Middle School Exploration Projects

The usual field trips that are a part of the Middle School multidisciplinary workshops and exploration were cancelled due to COVID this year. Our resourceful Middle School faculty created their own creative workshops to offer to their students on the two days of the Field Trips. Wendy sent in a   photo of her Zoom session - Painting with a twist.  Each student had different items at home. Most had a variety of colors, brushes, and a canvas. I had a base painting to work with. I gave liberty to choose their own inspiration or follow along. She said they worked for about 1.5 hours and painted and chatted. It was so All enjoyed a relaxing creative painting experience!Here's the list of the other workshops, Wouldn't it be fun if parents could participate! 
 
Karaoke Krush – Abha
No materials needed-  come have fun, sing your heart out… or just listen to others!

Painting With a Twist – Wendy
All you need is a few colors of acrylic paints- can vary, a smaller and larger paint brush, and a canvas or paper (8x10 or larger).  This will be a 1.5+ hour session, so sign up and stay the whole afternoon!

Visit to Senegal – Mike
A quick summary of maps, ethnic groups, languages; then slides, slides, slides, followed by music by Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal.  All that’s needed are your eyes, your ears, and your interest!

Dramatic Readings – Reem
During this session, we will turn the written word into dramatic readings. Pick your favorite speech, song, poem, or book from a page. Or for a fun challenge, select the most boring and dry written work you can find. We will practice the use of our voices, intonation, speed, projection, and more - to bring the work alive.  If you have one, bring a preferred excerpt to read.

What the Heck is D&D (Beginners Only) – Eric
During this session, we'll be going into the basics and learning what Dungeons & Dragons is, the basic rules, and how to create a character.  This will be designed around students who have either very little or zero experience with D&D and are interested in learning what it's all about.  We'll be starting with the core mechanics, then delve into character creation, then, if there's time, run a brief monster encounter.  Again, this is a "for beginners" course, so if you have lots of D&D experience, it might not be for you. No materials required. 

Write a Short Poem (the badder, the better) – Ben
Use Google Translate to make it extra-silly, trade poems with a classmate, perform their poem for everyone… musical instruments and costumes optional!
 
Loaded Questions: Laughing and Connecting – Roz
A fun game that will get us laughing and connecting. Each round, everyone answers a question and one person guesses who said what.

Build Your Stacks – Duy
Curious about how investments work? Participate in this session to learn how stocks, savings accounts and other investment vehicles work!
 
Improv into Storytelling & Creativity – Dan
We build a basic scene together using a modified version of an improv exercise called "Build-a-Where." Students can then continue to collaboratively build a story verbally or can split off and write their own tale using the setting and characters we created together. 
 
Origami:  Lily, Tulip, Heart, and Frog – Mahmooda
All you need are some square pieces of magazine paper or origami paper.

Recycle Bin Sculptures – Sara
We'll be seeing what type of sculptures we can make out of recycled materials you have around your house, using simple attachment methods and home-made paper mache. Be ready to experiment and get messy. This is a two hour session, so log in at 12:30 and stay the rest of the afternoon!
 
Read Aloud with Cori
Snuggle up with your favorite (blanket, fur baby, blanket, and/or stuffed animal) and listen to Cori read funny/magical/uplifting stories for a pandemic world.
 
French Spelling Bee Games – Towela
This is an all-afternoon session-  log in at 12:30 or join mid-afternoon
 
Virtual Scavenger Hunts – Sylvia
Have fun doing an interactive Scavenger hunt, finding items, learning facts, and having a laugh with goofy tasks. 
 
Fashion Merchandise and Design – Patrick
Welcome to an incredibly fun fashion competition! In this fast pace and hands-on activity, you will put your fashion sense and skills to the test. In a limited amount of time, you will have to create various designs and outfits to match themes and audiences. You'll learn more about your own fashion brand and boost your creativity! You'll walk away with at least 5 different outfits you can wear anywhere!   All you need to participate are clean clothes and some household items.