Math teacher Rob MacDonald and his advanced calculus class turned to architectural design to help them with calculus concepts. Mr. MacDonald describes the project:

Students were asked to design a small house and were given constraints about area and volume. In order to calculate areas and volumes precisely, they used calculus; they took integrals of the functions that represented the surfaces of the house. Students were expected to perform accurate calculations, but they were also asked to be creative and to think about aesthetics and practicality. Most groups chose to use Google SketchUp, a free application, to create 3D models of their designs.

A short video showing some of the students’ work in Google SketchUp is embedded below.

Here it is! The final episode of Fashion 47 is now posted. Don’t forget the live on-stage finale will take place on Thursday, February 11 at 12:15 and 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater.

You can view past episodes here:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2

Buzz Haverty '10 at the Heliconian Coffee House

Guest post by Buzz Haverty ‘10

Beaver’s literary and art journal, the Heliconian, hosted its first Coffee House this month. Students, parents, alumni and faculty alike all gathered in the Rogers Room for a fun night of readings and musical performances.

The Coffee House is an ever-expanding tradition in Beaver’s great creative culture, bringing more students together in a fun, open environment every year. It has also become a great way to see some of our favorite alumni.

Last year’s presidents, Michael Firer (Wesleyan University) and Jehane Samaha (Brown University), reunited and accepted a trophy from the American International College for last year’s winter issue.

The night was filled with a plethora of creative readings and performances from all different parts of the Beaver community. The Coffee House is, and will continue to be, an event that inspires everyone in attendance. From last-minute readings to soft-spoken students seizing their creative voice, the Winter Coffee House was a huge success.

To see more pictures and highlights from the night, visit the Heliconian fan page on Facebook, and find the fan photos.

The second episode of the Upper School production of Fashion 47 is posted!

If you missed the first episode, you can view it here. Look for episode 3 during the week of February 1 and the live, on-stage finale on February 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater.

Beaver’s student newspaper, The Beaver Reader, just released its first print version of the year. Primarily an online publication, the paper is hoping to produce two print issues this year.

Just in case you can’t get your hands on the actual printed newspaper, is it embedded below. (Click the newspaper for a fullscreen view.)

You can keep up with The Beaver Reader by visiting it online at http://newspaper.bcdschool.org, subscribing to its RSS feed, or by clicking the BCDS Live Stream link at the top of this page.