

During our Connect, students learned about shaping their minds to look at the natural environment as a blank canvas that can be used to hold a piece of art. Students used the available resources around them to create artistic shapes, designs and patterns. Each team would then practice using their photography skills using the iPad, and then collaborated to create dynamic collages of the natural resources on the PBS campus. In our final Connect time, students worked in small groups to create their own Andy Goldsworthy arrangements so that each of the groups would then have a final product that represented each child’s best artistic piece of nature and

something that represented the group as a whole.

Students were able to increase their understanding of the resources each region in California provides, while also working on their collaboration and group work skills. When asked to reflect on their social growth during this Connect time, third graders learned: “That you make better things with your partners.”

“You have to be flexible about what your partners want to do and let others do some things too.”

“I learned that, in a group, teamwork and the golden rule are really important.”

It was an invaluable interdisciplinary project, and a great start to our year. Be on the lookout for the third graders’ Andy Goldsworthyinspired collages this spring!

WINTER 2016 | 13

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Fourth Grade Authored by Fourth Grade Teaching Team Paula Symonds, Math Specialist Through our math Connect in fourth grade, we wanted to give the students another view of math outside of their regular daily instruction, so we decided to excite their curiosity with non-traditional geometry. The teachers challenged the fourth graders first with the “One Cut Theorem,� which states that any shape with straight sides can be cut from a single sheet of paper by folding it flat and making a single, straight complete cut.

We began by showing a video of a mathematician illustrating the theorem. She cut each letter of the alphabet by folding and making one cut. We prepared a pile of shapes that progressed from simple to more complex. An hour later, amid piles of cut paper, we had a class of successful geometry explorers!

Our next session took students through the world of fractals.

Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of them (trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains,

14 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

clouds, seashells, hurricanes). To help the students understand simple 3-D fractals, we constructed a staircase. To help them experience more abstract ones, we downloaded an iPad app that allowed them to experiment freely with manipulating abstract fractals. This part of the exploration was mesmerizing.

Our geometry explorers then moved to flexagons, which are flat models, usually constructed by folding strips of paper that can be flexed or folded in certain ways to reveal faces. In other words, a 2-D model that is actually 3-D. Students followed a pattern to cut and assemble this remarkable structure. They then began to play with it by opening and rolling it to discover all the hidden faces. It was magical!

We ended our study of non-traditional geometry with modular origami. This involves folding multiple numbers of one (or more than one) unit and then assembling them without using any glue, tape, thread, etc. to create larger and more complex origami. Students explored cube and crown shapes.

This adventure exposed our fourth graders to a world of mathematics with which they were unfamiliar. It allowed them the opportunity to explore many of the standards for mathematics, make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, attend to precision, and look for and make use of structure in new and different ways!

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

Fifth Grade Authored by Eliza Schnitzer and Sophia Vinson, Fifth Grade Students Meeta Gaitonde, Technology Education and Innovation Specialist In January, our fifth grade connected with Ms. Gaitonde. We learned about circuitry by experimenting with lectrify circuits, an educational toy to help kids, like us, learn about circuits and how they work. At the first Connect meeting, we played with the circuits to get used to them. At the next Connect, we made holiday cards/trinkets with the LEDs, and then the next week, we built our own robots to race with a partner. On our final day, we raced the robots to see which ones worked the best and why. For example, we learned that if the motor was lower to the ground the robot would go faster. It also depended on the texture of the materials used on the bottom of the robot; for example, fuzzy materials didn’t work as well as cork or other hard materials.

Most of the teachers were learning right along with us! They helped us figure out the best way to design our robot. The teachers were also really helpful at making sure we had what we needed, including time. Also, the founders of lectrify came in and helped us learn a little more about the circuits. They helped us a lot when it came to the robots because many of us were beginners.

Our teachers made sure that we were able to learn in a safe environment while having a lot of fun. The Connect has helped improve our skills in many ways.

It has helped improve our sportsmanship, teamwork and understanding of circuitry. It helped improve our teamwork because we had to work with a partner for a limited amount of time to build a successful, relatively quick robot. For some groups, doing that was easy. For others, it was more difficult, but no one came without a robot to the race. When racing the robots, we learned how to have a kind and appropriate reaction to the results, which also helped us with our sportsmanship. Of course this helped us with our understanding of circuitry.

We really like connecting with a different teacher to learn something new that might not have to do with that teacher’s specialty.

WINTER 2016 | 15

Watch Dr. Brackett’s talk at PBS

Dr. Marc Brackett Visits PBS In January, PBS hosted Dr. Marc Brackett, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Dr. Brackett spent the day at PBS interacting with and exploring emotional intelligence and its integral role in facilitating successful cognitive and academic learning. He shared compelling ideas and resources with students, parents and faculty at GATHER and in meetings throughout the day, concluding with a special faculty meeting after school.

Dr. Brackett is a research scientist in psychology. His work and lectures focus on the role of emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, relationship quality, and mental health; the measurement of emotional intelligence; and the influence of emotional intelligence training on student and educator effectiveness, bullying prevention and school climate. Dr. Brackett and Scott became acquainted following his presentation to California school heads in 2014. He has been quoted in the PBS admission viewbook and in a recent New York Times article on elementary school education. Marc works with Facebook on a large-scale project and collaborates with Lady Gaga – and now PBS!

Augmented Reality Interactive Content

Download the Free Layar App

Scan the Page with the Layar App Symbol

Discover Interactive Content

Tap any video square that appears to start the video and view full screen.

16 | INSPIRE: THE PBS MAGAZINE

WINTER 2016 | 17

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID MENLO PARK, CA PERMIT NO. 660

2245 Avy Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-854-4545 x137 Return service requested.

Save the Date!

PBS Class of 2009, 2013 and 2016 Spring Ahead!

May 20, 2016

This year, we will honor the PBS Class of 2009 and Class of 2013, as they complete the next phase in their educational journeys. We will also celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating fifth grade class and welcome them in to the alumni community.

Please join us at 6:00pm in the Amphitheater.

RSVP to Amy Woropay, aworopay@phillipsbrooks.org.

PBS offers a full-day Preschool through Grade Five learning community at the intersection of Menlo Park and Palo Alto, neighboring Stanford University.

Connect with Us!

www.phillipsbrooks.org