UDA Community,
Thank you so much for joining us in our first school-wide exhibitions. The energy around campus was so positive as we all gathered to celebrate the learning our students have been engaging in over the second trimester. It was a wonderful experience to see our students glowing with pride as they shared their project and the process. A special thank you to our teachers who work so hard to design meaningful learning experiences for our students in order for them to connect their learning to the real world!
Kinder
How deep are my family roots? What is my family history?
Our kinders engaged in deep essential questions regarding their family roots and history, and showcased documentaries honoring their cultures. Students also sang and performed partner dances from different cultures that they learned in Performing Arts.
First
Why is it important to maintain good relationships?
Class visits to SmartsFarm throughout the trimester held 1st graders accountable and taught them about their connection to our world and food. The students demonstrated their understanding of what veggies provide us with and shared tips on what to do with them. They also shared the chia pets created in STEAM after numerous labs over the trimester that enabled them to deepen their understanding of how plants grow.
Second
Where did all the bees go?
The thorough process the 2nd graders went through to produce their Bee Books was highlighted by showcasing their Portfolios, that included everything from their research, to drafts, to sketches. The Visual Arts Studio was buzzing with second grade art, from bee prints and illustrations to suspended 3D bees. Their goal was to inspire the audience to be kind to bees, understand their importance, and help them survive. They also worked in groups to design a unique game in PE, which they taught to additional grade levels.
Third
How can we design and implement a food reduction program at our school?
Third grade students exemplified leadership by educating our community and designing a food reduction program at UDA. They showcased composting games, gave demos, and performed an interpretive dance of the process of compost that they worked on in Performing Arts. In PE, the students worked together to create an original game, and also taught students in other grade levels how to play.
Fourth
How does a region’s climate, natural resources, and geography affect the way people live and work?
While learning about California and San Diego history, the 4th graders designed and constructed marshmallow and popsicle bridge challenges in STEAM to support their grade level Stable Structures project. They tested their structures using simulated natural disasters, and displayed the after effects during Exhibition. The students also described what they would do differently after examining what happened to the structures.
Fifth
What does it mean to communicate?
Fifth grade students showcased the French and Indian War iMovie trailers they created. The timeline of communication and war was incredibly powerful. In the Studio, they presented their communication installation, which was described by an audience member as having "no gender, no ethnicity- just an exciting and original human." On the Patio, they performed collaborative square dances learned in PE. Along with working on describing skills and talking about hobbies in Spanish, 5th graders communicated with a group of pen pals in Spain via SeeSaw and followed up on the symbolic butterflies that were sent to Mexico through the Journey North project.
Sixth
How does water define and sustain us?
Our 6th graders became experts on each of their Water Works topics, proudly displayed their process folders and piktocharts, and shared their research with visitors. In addition, they shared the results of the water tests they conducted in STEAM, proving healthy water quality at UDA, and performed cultural dances learned in PE on the Patio. The students developed Spanish language skills by talking about interests using activity verbs and the verb gustar, and also developed technological literacy as they created presentations and found out how to use reliable sources to look up new words.
Seventh
How can words
and art overcome hate?
Seventh grade students created their own mathematically-scaled street art after being inspired by local street artists. They also applied lessons they learned in Performing Arts class, as well as those from a guest spoken word artist, to their own spoken word performances. Students also incorporated various influences into their collaborative dance performances practiced in PE. Inspired by a variety of music and art from the Spanish-speaking world, students applied their describing skills when writing to penpals in Spain, wrote poems about themselves in Spanish, and created final art pieces that expressed their identity through a combination of language and visuals.
Eighth
How can we recognize and celebrate diversity?
Eighth graders dug into their individual and collaborative passions and talents to guide their projects on diversity. They moved their audience through books on diversity, research on various culture’s food, original music, and presentations that educated our community. The self-portraits they created in Visual Arts were not only powerful and beautiful, but also celebrated the diversity of our students. Their group dances choreographed in PE excited audiences on the Patio. Students applied Spanish verb conjugations and time vocabulary to a final project in which they described our school to their pen pals in Spain, and created a variety of products (presentations, videos, and zines) to identify and share what is important about our UDA community with an international audience.