Keep A Poem In Your Pocket
By Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Keep a poem in your pocket
And a picture in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when you’re in bed.
The little poem will sing to you
The little picture bring to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when you’re in bed.
So - -
Keep a picture in your pocket
And a poem in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when you’re in bed.
When Is Diplomacy Not Practiced by Diplomats? - When it is played by Applewild Ninth Graders by Chris Williamson
I enjoyed playing Diplomacy with the Class of 2008 this winter and having the chance to read (and grade!) the students’ follow-up papers just before spring break. I am grateful to Bob Jones for letting me take a few days with his ninth graders each winter. We play the game of Diplomacy because of its focus on Europe in 1900 fits with the students’ study of modern history in ninth grade.
There are several other reasons we play the game. As I explain to the students at the outset, I want them to learn about the geography of Europe. I want them to understand how geography and proximity to neighbors could inform various countries’ sense of self-interest and consequent decision making. The game also encourages students to understand the concept of “balance of power” and to consider what motivates countries and leaders to act in certain ways. Alliances are a key part of successful play of the game, and experiencing these helps students understand the “tangled alliances” that helped push Europe into World War One. Students also have to learn the rules of the game, and they have to work together to problem solve and determine strategy.
We also play the game to have fun – and to enable me to get to know the ninth graders better. I spend four days with the class at the outset, assuring that they understand the rules (or have the opportunity to do so, at least!), giving them some practice, and discussing some of the ways that the game mirrors the actual outbreak and conduct of WWI. We also read samples from Machiavelli’s The Prince. The students take a quiz, and they identify which of the seven major powers in 1900 Europe they hope to be.
Once the game starts, the ninth graders go back to their regular class work with Mr. Jones. They turn in orders each day before school (often by email) and make in-game adjustments at lunch (assuming I have had time to “adjudicate” the day’s orders in time!). We play a “short game” of twenty moves, which is the equivalent of ten years in the game or four weeks in our life in school. At the end of the game we see if the balance of power has been maintained in some fashion or not, and we take a class period or two to debrief and prepare to write the paper. This year Mr. Gillis invited me in to discuss the papers as written products for part of one English class.
Having invested in the play of the game, students learn very directly about the challenges and choices that countries face. They also learn what it may feel like to have and wield power – and conversely to feel powerless. In our three years of play, Russia, France, and this year Turkey (played by Alex Cummings and Nattie Wilkie) were victorious! My hope, however, is that the real lessons of Diplomacy come from the debrief session and the paper. I ask students to consider what they have learned about human nature and the conduct of foreign policy based on the experience of playing their country in the game. I encourage them to consider concepts such as aggressiveness and cruelty, desire for power, the relative impact of honesty and reliability versus deceitfulness, collaboration relative to isolation, willingness to share power, and the role of gender. Every year I encourage students to consider if there are viable alternatives to war, hoping they will find them. We had a spirited game this past winter, and we certainly had energized discussions in its aftermath.
Science News
Three members of the Science Department provided The Board of Visitors with a view of the Applewild science curriculum through a sampling of some of the labs and activities our students experience. Maura Lyons, Julia Miles and Ellen Schwartz will also explain the rationale for our K–9 science curriculum. We believe that preparing our students for the 21st century requires the development of a number of essential skills including: questioning, problem solving, application of the scientific method, and research and technology skills.
Maura Lyons described the FOSS Modules used in grades K-5, and the YouthinkWell Project that has excited our 4th graders and their parents to raise funds for the installation of wells in underdeveloped regions of Africa. Julia Miles continued by modeling a unit that emphasizes how the skills of observing are used to learn about the world around us. She engaged the audience in an activity involving classification of organisms native to Fitchburg. Her presentation included the display of student projects. Ellen Schwartz recreated a number of labs and activities related to the Periodic Table that 7th grades students engage in. The Board of Visitors had the opportunity to try out a computer-based lab using motion detectors to graph speed, velocity, and acceleration. In addition, our first ever science podcast describing A Most Important Element was presented to our guests.
Mass State History Day by Bob Jones
Over 250 students from all over the state participated in the 26th annual Mass State History Day contest at Clark University in Worcester. Alex Fichera,
Ryan Bennett, Blake Henderson, Tori Gray, Lacey Allain, Emily Bovenzi, Apoorva Vijayakumar, Olivia Trexler, Nicole Kula, Natalie Helmer, Samantha Morrison, Arcadia Kratkiewicz, and Sally Shepardson represented Applewild with seven different entries.
Ryan with his paper entitled The Conflict and Compromise of the Cuban Missile Crisis: The Longest Thirteen Days in American History, received an Honorable Mention award and also received a certificate from the National Archives for the best use of primary source documents in his category.
Nicole received a special award from the USS Constitution Museum for the best entry in naval or maritime history for her documentary The Invisible Army: Women in the Military During World War II.
Natalie, Samantha, Arcadia, and Sally became the fifth entry in Applewild's time with history day to secure a place in the national contest receiving medals for second place for their performance A Breeding Ground For Conflict: The Lowell Mills in 1850. They also won the prestigious NEHTA (New England History Teachers Association) award for best entry in New England History -- and there were many.
Congratulations to these young people for all of their hard work! They represented themselves, their families and their school with pride and class!
Winter Sports Banquet by Kyle Gillis
Approximately sixty-five students and family members attended the Upper School's Winter Sports Banquet on April 3rd. At the banquet, the coaches and instructors from the Varsity and Junior Varsity Boys' and Girls' Basketball teams, as well as the Non-Travel/Wall Climbing contingent honored their teams with anecdotes about the season and the individual players and climber exploits. Everybody enjoyed the pizza, snacks, and drinks; much of which was was provided by generous donations from several families. Thank you, parents!
The highlight of the evening was Mr. Whitelaw's emotional tribute to his captains, Marny Stankiewicz and Laura Robertson, which caused a few eyes to fill.
Random Acts of Kindness by Erica Hager
A favorite activity in advising groups is performing Random Acts of Kindness around campus. Groups are currently doing these. We began this last year, and both kids and teachers felt that it engendered great positively and spirit around the school. Below is a sampling of what the kids decided to do for our community.
Some 7th graders are helping the kitchen staff set up for 2nd lunch this coming Wednesday The kitchen will be busy because of the Board of Visitors event.
One group made 100 "peace" signs and is going to anonymously put one on each locker. They will be explaining their message of peace during lunchtime announcements.
One group is making it a point to say hello to fellow students and ask how they are doing during the week.
Some students have been cleaning white boards and hand sharpening the many colored pencils in the Geography room.
One group reshelved books in the Info Center.
One group cleaned boards, cleaned graffiti on desks, emptied pencil sharpeners, and picked up loose paper in the hallway.
One group went to the Marshall Building and supervised lunch tables for teachers, giving them lunch off.
More groups are planning their Random Acts of Kindness. Stay tuned!