Village News

Under the twinkling lights party goers wandered the enchanted forest, feasting on magical bites, drinking potions, and casting spells in hopes of winning prizes.

From Snow White, to forest elves, to horned deer people, the Village party goers arrived in fine fantastical form. There were class snack services, margarita and tea party invites, and a year’s supply of Ike’s sandwiches to be won. A marvelous time was had by all Villagers at the Enchanted Forest.

And in the end, at final tally, we raised over $20,000 to support our children’s education. Thank you to the Auction Team for their tireless efforts to make this a memorable evening, and to all of our wonderful community for your support.

By Amilia, Village School Parent

Our second graders are officially engineering geniuses — at least, that’s the conclusion perpetuated by my proud-mom-bias. Last month, in a culmination of their one-month STEAM study on structures, the Surfin’ Second Graders and Wise Watermelons presented their popsicle stick bridges for strength testing in front of the entire school and throngs of excited parents.

For those of you new to Village, our second grade curriculum consists of a unit on Structures. Although science and engineering is the focus, the unit incorporates geography, art, reading, writing, public speaking, teamwork and social emotional learning. It really is a classic example of cross-disciplinary, project-based learning.

Students begin with a study of bridges. They learn about the different types of bridges, how to identify them, their design and structural integrity and the pros and cons of each. They visit the Tech Museum to learn about roller coaster design. Their focus then moves to structures around the world. Students bring in examples of structures that are meaningful to them, their families or their cultural heritage. In class, they arrange these structures on the wall by continent to get a view of aesthetics and design from around the world. They each pick a structure to research in depth, creating both a written report (showcased to parents during a publishing party) and a slideshow (presented complete with microphone and movie screen) in front of their classmates. Finally, students study science and engineering, learning about different materials and their properties, and about shapes and which create stronger and more stable structures. They are visited by an architect (also, a former Village parent), who discusses this topic in more depth and — as a prequel to their popsicle stick bridges — the students endeavor several challenges to build towers and other structures out of various classroom items for strength and stability. Finally, just a couple of weeks before the 100th day of school, students are presented with their 100 popsicle sticks to be used to build a bridge of their choice using only glue. The goal? To support 50 pounds of weight for at least 5 seconds!

Although some bridges survived and others didn’t, all of these students triumphed. Their pride and bravery were inspiring. Their joy at each others’ successes, and their empathy for those whose structures fell short of the 50 pound mark, were touching. And their love for their friends, teachers and this wonderful learning community was palpable. I felt so grateful to be a part of the experience.

A huge thanks to Teachers Chris and Elizabeth for their energy and enthusiasm. They were as excited as their students on Bridge Strength Testing Day!

Spring 2018

Not the mission project you remember: Our 4th grade students were assigned a portion of the mission grounds to research. They built a 3 dimensional model and programed a Dash Robot to negotiate their model. Some groups were assigned the orchards, some the actual mission structure, some the gardens and so on. The Dash Robot then moved about the map on a student-programed route stopping at programed spots. The robot then delivered a student-created script describing the unique features of the location on the map. The individual maps were then combined to create an entire 3D mission grounds with multiple Dash Robots moving about the programed routes and giving tours. During this complex, multi-day learning exercise every student found an access point to engage in the learning. Some students found their level of expertise in building the map layout, some in building the 3D structures, some in programing the robots, some in conducting the necessary research – every aspect required students to work collaboratively and problem solve in a real life context on a project they were all connected to. Every student found a way to be heard and valued.

Teachers are pioneering a vital shift in education, being re-energized by the level of student engagement and their role in igniting the fire and passion in students that results in real, honest, purposeful, meaningful and contextual learning. Teachers are communicating this passion and their colleagues are listening and adopting. The purposeful use of technology allows students to work in a reality that is contextually appropriate to their lives and virtually limitless.

By Amilia, Village Parent

I like to consider myself a world traveller. I love to visit new places where the language, culture, food, geography and general way of doing things are different. But, despite a good deal of experience on the global scene, the second graders at Village have me beat on at least one intriguing measure. Although I have visited a fair number of countries, I have certainly never created my own.

Yes, you heard me correctly! Our second graders created their own countries, complete with constitutions, laws, national flags, currencies and even national anthems. What sparked this exciting undertaking? 

Well, our second grade teachers, Chris and Elizabeth, started with a unit on Government. Students learned about how our government is structured, from our school, local (city) and state governments right up to our national government. They learned who the current people in charge are (president, governor, mayor, etc.), about the three branches of government, about how we vote in elections, about rules and laws and why we need to follow them. They studied government jobs — police, fire, teachers, librarians, park rangers, etc. — and even took a field trip to Campbell City Hall to meet some of these government workers, seeing firsthand where they work and how their offices are structured. 

While at city hall, students toured the police station, quietly observing the 911 Call Center, and more boisterously exploring a fully-loaded police car! The most memorable part of this field trip, though, was when students had the opportunity to conduct a mock city council meeting. They were assigned parts — City Council members, Secretary, Fire Station Chief, Police Chief and concerned community members — and given an agenda item to debate, ‘Should the city spend available funds on 2 new fire trucks or 5 new police cars?’ It was a delight and surprise to see how creative and bold our 7 and 8 years olds have become, and how thoughtfully they were able to consider and analyze the issue at hand. All voices having been heard, the ‘mock’ City Council member voted and passed a motion to purchase the police cars, rather than the fire trucks.

In past years, this is where our second grade unit on government would have concluded. But, not this year! Our teachers discovered a delightfully tongue-in-cheek, but informative, book about, How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt and decided that, indeed, that is what our second graders should do!

And so, their foray into government and all of its institutions culminated in this final project — to create their own countries, complete with a name, a population, a location, a government, a constitution, laws, an economy, neighbors, a flag, currency, a national anthem, national holidays, etc. In full disclosure, students only had to choose a handful of these elements to develop, but the results were a dazzling array of interesting, creative, and often funny lands, and a wonderful insight into the thoughtful and honorable citizens whom we are raising… not to mention, a host of new and exciting places to add to my bucket list of global travel destinations!

Here are just a few of the many creative and inspired countries that our second graders envisioned:

• The Kingdom of Donuts, where the citizens are donuts of all different colors and types, the language is called ‘donya’ and whose neighbors include the Republic of Cupcakes and Cookie Land
• Empire of Vikingland, whose currency is in denominations of the lucky number 7, the President is chosen by Ro Sham Bo, the capital city is Hawking (named after famed physicist Stephen Hawking), and there are absolutely no guns allowed. 
• Candyland, whose people are only a few inches tall and where everything is made of candy
• Circus Land, where every citizen 10 or older must work in the circus once per month and the day cotton candy was invented is celebrated as a national holiday
• United Gabes of America, where everybody is named Gabe and you must have President Gabe’s permission to use the restroom
• Drawing Land, which is ruled by King Mateo and is the only monarchy created by the second grade class
• Ultraland, an island in the Pacific Ocean where there is free housing and free education for all. They also manufacture tree houses as their primary export.
• Costanzoe, which is the biggest and most powerful country in the world and whose land is under great threat of super volcanoes
• Pokeland, a republic located on a planet called Pokeworld. Leaders are voted into power and citizens are not legally allowed to use weapons.
• Loveable Land, where there are no laws and red roses everywhere
• Super Trio, named for a combination of the student’s favorite superhero (Superman) and favorite number (3), where everybody over 4 is required to go to school and you are not allowed to swim in a pool unless you are 6 years or older.
• L Island, where the most important law is that you cannot hurt anybody or use weapons.
• Baile, which is an island country known for its dancers, where everybody is welcome and everybody has freedom of speech. Pomegranates are the most popular produce and, by law, all citizens must respect each other. Also, all young people must go to school, but can attend any school they choose.
• Beachside Land, whose population of 900,000 all have equal rights
• Living Joy, located in the student’s living room. No pets are allowed.