Calvert-FSK Closing Video

That Was the Week that Was -- Take Three

The week started with a bang on July 4th and got hotter as the temperatures climbed into triple digits. On Tuesday we went shopping at Seoul Plaza in preparation for an Asian cook-off on Wednesday. Did you know that under every layer of banana blossom petals there are smaller and smaller bunches of bananas? It was hard to decide which was better the 8th grade boys' Okinawan fritters or the 7th grade girls' fried rice stick noodles. Thursday was a long day. We toured the University of Delaware and cooled off tubing.

That Was the Week That Was -- Take Two

This week could also be called four days before the Fourth. Oleg did a presentation on his camp mission to the Crimea last summer. On Wednesday Ms. Marlowe and helpers prepared bin dae duk -- savory Korean pancakes and Japanese soba noodles. On Friday we went sailing and had a barbecue with our families.

Is the First Week Already Over?!?

It was great to welcome the seventh graders, and new intern Euna Park on June 22nd. We've only had one Send-off competition -- the scavenger hunt on Tuesday -- because we are just SO busy enjoying math, language arts, geography, technology, Spanish, science and art!

Let pictures tell the story...interns Oleg and Freeman enjoying extra cookies before they go back to work, Jamal sketching his Korean name in art, and Sergio putting on the dog at Center Stage while Yvette puts on the Ritz. On Friday we went to Towson along with all the other MGP programs to officially kick off the summer. Connexions drummers warmed us up, Gayle Danley, slam poetess, returned, and Greg Harrell, the Best Benchwarmer, spoke to us. Ms. Casey, Executive Director, shared the results of the Johns Hopkins University study which confirmed that MGP works! (We knew that!)

Students who participated in the After School Program were delighted to learn that their third KIVA loan has been repaid.

Next week the seventh graders get to try their hands at golf with First Tee, and all of us will enjoy the annual Regattah! and barbecue on Friday.

Summer's Starting June 22nd!

Look at what we'll be doing!

Swing into Summer

Among other things, baseball is all about summer. On Thursday, May 13, returning Summer Scholars and new Summer Scholars went to Camden Yards for a weather presentation (no, it didn't rain because Bardella brought her umbrella!), and a game against the Seattle Mariners.

Mr. B was quite upset that our pitcher was not yanked after giving up 5 runs. However, Luke Scott made up for it in the bottom of the 8th when he hit a grand slam homer to propell us to a 6-5 victory.

Summer will begin for the Scholars in earnest on Tuesday, June 22nd.

Terra Cotta Soldiers

On Saturday, February 27, 2010, we went to the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. to see the Terra Cotta Soldiers from Xi'an. Thousands of these soldiers were found as part of the burial complex of Emperor Quin -- the man who unified China, started the Great Wall, regularized money, weights and writing, and then spent the last years of his life preparing, as the ancient Egyptians did, for the after-life. These pictures show what they look like in China, and what we looked like in DC.

Continuing a Tradition of Giving to KIVA

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than by re-loaning our KIVA funds which have been repaid. Once again, people's generosity in terms of micro-finance is so large that we were unable to fund our first choices. Here is who we did fund.

Lindon Ismael in La Paz, Bolivia, wants to provide low-cost entertainment for the children in his neighborhood by purchasing a trampoline. Teresita's Group provides transportation of goods and people via over-sized tricycles in the Philippines.

Until Next Year (!)...

We wrapped the fall After School Program with sessions on Baltimore. In math students constructed a variety of graphs using demongraphic data -- they realized that Baltimore is NOT a diverse city. In language arts they learned about and read some Edgar Allan Poe -- it was so exciting that some students returned to read and listen to The Tell-Tale Heart a second time. In this photo, seventh grader Sergio Cardoza is channeling the late poet. Seven students had perfect attendance!!! Most students attended more than seventy-five percent of the sessions.

A Busy Week

On Thursday, November 19, MGP Summer Scholars invited their 8th grade FSK colleagues to join them for our third annual High School Night. Ms. Sophia Rudisill, Associate Director of MGP, described the high school lottery process. Ms. McDonald, 8th grade FSK teacher, and Mr. Basmajian, 7th grade FSK teacher, and MGP Site Director, will review the formula with their students.

On Saturday, November 20, two dozen summer scholars enjoyed the DaVinci exhibit at the Science Center. Students were amazed that DaVinci's inventions were so modern and to learn that his self-description as "also painting," even though he is best known for the Mona Lisa, was accurate. The 8the Grade Girls won the scavenger hunt.

Second Annual HS Roadtrip

There are more than three high schools of choice in Baltimore, and it is important that the MGP Summer Scholars get a taste of some of the possibilities. On Monday, October 12th, students from FSK had an opportunity to visit two innovative Baltimore high schools New Era Academy and ACCE.

At New Era students are called scholars, jazz plays between classes, and crew is offered at the Baltimore Rowing Club -- www.newera.net.

At ACCE students go to internships on Thursdays instead of school getting a clear understanding of what the world of work is like -- www.accebaltimore.com.

Remember HS Night for MGP students at FSK will be on Thursday, November 19th in the cafeteria.

High School Night at Calvert

The After School Program started on September 29th and 30th. MGP program students were invited to Calvert School on October 6th to participate in their High School Night where Baltimore independent schools and out-of-the area boarding schools had representatives available to talk to interested students. Eighth grader Symone Jackson and her mother came straight from the soccer field to speak with representatives from RPCS, Oldfields, St. Timothy's (shown here) and City among others. On Monday, October 12th, MGP students will be going on the second annual High School Roadtrip. High School will again be our focus on November 19th when there will be a high school night for us (AND pizza) in the cafeteria at FSK starting at 5:30 pm. Please let Mr. B. know if you will be coming.

Pictures Are Worth Thousands of Words

Enjoy these videos of Summer 2009!

Fifth Week of Summer

Hard to believe that summer's been and gone. 9th graders completed their Radio Days at WLOY; the date on which their feature stories will air will be posted here shortly along with the Closing Celebration video. Enjoy the photo of the entire group from 7th to 10th graders.

Check here periodically for news of happenings during the school year.

Fourth Week of Summer

Students began the week onstage at the Hipodrome where they got a chance to improvise, paint their faces, vocalize, and write and perform in scenes. 9th grade quilters continued to work on their squares, 8th graders their NFTE projects and Radio Days, WLOY residencies, began. On Thursday all students visited the Planetarium in Calvert's Lower School and played water games on the field. 7th graders enjoyed a debate competition. After four weeks of competition the scores gap between the teams is narrowing.

Third Week of Summer

We hit the waves on Thursday, July 2nd at the Downtown Sailing Center for our Fourth Anual Regatta. On Monday, July 6th we went to Philadelphia -- some of us put on the robes of a Supreme Court Justice, most of us ate cheese steaks, all of us had not realized how small the Liberty Bell actually is!

On Tuesday, 8th graders got a Taste of (Summer) Squash and a bit of a workout at Meadow Mill Athletic Club.

Also on Tuesday, 9th graders got to spend the night at UMBC where they learned about life after FSK from the 10th graders and life after high school from a panel of college students. Sunset was beautiful from the library. Afterwards we played a variety of games in the common room. On Wednesday we had a class with a UMBC professor and toured the campus.

On Friday, 7th graders teed it off with 1st Tee of Baltimore at Clifton Park.

Second Week of Summer

All students continued their work, with special emphasis on the arts. 9th graders were rather domestic -- they created various versions of PlumpY (a peanut-based food used in famine relief), and dissected to classify various mystery fruits. Additionally, they moved from creating paper quilt squares to the real thing under the guidance of Mrs Marty Vint, President of the Baltimore Quilters Guild.

8th graders did art with numbers as they began to print showing various types of symmetry.

7th graders are on the verge of completing their personal powerpoints and have started to assemble their cut-paper projects.

Summer Scholars Under Way

On June 22, MGP Summer Scholars got under way at Calvert. This year we are joined by four 10th graders, each has been assigned a cohort of 7th or 8th graders. Highlights of the week included: first Monday pancakes, learning that Spanish and English have a lot in common, building water filters, visiting the courthouse where Judge Berger dismissed the jury because its selection had been entirely driven by considerations of race, dissecting a cow's eye, learning about Philly cheesesteaks, making Plumpy, taking tests, and Team 8's leap to the head of the standings with an extraordinary finish at Friday's send-off. (Hint to team captains -- have representatives of EACH grade at the table with you.)

Swimming into Summer

On May 20th, Calvert-FSK celebrated the success of this year's After School Program and welcomed some of this year's Rising Summer Scholars at our third annual Swim into Summer at Gilman School. We are not counting down until the end of school, but rather, the beginning of the fourth Calvert summer.

On March 28 we went to the Zoo. Last time Ms. Marlowe visited FSK we talked about numbers -- how a milliion seconds is a little more than eleven days, a billion a bit more than thirty-two years, but a trillion is more than 317 centuries!!! Mr. Little joined us with his son and niece. There was a lot about numbers at the Zoo, too. Sampson, the baby elephant, weighed 290 pounds when he was born and has been gaining 15 pounds a week ever since. Giraffes are six feet tall when they are born -- Cyndi watched one swallow all the way down. We watched the penguin feeding and the herring gulls trying to blend in and snatch some squid or sardines -- when the penguins are born they are brown, then they are silver and white, and then black and white. It was interesting to watch the cormorants and gulls "swim" with their feet and the penguins do the same thing with their wings! This penguin seems most interested in making sure the zoo keeper takes the right notes!
It was cold and rainy just as it was for the Newseum -- we hope we have better weather for our Swim into Summer on May 20th.