middle school

Seventh grade students in Elizabeth McGann’s science class have been participating in a project called River City. The project is a product of Harvard University researchers (led by Beaver parent Chris Dede) which looks at the effect online Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVE) have on educational outcomes. As visitors to River City, students travel back in [...]

As you walk through the exhibit space in the science wing these days you’ll come face-to-face with critters of the deep. They’re not real of course, but rather the creations of eighth grade science students. During a unit on oceanography, each student chose a sea-dwelling phylum from the animal kingdom to research. They were responsible [...]

This year’s Creative Scholars Project (CSP) asked the eighth grade to “Take a Stance.” Students were to choose a topic they learned about at Beaver and make a convincing argument about their position on the topic. Our scholars’ subjects ranged from environmental issues to stem cell research. After extensive research, students’ produced a product which [...]

Eighth grade students in Amy Winston’s art class were sent out around campus with non-traditional art materials (paper bags, strings, rubber bands, etc.) and instructed to create a site-specific installation using those materials. As described by fellow art teacher Rebecca Roberts, the results of the students’ work created “unexpected beauty” throughout the school. One group [...]

Students today come with a cell phone attached to their hip, a laptop computer in their bag, and a video game console on their dresser. So it’s a little surprising to poke your head into a middle school classroom and see students with yarn and knitting needles creating scarfs, socks, and hats. But that’s exactly [...]