The AC Blog

Digital Artists Learn to Use a Cricut Machine

Posted on November 17th, 2021 by artwitholiveri

Allendale Columbia’s Digital Art Lab is now home to a Cricut Air Explore 2 and students are loving it. Students taking the Digital Art elective in Middle School, seventh and eighth graders, started off the semester with an intro to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to learn about the difference between the kinds of files each program makes.

From there kids were able to create two designs. The first was a vinyl sticker cut out of permanent adhesive that could be applied to a car, laptop, mug, etc. The second project was to design an iron-on vinyl decal to be applied to a piece of clothing. Each student created designs using Adobe Illustrator and the Image Trace process.

Students then set to work creating two designs. The first was a vinyl sticker cut out of permanent adhesive that could be applied to a car, laptop, mug, etc., and the second was to design an iron-on vinyl decal to be applied to a piece of clothing. Each student created their designs using Adobe Illustrator and the Image Trace process.

Many of the students’ designs needed to be modified, due to the fact that the Cricut is mainly a cutting machine and not a printer (although you can insert pens and draw onto the vinyl), so they learned how to adjust their designs and make them 1-3 colors. Once their designs were complete, we sent their .svg files to the Cricut Design Space for processing. Some designs were returned to Adobe Illustrator for edits, and some were ready to be sent to the machine via Bluetooth.

 

Many students had never used an iron before so we even did a little intro to ironing.

Below you can see some of the steps involved, from sending and cutting out a design with Chloe, Lorelei weeding excess vinyl, and Alex ironing a design on.

The possibilities of creation are endless with this new skill! I am excited to see how these creative students can become entrepreneurs and create items that can be customized or sold.

 

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AC Lunch & Learn

Posted on September 18th, 2020 by acsrochester

Drop in (virtually) for a minute or stay for an hour!

Upcoming Lunch & Learns

June 9th, 2021
Drop in 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Register Now!

 

June 16th, 2021
Drop in 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Register Now!

 

June 23rd, 2021
Drop in 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Register Now!

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Can’t make it to our Lunch & Learns?
Contact us to schedule a personal video chat!

In the meantime, check out these resources to get a feel for life and learning at AC!

• Virtual Tour of Campus
• AC Blog
• Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

 

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Fall 2018 SAT/ACT Prep Class for Juniors & Seniors

Posted on August 23rd, 2018 by cnickels

Chariot Learning will facilitate a SAT/ACT Intensive Class this October. The class is ideal for students in grade 11 that have completed Algebra II. Students currently enrolled in Algebra II are advised to begin their SAT/ACT preparations in the spring. Seniors planning to take the October ACT and/or November SAT could also consider taking this course to maximize their scores.

Full course details can be accessed by clicking here. The priority deadline to register is September 21st. Additionally, all AC students have the opportunity to take the FREE full-length practice tests and should click here to RSVP for the practice ACT on Sunday, October 21 and/or the practice SAT on Sunday, October 28th (both tests run from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.).

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Discovery, Collaboration, and Community in the 2018 May Term

Posted on June 1st, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Every 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.

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Spring Band and Chorus Concert Featured April 30th

Posted on April 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Get ready for some fabulous music on Monday, April 30th, at the Allendale Columbia Spring Band and Chorus Concert. The concert features songs from the Concert Band, Middle School Chorus, Wind Ensemble, Upper School Chorus, and the combined Concert Band and Wind Ensemble. The repertoire includes a good variety of musical genres.

The evening performance starts at 7:00 p.m., and student performers are expected to arrive by 6:30 p.m., dressed in concert attire.

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Blood Drive and Bake Sale Help Red Cross

Posted on April 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

A Red Cross blood drive hosted by Allendale Columbia’s Community Service Club helped save lives on April 25th, surpassing the goal of 21 units of blood with 28 donors and 24 units collected. Several students became blood donors for the first time.

Students in Middle School were too young to give blood, so their Student Council held a bake sale that morning for the Greater Rochester Red Cross, raising $177.75. The money is designated for Comfort Kits provided to victims requiring shelter following disasters that displace them from their homes.

Many thanks to all who participated, including Allendale alumnus Leal Smith ’63, who was assisting on the Red Cross team. Also of note, AC alumna Diana Clarkson ’99 serves as the Chair of the Greater Rochester Chapter’s Board of Directors.

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Save a Life at Blood Drive April 25th

Posted on April 16th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

You can be a life saver! Please consider supporting the Allendale Columbia School Community Service Club’s upcoming Blood Drive on Wednesday, April 25th, from 12:00 noon – 5:00 p.m. in the AC Alumni Gym, 519 Allens Creek Road in Rochester.

CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment using the sponsor keyword allendalecolumbia, or call the Red Cross at 1-800-Red-Cross. In only about an hour, donors can give a pint of whole blood or “Power Red”. A Power Red donation collects the red cells but returns most of the plasma and platelets to the donor. These donors must meet specific eligibility requirements and have type A Neg, B Neg, or O blood.

Those who donate will receive a free Red Cross t-shirt (while supplies last). Middle School students will also support the Red Cross with a bake sale at 10:30 a.m. in the Dining Commons.

 

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Game of Empire Immerses 7th Graders in Colonial Economics

Posted on April 13th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Andrew Ragan, Middle School History Teacher

Seventh Graders recently tackled the “Game of Empire” to immerse themselves in the economics of Colonial America. Imitating Europe’s mercantile system of the 18th century, teams of students representing the Southern Planters, New England Merchants, European Merchants, Colonial Farmers, and British West Indian Planters competed to gain the largest percentage of goods they needed to prosper. Students checked their inventories, bargained with traders from other groups, procured shipping, and sailed loaded ships across the sea to deliver their goods.

Ship journeys were not always successful, however: storms sank ships, pirates seized cargo, and the British Navy stopped many vessels to check whether goods were being smuggled. Apparently, the Navy was open to bribery, as it ended the game with an inexplicably large amount of hard cash. Some teams made a killing when they realized that they held monopolies on certain goods that other teams had to have. Students raced around the room in great bursts of energy during four trading rounds, each begun and ended with a “royal flourish” from a tuba and trumpet player.

After the last round, each team tabulated its purchases and sales and calculated what percentage of goods they had acquired. All the seventh graders “won” in the end by learning just how complicated the mercantile trading system was in the Colonial Age and how much fun it is to simulate that in the “Game of Empire.”

Click here for more photos and video of the action.

 

Andrew Ragan Andrew came to teach Middle School History at Allendale Columbia School after 20 years in educational publishing and living in Pittsburgh, New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, and the Adirondacks. He began writing for young people at Junior Scholastic magazine and has since published hundreds of articles in such magazines as JS, Scholastic News, Disney Adventures, Creative Classroom, and more. After teaching freshman composition at the University of Southern California for several years, Andrew served as the Senior Editor for Disney Adventures Magazine. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Communications, with honors, from Carnegie Mellon University and his master's degree in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California.

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