UE March Newsletter

by Abigail Parsons

Hello UE Community!

Our major work since our last newsletter was the trip to Camp Thunderbird in Lake Wylie, South Carolina. The students enjoyed lessons from the YMCA staff on aquatic ecology, astronomy, forest ecology, wildlife ecology, watching fish dissection, seining (a method of fishing), and soil study. On the last morning, the students also participated in "meelewing." During this lesson, the students learned how to show compassion and respect for those from different cultures.

Although a large portion of the trip was spent in wonderful lessons, the students had plenty of opportunities to enjoy time together as a community during the recreation times and the "wacky" Olympics held Tuesday evening.

Other activities this past month have been the 6th-year students completing their book project models, working on a timeline to celebrate Black History month, visiting AP to view their hard work, and planning an environmental bake sale!

Black History Timeline

The UE community completed a timeline to celebrate Black History month in February. Everyone in the UE community researched important dates on an African American in US history. These people varied from politicians, athletes, abolitionists, teachers, and activists. It was an educational and fun opportunity for the community to see important moments in US history visually!

Camp Thunderbird

Our spring trip in UE aims to offer an extension of the classroom to deepen our science studies through hands-on learning opportunities. This year, they had opportunities to explore parts of the Piedmont region and make real-world connections to our fall studies on the Work of Water (including the water cycle, erosion, rivers, etc.) and to our spring studies on botany and scientific classification of plants.

Students work to find invertebrates in the sand during the aquatic ecology lesson.

On the trip, students participated in a variety of classes, including:

• Aquatic Ecology

• Fish Dissection and Seining

• Soil Study

• Forest Ecology

• Animal Ecology

Students gathering soil for an activity during the soil studies lesson.

Before heading on the trip, the UE students created journals to prepare for all the learning they would be doing. Throughout the trip, they took notes, recorded their activities, reflected, and kept a list of questions/topics they might want to continue learning about when we returned to campus.

Students play the game "What time is it Mr. Fox?" after a lesson.

After the trip, we spent time reflecting on what they learned. Each student chose a topic they would like to research to further their learning or an activity they wanted to repeat from a class at camp. They are working on this work and will share their further learning with the class later this spring.