Host Families Needed for Authentic Cultural Experience
Posted on June 7th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School
Looking for an authentic cultural experience?The AC Center for Global Engagement and Rochester Global Connections is looking for host families for two weeks in August! From August 5th – 19th, AC Global Connections Leadership Academy will have 13 Iraqi students on campus to work with our students on leadership and civic engagement. These Iraqi teenagers have been selected by World Vision and the US Department of State as being the most promising future leaders of their country. They will be in the Leadership Academy weekdays from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and our wish is that, during the evenings and weekends, the host student gains an authentic cultural experience by participating in family activities. While this is a volunteer experience, it is an extremely enriching multi-cultural opportunity for both your family and the host student and creates a life-long friendship. If you, or anyone you know, are interested in finding out more information about your family hosting a student, please contact hospitality@rocglobal.org or abaerharper@allendalecolumbia.
Posted in: Centers for Impact, Eleventh Grade, Global Engagement, Highlights, LS Birches, MS Birches, Ninth Grade, Partnerships, Tenth Grade, The Birches, Twelfth Grade, Upper School, US Birches
Join Us at Seabreeze!
Posted on June 5th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School
Join us at Seabreeze Amusement Park next Tuesday, June 12th, rain or shine! The water park will be open from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. that evening, and rides will be open from 6:00 -10:00 p.m. Please note that parents must accompany their children, as supervision is not provided.
Tickets are $19.00 and can be purchased from Lisa Shearing in Admissions until Monday, June 11th, at 4:00 p.m. Children age 2 and under are free. (Tickets will NOT be available for purchase on Tuesday.)
May Term Produces Authentic Learning – Part 1
Posted on June 1st, 2018 by Allendale Columbia SchoolEvery year at the end of the spring semester, Middle and Upper School students at Allendale Columbia complete their usual curriculum and begin May Term. May Term exists to provide educational opportunities outside of the normal structures of the school year to support intellectual discovery, encourage collaboration, and foster community involvement.
Here are some May Term highlights so far this year:
- Students learned about honey bees, built a beehive, planted flora that bees love, and installed a starter colony of bees at the school garden in the “Buds and Bees” course led by Mrs. Guzzetta and Mr. Costanzo. Students will continue to monitor the hive and harvest honey in the fall.
- A panel of judges from the AC Kitchen and maintenance evaluated student culinary creations in a Master Chef-type competition, with students presenting the science behind the creation of those food items in the “Science of Cooking” course led by Ms. Crosby and senior Gio Martino.
- In “Human Impacts on the Environment”, AC students worked with students from the World of Inquiry School 58 at a Water Quality Summit in Rochester to understand the Genesee River ecosystem, which was featured on WROC and WXXI. Mrs. Lisi and Mr. Godkin led this session.
- In “Life Underwater”, students explored the flora and fauna in Corbett’s Glen with Mrs. Guzzetta.
- Students visited the Women’s Rights Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls as part of “Nevertheless, She Persisted” (above) with Mr. Neeley
Other topics included:
- Positive Psychology
- The Great Outdoors
- Console Wars: The History of Video Gaming
- Be Here Now: Mindfulness as a Practice
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- What would Susan and Frederick Think? The Legacy of Rochester’s Agitators
- Muse: Making a Magazine
- Bilingual Theatre
- Building, flying and using drones for media production
- Nicaragua
- Music with Kids
- Confidence & Courage: Dare to Show Up, Be Seen, & Be Brave
- Wheelin’ Through Rochester’s History
- Stigma and Mental Health: Issues and Interventions
- Ornithology Science and Art
- Ableism
- Exhibition Night Planning
- Grow Your Own Food
- Social Impact Filmmaking
- Day Trading and Cryptocurrency Lab
- Making Community Service a Way of Life
- 2019 College Workshop
- The AC Genome Project
- Innocence and Guilt: Learning about the Law
We’ll have additional updates as May Term progresses. Everyone is also welcome to participate in an interactive May Term Exhibition Night where students will discuss their projects on Thursday, May 7th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Posted in: Centers for Impact, Eighth Grade, Eleventh Grade, Entrepreneurship, Global Engagement, Highlights, Invent, LS Birches, Middle School, MS Birches, Ninth Grade, Partnerships, Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, Tenth Grade, The Birches, Twelfth Grade, Upper School, US Birches
Experience May Term at Exhibition Night
Posted on June 1st, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School
One of the highlights of May Term is our culminating event called Exhibition Night. Each May Term session creates an interactive exhibit with which attendees can participate. Experience exhibits spread across the entire first floor of our school, inside and out. Check out our newest residents in the apiary built during May Term, and taste some of the delicacies created by the Science of Cooking class that investigated the chemistry of cuisine.
This year we will share our learning and experiences on Thursday, June 7th, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. We hope you join us to learn more about the incredibly innovative work happening during May Term. All Middle and Upper School students are required to attend this integral part of the learning experience. For students, this is a dress-up occasion. The Tom Wahl’s food truck will be in attendance for any families who wish to purchase dinner or snacks as they experience the exhibits! (more…)
2nd Graders Create “Noun Town” Music Video
Posted on May 29th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School
by Jennifer Truong, Lynn Grossman, and AC Second Graders
In studying parts of speech, second grade students at Allendale Columbia School imagined a fictional town where nouns, verbs, and adjectives come to life. We combined our love of music and singing with our “Noun Town” creation to write a song and make a music. Throughout this project, we were reading and writing and learning about music form, beats, rhythm, song writing, rhyming words, syllables, story boarding, common nouns, proper nouns, verbs, adjectives, population, 3-digit numbers, symmetry, ROYGBIV (the colors of the rainbow), teamwork, creativity, green screen effects, editing, parodies, and more! We even got to experience what it’s like to be a recording musician!
You can watch the Facebook Live video of the premiere on May 29th at 10:00 a.m. here:
Do you want to know more about the making of “Noun Town”? View the slides and photos here:
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Jennifer TruongJenn, awarded with AC's Virginia and Fred Gordon Chair in Elementary Education, has been teaching for almost 15 years and is entering her seventh year at Allendale Columbia. She has attended and facilitated several professional development courses to improve her pedagogy and influence the pedagogy of colleagues, understand how a young child’s brain learns best, and implement best practices in diverse classroom settings in the Rochester area, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Reading, both from the State University of New York College at Geneseo. |
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Lynn GrossmanLynn Grossman specializes in elementary general and instrumental music education. She studied bassoon performance and music education at the Eastman School of Music where she earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, and she taught K-2 music in the East Irondequoit School District for eight years. Lynn is the President of the New York Chapter of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (NY-GIML), which provides professional learning opportunities to music educators. She has co-presented her work in the US and the UK and is co-author of a chapter in Envisioning Music Teacher Education (Rowman and Littlefield). She enjoys professional collaboration and research in music education and enjoys teaching music to AC’s Pre-Primary and Lower School students! |
Posted in: Highlights, Lower School, LS Birches, Second Grade, The Birches
Strawberry Breakfast Delights an Appreciative Crowd
Posted on May 25th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia SchoolA long-standing tradition at Allendale Columbia School, Strawberry Breakfast always draws an appreciative crowd as we kick off the Memorial Day weekend. In fact, the audience has grown to the extent that it’s held in the Gannett Gym for greater accessibility, and it’s streamed live on the internet.
The expected traditional pieces, such as the Maypole Dance, Sword Dance, and the “Inch by Inch” song by second graders still enthralled. See the entire agenda below, and click here for more photos.
Former AC parent Mitzie Collins again joined our ensemble for the Maypole Dance. Mitzie created the recordings that have been used for the dances at Strawberry Breakfast for over 30 years. She has a long-standing career in music performance and research, teaching music history and hammered dulcimer at the Eastman Community Music School.
Strawberry Breakfast concluded with…strawberries and donuts!
Agenda
Greeting
Head of School Mick Gee
Welcome
Sophomores Fiona Lutz and Roxy Reisch
“Good Cheer”
Upper School Select Chorus
Processional Chain
Featuring AC Fourth Graders
Crowning and Pinning of Seniors
AC Sophomores
“Now is the Month of Maying”
Upper School Chorus
Bulaklakan
AC Fifth Graders
Circle Dance
AC Third Graders
Simple Gifts
Middle School Chorus
The Sword Dance
Sophomore Students
Music performed by Upper School Band and Mitzie Collins
“Garden Song (Inch by Inch)”
AC Second Graders
The Maypole Dance
Sophomores Students
Music performed by Upper School Band and Mitzie Collins
When You Believe
All Strawberry Breakfast Performers
Closing Remarks
Sophomores Fiona Lutz and Roxy Reisch
Senior Recessional Chain
Featuring AC Fourth Graders
Posted in: Alumni News, Fifth Grade, Fourth Grade, Highlights, Lower School, LS Birches, Middle School, MS Birches, Second Grade, Tenth Grade, The Birches, Third Grade, Upper School, US Birches