We are pleased to announce the following Urban Connection
Grants for academic year 2018-2019. BB&N will support seven grants this year,
four new connections and three continuing programs. The new grant connections are
currently being established and will be implemented throughout the school year.
Each grant will connect BB&N students to groups and organizations
throughout Cambridge, Boston and the Greater Boston Area.
Boston Speaker Series at Symphony Hall
Allison Kornet, US English Teacher and Faculty Advisor to The
Vanguard
Up
to 30 Upper School students will have the opportunity to attend part
of the 2018-2019 Boston Speaker Series presented by Lesley
University at Symphony Hall. This grant will mean seniors in the US
Speechwriting and Public Speaking elective and upperclass writers and editors from The
Vanguard can listen and learn firsthand from contemporary leaders and
thinkers like James Comey, Lisa Genova, Gloria Steinem, Jeb Bush, Jon Meacham,
Ian Bremmer, and Jay Leno. After presenting during the first hour of each
event, speakers will respond to written questions submitted by audience
members, so there is even an opportunity for direct engagement by BB&N
students. Senior
Speechwriting and Public Speaking students will mind how the
pros deliver as closely as what they deliver, and the newspaper
staff will follow up on the content of the talks with related reporting,
investigation, or commentary in The Vanguard. All students
participating in this grant will benefit from this unique Boston-based
opportunity and experience the speaker series as an extension of their work at
the Upper School.
Faith Traditions in our Community
Sasha Bergmann, MS 3D Art Teacher
Beth Brooks, MS Librarian
Stefanie Haug, MS Counselor
Youssef Talha, MS
Language Teacher
Faith Traditions in our Community has
piloted an exploratory, interactive workshop with the goal of introducing
Middle School students to a variety of faith and religious traditions and
spiritual practices. The grant recipients collaborated to bring three Abrahamic
faith leaders to the BB&N middle school for a panel discussion with the 8th
grade, including Rabbi Natan Margalit, Reverend Matthew Carriker and Islam
educator Barbara Sahli. Following the panel discussion and over the course of a
few weeks, the 8th grade students and teachers visited a synagogue,
a church and a mosque and then reconvened back at school to further explore
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to reflect upon their experiences. As a
result of this grant program, students were provided with a safe, collaborative
space in which to learn about religious and faith traditions and spiritual
practices similar to and different from their own, to explore key tenets and
ceremonies, and to examine the interconnectedness of many world religions. This
grant will continue into year two and run the interfaith program with the new 8th
grade class.
Gem & Mineral Exhibit
Amy Carey, MS Science Teacher
Michael Ewins, MS Science Teacher
Wendy Svatek, MS Science Teacher and Department Head
Erik Swanson, MS
Science Teacher
The goal of the Gem & Mineral Exhibit grant
is to establish a new connection with the Harvard Museum of Natural History to
support the 8th grade chemistry curriculum. Since the MS science program
has developed to include more real-world applications
of chemistry, the museum will provide students with the opportunity to examine
the extensive variety of minerals in person. Timed with their curriculum study,
students will apply their new understanding of bonding and physical properties
while exploring the museum exhibit. With participation from the entire MS
science department, every 8th grade student will benefit from this
new Cambridge-based connection.
NERWHA Symposium, Cities in World History
Suzy
Glazer, US History & Social Sciences Department Head and Teacher
BB&N will host the annual New England Regional World
History Association symposium at the BB&N Upper School on November, 3rd,
2018 sponsored by the Urban Connections Grant program. The symposium will bring
world history educators from all over New England to Cambridge and BB&N for
a day of workshops, round table discussion and panels about world cities. Along
with being at the US campus, participants will also visit MIT as a result of
collaboration between the two Cambridge-based schools. The symposium
explores the role cities have played in world history in developing economies,
societies, and cultures as well as establishing ties among people. The
Upper School history department is committed to facilitating students’
study of the past and present to help them become informed citizens of the
future in an increasingly global society. In line with this departmental
goal and those of the Urban Connections Grant program, hosting this symposium
will act as a way to support educator collaboration, professional development and
the understanding and appreciation of BB&N's urban location.
https://cambridgehistory.org/
The Latino Network
Dr. Rosario Sánchez
Gómez, US Spanish Teacher and Spanish Department Coordinator
The Latino Network will connect
BB&N Upper School students of Spanish with bilingual Latino organizations
that work directly with Latin American immigrants in the Boston area. This
grant aims to provide an opportunity for students to connect with the growing Spanish-speaking
population, not only to be able to practice their linguistic and cultural
skills but also to participate actively in their community. The Latino Network
is currently working to establish partner organizations which will result in
the creation of various
projects for different Spanish courses as well as service learning
opportunities available to all US students.
Whether the students interview members of the community for different purposes
or work hand in hand with the organization on a specific project, they will
engage in a unique connection that aims to expands their course and community
service work beyond their classrooms to include the local Latino communities in
and around Boston.
Urban Heat Islands: Neighborhood Responses to
Climate Change
Karina Baum, Director of Global
Education and US Science Teacher
As
part of the US Advanced Biology curriculum and BB&N’s continuous commitment
to promote global education, this new grant will partner with Boston College
Professors and former BB&N parents, Juliet Schor and Prasannan
Parthasarathi, and BC PhD candidate Xiaorui Huang to explore the topic of
climate change by studying Urban Heat Islands. An UHI is an urban area that is
significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities
and the built environment. Since BB&N is an urban school, this grant will
be relevant to our students and an opportunity to explore the environmental
impact on BB&N’s urban surrounding. This grant will include multiple
meetings with Professors Schor and Parthasarathi, both at BC and at BB&N,
and field research to analyze data on UHI’s in the Boston metropolitan area with
a focus on the differences between East and West Cambridge. Student learning
will, above all, be positively affected and empowered by experiential outdoor
learning, as the classroom is extended to the broader urban setting, and by
interacting with academic experts on climate issues, as well as with local
residents impacted by the “heat island” effect. This grant is an avenue for
BB&N students to examine global education and environmental justice through
local resources in the Boston area. Our hope is that through this curriculum,
BB&N students will be inspired to take some action to address this problem
in our city.
Wampanoag Presence and Impact
Simone Esteves, MS History Teacher
The goal of Wampanoag
Presence and Impact is to bring indigenous peoples out of the past and into the
present for the Middle School students. This program will continue into year
two and connect a new group of 7th
grade students to the Wampanoag tribe, including current people, culture and historical
sites. Last May, a group of students visited Martha’s
Vineyard for the day, a trip comprised of speakers and tours focusing primarily
on the Wampanoag experience, perspective and history, and including the history
and experiences of African American people on the island. The intended outcome
of this program is to emphasize for students that the indigenous experience and
influence, particularly in New England, has not only a long history but is
still very present. Students will
be enabled to make a variety of personal connections to the
curriculum and bring their understanding of this history back
to life.
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