"At BB&N, we embrace Cambridge and Boston as vital parts of our extended 'classroom.'"
Welcome to the Urban Connections Grant Blog! These connections were established during summer 2016 and will be implemented over the next one to three years. Each grant will connect BB&N students to an important establishment in Cambridge, Boston or the Greater Boston Area:
Cambridge Arts Council, Public Art
National Register of Historical
Places, Cambridge
The Arnold Arboretum
Boston University
Museum of Science, Boston
Al-Noor Academy
1. BB&N MS Guerrilla Artists Meet Public Art in Cambridge
Sasha Bergmann, MS 3D Art Teacher
This program provides BB&N Middle School students with a connection
to public art located throughout Cambridge. The goal of this grant is to
further establish the Middle School group entitled The Guerrilla Artists,
focused on learning about and creating artwork for social change. This program
will expose Middle School students to local activism through art and expand the
audience whom the Guerrilla Artists reach with their artwork and message. Cambridge has a history of activism and public artworks,
which the Guerrilla Artists aim to honor and celebrate. Through this grant, our
Middle School students will communicate important messages through art and
continue this Cambridge tradition.
2. Captivating Historical Haunts
Beverly Malone, Director of
Teacher Training Institute
This
program will connect our Lower School students to the rich history located
right here in Cambridge. This new club will educate our Lower School students
about the significance of the homes and the people who lived in them in the
Buckingham Street area of Cambridge. Grade 5 and 6 students will engage in
learning about five local resources that surround the school, all on the
National Register of Historic Places. Students will identify five historical
figures who lived in the Buckingham Street area, create a diary of the
five historical places they visit, and share their findings with peers. The
goal of this program is to provide context, meaning and connection for our students
to BB&N’s unique Cambridge location.
3. Global Ecology
Education: Creating a Path to Sustainability & Leadership
Karina Baum, US Science Teacher
This
program will establish a BB&N partnership with the Global Ecology Education
Initiative (GEEI) at Boston University. The GEEI is led by highly-regarded
biologist and science education professor Dr. Douglas Zook. GEEI also partners
with the Arnold Arboretum of Jamaica Plain, which is operated by Harvard University.
Upper School students will have fieldwork experiences at the Arboretum led by
Dr. Zook. They will engage in directed-learning activities, allowing them to
cultivate relationships with and knowledge about natural habitats, as well as a
first-hand understanding of the importance of preserving biodiversity. In addition, Dr. Zook will work with
the students at BB&N to support and follow up on their fieldwork
experiences. As a result of this program, BB&N students will develop global
leadership skills in ecological sustainability.
4.
Museum of Science, Boston
Kelley Schultheis, MS Science
Teacher
Gus Means, MS Math Teacher
This program will utilize the amazing resources at the Museum
of Science. The goal of this grant is to develop science understanding while
also building community, both within the Middle School and between the three
campuses. Field trips to the museum will allow students to work with their
homerooms and develop problem-solving and collaborative skills. Through the
Museum of Science traveling program, museum educators will bring the exciting
science to our Middle School campus. In addition, a family night at the Museum
of Science will be a unique opportunity for the BB&N community to come
together as a whole. Ideally, this cross-campus community science experience
will become a BB&N tradition.
5. Sixth
Grade Pen Pal and Mural Project
Leila Huff, Grade 6 Homeroom and
Language Arts Teacher
Stevie Olson, Grade 6 Homeroom and
Social Studies Teacher
Berhane Zerom, Grade 6 Homeroom
and Math Teacher
This
program will connect the BB&N sixth grade students with sixth grade students
at Al-Noor Academy (ANA,) an Islamic middle and high school. Students from both
schools will work together to create a mural expressing the theme, “What Makes
a Healthy Community.” They will begin to develop this new relationship as pen
pals. They will write back and forth to introduce
themselves and learn about each other’s interests, values, and communities. Working
together, they will explore the “Healthy Community” theme and design the
mural. This grant will include interdisciplinary learning and opportunities
for the communities to gather and foster mutual respect, while creating a
lasting mural to represent their connection and collaboration.
