INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Earth Science

Written by Heidi Pieroni

We really focused on the environmental science part of the class this year. A huge part of the second quarter as we learned about the water cycle was the students’ rainscaping grants. They learned about problems with run off and researched how to reduce it through rainscaping.

To take what we have learned and be active in our contributions, we made small pieces of our rainscaping grants come alive. We started with a drive for native perennials and trees to plant around TJ’s campus. Middle School families along with neighborhoods and local nurseries donated plants and trees. We spent the last week of school installing plants around campus. It is our hope that these new beds will help alleviate some of the swampy areas and attract pollinators and birds. As the native plants are happy in Missouri weather, we hope to support them as they get established, but then allow them to spread and do their thing with limited watering and help. It is my hope that these new trees and garden beds will fill out more and more each year, so by the time the middle schoolers graduate, they can see the impact of their studies and efforts! These are also skills they can bring home with them and into the world as adults. Finally, we were so impressed with the support of the community in making our vision come to life! After a hard couple of years, it is nice to feel like you are a part of a community that cares and supports one another. Earth Science is taught by Heidi Pieroni and Kendal McCarter.

AP English Language

Written by Eric Steere

Most broadly, the themes of AP Language explore how our various circles of experience — the homes we grow up in, communities we are a part of, the faiths that we adhere to — shape our identities and our sense of happiness. These identities evolve through our life experiences, the classes we take, the things we read, and the people we meet. Our identities are in constant negotiation with what Cornel West calls “the funk of life”. With seniors in AP Language on the cusp of yet another transition, our culminating assignment asked students to reflect and look forward through interdisciplinary and self-directed projects using a variety of media. Art-pieces were accompanied by artist statements and descriptions:

STUDENT AP LANGUAGE ART PROJECTS INCLUDED:

“Keep these books” - An argument in defense of the TJ English Curriculum (Essay) A speech on intersecting Jewish-American Identities Art (“two tea pots”) “Identities in transition - Independence and selfsourcing through ceramics (below) Twitter War between Calvin Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt, and Nicollo Machiavelli

“My transitioning musical identity” - Solo-piano recordings and freeverse poetry “Life in transition” - Sculpture, Insulation Foam, Gravel, Clay, Acrylic Paint, Tempera Paint, Floral Wire, Tin Foil, Model Magic, Spray Paint (top left) “[B0X]” - Immersive art installation (bottom left)