The AC Blog

May Term Produces Authentic Learning – Part 1

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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Knowledge for College Moved to April 25th

Posted on April 20th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Learn how to approach life after high school with the Knowledge for College Program, rescheduled for Wednesday, April 25th, at 7 p.m. in Allendale Columbia School’s Curtis Performance Center (CPC).

This event is an excellent opportunity for students and parents to learn about the College Advising Program at AC and to become educated about the current college admission landscape.  The program includes a panel of college admission counselors who will offer advice to families during these pre-college years and answer questions about the college search and application process.  For handout and cookie purposes, please click here to RSVP (please submit a new RSVP for the rescheduled date).

AC families are welcome to bring friends from other school communities to this program.

 

Kristin Cocquyt Unlike most of our peer schools, we have a dedicated full-time college advisor. Kristin Cocquyt's primary focus is to support, guide, and advise AC students on their college search and application process. She has been in the field of education for 13 years and has visited over 160 colleges, giving her a solid basis for recommending colleges that are great matches for our students. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Hamilton College and is a member of both the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling and the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

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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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