On Friday, May 31st the 6th grade met geologist Les Tyrala where the Charles River flows through Hemlock Gorge in Needham. The purpose of their fieldwork was to understand the geologic history of the gorge to educate others about the fascinating ways glaciers and erosion have shaped the land over thousands of years. 

Before proceeding down the trail together, Mr.Tyrala gathered the students to show them the tools he uses in his work as a geologist. He also shared many specimens, including his fossil dinosaur toe knuckle and a container of gold panned in his travels.

Mr. Tyrala's presentation was fascinating, but the heart of the fieldwork was the opportunity for each student to ask him questions about the specific geologic feature they were studying. After extensive online research, they had questions that only an expert geologist could help them answer as they looked together at the rocks themselves. They hiked together to visit each geologic formation- the gorge itself, a cave they learned was actually a grotto, puddingstone rocks, a rock with a fascinating crack...How did the gorge form? How did the grotto along the bank of the Charles River form? What caused large crack between two large rocks?

The 6th graders brought their notes and the information Mr. Tyrala shared with them back to the classroom. There they have been working hard all week to turn the story told by the rocks in the land into a comic book that tells the story of Hemlock Gorge's past.

The musical powers of the under-eight set from our school was amply displayed and felt on Wednesday, June 7th in the Pickman Concert Hall at Longy School of Music in Cambridge. The K-1 and K-2 Rockstars demonstrated showmanship, style and musicality far beyond their years and enough to make older more experienced performers sit up and take notice.  Their rendition of "Steppin'out with the Bare Necessities" by Irving Berlin had the entire audience tappin' and clappin'.  It was truly memorable!

Ms Rebecca Levi, for her farewell concert with Conservatory Lab, had the youngest students in the school give evidence of the enormous growth that they have made since last year. The K-2 Orchestra, which has only had real instruments since the last week in April this year, demonstrated that they  are already  poised and agile musicians and the Abreu String Orchestra astounded everyone when they played Mahler's Theme from Symphony 1.  What a delightful performance given by delightful performers.

We have two 3rd grade winners in the 2013 Children's Bookshop Poetry Contest!  Niko O'Grady Arnold won Honorable Mention for her poem "Bull."  Stella Paige won Honorable Mention for her poem "Spring."  There will be an awards ceremony at the Children's Bookshop at 237 Washington Street, Brookline, on Thursday, June 20th at 6:00 p.m.  The winners will read their poems, which will be posted in the bookshop window.