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Kellie Moore one of a few educators across the US piloting innovative project
Big History Project at CHS Explores the Universe and Our World's History Across All Subject Areas
Today we have more information available to us on our phones than was available in all the great libraries of Alexandria. How do we decide what claims we can trust? Big History, a class at Coronado High School taught by Kellie Moore, teaches students to examine their intuition, looking at the authority, evidence, and logic of claims across disciplines and scales. Students learn to apply a thoughtful, consistent, and rigorous approach to engaging with new ideas and information and using evidence to construct effective arguments. Everything has a history: each person, plant, animal and object, our planet, and the entire universe.
The Big History Project is dedicated to fostering a greater love and capacity for learning among high school students. Bill Gates and David Christian started this project with a goal to get big history taught to as many students around the world as possible.
Christian was influenced by the Annales School, a group of early-20th-century French historians who insisted that history be explored on multiple scales of time and space. Christian had subsequently divided the history of the world into eight separate "thresholds," beginning with the Big Bang, 13 billion years ago (Threshold 1), moving through to the origin of Homo sapiens (Threshold 6), the appearance of agriculture (Threshold 7) and, finally, the forces that gave birth to our modern world (Threshold 8). Click here for Christian's TED Talk video on "The History of Our World in 18 Minutes."
CHS was one of the original pilot schools for the Big History Project. The high-school course links insights across subjects into ambitious narratives. The units begin with the Big Bang and shift to lesson plans on the solar system, trade and communications, globalization and, finally, the future. A class on the emergence of life might start with photosynthesis before moving on to eukaryotes and multicellular organisms and the genius of Charles Darwin and James Watson. A lecture on the slave trade might include the history of coffee beans in Ethiopia.
Click here for a recent article on Bill Gates and Big History from the NYT Magazine Education Issue. A version of this article appeared in print on September 7, 2014, on page MM30 of the New York Times Sunday Magazine with the headline: "Everything Is Illuminated."
Every Parent Must Complete the Federal Survey Card
Would you like your child to have better school equipment and textbooks? Would you like it if the federal government gave money to our schools to provide better educational tools?
Parents of school-aged children can make a difference by completing the Federal Survey Card, which will be sent home with students this Wednesday, October 1st and must be returned the very next day on Thursday, October 2nd. By completing this simple card, your child will have the opportunity to receive much needed supplies, equipment, and services.
Around this time each year schools send home these "federal survey cards" and ask parents to complete the card and return it promptly. The federal survey card must be signed by one parent. Schools are required to have cards for all students, regardless of a parent's occupation.
Schools do this as part of the procedures of the Federal Government in order to obtain necessary funds for students. Schools need the information in order to qualify for these funds, which account for a substantial portion of their budget.
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Great News about Class of 2010 CHS/CoSA Alum Michael Silberblatt
Michael Silberblatt (left) stepped into the role of Edmund in King Lear at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Wednesday. Michael is currently understudying that role, but received the news that he would be on stage the day before. The theatre is one of the best Shakespeare theatres in the US. The character Edmund has the famous "Nature, thou art my goddess" speech in Act 1 and is one of the great Shakespeare villains.
This is a great accomplishment for Michael, who is a CoSA/CHS graduate from 2010. Michael's success is proof that our CoSA students are not just "dabbling" in the arts in their post-high school lives, but are actually making careers from the learning they receive in CoSA's Musical Theatre and Drama department. In the past two years, CoSA Musical Theatre and Drama students have won spots in the National Finals of the English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center Theatre in NYC. Since 2010, four CoSA Musical Theatre and Drama students have won coveted slots. Only 15 actors are chosen each year from a field of over 6,000 applicants at the Young Arts National Competition in Miami, FL. CoSA Musical Theatre and Drama is more than a "drama department." CoSA has become an institution that sends theatre students to the "Big Leagues." The proof is in the pudding. |
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Happy! the Movie is a Fun & FREE Event for the Whole Family
Sunday, October 5th at the Lamb's Players Theatre
Coronado SAFE & The SAFE Coalition present:
HAPPY: A Community Movie & Discussion Night
Cultivating Happiness for Total Life and Family Fulfillment
Coronado SAFE will be hosting a community event that explores and redefines the meaning of true happiness. Guests are invited to experience the award winning documentary "Happy" and join in on a post-movie discussion that will provide insight on the science behind the perception of happiness and highlight specific tips and tools to implement these ingredients into every life. This event is free for all ages 11+. But register now because seating is limited.
Sunday, October 5, 2014 from 6:00 - 8:00pm
Lamb's Players Theatre at 1142 Orange Avenue in Coronado
FREE (ages 11+) -Seating Limited
Register Online: www.CoronadoSAFE.org
Make it a movie night for the whole family! Participants may register their children (ages 6-11) for a screening of "Happy Feet" playing at the same time at Martial Arts America. To register for this event, click here.
For more information on Coronado SAFE, visit our website at CoronadoSafe.org.
SPONSORED BY REAL LIVING NAPOLITANO REAL ESTATE
Facebook Post can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/CoronadoStudentandFamilyEnrichment
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A weekly publication produced for the staff of Coronado Unified School District and the Community of Coronado by Jeffrey P. Felix, Ed. D., Superintendent of Schools
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