Grammar School Highlight | TK/K with Mrs. Beatriz Moraza
In this first week of Session II, we have started Introduction to Botany with our Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten class. Our memory work included parts of a plant: leaves, stems, and roots and we observed/identified these on our classroom plants.
The students learned what a plant needs to grow, and planted their own seeds. We are anticipating the phenomenon of our seeds sprouting in the next several weeks and experiencing the miracle of life in our classroom.
Our literature study for the week was The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. It is a story about a little boy who, despite his family's doubts, believed his seed would come up. He shows persistence and patience as he tends to his seed. These are great virtues that as a class we are working towards.
Upper School Highlight | Run Club with Mr. Daniel Pyke
Squinting against the sunlight, a group of three students trudged reluctantly upward. The Folsom hill leading up to Bernal Heights Park had proved too steep to sustain a running cadence, yet each student persisted in a fatigued hike up the punishing incline. The final turn approached. Suddenly, the whole city lay before them, and the bay stretched toward the horizon. Hilltop parks dotted the cityscape. Attempting to maintain the indignation that our hill climb had inspired, several students nevertheless let out a small "Wow," or "That's pretty nice."
Run Club ordinarily involves groups of students circling Precita Park or competing in relay races on the grass. Today, though, at the prompting of their zealous teachers, two groups had agreed to ascend the hill that had overshadowed us each prior week. So far they had made it up the steepest part, but the challenge was not over yet.
The students breathed in the fresh breeze blowing off the water, grasping a moment of respite. After a few seconds, I pointed to the top of Bernal Heights Park, clapped a few times, and jogged forward on a short flat section. To my surprise, the students started jogging as well. Run Club would live up to its name after all. We ran the flat section and resumed our dutiful hike once we had reached the dusty trail that climbed to the park's peak. The wheezing group approached the top. The day's homework assignments, their impending tests, and social concerns all receded for these brief moments as they approached their goal.
Reaching the peak held more relief than fanfare. They had done it. On the descent, the students ran some, walked some, jumped once or twice, and might have even cracked a smile, if only for a moment.