Have a Great Summer

Have an exciting but safe summer. See you back at school in August. Make sure to check the school supply lists before you return to school.

American Music

The CIPLC US History class just completed a set of presentations on American music. The nine students in the class were introduced to a wide variety of American musical genres from the past to the modern day, all of which either originated or are strongly associated with the United States. After that, each student made a selection of a particular American musical form they were to research as the basis for their presentations. They had to characterize the musical elements that make each genre unique, identify important composers and pivotal artists, discuss the historical and sociological context of the music's origins and development, mention any controversies or fun facts about the music, and provide at least three audio or audiovisual samples from different artists. The genres chosen, several of which are subgenres of broader categories, included country and western, jazz, blues, disco, ragtime, gospel, bebop, rap, and alternative metal. The presentations were interesting to view and the kids had fun learning about American music at the academic level. Plus, all the songs were great.

Last Updated on Friday, 14 May 2010 11:24

Venezuelan Artistic Culture

The high school Venezuelan History class is working to create presentations on Venezuelan Artistic Culture. The twelve members of the Grade 9 class, all of whom are enrolled in VzHist, were divided into six 2-person teams. Each team was assigned to profile an aspect of modern artistic culture in Venezuela. Dance, Visual Arts like painting or digital imaging, Film, Television, Literature, and Music are to be the subjects of spoken, student-taught lessons that include video or audio supplements. The students will give a very brief historical overview of the artistic expression they are profiling, then most of the lesson will focus on the most recent generation of artists, directors, and performers from the Venezuelan artistic community, roughly within the last 20 or 30 years. The students are expected to include a variety of specific artists rather than to focus on their own particular favorites, so as to give an authentic sample of the artistic culture of the country we are all living in.

Investment Project

The students in Mr. Owen's HS Economics class have been doing an investment project since the middle of the first semester. Each student was assigned $100,000 in virtual money for the purpose of investing in stocks, bonds, commodoties, and certificates of deposit. The students made the choices about where they would invest. Any money that was not invested is stored in a fictional savings account that earns interest similar to what real banks pay, which is usually less than the average inflation rate. The students have been keeping track of their investments, observing how they rise and fall from week to week. They have also been looking up online articles about the companies and resources they've invested in, so that they can get a clearer idea of why their investments lose or gain value. Some students' portfolios have gained value since the beginning of the project, and others have lost value. The class has been doing writing assignments that demonstrate their understanding of why they have earned or lost money during the months of the project. The goals of the project are to encourage students to think critically about their future adult roles as managers of their families' money, and to build a foundation of understanding about how investments are affected by events in the world.

Last Updated on Friday, 09 April 2010 12:13