The Meadows Mirror: January/February Issue

January/February 2017

Volume 33, Issue 4

The

Meadows Mirror English Language Edition

Why Read Moby Dick, Indeed?

by Jeremy Gregersen, Head of School

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n 2011, Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a slim volume entitled Why Read Moby Dick? It’s an excellent little book, even though in order to really enjoy it I think it’s best to have already read Moby Dick. Still, the title poses a question I think many may have asked themselves, whether or not they were required to struggle through Melville’s masterpiece in a college English class. And the question became even more poignant for me, as I endeavored to teach Moby Dick, among other 19th-century works, in a senior English seminar this fall. Confronted with the task of reading a 500+ page novel over the course of a handful of weeks, my students may well have wondered what the point might have been. “How is this helping me?” they may have asked, or, “What does this have to do with my life in 2016?”

These kinds of questions are not easily dismissed, especially in an era where a fine education is becoming more and more synonymous with vocational training. Students, the argument goes, attend fine college-preparatory schools like ours in order to get into a fine college. They then attend a fine college and major in what they perceive to be a lucrative discipline so that they can graduate and land a fine job to support themselves for the rest of their lives. According to this line of reasoning, anything that distracts from job preparation may well be a waste of students’ time. What does the reading of Moby Dick, or Dante’s Inferno, or Hamlet, or The Great Gatsby, or any other masterpiece we assign in our English department, have to do with the ultimate goal of

gainful employment?

The answer to this question is twofold. First, I’m not sure most of us want to live in a world where the only reason to learn anything is to apply the knowledge gained to a paying job. Great literature is taught at The Meadows School in order to expose students to the symbolic retribution of hell’s punishments, the quandariness of Prince Hamlet, and the hopeless hope of James Gatsby in order that students might gain insight into what it means to dread, to question, to hope, and ultimately to be human. It’s my sincere belief that my students earlier this year learned from Moby Dick what it means to pursue a seemingly impossible dream in order to make sense of a world that too often makes no sense at all. What better knowledge is there than this?

The second answer is actually more utilitarian. At The Meadows, our English classes promote critical thinking, reasoning, and written and verbal communication skills. A student cannot be successful in our grade 6-12 classes without employing all of these skills-so we make sure our pupils learn them through group activities, discussions, oral presentations, and written essays in different styles.

And obviously, these skills are easily transferable to virtually any employment situation in the world today, from that of intern to CEO. In the end, it’s my hope that students learn enough in our classes to help them make a living, sure. But I also hope that they learn to search for answers to what makes living worthwhile.

Let’s All Go To Prom!

Prom season will be upon us soon, and many high school students are excited for the special night. Unfortunately, some girls and boys around the Las Vegas Valley cannot afford suitable attire and will not be attending their proms.

For this reason, the Literary Podcast Club and the Women’s Empowerment Club have teamed up with Las Vegas Prom Closet, a non-profit boutique, which supports underprivileged youth. Our goal is to give hundreds of high school students the prom experience of a lifetime!

If interested, email Dr. Slater, cslater@themeadowsschool.org, or Mrs. Shockey, mshockey@themeadowsschool.org.

We are taking donations now through March 16.

Items to Donate Homecoming/Prom Dresses Boys’ Suits Shoes of all sizes Costume jewelry Hair accessories Make-up Styling Tips

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English in The Meadows Middle School

by Abigail Hilson, Middle School English Teacher

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he basic, foundational English that is reviewed and taught in The Meadows Middle School is the last bastion for reinforcing the crucial grammar principles and sentence structure that students will find on every standardized test they encounter and which they are expected to know and to have mastered as they move on to high school. Through sentence diagraming and a continuation of what has been taught in Lower School, students leaving Middle School have the knowledge and background required for success in both reading and writing in the years to come.

Each week students read books and stories with quizzes for comprehension practice, and homework that reviews grammar, sentence formation, and sentence diagraming is given every night in grades six and seven, while 8 th grade students incorporate those grammar skills into varied and complex styles for writing assignments. Composition assignments which develop specific skills are part of every quarter’s work. In line with the stages of brain development in students of middle school age, repetition and reinforcement are the keys to learning and retaining information

and grasping the methods for processing that information. Each day students are involved in a variety of lessons during a class session since the capacity to focus for a lengthy period of time has decreased with the time they spend on their devices during the day.

All writing and note taking in the 6th grade English class is done without computers, and in the 7th and the 8th grades, computer usage is kept to a minimum. The thinking and processing connection between the hand and brain is most easily and solidly accomplished with paper and pen as indicated by both scientific study and student achievement.

The traditional and fundamental lessons for mastering all aspects of reading and writing are the basis of learning in the Middle School English classroom. Methods that have been tested over the years can never be replaced in a subject whose core foundation has not changed. Students who learn tried- and- true English concepts at The Meadows School find success in every field and go on to teach others.

Empathy: Literature and Real Life

by Rebecca Reeder, Middle School English Teacher

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s students in Mrs. Reeder’s 8th grade English class completed a close reading of Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson and prepared to write an essay on the book’s theme, part of their classroom discussion centered around some characters’ lack of empathy. There was lack of empathy towards a newcomer to the small town as well as between slaves and free citizens. This discussion also reinforced some of the Middle School assembly and advisory discussions about acting with kindness.

However, students carried this lesson even further and applied some empathy in a modern, real life situation through participation in a special opportunity that Kiva, the world’s first online lending platform, offered to Mrs. Reeder’s classroom.

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Students had 15 twenty-five dollar loans to award to people all around the globe. Students were asked to browse some of the micro-loan applicants’ photos and stories in order to decide where their money might do the most good. Students were amazed that some people around the globe thought three or four hundred dollars could be a life-changing amount, and they said they felt good talking among themselves and choosing which loans to support.

As the students talked about people whose lives can be changed with such small amounts of money, they realized that older literary works still have applicable lessons for modern life.

Empathy never goes out of style.

The Meadows Mirror

CAMPUS UPDATES

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Middle School First Semester Honor Roll - Honors Class of 2023 • Faris A. • Kyra L. • Jasmine C. • Manat C. • Iris C. • Emily E. • Benjamin E. • Phillippe K. • Cody L. • Noor N. • Campbell N.

• Alberto P. • Zack R. • Bree S. Class of 2022 • Jaz A. • Elizabeth B. • Corey B. • Kade D. • Lauren E. • Brooke F. • Alex F.

• Franklin F. • Julia G. • Raffi H. • Araf K. • Isabella M. • Niccolo R. • Jacqueline R. • Styles S. • Justin V. • Julia W.

Middle School First Semester Honor Roll - High Honors

Class of 2023 • Shazray A. • Joseph B. • Brinley B. • Aashman B. • David C. • Amy C. • Peter D. • Sanjana D. • Elizabeth D. • Chloe G. • Sean G. • Madeline H. • Ashley H. • Sabrinna I. • Andrew K. • Mandalay L. • Caroline L. • Sam L. • Leighton L. • Julianna L. • Sophie M. • Dagny M. • Sierra N. • Karissa N. • Dominic P. • Phoebe S.

• Sydney S. • Edwina S. • Elle T. • Lynsey T. • Ray T. • Lauren W.

Class of 2022 • Amanda A. • Jacqueline B. • Alexander C. • Ainsley F. • Justin H. • Sofia K. • Veena K. • Patrick K. • Marcus L. • Sophia L. • Anna M. • Jonathan M. • Rahul M. • Kristine N. • Tai N. • Jenna O. • Nishelle P. • Nashrah Q. • Rachel R.

• Melanie R. • Robert S. • Hailey S. • Mathew S. • Emma T. • Lyla W. • Madelyn W. • Luke Y. • Erica Y. • Lauren Z.

Class of 2021 • Claire A. • Sydney A. • Calista B. • Bianca C. • Tyler C. • Blake C. • Izzac C. • Michael C. • Jerry E. • Gavin E. • Karthik G. • Amelia H. • Lindsey H. • Devin H. • Lia J.

Class of 2021 • Lars C. • Cesira C. • Caroline G. • Aidan H. • Sophia J. • Ella M. • Adam S. • Iycis S. • Taylor T. • Avery T. • Angel-Anne V.

• Chelsea J. • Arianna J. • Raees K. • Chiara L. • Michelle L. • Jake M. • Ethan M. • Adam M. • Isabella M. • Ethan N. • Evan O. • Anthony P. • Michael R. • Ty R. • Grace R. • Nebiyu S. • Sneha S. • Kambree T. • Claire T. • Lauren T. • Alexander W. • Alexander W. • Alexis Y. • Brian Y.

Middle School Students Participate in World-Wide Discussion

by Rebecca Reeder, Middle School English Teacher

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rior to winter break, Mrs. Reeder’s 8th grade students participated in a world-wide discussion with other teenagers titled “Face the Future: Innovating Empathy to Change the World,” a livestreamed program sponsored in part by The Allstate Foundation, in partnership with WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station. Prior to the start of the program, students talked about developments they might like to see by 2026, and they watched a few short videos presenting futuristic possibilities in which technology enabled people to feel the emotions of others. Students then commented on whether or not this would be a good development, would improve social media, or be detrimental. Throughout the oneday event, program developers asked participants to keep in mind this motto: people make choices, and choices make history. This

event had almost 9,000 student participants from 51 countries who presented and commented on over 64,000 ideas for the future.

As a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, Mrs. Reeder has seen many teachers suggest incorporating ideas from this program into literature lessons and feels that every opportunity to relate classroom materials to current events helps students appreciate what they are learning at The Meadows School.

The Institute for the Future, located in Palo Alto, California, is an independent, nonprofit “strategic research group with nearly 50 years of forecasting experience. The core of [their] work is identifying emerging trends...that will transform global society and the global marketplace.”

Upper School First Semester Honor Roll - Honors Class of 2020 • Sara B. • Felyssa K. • Giselle K. • Cameron M. • Brandon M. • Hailie M. • Evan M. • Nicholas O. • Vivian P. • Kiri P.

Class of 2019 • Matthew A. • Brammhi B. • Bruce B. • Justin F. • Allen F. • Hillary G. • Peter H. • Noah K. • Khawaja N. • Alexandra P. • Sydney R. • Rachel Z. • Tal Z.

Class of 2018 • Landin B. • Edozie E. • Benjamin G. • Chloe H. • Hasan I. • Daniel P. • K. Brock P. • Isra Q. • Kevin R. • Finn S.

Upper School First Semester Honor Roll - High Honors Class of 2020 • Jerry A. • Michelangelo B. • Peyton B. • Anisa B. • Ari B. • Spencer B. • Parker B. • Julianne C. • Ilana C. • Samantha F. • Grace F. • Reece I. • Bentley J. • Lenae J. • Avery K. • Kwame K. • Ethan L. • Brett L. • Mercedes M. • Ariya N. • Joshua N. • Clarence N. • Chad N. • Chloe N. • Zane P. • Sire P. • Wafa Q. • Bailey R. • Elle R. • Zachary S. • Allison S. • Jared S. • Claire S. • Helen T. • Minahil T. • Rubaab W. • Aidan S.

• Ryan A. • Justin B. • Natalie B. • Lilian C. • Ian C. • Anna D. • Samantha D. • Joseph E. • Aleema F. • Mira G. • Emily H. • Alexander H. • Shayna I. • Alexis J. • Samuel K. • Sheen K. • Dani M. • Sam M. • Nicholas M. • Malini N. • Abhay N. • Grace N. • Taylor P. • Peri P. • Teagan P. • Haritha R. • Tanner R. • Myra S. • Kayla S. • Julius S. • Justin T. • Raatib T. • Beau T. • Christopher T. • Eshaan V. • Reina W. • John Y. • Richard Z.

Class of 2019 • Anna A. • Sara A.

Class of 2018 • Chowdhury A. • Shahzaib A.

• Celia A. • Sivan B. • Cole B. • Brian C. • Stefan C. • Adam C. • Ashlynn D. • Emily E. • Scarlett G. • Audrey G. • Lindsay H. • Ellen H. • Kevin I. • Sarah J. • Veronica J. • Alexandra K. • Dina K. • Ashley L. • Zoe L. • Silvia L. • Frederick M. • Ahmed N. • Jeffrey N. • Connor N. • Joshua O. • Korinne O. • Lauren O. • Ronnie O. • Kathleen O. • Elena P. • Sahil P. • Marcella P. • Garrison R. • Gina R. • Samantha S. • Rachel S. • Brooke S. • Talia S. • Robert S. • Olivia W. • Eric W. • Blake W.

Class of 2017 • Kaitlyn A. • Elaina B. • Elena B. • Connor B. • Joseph C. • Abbigail K. • Jessica L. • Adam M. • Samuel M. • Hannah M. • Jillian P. • Arisha T.

Class of 2017 • Steve S. • Gabriel A. • Natalie B. • Clara B. • Jonathan B. • Michael B. • Jonah C. • Megan C. • Asheesh C. • Anuja D. • Isabella D. • Melanie D. • Jacob E. • Erik E. • Olivia F. • Daniela G. • Antonio G. • James H. • Robert H. • Alan H. • Quinn I. • Sophie I. • Sana K. • Caroline L. • David M. • Hirsh M. • Abdus N. • Tahsin N. • Chloe N. • Valerie N. • Kyla P. • Edward R. • Amanda R. • Isra S. • Shaunicy S. • Hanna T. • Nathaniel V. • Urael X. • Jenny Y. • Michelle Z.

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Good Citizens Awarded in the Lower School After every Lower School Good Citizen assembly, Mrs. Shana Marek, the Lower School Director, presents select students with the Good Citizen Award. This award is given to students who go above and beyond to show compassion and be productive members of the increasingly global society of the 21st century.

The following students were awarded the Good Citizen Award in December and January: • Avery A. ’26 • Audrey A. ’26 • Henry A. ’28 • Charles A. ’26 • Braylen B. ’29 • Holland B. ’28 • Aliana B. ’27 • Sydney B. ’26 • Josh C. ’27 • Benjamin C. ’28 • Ella C. ’26 • Cameron C. ’25 • Alan C. ’26 • Chanel C. ’26 • Madalynn D. ’29 • Ava Rose D. ’29 • Tahlia E. ’29 • Grace E. ’25 • Reese E. ’28 • Tobe E. ’29 • Jacob G. ’28 • Cooper G. ’25 • Genevieve G. ’27 • Tatum G. ’27 • Chloe G. ’28 • Brooklyn J. ’26 • James J. ’25 • Sanna K. ’29 • Haylee K. ’26 • Nathan K. ’25 • Mehtab K. ’29 • Noor K. ’25 • Brooklyn K. ’29 • Brandon L. ’24 • Alex L. ’24 • Morgan L. ’24 • Cadence L. ’29 • Alexander M. ’29 • Simone M. ’27 • Caroline M. ’27 • Connor M. ’25 • Julian M. ’25 • Sarah M. ’27

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• Bianca M. ’27 • Graham M. ’28 • Shawn N. ’24 • Ryan N. ’24 • Amanda O. ’24 • Ella P. ’28 • James P. ’26 • Lady P. ’28 • Gabriella P. ’27 • Remi R. ’27 • Lucia S. ’28 • Miranda S. ’25 • Aanya S. ’24 • Sophie S. ’24 • Caroline S. ’26 • Ilana S. ’27 • Jonah S. ’25 • Cade S. ’29 • Michael T. ’28 • Dean T. ’29 • Zion U. ’26 • Charlize W. ’28 • Beverly W. ’24 • David W. ’26 • Audrey W. ’24 • Alena W. ’25 • Mark W. ’29 • Sophia Y. ’29 • Brandon Y. ’24 • Zoe Z. ’24 • Christian Z. ’26 • Sienna Z. ’26

Scholastic News Kids Press Corps provided by Scholastic Inc.

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or the second year in a row, a Meadows Middle School student was chosen to join the Scholastic News Kids Press Corp. Alex W. ’21, joins twenty-three new and fifteen returning Kid Reporters, ages ten to fourteen, representing the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, Thailand, Nigeria, and other African countries from on board Mercy Ships. This team was chosen from more than 300 applications, which were carefully reviewed. The U.S. journalists from 19 states and the District of Columbia will report on current events, breaking news, entertainment stories, and sporting events.

Wordmasters Challenge TM Success provided by Wordmasters Challenge TM

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team representing The Meadows School achieved Highest Honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge™—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually. The fifth-grade team scored an impressive 188 points out of a possible 200 in the first of three meets this year, placing tenth in the nation.

Competing in the difficult Blue Division of the WordMasters Challenge™, fifth grader Zaan T. earned a perfect score of 20 on the challenge. Nationally, only 67 fifth graders achieved this result. Other students from The Meadows School who achieved outstanding results in the meet include fifth graders Meher D., Ben G., Payton H., Alexander L., Alexander O. and Christina P. The students were coached in preparation for the WordMasters Challenge™ by Ms. Bookout, Ms. Brennan, and Mrs. Driehowst

Perfect ACT Score provided by ACT

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enior, Robert H., earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36. On average, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score.

In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2016, only 2,235 out of nearly 2.1 million graduates who took the ACT earned a composite score of 36.

Three TMS students named National Hispanic Scholars provided by CollegeBoard

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hree members of the Class of 2017 were named National Hispanic Scholars by the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Isabelle D., Daniela G., and Antonio G. scored in the top 2.5% among Hispanic and Latino PSAT/NMSQT test takers in the region.

How We’ve Grown: A Peek into First and Fifth Grades’ Research

by Mary Beth Cleland, First Grade Teacher; Cindy Driehorst, Fifth Grade Teacher

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n first grade, it is all about the sentence. The rules of writing a sentence aren’t yet habits, so adding the factual content of research makes it even more of a challenge. For example, just the rigor of understanding new information, knowing what facts to include, and using new vocabulary all comes before they even begin to write the sentence. In our current research, Endangered Animals, we began researching the green sea turtle by reading books, online articles, and watching video clips. We also acted out what it would be like to be curled up in an egg, breaking through with the egg tooth and crawling in a frenzied rush to our window, which in nature would be the moonlight reflecting on the ocean. We discuss that baby turtles execute this dangerous sprint at night to avoid predators but are often misdirected by bright lights of nearby hotels, so some of my first grade turtles turned away from the window drawn instead to the bright floor lamp in the corner. We all felt bad for those turtles. All of this data gathering leads to rich classroom discussion where the children brainstorm what information and vocabulary should go into each section of our research while I record their ideas on the board. From this word bank they craft their sentences into a rough draft, adding the information they own as important. I will read their drafts and make corrections that they will use to write their final copy. With each project, additional research components are added, such as Table of Contents or Works Cited. First grade students are excited to create art that mimics the habitat and the animal that lives there.

It is fun to expose the students to various art resources that best represent what we are studying; for example for the ocean, we chose watercolors in various blues and sprinkled salt on the wet paint. They learn from all of it!

In the fifth grade, it is still all about sentences. However, the simple sentence is used sparingly, like spice, among workhorses such as the compound and complex sentences. We are asking students to embrace the artistry of writing, to extend sentences with rich vocabulary, specific verbs and to finesse precise information. These sentences flow into multi-paragraph essays that elaborate and prove the thesis. Just as difficult is the process of independently reading advanced texts to uncover details needed for notecards that will then populate an outline, from which the rough draft will eventually be written.

Unlike first grade, my students will not be doing the same research as their classmates; however, they will choose from a high-interest category of topics that I select. For example, we just completed biographical research on Americans that were featured in “The 1940 Famous American Stamp Series,” so students chose whom they wanted to know more about and did their research accordingly. Research is an opportunity for all grade-level students to read non-fiction text, comprehend specific information, relate it to their thesis, and then construct written explanations of their knowledge. It takes grit to do it well.

Tar Wars Winners

by Kathy Brennan, Lower School Teacher

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ast spring, several 5th graders participated in the state-wide Tar Wars poster contest. Tar Wars is a national anti-smoking campaign aimed at 5th grade students. Each year, Nevada chooses 12 winners which will be represented in a special calendar. We are proud to announce that five of those 12 winners came from The Meadows School!

Elle T. placed second in the state of Nevada, and in addition to having her artwork in the calendar, received a $100 gift card. Karissa N., Brinley B., David C., and Faris Atout will also be featured in the calendar and received $25 gift cards. Congratulations!

Celebrating Chinese New Year with The Meadows Lower School

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Love of Language in Beginning School

by Stephanie Combado, Beginning School Teacher

There is a love of learning at the Beginning School for reading and writing. In addition to direct teaching about letters and sounds, we immerse the students in oral language by singing songs, chanting poetry, and reading to them, just to name a few. These activities help young children learn how to memorize and retell.

Students need to hear the best examples of speech and the very best of children’s literature. Favorite books and poems are repeated many times. Children enjoy hearing something over and over again.

I like to read the children’s book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester.

The students love the outrageous, funny, and full-of-life character, Tacky. We discuss Tacky and his outrageous adventures. Students like to retell the details of the story and discuss new vocabulary from the book. We can also compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories using a Venn diagram or a thinking map.

Children need to see the language they are using. We display letter cards and track the letters and sounds as children chant along from memory. In this informal way, children learn to put what they say together with what they see. A direct instruction activity we do

with Tacky the Penguin is to choose words that begin with a “P” and write them on sentence strips. We also will choose words that do not begin with “P” and the students can sort the words by their beginning sounds.

Students need to use the language they are learning. We give them many opportunities to play with letters and words in centers.

They are also given options for creative writing and art. All of these activities will give students an advantage to play naturally with language and practice what is being learned.

We teach our students that language has three main purposes; it is used to express ideas, it has many forms, and it is used to communicate. We need to be aware of individual learning differences and match the tasks to the learners’ needs. Exposing young children to a literacy-rich classroom will allow them to find their love for learning and be lifelong learners!

(Some of these ideas come from Spelling Through Phonics written by the McCrackens as well as The Kindergarten Chronicles by Robyn Markovic and Carey Rogers.)

Encouraging Community Through Spanish

by Renee Jarvis, Middle School Spanish Teacher

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ne of the 5 C’s of language learning is Community. Not only do our middle school students reach out to the wider Las Vegas area through volunteering, but they also strive to have a positive influence on their academic community. On Thursday, January 19th, the 6th grade classes visited the Beginning School with Spanish books in hand! 6th graders read one-onone with the students, practicing vocabulary words through repetition, acting words out, and searching for words that are similar in English. Not only was this a community building experience, but it also boosted the Middle School scholars’ self-confidence while giving the Beginning School students motivation for their next Spanish lesson. The Middle School students had several stories to share about their experience, and everyone agreed it was a fun activity.

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