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An Evening of Discovery - January 31, 2011
On Thursday, January 27, Linden science students spent the evening sharing their knowledge with fellow students, teachers, friends, and family at our annual Science and Technology Fair.
All Linden science students - from grade 1 to grade 12 - complete a project for the Fair. Each budding scientist starts with a question that makes her say "I wonder...", and uses her curiousity, critical-thinking skills and knowledge of the scientific process to investigate her question. Examples of questions asked this year include "Does interacting with dogs lower your blood pressure?" and "What type of hand sanitizer kills the most bacteria?"
Continuing a Linden tradition, grade 8 and grade 11 students are asked to do specific, special projects. Grade 8 students used Lego Robotics kits to build and program a robot to perform specific tasks in response to an external stimulus (e.g., sound or movement). For example, one group created a dog that responded to voice commands like "play dead", and another built a snake that rattled its tail and struck when it sensed a person or object close by.
Our grade 11 students used their knowledge of biological systems to create a new animal from two existing animals, and to create internal and external models of this new creature. The resulting animals ranged from the fearsome weaglerine (a wolverine-eagle hybrid) to the feisty rabunk (a rabbit with the appearance - and defense mechanism - of a skunk).
On January 27, it was time for our students to present the results of their investigations at the Sci-Tech Fair. They were eager to share, and our many Willing Listeners (volunteers from the community who listen to, and give feedback on, student presentations) were eager to listen, learn, and ask questions of their own.
Presenting to Willing Listeners is one way we provide leadership opportunities for Linden girls. Developing their presentation skills and sharing their findings also encourages our students to discover more questions, and to acknowledge the value in what they have to contribute as both a budding scientist and a learner.
See Sci-Tech Fair for yourself - check out these photos, and check back soon for video from this year's event.
Latin Alive and Well at Linden - January 11, 2011
These days, Latin is often referred to as a "dead language." However, as the Town Crier details in their most recent Education and Camps Guide, this is not so at Linden. With a thriving Classics programme and a booming Classics Club, our students are diving ever deeper into Latin language and culture - and having fun doing it.
Here's a brief excerpt from the article:
"But at schools receptive to [Latin] the appeal to students may also have to do with the manner in which it's taught.
"Just ask Alex Habersellner, a Linden student who has taken the subject since grade 8.
"'It's not just learning the language, it's learning about the culture itself, which is what I find fascinating,' Habersellner says. 'That's really why I continued with it.'
"...in addition to the educational benefits, Habersellner credits activities such as Roman feasts, a class blog about Roman culture and interschool competitions for making Latin fun and engaging.
"[Latin teacher, Jenn] Haines says such activities help kids develop a historic empathy that allows them to see ancient Romans as real people while having fun and learning.
"'They love it," says Haines. "I really try to focus on giving them a challenging academic and creative environment."
Check back soon for a link to the full article, when it has been posted to the Town Crier's website.
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