Middle School News

Seventh Graders Study Meaning of Names
Communications

Seventh-graders are busy learning about the significance of names and writing vignettes about their own lives as they read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros in their writing classes.

“We encourage students to push themselves and think deeply,” seventh-grade writing teacher Lauren Yavor said. “Students are writing pieces about their own lives that are beautiful, authentic, and mature. Their vignettes about their own memories demonstrate they’re able to reflect on what’s important to them and use the poetic devices we’ve been learning about.”

The novel is composed of a series of vignettes about Esperanza, a young Latina girl growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago. She’s struggling with her identity and who she wants to be.

In one of the vignettes, “My Name,” Esperanza reflects on her name — where it comes from and how she wants to invent a new name and identify for herself.

To discuss the importance of the meaning of names, PreK–12 Equity & Social Justice Coordinator Alegria Barclay modeled her own name. She showed students how her last name reflects her father’s Scottish heritage, and how her first and middle names reflect her Vietnamese mother’s desire for her to have a name that would allow her to fit in in America.

During another lesson, Equity & Social Justice Associate Teacher Alison Williams discussed cultural elements of names, why parents give their children individual names and the meaning behind them, how people receive their names, and how names shape culture and heritage.

Williams also talked about the history behind her name. She talked about how her last name doesn’t connect with her heritage — her dad is black and his name reflects the name slave owners gave his ancestors.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to have our social justice teachers come in and discuss how the social justice issues presented in the book might be applicable in our students’ lives and history,” Yavor said.

After hearing these demonstrations, seventh-graders explored the meaning of their own names. They were asked to consider “What is the story of your name?” “How does your name connect you to your family history, your cultural history, and your sense of self?” “In what ways does your name represent you? In what ways does it not do so?” and “If you could choose your own name, what would it be and why?”

They also wrote practice name vignettes that incorporated the poetic language they’re studying in the novel before writing a final series of three vignettes about memories that hold special meaning for them.

“Some students find it hard to reflect on themselves and the name is an accessible topic for everybody,” Yavor said. “It’s a way to get everyone thinking about themselves and their history.”

October 14, 2016

 

 


Read More

Colors of Nature: An Eye-Opening Course—Or, How Environmentalism & Racism Are Intertwined

In the new fall 2020 elective “Colors of Nature,” seventh- and eighth-grade students explored the notion that people of color have different access to and privileges in the natural world. Through class discussions and creative journals, students reflected on how environmentalism and racism are intertwined. Eighth-grader Jax C. shares an introduction, and three students—Anika G., Kayla L., and Anjuli M.—reflect on their experience in this course. 

Catching Up with . . . Christine Braun

Viewing the world with an artist’s eye. Creating projects rooted in empathy. Empowering students with iteration and innovation. 

Throughout the past year, I-Lab engineer and Hillsborough shop manager Christine Braun has been a fixture on the Hillsborough campus, using the I-Lab as her home base while teaching, leading, and planning for design thinking-related initiatives. She is also a lit club facilitator for a seventh- and eighth-grade lit club.

Fifth Grade Earth Science “Rocks” in Remote Setting!

Toward the end of October, fifth-grade Earth Science classes completed the fall study of Earth’s composition and the rock cycle. To help students solidify their learning and set it in stone, students created models of the rock cycle using upcycled or ephemeral materials found in their homes. 

“Poem-Worthy Noodles” Connect Community to History and Each Other: Jennifer Lin-Liu, Author of On the Noodle Road ‘Visits’ Nueva

After school on Thursday, October 21, about 40 students and teachers gathered on Zoom to enrich and extend their current interdisciplinary study of the Silk Road. They were participating in a noodle-making workshop by author and restauranteur Jennifer Lin-Liu that covered centuries of history and was generations of cross-continental journeys in the making. Organized by Jennifer Paull in conjunction with the seventh- and eighth-grade humanities teachers, this event is one of many the new Humanities Center will showcase in the years to come.

Catching Up with . . . Sarah Powell

We sat down with Sarah Powell, middle school student support specialist, to hear about her passion for supporting gifted students, particularly during this challenging time. In this interview, Sarah shares how she helps to create pathways for students’ academic development, and she provides insight into the importance of relationships between parents, teachers, and students—and superpowers!—in our middle school support program at Nueva.  

Nueva Students Welcome Families to the Mid-Autumn Festival

This month, students in Weixia’s class celebrated 中秋节 or zhōng qiū jié (the Mid-Autumn Festival), a traditional event celebrated by many East and Southeast Asian people. With their parents, students watched the full moon, recited an ancient poem, and gave their parents a handmade card of appreciation. These activities were part of their process of immersing themselves in Chinese culture, an important part of learning the language, and they also offered an opportunity for students to share their learning with their families.

Middle School Students Explore Social Justice in Lit Clubs

Founded in 1982, the Nueva Lit Club curriculum has provided middle school students with many opportunities over the years to practice reading strategies and literary analysis. This year, students have been faced with a challenging and changing world—in all of their classes, Nueva students have engaged in complex conversations and have raised important questions about race and social justice issues that were reignited this past summer. 

Catching Up with . . . Karen Tiegel

About one month into this unprecedented 2020–2021 school year, we sat down with new interim head of the middle school, our own Nuevan Swiss Army Knife, Karen Tiegel, to hear her thoughts about the start of the year, learn a bit more about our continuously evolving middle school electives program, and provide a space to reflect on moments—both past and still to come—that are at the heart of her Nueva experience.

The Great Nueva Zoom-School Plant Project 

Eighth-grade biology students have dived straight into an exciting study of genetic variation. One of the major themes of eighth-grade science is to understand humanity’s relationship with the living world. So, the teachers asked their students to grow Wisconsin Fast Plants to discover for themselves why plants produce offspring with variation. This led to a discussion about how humanity has modified species for food and other purposes.