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Diving Deep with the 6th & 7th Graders

In Architecture and Design, taught by Mr. Fritch, students are designing houses to learn the meaning behind the broad word ‘architecture’.

In Mrs. Grissom's A and B day art classes, students are creating mandalas - a symbol in the Hindu and Buddhist religion meaning ‘universe’ and ‘center’. They are now finished, and you can go see the display on the wall between B204 and B206.

Another cool deep dive is Mr. Manalo’s Music Creation class. The students are currently creating music to match a movie scene. They are also finishing up learning the cup song. This creative deepdive takes place in B204 and B206.

The B day Ceramics class is shaping their lumps of clay into birdhouses. They are using slab techniques to achieve the massive shape. At the same time, students are indulged in personal projects. This all takes place in Makery B213.

In Mr. Asmus’ Exploravision classes, they work on taking a thought, and transforming it into a prototype, and then to a product. Groups are working on writing their essays and designing their prototype about their idea. But groups that are further ahead are working on their sample web pages to display deep learning and research.

In PLTW 6th grade students are learning how to model Orthographic Projection -  representing a three-dimensional object in two dimensions - with building blocks. They are also starting out on autodesk inventor, design application for creating 3D digital prototypes on the computer.

7th grade PLTW takes place in makery C204 taught by Mrs. Gonzalez. They’re currently learning about different circuit components and how to solder, as well as engineering skills. Their next project will be soldering a night light circuit board.   

Last, but certainly not least, Mrs. Eveleth’s School News Team! This class is in charge of getting news out to the rest of the school and the rest of the world.

6th Grade CIMI Trip

Island of the Blue Dolphins - 4th Grade Project

Ceramics at D39C

Tour of the D39C Cafeteria

Some of you may think, is the school food imported? Is it frozen? Is it brought to school by a truck? Well here’s one thing for sure. It is made fresh by the food and nutrition cooks.

Four student reporters went down under to the cafeteria to look behind the scenes of the cooks making food for us. They showed us how they prepped it and got it out into the food court.

The two of the coldest places in the kitchen are the freezer which is -10 degrees and the other would be the fridge. They use them for the hot dogs or other meats that will be ready by the next day.  Two of the news group members went inside, finding out that it was so cold.

They also have ovens. Not one, not two, but seven ovens just to cook your food! The ovens are fast heating and it could take ten minutes to cook the pizza.

After all the food that is served to you, and you thought that it was imported from a truck that ships it to the cafeteria! The reality is, they don't just heat up the food and serve it, they actually cook it on site. Maybe this helps change your mind on the food here at Design39. We should appreciate the cooks and what they do to make our food. Thank you to the 39 Cafeteria workers for spending your time to make our food.

The Truth About School Lunch

Built up by various TV shows, school lunch has received a ‘controversial’ reputation. By the Collaborative’s request, we went out and found the truth about school lunches. They wanted to understand what the students at D39C really thought about the overall lunch experience. Do you want to know the startling results? Click the video to find out.

Doodling and Zentangles!

Do you doodle when a class is boring? If so, than Doodling & Zentangling is for you. This new Exploration, has captured the attention of the Design 39's 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. This relaxing art class is more than drawing, it’s “yoga for the mind”. In Doodling & Zentangling, you test your creativity to fit inside a 1” by 1” square and see where your ideas take you. It’s not sketching, it’s zentangling! You may be wondering what’s in the name, zen-tangling. “Zen” is a relaxation zone you generally reach with meditation. “Tangles” is an adapted term for rectangles, a square is a rectangle, and you doodle inside the square during this class. Hence the term, Doodling & Zentangling. To learn more, click the video.

Art D39C's Resident Art Class Explores Various Forms of Creation

PLTW Skimmers! 6th Grade

6th Grade PLTW

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By: Kate, Hannah, Dheeraj, and Caeden

The 6th graders at Design39Campus are in a Deep 

dive called Project Lead the Way taught by Mr. Bret Fitzpatrick. A Deep Dive is a class where students can learn more about a certain topic for 90 minutes a day. In this class they are making paper skimmers, and by the end of the week, they have to get their skimmer past the 60 ft mark to pass the class.

These students have been working hard on getting there skimmers to pass that mark and even beating the school record, which is 120 ft. The students make their skimmers by folding and cutting paper in a certain way. Then they add 2 vertical stabilizers on the sides and a scoop on the bottom. The stabilizers stabilize the skimmer while it is in “flight”. The scoop controls the airflow under the skimmer to create lift to allow the skimmer to “float” across the floor.

We interviewed four students and they told us a little about the class and the skimmers, the way that these skimmers can work will blow your mind. Check out the video above to get the inside scoop on what's going on in the 6th graders Project Lead the Way class at Design39Campus.

2/3 Old Town Field Trip Preview

Old Town 2/3 Field Trip

The 2nd and 3rd graders are taking a trip to Old Town, San Diego. Old Town is a historic piece of San Diego full of rich culture and history, including houses, banks, hotels, jails, and a cemetery. The 3rd graders we interviewed are very excited about visiting!

The students have been learning about an essential question : San Diego history - Then & Now. Old Town was founded by Spanish settlers exploring California. Students will get a hands on a tour, getting to see how these Spanish settlers lived. The kids will get to see artifacts and culture first hand, and the tour guides will even perform skits with them to keep the trip interesting. Overall, the trip will show them how San Diego was then, versus now.

We interviewed teacher, Mrs. Castillo, about the field trip. “They really get to see all of those things, and make sense of history long ago versus today. They get to make those comparisons.”

7th Grade Spanish Class

Spanish A Day-Design39Campus

By: Marielle, Ryan, Iniyaa, and Noor

At Design39Campus, there is a spanish class taught by the wonderful Mrs. De La Torre. In the Spanish A Day class, the students are making paper dolls. Each doll has their own style. The students have to explain what they look like, but in Spanish. We interviewed some students to ask them about what they experienced in this class and how the class impacted them. They shared their opinions and thoughts about the class and what they are learning.

Our interviewees, Brooke and Paige, were very informational about what they’re learning and their feelings about the class. They seem like they are enjoying the class and are very engaged about the topic. Mrs. De La Torre is and has been doing a great job teaching her students about the this cool language.

Redesigning the LOFT Experience

LOFT REDESIGN

As the Design39Campus loft was created, our staff has realised that they want a better environment for the students in the loft. The loft is similar to a library, but more modern. The old loft consists of tables, books, and lots of other glass sound proof rooms for meetings.

Mrs. Hamilton has shared her plans for the loft with us, and we’d like to share with you what our future loft plans are. So first off, they are taking away the majority of the tables and chairs, and replacing them with much more comfortable chairs making it a much more comfortable environment for the children. Mrs. Hamilton is also creating a Tech Bar, which is actually run by students. Parents and teachers can give them the tech and they will work with it, as well as try to fix it. The last additions to our loft are more copies of books, which will then add more bookshelves to the loft. 

We hope our article and video helped you learn more about the loft redesign. We thank Mrs. Hamilton for her time and effort that goes towards helping the students.

Article and Video by:

Zoe V. , Abby R. , Caden U. , and  Jake K.

https://vimeo.com/158071408

How to fix an EXPO marker!

How many times have you found a bad marker and had to throw it away ? Well, now you don’t. All it takes is a few easy steps, and your bad marker will be as good as new.

If you have a tip that in pushed in or a dead marker, follow the steps below

You will need: one pair of pliers, and a pencil

1. The first step is you take the pliers and pull off the bottom of the marker by the little white hinges.

2. Then you have to squeeze the ink cartridge and find the which end of it works better.  
3. Next, you take your pencil, and push the tip out of the top part f the marker and find which side works better.
    

Finally, you put the tip of the marker back in and the ink cartridge in and then cap it up.    

If the marker doesn’t work at first, shake it for a while and keep testing it until it works.  

 

 

D39C Recycling Bins

The New Recycling Bins

By: Zil, Karis, Jason, & Lucas

  Our school has 10 new recycling bins and they are still deciding where to put them. That is why you haven't seen them around yet. Mr.Bernal the  school custodian said that they the recycling bin shown  here is going to be used only for cans and plastic water bottles.We are putting out new recycling bins because everything right now goes into the trash but if they have recycling bins we can help the environment by starting at school. These recycling bins will be put out soon.They are also going to put out recycling bins like the one below for empty milk cartons and juice cartons.We may also recycle our lunch trays so if they are clean and don’t have any stains on them they will recycle them.When they say recycle they mean that they would pick the trays up, shred them, clean them, reassemble them, and then they will take it to schools that use the trays.The trays have to be really clean like if your plate looks like the one on the right.We asked a few  kids at our school if they would use the recycling bins and If they thought it would help with the trash problem going on at the school. Remember to look for the recycling  bins.

Musical Creation Deep Dive

Musical Creation

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By: Hannah, Kate, Caeden, and Dheeraj

While looking for a topic to do for our school news article we came across a Musical Creations class. Andrew, Alison, Kian, Andrew, Anthony, and Anthony are in a class called musical creations taught by Mr. Manalo. These students were making music with only drumsticks, trash cans, and even their own bodies.

These sounds that these students were making with no instruments. This style of music is called body percussion. They are currently learning about The Blues and how they had an impact on the music we listen to today. They are learning about the cup song which is acapella music, and they are also learning about The Blues.

Overall these student are enjoying a deep dive where they learn about music and ways how it affected how we live today. There can be many unexpected learning experiences within the mysteries and pleasures of music.

The Best Part of The 2-3 Day!

The Best Part of The 2-3 Day!

In the wonderful B and C building, there are many fun days. For most of the kids, their favorite time of the day is Deep Dive time! There are so many amazing Deep Dives that those smart little kids have. The times that the 2-3 Deep Dives occur are from 11:30-12:15 on Tuesday and Thursday. The fun part is that they get to choose their Deep Dives, too. Do you think you know all of the 2-3 Deep Dives? Well, if you think you do, let's test you…

First of all, do you know what the most popular 2-3 Deep Dive is? Well if you don’t, the most popular one is coding with robots! We have heard that it is one of the best Deep Dives! Do you think it would be fun?

Let's jump on to the next one. Do you think you know ALL of the Deep Dives? Well if you don't know, here they are! Design thinking, Video, 3D Art, Kite design, Music, Space, Coding with Robots, Cardboard Automata, Spanish, Cursive, Watercolor, and Wires, pliers and more. The 2-3 deep dives are great. Which one is the most popular? Well the outstanding thing is that the 2 Deep Dive that you would think are the most popular are, Cardboard Automata and Coding with Robots. When we asked some of the teachers, they said, “ I teach Design thinking” Said Mrs. Cabral “ also, In the Deep Dive that I teach, we were solving problems that our school has”. That sounds like the one we have in the 4-5 pod! There are so many amazing choices that the 2-3 has.

After that, we also went around the 2-3 buildings and asking them about their Deep Dive. One of the boy’s that we interviewed said, “ My Deep Dive is Cardboard Automata” Said a 2nd grade boy named Colin “also in my Deep Dive we research about Cardboard Automata, then design it. After we build one, we build a lot more”.

Did you think that in every Deep Dive they use their devices? Well, if you though so, you were wrong. A third grade boy told us that in his Deep Dive they only use their devices sometimes, but not a lot. Even though they don’t, other Deep Dive classes use their Devices like Spanish and Kite Design. All of the Deep Dives are super fun, though when we asked them if they had a choice to switch Deep Dives of stay in their Deep Dives, a little girl in 3rd named Aya, told us that she has lots of fun learning how to speak Spanish. When she is learning how to speak Spanish, she is learning the language of the Mexican culture.

We had lots of interesting and funny experiences learning about the fun things 2-3 does in their Deep Dives. We heard a lot about the most popular Deep Dive, which was Coding with robots. We were really interested in their explanations of what their Deep Dive is, what they do in their Deep Dive, what are some of the Deep Dives that 2-3 has, which is their favorite Deep Dive, and which Deep Dive they think is the most popular Deep Dive in the 2-3 span.

The Steam Maker Festival

The Steam Maker Festival

By Anisha Jarang, 4-5 School News Team

One word: Inspiring

- Mrs. Robles

The STEAM Maker Festival is an inspiring and creative event. It is great to see what kids are are doing in their classes in southern california.

- Mrs. Lamb

It is a myriad of exhibits. The STEAM Maker Fest demonstrates technology in science and related fields, like robotics.

- Mr. Manolo

At Design39Campus, students can do a variety of projects that involves math, engineering, art, science, and technology. But what if we mixed up that order. What if it was science, technology, engineering, art, and math? Well, what difference would it make? It’s still the same thing. But that order. That very order. Opens a new world for us.

You might ask what’s so special about that order. Well, if you take the first letter of each word in that order, you get a different word. And that word is S.T.E.A.M. Of course it’s not the vapor into which water is converted when heated, or the gas that races it’s way out a kettle. STEAM was originally just taught in school, but then, the whole world wanted to learn and celebrate STEAM, not just schools. So they created the STEAM Maker Festival.

The STEAM Maker Festival is designed to bridge the gap between school based STEAM programs and the MAKER Movement, a “DIY community that has come to be identified as the Maker Movement.”  The STEAM Maker Fest invites crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, and students to teach kids and adults alike about STEAM. You could find people of all ages using 3D printers, crafting utensils out of driftwood, or building fun machines, just for laughs.

Last year, our school participated at the STEAM Maker Fest. Our school always has so much science, technology, engineering, art, and math going on. The name describes it all! One of the nearly 25 students there, was Anisa Anaya, a 3rd grader at the time. She created a cupcake that had candles that lighted up. Owen, a 3rd grader too, at the time, created a house that had little christmas lights, that were actually LED lights. Gabriel, a second grader then, created a glowing snowman! Another student created a christmas tree with lighted-up ornaments. They all used LED lights, copper tape as the electricity conductor, batteries as the power source, and a lot of creativity!

This year’s Maker Fest was on December 5. It was at Del Mar Fairground. It was there last year too. This year, we had a new participant there. Safin Singh, a fourth grader, presented his work from his deep dive:ExploraVision. ExploraVision is a national event, where groups of 3 - 4 students, grade kindergarten through 12th grade, must prototype an invention that has already been invented, and tweak it so that it can be possible to be invented 20 years into the future. Safin and his group created the EveryBit, which can track your heart rate, your state of being, your temperature, take in-watch blood tests, and use your blood samples to look at genetic data. A fifth grader created little bristle bots, which are like DIY hexbugs. You make them with a bristle, a vibrating motor, and a button cell battery. At both events, was a 17-foot tall electronic giraffe, called Russell. People could also create cars in a Nerdy Derby. And there were a lot of booths where you could do all sorts of things, from petting parrots, to watching the stars and seeing where they would be at the time of day!

 

                         

The STEAM Maker Festival is a one of a kind event, and we are so lucky to have it so close to where we live. There is another STEAM Maker Festival in Florida, and there are tons of Maker Faires around the world (They are like STEAM Maker Fest, but a little smaller)!

So now you know that the STEAM Maker Fest is not a festival to celebrate the gas that water is turned into when heated (even though you can learn about that there too). It is a festival where you can learn and celebrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math.  So if you want to participate there, or just look at the wonders that were built by ordinary people, or simple engineers, the next one is on December 3rd, 2016. And if you’re afraid that you might miss that, you’ll be shocked to find out that it’s every year! So let the countdown begin! 365 days, 364 days, 363 days, 362 days, 361, days, 360 days, 359 days, 358 days, 357 days, 356 days …

5th Grade Impact Projects

Impact Projects

By: Natalia, Lauren, & Lila

4-5 School News Reporters

Have you heard what’s brewing in the fifth grade span? The fifth graders here at D39C have been hard at work, trying to make a project that can make an impact on others! From donating to hospitals, to helping the homeless, all the students in fifth grade have found a project that can somehow change the lives of of others!

How to Make a Good Impact Project

Making impacts can be hard. You might need that spark of inspiration to help you out a bit. If you do… You’ve come to the right place!

• Put yourself in their shoes.

• Be empathetic! If you were in need of help what do you think would help you most? What would make an impact on you? What do you want? What do you need? Food? Water? Shelter? Clothes? Money?

• Be creative.

• Think of something that’s creative and can help others at the same time. Sometimes if you go outside the box, you can find great solutions waiting for you. Just make sure you don’t go too far out, or you may find yourself not really making an impact.

• Put in effort.

• To completely make an impact, try your hardest and you’ll succeed with your result. If you don’t put all of your energy into it, you probably won’t be as successful as others that did put in effort.

Fifth Grade Interviews

Sofia, a fifth grader, is doing a project called “Foster Fun” and she’ll be starting her project in January. There will be a few boxes around the school, and if you have extra toys to donate, you can drop them off in the boxes. Sofia will have the toy boxes out for 1-2 weeks after donations, and take them away to donate after. Here’s what Sofia has to say:

“My impact project is called ‘Foster Fun’. Foster Fun is a toy drive. You donate the toys you no longer use, so we can donate them to kids around the world who don’t have toys.”

I think this would make an impact because kids who have nothing to do, or have to work all day, can play in their free time.

I think by the end of the school year, we’ll have all of the toys donated, and kids around the world will have tons of toys.”

Anjali, a fifth grader, is doing a project called “Dog Walking” and she’ll be starting her project in  January-February. She will help people around the neighborhood who can’t walk there dog for certain reasons like disabilities, injuries, etc. Anjali will be ending her project around May. Here’s what Anjali has to say:

“Our topic is called Dog Walking. Dog Walking is a dog walking project for people who can’t walk their dogs, or have disabilities. They give us a day and place to pick their dog up, so we can walk them.

I think this will make an impact on others because if people can’t walk their dogs, then the dogs will get energised. If the dogs get to energised, then the dog will do things they’re not supposed to. If the dog does things they’re not supposed to do, the owners will get stressed. We’re trying to get the dogs outside and get the energy out, and take the stress off of the owner’s shoulders.

We came with this idea because we know many people who have dogs that can’t walk them, or don’t walk them. We wanted to change that. I believe our impact project will be successful, because many people need this kind of help.” Anjali, 5th Grader.

Charlotte, a fifth grader, is doing a project called “Save the Ocean”, she will be starting this project in March. In this project she will be organizing beach cleanups to go and help save the environment. She will be ending their project once they clean up about 3+ beaches. Here’s what Charlotte has to say:

“We decided to do beach cleanups because, I learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, one day. The other day our teacher told us that we were going to do something called , Impact Projects we decided to do Beach Cleanups.”

“I think , because many people decide to participate in beach clean ups. With this many people, we are hoping to clean up beaches. We are not going to get rid of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but we can make an impact by cleaning up beaches.”

“Me and my group are hoping to clean up at least 3-5 beaches this school year, even if we still get less than that I know we are Saving the Ocean. Because we know that even the tiniest piece of paper picked up at the beach can make a huge difference.  

“Every day millions of pieces of trash gets sucked up into the ocean then these poor animals think that these pieces of trash are food then they end up eating it and die. If we don’t stop this the whole entire ocean can full of trash and all of the creatures inside of it can die and be instinct. Then the world with now only have the creatures on land.”

“Then because of the trash creatures we haven’t ever discovered will be dead. Then we lost our chance of discovering these new creatures”