For Social Studies, 6th grade students are finishing a unit on Africa with Mrs. Obuchowski.  For their cultural extension unit in CLIC, we are learning about the masks of the Congo Kuba tribe.These masks are rich in ceremonial meaning and show stature of each family member of the tribe.  Creating these masks brings up great discussions on what the patterns and materials mean as well as the tradiitions and ceremonies of the Kuba tribe in comparison to our culture.  Some things are different, but some things are similar. It seems foreign to once use cowry shells as currency, but then again what is a piece of paper marked with ink?  Art is a great way to travel to a culture or place we may never get to go to.  Understanding people who are different from ourselves brings respect and acceptance of all cultures.  We have so much to learn from each other! 

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All aboard! This year, I will working at Steward School doing the Production Design (costumes, props, stage lighting, and sound) for the musical shows at Steward School.  I absolutely love collaborating with music teacher, Ms. Swanson.  The Polar Express production was magical for the children and adults alike.  Mrs. Swanson did a fabulous job of bringing the Polar Express to life and for including every child.  They were so excited and engaged in the entire show.  I forgot how much fun this age group can be.  Seeing Dr. Creeden on stage in costume showed how awesome an educator and administrator he truly is.  CLIC would not exist if it were not for his initial embracing the idea of adding this strangely undefined creative program to the Topsfield Schools. 

For our final project focused on Bio- inspiration, teams are re-engineering ordinary boxes and backpacks into high tech bags.
Teams had to first choose their client.  They could choose the photographer needing a bag to protect his camera equipment while in the jungle photographing a jaguar.  They could pick the athlete who needed a bag to protect his gear.  They could choose creating a bag for a secret agent, or for the musician who needed a bag designed to protect and hide her flute during practice.  Although all of the clients have different needs that have to be addressed in designing the bags, all of the bags have an element of camouflage, LED lighting, and protective layering.  

Since it is very different to camouflage a bag into a jungle setting versus camoflauging a flute bag from being stolen in a city orchestra room, the teams have been coming up with some really creative design solutions.  

Over the past two months, the students have been learning about how engineers use nature as inspiration when creating new technology. This final project pulls together all that they have been learning about in all of the individual labs.  Teams get right to work since they already learned how to wire a home made switch to an LED, for example.  These labs are what real life engineers do so this is an exciting way to get kids engaged and actively interested in science.

The final test will be to drop weights on the bag to test its protective needs. Also, the bag will be scored on how well it is camouflaged against the photograph the client gave them.  They also will have to demonstrate how the LED light fulfilled their client's specifications.  The teams love testing day!  It is fun and thrilling to see how their designs do, and of course, teams run back to redesign their projects and come back to the testing table.