Training Brains

On a daily basis, schools across the nation attempt to help students understand how their words and actions have a significant impact on the lives of their peers. Many would expect that helping students learn this important lesson would be simple and straightforward. However, the reality is that the developing frontal lobes of children make this learning process long and complicated. The fully developed adult brain can quickly, effortlessly, and accurately predict the consequences associated with every decision and action. Furthermore, adults can use this information to execute a decision that will lead to a positive outcome. For adolescents, the path to making a good decision is not nearly as clear or easy. Without a fully developed frontal lobe, children must train themselves to slow down and think through the intended and unintended consequences associated with their decisions.

With this in mind, today’s Bullying Awareness Week assembly focused on showing students the many possible roles they could play in a bullying situation. More specifically, students from our Peer Advocates leadership group role-played a situation where a student was making repeated mean comments toward another student during recess. 

The “Bully Circle” was comprised of the target, bully, side-kick, passive supporter, possible bully, disengaged observer, possible defender, and defender. The role-play helped students better understand that anyone who is around a bullying situation is playing a role in the situation. At the conclusion of the role-play, Ms. Mosier encouraged students who find themselves in similar situation to slow down, identify the role they are playing in the situation, and make the decision to become a defender. By taking the time to walk students through the many decisions they face when confronted with a bullying situation, we hope we are training their brains to make decisions that will positively impact everyone around them.

Service Learning at ACDS

Service has always been an important part of ACDS.  Community Minded is one of the four pillars of our Portrait of a Graduate.  In our touchstone, the S in ACDS stands for Service to Others.   This year, we are renewing and strengthening our commitment to service with an additional emphasis on student learning.

Service learning is a thoughtful program of investigation, planning, action and reflection that allows students and teachers to address authentic community needs while deepening their understanding of the world around them.  Each grade has chosen a theme for the year and is entering the "investigation" stage of researching community needs related to their theme.  As they develop and implement their plans for action, the students will share their learning with each other and the community at large. 

Our topics include:

Kindergarten: hunger

First grade: random acts of kindness

Second grade: hygiene and the Chesapeake Bay

Third grade: wildlife rehabilitation

Fourth grade: disaster preparedness

Fifth grade: literacy

Sixth grade: poverty

Seventh grade: care and identification of trees

Eighth grade: trail rehabilitation and maintenance

In addition to these thoughtful and comprehensive student-led projects, we will be developing an all-school day of service in April and we are enjoying occasional opportunities for one-time community service projects as well.   

Third Graders Use Technology to Create Landscapes in Art

The art and technology departments have joined hands this trimester to broaden and deepen the experience of landscape painting for our third grade artists. The students examined famous landscape paintings projected by iPad onto a screen. They paid particular attention to horizon line, depth, style, artist's palate, composition and texture.

As there is nothing like personal relevance to inspire young artists, the students were asked to think of locations that were special to them. The results spanned the globe. They used their iPads to locate and save photos related to their chosen locations, giving each student a takeoff point for planning a landscape painting. They are able to zoom in on their photos to see detail as well as to see the actual colors and realistic land-forms while painting. The landscape works of art are developing into dynamic landscapes.