LG Winter Intensives!

January Intensives are one of my favorite parts of the year for our lower grades students. After a semester of hard work, often culminating in PBATS, final projects, and other summative assessments, students have the opportunity to dive into one topic of their choice for the week. During intensives they engage in field work, hand on learning, meet with experts and showcase their work, all in a span of a week!

I also want to take a minute to acknowledge that designing and executing winter intensives requires an incredible amount of time and energy on the part of the teachers and other school staff that support them. A major shout out to all the staff who work to make intensives a success!

Below are the the brief descriptions of the intensives as well as some photos showcasing each.

Students had the opportunity to visit the ANHM to study the use of masks in cultures around the world, then create papier mache masks of their own

Did you like our math mosaic project where we found the connection between math and art? Are you crafty? Do you like origami? Wlecome to MARTH! (Math + Art). If you look around, there are connections between math and art all around us! In MARTH, students explored the different ways that math and art are connected through a series of art projects including string art, octo-mandalas, hexaflexagons, and Sonobe cubes just to name a few!

Have you ever been blamed for something that was not your fault? Has your sibling, friend, or classmate pointed their finger at you for an event that they caused? In this intensive students had the opportunity to read, write and share their story in The My Side of the Story Intensive! As a group they collectively refined their reading and writing skills, creating a final piece with their choice of song, rap, or short skit.

Is there a budding actor within you? Have you ever watched the movie adaptation of a book and thought about all the things you would have done differently? Well here’s your chance to do it right. In this intensive students read a short story together. They then had the opportunity to create the film version of the story, starring the students in the intensive!

Select sixth grade students had an opportunity to sharpen their skill level in math in just a few days. They focused on a few important topics to help with what’s on the way in 6th Grade Math.

The brain is our most complex organ in our body. In this intensive students debunked myths, conquered optical illusions and gained a better understanding of this amazing organ that makes you, YOU!

The focus of our cooking intensive was to dial in on concepts, techniques and tips that helped students transform any recipe or preparation into a healthy (most of the time), great tasting dish everyone will rave about! In addition, other aspects of healthy living were covered and discussed. Whether they were a novice in the kitchen or an experienced young chef, they had something for every level. As young chefs, learning basic preparation and cooking skills can help gain confidence and independence, learn and practice basic math and science, expand their palates, build creativity and have fun!

Do you like to Paint, Create and Express yourself through imagery? Using only ONE color and adding a dramatic effect with different shades of that one color students created a Monochromatic painting. They learned the history of the Monochromatic design and culture to create their own masterpiece! Your Masterpiece was displayed in an art show and will soon be in the T-section of the hallway.

Do you want to crush kingdoms and save your people? Do you like to be in rooms full of brilliance, focus, and determination? Are you someone who likes to learn new things - or - improve your strengths? Students got ready to put all of this to practice when they pulled up to the board and jumped into the world of CHESS!

Down with the King was designed for both brand new players and experts in the game. They learned all about the game of chess including strategies, cracking “monster puzzles”, and played the great game in school and out of the building in popular New York City gaming areas

Do you love making money and playing games???? Do you ever wonder why the “wealthy” stay rich?........If so, this was the intensive for you!

By playing Monopoly with old & new twisted rules, students learned about money management, investments for their future and economic injustice in America.

Monopoly combines strategy with a little bit of luck. One bad roll or investment could cause you to lose it all!

Are you a film buff who loves to watch movies and discuss them? In this intensive, students traced the American Dream through film clips and a full movie to examine the diverse perspectives of those who dream of succeeding in America. They answered the questions: If people work hard, are they bound to succeed? Do some have more opportunities or privileges than others, based on their background, race, or upbringing? As they viewed films, they also examined the nature of “Hollywood” representations of struggle by discussing if they are true to life or unrealistic.

Do you like to design, create, and problem solve? Do you learn best through hands on activities? In this intensive, students engaged in the engineering design process by competing in a bridge building design challenge. They learned in depth about amazing bridges around the world, how they are constructed, and what makes them strong enough to last for hundreds of years. They engaged in field work exploring some of New York City’s iconic bridges, built and tested bridges with computer software, drew and designed their own bridge, and competed in a challenge to build the strongest bridge with the given materials.

Arts and crafts meets electronics? That’s Sew Electric! This intensive was all about creating and exploring Electronic Textiles. E-Textiles are a combination of fabric and embedded electronics (like shirts that light up, stuffed animals that sing songs, or even Lady Gaga costumes that change shape). In this intensive, they went over the basics of sewing and circuit design (including the fundamentals of electronics) and then designed and hand-sewed their own blinking cloth bookmark and light-up plush monster.

Are you creative? An inventor? A scientist? Have you ever wanted to invent something to make school more engaging? Or more fun? In this intensive students used “Makey Makey” technology tools to design and build a control pad computer project that will help the BCS educational community. FYI a “Makey Makey” is 21st-century invention kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads and combines them with the Internet. Students learned how to code using “Scratch,” Makey Makey kits, and their imagination to create something awesome!

Do you love taking pictures, but you'd like to step up your game to the next level? Students learned the basics of Photography in this interactive intensive. They focused on skills such as "The Law of Thirds," "Fill The Frame," "Perspective" and "Lighting." They also met real photographers out in the field, and learned some of their techniques. For our final product they displayed the best photos from the week in a gallery walk. See some down below as well!

Are you a writer or do you wish to become one? Do you wish we spent more time on creative writing? Fantasy, fairy tales, drama, poetry, the sky’s the limit! This intensive was for those who wanted a break from essay writing and a chance to sharpen their creative writing skills. In this intensive, they had the opportunity to become a master in the genre of their choice. They also had the chance to tap into their artistic side by adding illustrations to writing. This project based intensive culminated in a mini-publication where students saw published work in print.

Students in 8th Grade January Mastery Support had the opportunity to use a variety of resources to make headway on individualized task lists that catered to their specific needs. With the support of Adam, Lauren and Greg (and each other!), they revised major essays, completed struggle math problems and spent time on IXL.