Amana Academy students are fortunate in that they get to visit and explore the most amazing places! These visits help make what they are learning in the classroom authentic and much more relatable.  As part of their expedition investigation, our 7^th grade students visited Jekyll Island!  Not only did they learn a lot about the ecology of our coastline, but they also had fun doing it.  Students enjoyed exploring the marshlands, walking on the beach, discovering interesting fish, and witnessing various species of birds.

Upon their return, they were so excited about their trip that they had to share it with us!  Here are just a few of the interesting things they experienced.  Aside from the canoe trip, Adam Uddin enjoyed going to the beach seeing "a Periwinkle Snail come out of it's shell by humming."  He also enjoyed climbing trees.  Hamzah Khan said the best activity was the night walk on the beach where "there was no source of light except the moon and the stars." "It was very serene."  

In fact, Hamzah said that the best activity "hands down" at Jekyll Island was lying in the sand and staring up at the stars.  Will Sunderland, on the other hand, remarked about the sea pickles they found in the marsh as well as the many species of birds he saw.  Will believes that "Jekyll Island is one of the best state parks I've been to", and feels that others should visit so they too may experience the island for themselves.  

One of the most notable experiences that they all found interesting was the shark dissection.  Muhammed Abdulbari was very impressed by being able to cut open the shark and seeing what was inside. 

Judging from their excitement and the myriad of classes and activities they enjoyed, it certainly sounds like our seventh graders had a memorable and enlightening trip!   

By Hana Arslan

One way to capture the attention of my students is by talking to them about a real life experience that can have a positive impact on their learning.   Last Week, I had the chance to go to the EL National conference in Baltimore, and came back equipped with innovative thoughts and a high level of energy.   I attended master classes where EL principles were fostered and connections were made between various common core subjects.  Character development was also a key element in the opening session that attracted all hearts and attention.

  I shared with them the stories behind the authentic panels that I saw for student's work, where rigor, neatness, project based content, compelling topics, and creativity were obvious.   Imagine my surprise when my students were demonstrating attentive listening!   They were asking questions such as: "did you see the third grade expedition?"  and "what was it about?"  This is when I connected what we are learning in Arabic, and it's alignment with the 3rd grade Science expedition. I started my 3rd grade class today, as usual with the responsive classroom where students greet each other in Arabic. Then, sharing time was initiated as a result of my students' curiosity about the shirt I was wearing which read: "Thinking in a new Direction".  So, along with my humbling TPR skills (total physical response), I described in simple Arabic sentences my enlightening journey to Baltimore.

Students will end the semester as young bilingual researchers talking about the different rocks and minerals in the Target Language, and linking their birthstones to the months in Arabic when they were born.  The end product will be an oral presentation to demonstrate the knowledge they acquired. By doing so, Students would have reinforced and furthered their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language

After the sharing, came "activity time" where students paired up, cooperated, and took risks in standing without touching the floor or each other's arms, (an activity that I learned from my Expeditionary Learning master class)!  They had to communicate, rely on each other, and trust one another to be able to stand at the same time. We had a discussion after a few trials on "Failure and success " and about the importance of collaboration, competing against oneself, and the value of having a friend to rely on.  We shared our thoughts and we reflected on our abilities and ideas, and we concluded that   from any kind of activity, and no matter what the language is, we can always derive principles that make us deeper thinkers as well as high achievers! 

Congratulations to our Amana Crew and students who participated in the Science Olympiad!  Science Olympiad is an academic club where kids interested in science get to showcase their talents by competing in events such as the mousetrap car, boom lever, anatomy, forestry, rotor egg drop, road scholar, and more! 

 

On Saturday February 9, 2013, students from Amana competed against 22 other teams in several events and, as usual, Amana students did an amazing job!  Ry Koopman and Dru Milton placed 8th in "Mousetrap Car". Eisha Baig and Roohi Jaffar placed 11th in "Food Science". 

 

Of notable mention were students Maria Zulfiqar, Zemzem Leema, and Alyssa Milton. These students worked very hard to prepare for exams that tested knowledge of infectious diseases, anatomy, and the rotor egg drop. Also, a special thank you to Ms. Helz for acting as an assistant coach.

 

Our students were beyond excited and appreciated the experience.   Maria Zulfiqar said, "We learned a lot about success and failure. I hope to do better next year."  Zemzem Lemma's expressed: "I figured out how to improve my design for the Rotor Egg drop."   Ry Koopman was overjoyed and commented, "I feel really proud of myself for my first win in Science Olympiad and I look forward to coming back next year."  Amana student Dru Milton believes, "It was a great accomplishment and I'm looking forward to making our design better for next year!" 

Eisha Baig found Science Olympiad to be a great experience and said, "You should join Science Olympiad, it was very rewarding!"

Students interested in joining Science Olympiad for the 2013-2014 school year can look for information posted on the club board late this Spring.  Science Olympiad is open to middle school students in grades 6-8.