The second annual Primary School STEAM Fest took place on Saturday, May 22, and it was a smashing success! The field and blacktop areas were full of wonderful projects and experiments, such as homemade volcanoes, demonstrations (and detailed explanations) of how waves work, bottle rockets, computer take-aparts, dye experiments, and more!
Because physical distancing requirements in the classrooms presented a challenge when it came to administering Grade 12 IB DP Exams, from May 3-14, students in Grades 9 & 10 participated in Activities Days, mostly off campus. They spent the mornings during those weeks distance learning from home, then had special programming in the afternoons.
Primary School Art teacher Ms. Pullen-Jireh and Design Technology teacher Ms. Genova have worked on a wonderful collaborative project learning through Fiber Arts with students in Grades 2 & 4. During their art classes with Ms. PJ, the Grade 2 students designed and drew their own cute cuddly creatures. These designs were given to the Grade 4 design technology students, who turned the two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional creations using multicolored felt and embroidery threads.
On March 19 and 26, the entire Middle School took part in activities in honor of Black History and Women’s History Months. While on campus students watched the film Hidden Figures; students at home participated in the Women of STEM Design Challenge, led by Jaime Chao Mignano and Sonia Chintha.
On April 5, WIS alums Hana Maruyama '08 and Noah Maruyama '11 attended the Upper School assembly to talk about the podcast they recently created together, Campu. As decendants of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War 2, Hana and Noah's goal with the podcast is to "collect stories—the stories of the people who lived through the Japanese American concentration camps."
In a new unit this year, Grade 8 Humanities students have been learning about the history and heritage of transatlantic slave trade in the colonial Americas. Part of the unit is dedicated to learning how enslaved communities in the Americas built lasting cultural practices, like dances and music, as a way of resisting slavery.