Recently, we launched the new and improved Beaver web site. From this point on, all articles that would have been posted on the mashUp will be posted in the news section of the website instead. Check out the “Campus News” and the “Emerging Tech in the Classroom” news categories on the site to see these stories.

A team from Beaver helps clean up the Charles River.

On Saturday, April 16, an energetic Beaver team sponsored by our Global Impact Apprentice Challenge group (GIA) participated in the Charles River cleanup in Newton. The group cleaned a stretch of the Charles River, finding all sorts of trash.

This event was part of the Global Youth Service Day, which involves youth and adults from over 100 countries. Our partner school in Cairo, Egypt, the Sadat Language School, participated in their area as well.

It was a great event, and the Charles River path in Newton is beautifully clean again.

Seventh grade students before leaving on their Water Walk.

Michelle Wildes’ seventh grade science class has recently been studying the global water crisis. To better understand what people in dry areas go through to get water, the class went on a one mile walk around the Beaver campus with each student carrying a gallon of water. This activity simulated what many women endure on a daily basis to have access to clean drinking water.

After the walk, students heard from Lucas Mhina who grew up and was educated in rural Tanzania. He spoke to the class about what life is like in that area and how the global water crisis affects the population there.

Students were then asked to write reflections about their experience on the walk and Mr. Mhina’s talk. Here is an excerpt from one student’s reflection:

The Walk for Water helped me understand the pain of many African women as they walk about a mile, carrying a gallon of water. It did not nearly give me the knowledge of what they actually felt. In Massachusetts it’s spring, in Africa, winters are often harsher than our summers. In the blazing sun, they must walk a mile, sometimes carrying children, sometimes barefoot, the gallon of water hurting their back, arms, and head depending on how they carry it.

In the mile walk I did, it was cooler, I had nothing but the gallon to carry, and I had on comfortable shoes to walk in. That was only a one day experience. My arms were not sore from previous walks, my legs were fine, my back was erect, you could say that I might even have enjoyed the walk. In Africa, the mile walk is necessary for their survival. Without the walk they do each day, they would have no water for their family, or themselves…

Lucas, the speaker, explained more about the hardships in Africa, giving me a better understanding of the hardships they face…Lucas explained that the people of Africa were best in the rainy season. In the rainy season, the grass grew better for the cows to eat and produce milk. In the rainy season, you might often see a child taking a shower with a bucket of water. Unfortunately, the rainy season does not last long. It starts in March and ends somewhere throughout May, which is less than a fourth of the year.

Students are putting the finishing touches on their exhibits and presentations that signify the end of the NuVu winter term. On Saturday, March 5, from 2 – 4 p.m. students will show off their work to parents, teachers, NuVu coaches, and others during the winter term exhibition. The event takes place in Beaver’s Visual and Performing Arts Center.

So, what have students been up to during the “Storytelling” studios? They’ve been creating narrative photography, do-it-yourself projects, dancing robots, interactive music art, and much more. Take a look at the video below to watch students at work during the “Do-it-Yourself” studio and to see what gadgets they came up with.

The next video features the “NuScoo” scooter built by students during the winter term.

And, as always, you can follow students’ work at the NuVu blog.

The Advanced Anatomy and Physiology Class at MGH

Jon Butler’s Advanced Anatomy and Physiology class visited Massachusetts General Hospital on Friday, February 11 to observe a variety of surgeries. The group was given an up-close look at the surgical process while developing an appreciation for the teamwork and collaboration that occurs between surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists.

Students were able to observe a cranial facial resection (brain surgery) to remove a brain tumor, a laparoscopic hernia repair, a thymus gland removal (open heart surgery), a trachea surgery, amputation revisions, and a variety of inductions (preparation for surgery).

The doctors at MGH were extremely welcoming to the students and gave detailed explanations of the procedures they were doing along with thorough anatomy lessons giving students a one-of-a-kind look at the living systems they have been studying.

Overall, it was an amazing educational experience that cannot be replicated with classroom experience, a textbook, or even dissections. The visit also gave students insight into the vast array of jobs and responsibilities involved in a surgery and in running a hospital.