Archive for category: Blog

Students, ECC-8th, have been working thoughtfully and creatively to put together a show that shares the art-making, process learning, art history study, innovation, inspiration, and civic engagement that happens every day in the art studio. This year’s show, called “Intersections: constellations of young artists seeking change through art,” features artwork inspired by civic action, science, local history and culture, and much more. The show documents how artistic themes and techniques overlap with academic content and across grade levels.

Middle schoolers curated their own artwork throughout the campus. Through the curation process, middle school students were able to collaborate with each other, and students from the elementary grades, to envision an engaging art show for the entire school community. They  started by discussing what elements of museums have sparked their interest or engaged them in a new way. They did this through thinking about past museum visits they have experienced and exploring virtual reality exhibits at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Louvre and the Museum of Computing. Through these discussions, students were able to speak about curation, both as an intention and as a career.

To get diversity in the voices designing the show, middle school classes surveyed lower school classes about the art show and what they would want to see at the opening. Using a mind-mapping activity, middle school students facilitated brainstorming around the question “what would make the art show fun for the school community?”. This prompt elicited responses ranging from different food choices to hands-on activities that could accompany the art pieces. This project-based learning process contributed to the integrated activities that the middle school students chose for the art show opening night.

Inspired by the “For Freedoms” nationwide public art project, 4th & 5th graders designed lawn signs to post along the road adjacent to our school to communicate the issues that matter to us and inspire others to think about issues that matter to them.

Founded in 2016 by artists Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman, For Freedoms is a platform for creative civic engagement. Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s paintings of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms (1941)—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—these public exhibitions and installations spark discussions on civic issues and core values, and advocate for dialogue and civic participation.

In the TBS art studio students contemplated the questions: “How does where we live influence HOW we live?” “How can looking from another perspective help us understand ourselves and others?” and “How does art invite us to engage with our community?” See the lawn signs at 1310 University Ave. More actions to come.

Each year our K-8 students make their way from the “big campus” to the Early Childhood Campus in order to in order to take action and raise awareness in support of various causes. On Thursday, May 31, all of our K-8 students walked on behalf of some of the unsung heroes our students have been learning about in class. TBS students, led by our student Ashoka team, have identified influential changemakers in our local and global communities who don’t get as much recognition for their work as other wider known figures. Each TBS classroom selected an unsung hero to celebrate and include on our student-designed Unsung Hero t-shirts. You can find a full list of our celebrated unsung heroes here. And to continue the social justice and activism conversation with our students, TBS will welcome back civil rights activist and former Black Panther leader Ericka Huggins to talk about what it means to be a youth activist. This partnership was made possible thanks to our 2017 Count Me In funding. Thank you, CMI supporters!

The Magnolia class had the field trip preschool dreams are made of when they visited Fire Station number 2 in Berkeley. In anticipation of the big event, students baked up a yummy batch of carrot cake muffins to give to the firefighters as a show of appreciation.

Upon their arrival at station number 2, the students were greeted by our very friendly and informative guides. Many of our kiddos had a peek inside the fire engine, and took a look at the fire truck and ambulance. Then students got to watch as one of the fire fighters put on all of the gear they wear whenever they go out on a call. The class had a chance to ask questions, and then it was time for a snack and for sharing the muffins we brought. As they were wrapping up our visit, an emergency call came in and the class quickly cleared the driveway so that the fire engine and ambulance could speed away. It was a very exciting end to their visit!

We arrived at Henry Coe Park on Saturday morning, after driving through off and on rain. We ate a quick “camper” lunch, then got geared up for the trip. While gearing up, it started to hail – hard! While the kids were excited to see the hail – some were even running around trying to catch it in their mouths – I was a bit more apprehensive knowing that we were about to head out.

After a big introductory circle, we split into three groups and hit the trail – in a cold rain. All of the groups had three Outward Bound instructors and 7-8 students. Hiking on steep trails with a heavy pack is strenuous, and some of the students weren’t too much larger than their packs. The kids were instructed in how to keep up – how to call “red light, yellow light, green light” to the group to get them to stop, slow down, or go (with anyone who needed being able to call it with no judgement on the person who called it), and that the group had to stay together and take care of each other. My group figured out quickly to put the slower hikers in the front to set the pace. Even so, we stopped every 100 yards or so to adjust gear, drink water, or catch our breaths. This made the two mile hike to the camp site long – we arrived as the sun was setting. We set up camp, made dinner, and went to bed in the cold, wet, darkness.

When we woke up the next morning, everything had frozen (after it had rained for a few hours at night). The tarp hanging inches over my face had frozen solid, and all of the dew was frozen white. We dragged ourselves out of the warm sleeping bags (thankfully OB had provided us with quality gear) and set about making breakfast. We also got a lesson on pooping in the woods (we didn’t see a Porta Potty until the morning of the third day). As the sun came up, everything started to melt. We packed up our wet gear and headed out. The second day was my group’s longest hiking day – 4.4 miles to the next campsite. The trails again were strenuous, but beautiful, and it took a while to make any progress. Some of the kids started to suffer a bit. As their teacher, my instinct was to step in and help out, but the instructors asked me to step back and let the kids figure things out on their own. One of OB’s goals is to get the group functioning independently from the adult guides. To my group’s credit, by the afternoon they were functioning as a competent unit – leading, navigating, taking care of each other, and energized – singing, chanting (cadence!), and figuring out riddles as we hiked. Even the more physically challenged kids were keeping up now – and I and the instructors exchanged glances, surprised that the group had gelled so quickly. With a little prodding from me (“Let’s get to camp before dark this time…”) we made it to the edge of our campsite. First though, we had to do a stream crossing – which involved taking off our hiking boots, putting on camp shoes/sneakers, following protocol, and wading across the slippery rocks through the ice-cold water. We all made it and were at our campsite, which was next to the stream. The kids made camp, dinner, cleaned up, had evening circle, and headed off to sleep. By chance, Mia and I noticed a large shooting star. As we were gazing at the sky, the International Space Station flew by. I thought it might be the ISS, but wasn’t sure, but Randy’s email confirmed it!

We woke again on the third day to another frozen wonderland. Following the same routine, we headed out again, this time doing another two stream crossings immediately (more challenging in the cold morning). We stopped at the Porta Potty, and settled down in a clearing. The students then started on their “solos” where they spent about 45 minutes on their own, away from each other, being introspective, mindful, and writing letters to themselves. I went off, sat by the stream in the sun and blissfully read a book. We then ate lunch, and hit the trail, again a strenuous uphill to our next, and final campsite. We started to see other groups heading to the same group campsite at the top of a ridge. As we entered our campsite, a flock of wild turkeys scattered. We made camp, and headed over to another group’s area for dinner with everyone. After dinner, we headed back to camp, had our evening meeting, and went over responsibilities and the agenda for the final day. We were due back at the park headquarters at 9:30am, so had to wake up at 6:00am.

We woke up in the dark and started to pack up. The instructors motioned me over and told me what they had planned. Since our group was doing so well, it was time to “shipwreck” them. The four adults put on our packs and walked out of camp, leaving the startled and confused kids behind. We (the adults) hid close by (since we couldn’t really desert them) and watched. The group handled all of their responsibilities, ate a quick cold breakfast, packed up, policed camp (leave no trace!) and left on the planned route. We came out of hiding and followed discretely behind. The two other groups also appeared on the trail – heading back, though by slightly different routes. Our group stopped to fill their water bottles at a pond (and purified the water), and continued on.

We all arrived back and started to unpack. After lunch, we had our graduation ceremony, where each student spoke about another student in their group, noting their strengths and what they had contributed to the group. Everyone (including me!) was awarded an OB patch. We had finished! We piled into cars and headed back to school. The trip was great – a nice combination of strenuous exercise and camping in a beautiful natural setting, combined with team building, and learning outdoor skills. The main goals of OB – developing independence and resilience – were definitely accomplished!