v Heights Middle School Mrs. Copeland’s 8th graders had a Dec- laration of Independence Scavenger Hunt. Students completed a worksheet with clues when the correct answer was revealed. The winning teams in each class were presented with trophies. Students are learning that history tends to repeat itself and being an active participant in school and life is important. Speaking of participation, many middle schoolers took part in the National Walk Out/Walk Up day on March 14. More than 200 students participated in the National Walk Out, or- ganized by several Height Middle School students. The National Walk Out and a 7th grade study of peaceful protest also led to the organization of school-wide efforts to Walk Up to people and show kindness. We hope to see this message carry through the building the re- mainder of the year. Service is a major component in the IB’s Middle Years Program and our 8th graders have just finished learning about the requirements for the IB culmination “Community Proj- ects”. Students will be working individually or in groups with the support of a staff advisor throughout the months of April and May to apply and evaluate the skills and knowledge they have acquired throughout their years at Heights Middle School by engaging with their community to make it a better place. Students will generate new insights and develop deeper understandings of the world in which they live through an in-depth investigation and communicate their findings to peers. We look forward to seeing how each of our 8th graders chooses to connect their learning to their community. v Fairfax Elementary School As we continue on our IB journey, our planning and re- flection has dug deeper into the Approaches to Learning (AtL). These essential skills are purposefully planned out, and teachers provide learning engagements for students to develop and practice each of the 5 AtLs: social, self-man- agement, communication, thinking, and research. Kids Love Musicals! brought an opportunity for self-ex- pression to our Kindergarteners through a classroom reproduction of The Wizard of Oz. Social skills were de- veloped as students learned to appropriately use their bodies and voices to express themselves through acting within a group. First graders had the opportunity to develop their research skills while comparing and contrasting the United States to other locations in the world. Through studying maps and landforms, students started to explore how people around the world interact with their environments. It’s amazing how much more alike we are than different! Second and third graders explored scientific principles in their “How the World Works” IB units. With the help of a visiting Kent State professor and many of our amazing parents, second graders used their thinking skills to dig deeper into force and motion. Third graders went even deeper while investigating the states of matter and energy conservation. Fourth graders held a fair to demonstrate their understanding of conflict and compro- mise and how it pertains to Ohio history. Students presented their findings in many ways. Some used their communication skills to create display boards and discuss their findings, while others wrote songs and skits to share their knowledge with the audience. The countdown to middle school has begun for our fifth graders. As we begin our final IB unit “How We Organize Ourselves,” the students are integrating self-management skills into opportunities to inquire about energy and motion. Students are working to organize themselves and their materials to make the most of hands-on investigations while also preparing for middle school. MARCH 2018 For more information, visit CHUH.org INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE & STEM NEWSLETTER Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District 2155 Miramar Boulevard • University Heights, OH 44118 • (216) 371-7171 • www.CHUH.org • @CHUHSchools Gearity PDS Capstone Presentations Gearity students and staff were able to host their first capstone presentation day. This was a wonderful day of sharing and learning. Although the day needed to be rescheduled due to a snow day, there were some parents that were able to come and view our presentations. First grade students shared beautiful writing pieces that they did to prepare for their readathon. Along with their reada- thon, where students will collect money for our helping hands fund, students received donations for a Little Free Library on the school grounds. Second grade students shared several projects that they did with Mrs. Hoang about force and motion. They demonstrat- ed their projects and were able to share how their lessons about physical science helped them create their projects. Third grade students shared several labs that they did about energy. Students that came in were able to rotate among stations, while the third graders taught them about different types of energy. Fourth grade students shared the results from the labs that they did with Mrs. Banas about the transfer and transformation of energy. They used solar cars to help them with their understanding of this concept. They also shared some findings about mat- ter with students. Fifth grade students created beautiful projects that they worked on with Mr. Stern in the art class that were focused on African Art. Students researched the art and the tools used to make the art.
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v Heights Middle SchoolMrs. Copeland’s 8th graders had a Dec-laration of Independence Scavenger Hunt. Students completed a worksheet with clues when the correct answer was
revealed. The winning teams in each class were presented with trophies. Students are learning that history tends to repeat itself and being an active participant in school and life is important.
Speaking of participation, many middle schoolers took part in the National Walk Out/Walk Up day on March 14. More than 200 students participated in the National Walk Out, or-ganized by several Height Middle School students. The National Walk Out and a 7th grade study of peaceful protest also led to the organization of school-wide efforts to Walk Up to people and show kindness. We hope to see this message carry through the building the re-mainder of the year.
Service is a major component in the IB’s Middle Years Program and our 8th graders have just finished learning about the requirements for the IB culmination “Community Proj-ects”. Students will be working individually or in groups with the support of a staff advisor throughout the months of April and May to apply and evaluate the skills and knowledge they have acquired throughout their years at Heights Middle School by engaging with their community to make it a better place.
Students will generate new insights and develop deeper understandings of the world in which they live through an in-depth investigation and communicate their findings to peers. We look forward to seeing how each of our 8th graders chooses to connect their learning to their community.
v Fairfax Elementary SchoolAs we continue on our IB journey, our planning and re-flection has dug deeper into the Approaches to Learning (AtL). These essential skills are purposefully planned out, and teachers provide learning engagements for students to develop and practice each of the 5 AtLs: social, self-man-agement, communication, thinking, and research.
Kids Love Musicals! brought an opportunity for self-ex-pression to our Kindergarteners through a classroom reproduction of The Wizard of Oz. Social skills were de-veloped as students learned to appropriately use their bodies and voices to express themselves through acting within a group.
First graders had the opportunity to develop their research skills while comparing and contrasting the United States to other locations in the world. Through studying maps and landforms, students started to explore how people around the world interact with their environments. It’s amazing how much more alike we are than different!
Second and third graders explored scientific principles in their “How the World Works” IB units. With the help of a visiting Kent State professor and many of our amazing parents, second graders used their thinking skills to dig deeper into force and motion. Third graders went even deeper while investigating the states of matter and energy conservation.
Fourth graders held a fair to demonstrate their understanding of conflict and compro-mise and how it pertains to Ohio history. Students presented their findings in many ways. Some used their communication skills to create display boards and discuss their findings, while others wrote songs and skits to share their knowledge with the audience.
The countdown to middle school has begun for our fifth graders. As we begin our final IB unit “How We Organize Ourselves,” the students are integrating self-management skills into opportunities to inquire about energy and motion. Students are working to organize themselves and their materials to make the most of hands-on investigations while also preparing for middle school.
MARCH 2018For more information, visit CHUH.org
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE & STEM NEWSLETTERCleveland Heights-University Heights City School District
Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District2155 Miramar Boulevard • University Heights, OH 44118 • (216) 371-7171 • www.CHUH.org • @CHUHSchools
Gearity PDSCapstone PresentationsGearity students and staff were able to host their first capstone presentation day. This was a wonderful day of sharing and learning. Although the day needed to be rescheduled due to a snow day, there were some parents that were able to come and view our presentations.
First grade students shared beautiful writing pieces that they did to prepare for their readathon. Along with their reada-thon, where students will collect money for our helping hands fund, students received donations for a Little Free Library on the school grounds.
Second grade students shared several projects that they did with Mrs. Hoang about force and motion. They demonstrat-ed their projects and were able to share how their lessons about physical science helped them create their projects.
Third grade students shared several labs that they did about energy. Students that came in were able to rotate among stations, while the third graders taught them about different types of energy.
Fourth grade students shared the results from the labs that they did with Mrs. Banas about the transfer and transformation of energy. They used solar cars to help them with their understanding of this concept. They also shared some findings about mat-ter with students.
Fifth grade students created beautiful projects that they worked on with Mr. Stern in the art class that were focused on African Art. Students researched the art and the tools used to make the art.
v Roxboro Elementary SchoolRoxboro was visited by two IB practitioners on Feb. 26-27. They spent their days visiting classrooms, in-terviewing teachers, parents, students, and district personnel. At the conclusion, an exit meeting was held with Principal Pulling and IB program special-ist Melissa Garcar where evidence was shared and suggestions were given to further progress on im-plementing the Primary Years Program. Thank you to all the parents that were present!
Thank you also to Ditte Wolin, the district’s energy coach! She brought the energy bike to Canterbury, Boulevard, Gearity, and Roxboro. All fourth grade students had an opportunity to experiment with the energy bike. Students had to work hard to pedal the bike in order to make the lights light up. The bike shows how energy can be transferred from human energy to energy that will power light bulbs. This was a perfect way for students to get a hands-on experience with the transfer of energy (a fourth grade standard).
February was busy! Besides having our One School One Book assemblies with Masterpiece by Elisa Broach, we celebrated Black History Month with daily announcements in class-rooms of inspiring people and a student Q&A session with local African-American leaders.
Our students beamed with pride and know that they, too, can change the world!
Our fifth graders rocked the stage with their first annual Solar Idol. Students worked in collaborative groups to create songs and raps filled with facts from their How the World Works planner. They were thinkers, inquir-ers, and creative! The teachers acted as judges and 100% of our students were engaged and excited!
Lastly, Roxboro’s PTA held its annual multicultural event on March 7. More than a dozen families shared their culture with the community. Food, fashions, artifacts were common ways to celebrate each other’s heritage and closing acts of Irish dancers and African drum-ming made the event special for all.
v Canterbury Elementary SchoolCanterbury had quite the final celebration for the One District One Book of Wonder by R.J. Palacio. On January 18, students and their fam-ilies joined together for a fun night of “wonder”-ful stations: therapy dogs; ancestry, slime, math wonders, and a kindness board. Our students were communicators, inquirers, and risk-takers!
Our Kindergarten students got quite the shock when they arrived to school one day in early March. Their classrooms were a mess! The teachers didn’t really seem to care; chaos was felt by many. Some students took charge and started making a plan to get things back to normal. Little did they know that the teachers planned the whole thing as a kick-off to their IB unit called How We Organize Ourselves. Students now understand first-hand why things run better when there is organization involved.
The Creative Arts team at Canterbury is like no other in the district! They met as a team in mid-March to write their 5th and 6th IB interdisciplinary units. Recycling, Movement, and the Olympics were related topics to the concepts of causation, function, and change. All four specialists commented on the rich Science vocabulary that was used by our stu-dents and the power of competition as a motivation to succeed.
Lastly, students in the Right At School after-care program continued their learning with a fun economics project. Students designed, created, and sold handmade items. These little entrepreneurs are business savvy!
MARCH 2018For more information, visit CHUH.org
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE & STEM NEWSLETTERCleveland Heights-University Heights City School District
Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District2155 Miramar Boulevard • University Heights, OH 44118 • (216) 371-7171 • www.CHUH.org • @CHUHSchools
What Is IB? The International Baccalaureate® (IB) programmes encourage both personal and academic achievement, challenging students to excel in their studies and in their personal development. The Primary Years Program prepares students to be-come active, caring, lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them. The Middle Years Program is a challenging framework that encourages students to make practi-cal connections between their studies and the real world.
What Is STEM?STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM students are engaged in designing solutions to chal-lenges throughout the year, encouraging problem-solving skills across all subjects. Students learn by doing, and the solutions they design are one of the tools we use to assess students’ understanding of key concepts. STEM students are groomed to be successful risk-takers and independent thinkers. Boulevard and Gearity are the STEM-focused schools in CH-UH.
Boulevard ElementaryThe second trimester has been a busy tri-mester for students and teachers. Students shared their second trimester capstone presentations. As usual, they were a great success. The hard work was evident in the amazing presentations.
Teachers at Boulevard continue to sharpen their knowledge of STEM through profes-sional development. Teachers worked with educators at the Ohio STEM Learning Net-work. The goal of the professional develop-ment with OSLN is for teachers to gain a deeper understanding of teaching through a Problem Based Learning approach.
Specials teachers were fortunate enough to attend the PD sessions in an effort to continue to make the STEM learning taking place at Boulevard as seamless and transdisciplinary as possible.
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