November 23, 2009 – Students of the Week
Congratulations to Meghan from Middle School, Year 1 and Swai from Middle School, Year 2, our Students of the Week.  These students have worked diligently toward their personal goals, consistently give their best effort and strive to make Aaron Academy a great school.  We are very proud of Meg and Swai!
Meghan

Swai

November 17, 2009 – Parent Workshop #1: Behavior Management and Home Reinforcement Systems
The Integrated Services Department held the first Parent Workshop of the year on November 17th.  The workshop was entitled Behavior Management and Home Reinforcement Systems, and it proved to be quite informative and interactive for the parents in attendance.  Much of the discussion was focused on how behavioral patterns can be identified, planning productive interventions, and working with the child to develop a system for reinforcing positive behavior.  The interactive portion of the workshop had parents engaging in various movement activities, and working together in small groups to form both a token economy system and a visual schedule.  This is the first of 3 parent workshops being held this school year.  The second workshop will be held on February 9, 2010, and it will address Communicating with your adolescent and promoting healthy choices. 

November 16, 2009 – Student of the Week
Congratulations to the Aaron Academy Student of the Week!  This student consistently gives her best efforts, demonstrates a positive attitude, and is an asset to our school community.
Congratulations to Tara from Middle School, Year 1!

November 10, 2009 – Field Trip: American Museum of Natural History
Year 1 and Year 2 students visited the American Museum of Natural History (www.amnh.org) today.
Year 1 students visited the Fossil Hall and applied their study of archaeology in a real world context.  They saw examples of how paleontologists had used the scientific process to make discoveries, and compared this knowledge to their study of ancient Mesopotamia, ancient ruins and the use of the scientific process in class.

Year 2 students visited the Eastern Woodlands Hall where they explored Native American artifacts.  Students examined artifacts from the Iroquios Confederacy and compared these to the US Constitution which was modeled after the Iroquois Confederacy.  Students studied the cultural aspects of the Iroquois Nation, including food, clothing, shelter, and art.  They also took notice of the physical characteristics of the Northeast and made observations about how the Native Americans of this area adapted to the land.

Next, both classes visited the Calder Lab and participated in a class on landforms of North America, led by an AMNH instructor.  Students studied examples of topographic and relief maps of varied scale – New York State, the Northeast region of the United States, North America, and the world.  They discussed the application of each type and scale of map.  Year 1 students were able to make comparisons to the landforms they are studying in Ancient Mesopotamia.  Year 2 students focused on the Eastern biome, specifically the mountain and waterway landforms of NY State.  Following the AMNH classroom experience, students toured the museum and examined different examples of landform representation in the exhibits.  They learned about how landforms dictate the habitats of animal and plant life in the diorama exhibits.  Students also studied different examples of globes within the museum and compared and contrasted landforms on different areas of the globe.

November 9, 2009 – Students of the Week
Congratulations to the Aaron Academy Students of the Week!  These students consistently give their best efforts, demonstrate a positive attitude, and are assets to our school community.
Congratulations to Dylan from Middle School, Year 1 and Victoria from Middle School, Year 2!

Dylan

Victoria

November 9, 2009 – Physical Arts with Year 2 students
The Middle School Year 2 students are learning how to responsibly and safely use the strength training equipment at the Vanderbilt YMCA.  Physical Arts teacher John Bracchi modeled correct form and responsible use of each of the weight machines.  Students will continue to integrate strength training into their Physical Arts fitness schedule throughout the year.

November 6-8, 2009 – GLOBE Project Workshop for Teachers
This 3 day teacher training was attended by Sara Fromboluti, Year 2 Teacher.  We look forward to integrating The GLOBE Program into the Middle School Science curriculum in this and coming years.
See The GLOBE Program website for more information: The Globe Project

The GLOBE Program
GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA and NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) in study and research about the dynamics of Earth's environment.
Who is involved in GLOBE?
Announced in 1994, GLOBE began operations on Earth Day 1995. Today, the international GLOBE network has grown to include representatives from 110 participating countries and 133 U.S. Partners coordinating GLOBE activities that are integrated into their local and regional communities. Due to their efforts, there are more than 50000 GLOBE-trained teachers representing over 20000 schools around the world. GLOBE students have contributed more than 20 million measurements to the GLOBE database for use in their inquiry-based science projects.
GLOBE brings together students, teachers and scientists through the GLOBE Schools Network in support of student learning and research. Parents and other community members often work with teachers to help students obtain data on days when schools are not open.

November 6, 2009 – Longhouse Construction, Year 2 students
These pictures were taken of a project in Core Arts that relates to the Year 2 Unit Plan. The students worked collaboratively to create American Indian* dwellings and specifically Longhouse replicas. The teams of students had roles such as materials managers, head architects, and props manufacturers. They had to problem solve with their team and make important decisions like adhering to traditional architecture or designing their own structure.

* The term American Indian is used here as opposed to Native American based on research conducted by CORE Arts teacher Renee Bareno that indicated that polls taken at recent Pow Wows reflected that the majority of this particular demographic preferred that term.

November 5, 2009 – Aaron School 5th graders visit Aaron Academy
Today, Aaron Academy welcomed the Aaron School for the first of three planned visits during this school year.  These visits are planned to support the transition between Aaron School and Aaron Academy.  Each Academy student was matched with two Aaron School student “buddies” for whom they were responsible during the visit.
In collaboration with the Middle School, Year 1 students, the Aaron School students engaged in a variety of activities that were intended to introduce them to the Aaron Academy facilities and curriculum.  First, Aaron School students were each provided with an iPod Touch on which the Middle School, Year 1 students had recorded an audio tour of each of the rooms within the school building.  Following this tour, Aaron School students participated in a Graphic Arts activity in which they used the MacBooks to design a postcard with a self portrait.  We hope that this will encourage communication between the 5th graders and our Year 1 students.  The 5th graders also watched a video, recorded and edited by the Aaron Academy Year 1 students that addressed each feature of the curriculum and all of the classes that the students participate in weekly. Finally, the entire group of 36 students ate lunch together in the CORE Arts room.  This was a great opportunity for the students to socialize and ask questions about the student experience at Aaron Academy.
The event was a HUGE success, and the Aaron School students are very excited to return to Aaron Academy for their next visit on February 8th.  We look forward to welcoming them back!

November 3, 2009 – “Raisin the Roof” with Year 2
As a further extension of the Geometry study of angles, triangles, and polygons, the Middle School, Year 2 students constructed three dimensional shapes from toothpicks and raisins.   They examined not only the three dimensional construction, but also the two dimensional polygons that make up each three dimensional shape.  Special focus was given to shapes or components common in the structures built by the Native Americans of the Northeast.

November 2, 2009 Students of the Week
Congratulations to the Aaron Academy Students of the Week! These students consistently give their best efforts, demonstrate a positive attitude, and are assets to our school community.
Congratulations to Murel from Middle School, Year 1 and Alexis from MiddleSchool, Year 2!

Murel
Alexis

November 2, 2009 Each One, Reach One Campaign

Today marks the kickoff of Aaron Academys Each One, Reach One Campaign. This is a campaign to boost student recruitment and enrich our curricular program by utilizing the resources within our community of parents and families. Each parent will be asked to reach out to two individuals in their personal or professional circles and invite those individuals to learn more about Aaron Academy, refer potential student applicants, or provide a resource that could be tapped to enrich our school program.