"Go Fish" to Celebrate the Year of the Ocean
by Byron York and Jeffrey Cullen Dean |
On Friday, April 23, at 10 A.M. in the SLC, the Heritage Music Department will present the musical "Go Fish," to celebrate the Year of the Ocean.
According to music teacher Karen Hurd: "This musical is about a young tiger shark that doesn't fit in with other sharks, because she wants to befriend other fish. Along the way she meets other misfit fish. When she meets the great white shark she realizes she has had friends the whole time."
The tale will be presented by the 1st - 5th grade, and promises "to be quite entertaining," according to Hurd.
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Dive Into Reading
by Mary Grace Gillman & Rachael Hamil | |
On Friday, April 2nd, The Heritage School library was the site of "Dive Into Reading," a reading event in which the entire Lower School participated.
Marianne Richardson, Head of the Lower School, and Jo Dennin, Media Specialist, planned the event. The purpose of Dive Into Reading is "another way to point out reading is fun," Richardson said, "it's a great way to step into reading."
The theme of the reading event this year corresponds to The Year of the Ocean, a school program encouraging marine awareness and conservation. The library was covered in blue paper with cutouts of fish. A cardboard box was transformed into a submarine and students saw an octopus perched at the front entrance.
During the program, the students read for a while, ate a snack, and then their teachers read to them.
"My favorite part is just seeing boys and girls read. There are about 100 kids in here [the library] and you could hear a pin drop because it's so quiet...and they're all reading," Jo Dennin said.
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Campus Life News from our Student Journalists
Dear Parents and Friends,
In today's SPECIAL edition of the Heritage news, all articles are written by Heritage students in Alice Browning's Real World Writing class.
The class has been studying the differences between writing for English and journalistic writing, a process which has included learning how to collect information from primary sources and judge its quality and relevance. To that end, the writing students have been interviewing Heritage teachers and students and have written articles about Spring events at Heritage and the upcoming Year of the Ocean celebration. Many thanks to Mrs. Browning and the Real World Writing class for helping us keep you informed about campus life!
Please take a moment to enjoy these articles written by our own student journalists. |
Groovin' in the Grove
by Greta Pfundt and Cheney Thomasson |
On Saturday, May 1st, The Heritage School will hold its annual auction, Groovin' In the Grove. The event helps raise money for school activities and advancements that tuition alone cannot cover.
In past years the party has had beach and western themes. This year's theme is "back to the basics," to reflect our nation's current economic situation.
"The menu will consist of southern comfort foods such as fried chicken, black eyed peas, potatoes, iced tea, and more," according to Mrs. Rebecca Johnston, who is in charge of the party. Karen Mansour, a mother of two Heritage students, will be catering the event.
A new feature of Groovin' in the Grove this year is the online auction. This allows a larger audience to participate. There is a link on the home page of The Heritage website for anyone, not just parents, to bid on the items. They include a private tutoring session, a cheerleading party, and many weekend getaways to Lake Martin. All proceeds go to Heritage.
A live raffle will be held at the event as well. Two winners will receive either one year's free tuition or a 50/50 cash give away where half will be awarded to the winner and the other half given to the Heritage fund.
This year's logo, drawn by David Boyd Jr., illustrates the theme of "back to the basics." The usual pig is now joined by a family. There will be t-shirts with this logo available in the office for further fundraising.
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Science and the Year of the Ocean
by Laura Jackson and Megan Gruber | |
On Friday, April 23, The Heritage School is celebrating the Year of the Ocean, an event designed to make students aware of the earth's marine environment. Many classes are doing projects related to the importance of the ocean.
Head of the Science Department, Mrs. Gina Watkiss, has been introducing ocean-themed activities to her classroom.
When asked about the year of the ocean, Mrs. Gina replied: "The Year of the Ocean is an international celebration to make the world aware of the ocean and the importance of our environment."
"My Chemistry class has been given [ocean] facts that they must answer," Watkiss said. "Also, we have experimented with the amount of gold in the ocean. I've learned a lot about the ocean this year," she added.
The Chemistry class also explored UV beads that change colors in the sun to demonstrate its power at the beach. Students also experimented with "magic" sand that absorbs oil and other harmful substances to demonstrate ways to help clean up an oil spill.
Mrs. Gina also teaches the ELC classes once a month and has introduced those students to the concept of marine conservation. They have done several ocean-themed projects including conducting bioluminescent experiments with lantern fish, making tooth paste for sharks to teach the children dental hygiene, experimenting with the amount of salt in the ocean, and painting pictures with real sponges.
Watkiss and other Heritage science teachers are making an effort to inform students and faculty about ocean pollutants and what the public can do to help. "The ocean is precious and we've been dumping a lot of stuff in there. We don't realize how important and vital the water is to us," Watkiss said. |
Art in the Ocean
by Lindsey Sherrod and Larry Shaffer | |
Meredith Wilson, art teacher at The Heritage School, has been focusing on ocean related art this year to prepare for the Year of the Ocean celebration on Friday, April 23.
Kindergarten has made a crayon resist drawing of colorful fish in a fish bowl. Students have also drawn fish skeletons, where they use a sponge to make a fish shape on paper and white chalk to draw the bones.
The fourth graders have been working on an oil pastel underwater scene. "I think my favorite project this year was the large oil pastel compositions by the fourth graders. It's clear they put a lot of time and thought into them," Wilson stated.
Second grade has done a scratch drawing with fish and Wilson has been thrilled with their reactions to their art. A scratch drawing consists of a shiny black material that the students scratch with a toothpick. The scratching takes away the shiny black overcoat revealing an assortment of rainbow colors beneath.
Fifth grade has been working on a project making large fish. It is one of the more intricate art projects that involves sewing. They cannot contain their excitement about the two-sided dynamic "Big Fish."
"It was a lot of fun because you could do whatever you wanted with the fish," fifth grader Graham Newman said.
When the project is finished Wilson will hang the fish from the ceiling of the art room. "It was like sewing a fish to life," fifth grader Janey Rose Spraggins stated.
The sixth graders have paired up with the kindergarteners to create an underwater themed coloring book that will be displayed along with other ocean related artwork on Year of the Ocean day.
"I'm a lucky teacher. My students always seem to enjoy making art of all kinds. The ocean pictures have been especially popular, and we've been happily immersed in the subject all year," Wilson said. |
Foreign Language and The Year of the Ocean
by Sydney Sherrod and Will Duke | |
On Friday, April 23, the Heritage Foreign Language Department students will celebrate The Year of the Ocean by displaying projects they have created and participating in ocean-themed activities.
French teacher, Renee Bready, said: "[The Lower School students] are going to make sea animals out of colored foam paper and label them in French and the Upper Schoolers are going to describe the creature and let others guess what is being described."
The Spanish Department is also participating in the school-wide event. Don Brown, Spanish teacher, said: "we are going to decorate the windows with Year of the Ocean themes, put an exhibit on the bulletin board in the hallway and do activities that correspond to the language."
Marianne Richardson, Head of the Lower School, commented: "I love the things that bring the little kids together with the high schoolers. This project does just that." |
Second Grade and The Year of the Ocean
by Carrie Riley and Lydia Powell |
 Ms. Ruth Kinsler and Ms. Michelle Bridges, second grade teachers at Heritage, have incorporated the nationwide celebration, The Year of the Ocean, into their curriculum.
"We [The Heritage School] decided to participate in the Year of the Ocean because this was a way to pull the whole school together," said Marianne Richardson, Lower School Head. The Year of the Ocean was first established by the Nationalist Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1998 to help spread awareness of the marine environment to the world. Second graders are contributing their part in this school-wide celebration by incorporating the ocean into their studies.
The second graders will end the school year with an in depth study of the coral reef. They will learn about its marine life, and choose an organism to study. They are also designing "save the whales" pins and their own whale mix snack to sell.
"I cannot wait to study the ocean," second grader Caroline Dieckmann said. "I am also really excited to help save the whales!"
All profits will be sent in to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The students' donations will help preserve and protect the wildlife, habitats, and ecosystems of America.
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