Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Rock Our World Global Celebration




Last Friday, 3rd and 4th grade students joined in for a LIVE global celebration with students from around the world.  We were able to share our project and were featured on a live segment.  Creator, Carol Anne Maguire asked our students about their Rock Our World experience!  During the celebration, our students back channeled on Edmodo, communicating with the producers and other classes!  We danced, we sang, and we celebrated!  It "rocked!"

Global Games




During Flat Classroom with the 1st graders and Kindergarteners, we learned from our friends in Montana!  They created videos for us on games they enjoy at their school, then we tried!  Our favorites were WALL BALL and Sight Word Uno!  Thanks to our friends  in Miss Jolley's class!  Want to check out their videos? Click here: https://docs.google.com/a/countrydaylargo.com/presentation/d/1frPUZqzv-KqOZvWQ_-mdR1uCU_jqjxP4782pygPK4Mw/edit#slide=id.g30b675b_0_2

Sunday, May 20, 2012

We Can Make a Difference: R.O.W. Poetry Slam submission

Rock Our World – An International Collaboration


This spring, Country Day School 3rd and 4th graders participated in Rock Our World. Rock Our World is “an innovative, international and colaborative challenge-based learning project that connects students from all over the globe. Together we create original music, create movies, and celebrate in a world-wide webinar affectionately known as Family Night” (Carol-Anne McGuire, founder).




“Using Apple’s GarageBand, each country creates a 30 second drum beat.  Every Friday, that drum rotates to another country, where the bass guitar is added.  It keeps getting passed along, from country to country.  At each stop, one more instrument is added.  When it comes back to the original country, it has touched students from all over the world! While the music is moving, students have opportunities to meet each other in live video chats to discuss various topics of curriculum” (McGuire). Country Day School rocked under the guidance of teacher Mrs. Tave and skyped with a partner school in Pennsylvania, where even their class pet guinea pig met our guinea pig and llama! Amazing!

This spring, R.O.W. assigned the theme “We Can Make a Difference” and named the challenge-based project as a Poetry Slam.  Under the guidance of Mrs. Levine, CDS students collaboratively wrote an acrostic poem, wrote the music, played the music, and choreographed the video production. 


Finally, with the help of 8th grader, Jared Hirschfield, and Mrs. Siracusa, the video was produced in iMovie, and later sent back to R.O.W. for the Family Night Celebration on May 17 & 18.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yvTyJLgdzc


On Friday, May 18th at 2:00 p.m., CDS students and teachers gathered in Cottage 4 to simultaneously view  the Family Night celebration on the live webstream on our bigscreen. Third and fourth grade students used iPads and laptops to simultaneously “backchannel” on the social media website Edmodo while watching the program. Six students excitedly and anxiously awaited their turn to be broadcast live for their interview and video showing. When finally came their turn, our students articulated their words well, made Carol-Anne laugh, and we all participated in a simultaneous “dance party!” It was truly amazing!
Fellow “Rocker” teachers and guests on-hand in Cottage 4 included Mr. Gillette, Mrs. Piper, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Metka, Mr. Bosés, Mr. DiAngelus and Mrs. Siracusa. They were so excited to participate in the celebration, and were heard to comment:
“Such fun!”
“I cannot even begin to tell you how impressed I am with the final project.”
“My favorite part was the process and the collaboration between classes, teachers, and schools around the world!  Projects such as these are what truly "make a difference" in the lives of these students.”
“Many congrats!”

As soon as the Spring 2012 Family Night video is made available, we will provide a link here. Until then, “keep rockin’!”

For more information on this Country Day global project, please contact Mrs. Siracusa or Mrs. Williams. Also, check out the Rock Our World website at

Friday, May 11, 2012

Mi Viaje a China


lunes:
 Fui a China. Yo comí arroz y pollo.
martes: 
 Fui a Tianamen Square y Forbidden City. Nosotros visitamos Beijing Royal School. Nosotros jugamos basquetbol.
mièrcoles:
  Nosotros manejamos a la Gran Muralla China. Yo subí la Gran Muralla China. Nosotros visitamos Sun Village.
jueves:
 Nosotros caminamos Summer Palace. Yo montó un barco.
viernes:
 Nosotros manejamos Beijing Zoo. Yo mirè pandas. Nosotros caminamos el mercado.
sabado:
 Yo comprè una camisa en el mercado. 

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0nn42nnM7qI



My Experience

This is a trip I will never forget… China Trip 2012. What other middle school in the U.S. has been to China? One of my favorite parts was climbing The Great Wall of China. I have wanted to climb The Great Wall of China for so long. Once I got on the wall I was so excited, but a little scared. The higher you get the less crowded. At the beginning I held on the railing hoping not to fall off, but the higher you got the more comfortable you were. Once I got down I remembered whet our tour guide said: In China once you climb The Great Wall of China you are a hero. Then I felt really accomplished and realized we are heroes.
A.M.

Monday, May 7, 2012

A letter flied from Minnesota to Istanbul.




 We recived a letter from Minnesota Friends. We talk about their wonderful world project and we realize that all of us are a part of The World. :)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Great Wall by Sam

       Going to the Great Wall of China was the most memorable experience I have ever had. I will remember it as a experience with my friends and mom. The most  exhilarating part of the hike was the huge winds at the top in the little tower at the end of the wall. Although there was a terrifying view down it was gorgeous. The hike only took around one hour all together and at the end we were crowned heroes. 
        The steps were steep,but some were short which made it so much easier on the way down. The air pressure got higher and higher, but we had water when we needed it most. After a few thousand steps it was nice to have a long bus ride to our next destination to just sit back, rest and stretch out. All in all I think China was the most exotic place I have and ever will go to in  this lifetime.

Friday, May 4, 2012

China by wyatt williams

China By Wyatt Williams

China was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  Well, for a 12 year old.  We had a great time, for example, we went to the Great Wall of China.  And we walked up to the highest point!  At least some of us did.  We went to other places also.  We went to The Jade factory, Sun Village,  A Tea factory, multiple markets, and many others.  So much others that I cant name them all.  My personal favorite place we went was the Forbidden City.  I liked it the most due to it being the home of emperors.  It had 9,999 rooms, because 10,000 would be equivalent to the number of rooms as the jade emperors palace.  If I had to pick a second, it would most likely be the Buddhist Temple.  I thought that was interesting because one of the statues held a world record.  To be exact, the record was the tallest Buddha statue standing today.  It was made completely made of one tree trunk, and it was 55 feet tall!  Some other things I did were ride a segway  on an Olympic track, eat chinese food for lunch and dinner for the hole trip, and have a great time!

Reflection by Lawrence

I have no words to explain the China trip. From the Great Wall to Sun Village, it was amazing. My favorite part of the trip was the Silk Street Market. I never known people could be so demanding. All jokes aside, it was my favorite part because people make their living selling those items. Also, the bargaining was awesome too. It is amazing how low you can bring down the price of an item. All in all, China was an amazing trip and I would do it again any day.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

China Trip 2012

The Top Ten Things I did in China:
1. Climbed the Great Wall of China.
2. Went inside the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
3. Visited the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
4. Went to the Beijing Zoo and saw Pandas.
5. Saw an incredible Chinese Acrobatic Show.
6. Visited the Jade Factory and bought Jade souvenirs.
7. Went to the Silk Factory.
8. Rode on a Rickshaw through the narrow streets of Hutong.
9. Went shopping in the Silk market and bartered with the vendors.
10. Visited the Beijing Royal School and played basketball against the students at the school.

By: Jackson

China by : savanah

This past week was the best week of my life and I will never forget going to China with my friends. This trip beats all my trips that I have been on in my whole entire life. The places we went to are placse people  normally don't get to go to. I got to go on a once and a lifetime trip and it was the best.

My favorite day was when we climbed the Great Wall of China. That day was the most tiring and the most exciting day of the trip. We also went to sun village that day. the sun village is where kids go if there parents miss treat them or do not have enough money to take care of them. The stories that some of the kids have are sad and heart breaking.All in all this trip was the best trip of my life and I will never forget it.



                                                                            China

China by:Chloe

This past week was the best week of my life. I had the opportunity to travel to China with Country Day School. Traveling to China was amazing. I was able to learn their ways of life and their diffrent religions. I was able to compare the Us to China, what we have compared to them, and what they have compared to us.

The tour was amazing, i think its impossible to regret traveling there. Places like the forbidden city and lama temple were beautiful and it was great to learn about them. The Great Wall of China was impecable. I can not believe how long it is and how people may have climbed/built that. But most impotantly, one thing that struck me the most was the sun village. The stories of the childreen their are heart breaking and i would love to help out.  http://www.sunvillage.com.cn/eng/milestone.php
Overall, my trip to China is a trip i will never forget and tell people about forever.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Beijing Reflection by Franco

China was one of the best trips I've had in my life, and not just an educational trip, and experience. It was the first time I had been out of the U.S.A, let alone go to Toronto then China. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Silk market and the Great wall of China, The Great Wall had me speechless, and tired. It was amazing climbing up to the towers and seeing the view, then thinking to myself that I still had several sections to go.... It's one of the first wonders of the world I had seen, and it will forever be a special memory in my life, my time there was just amazing. Learning about the culture, technology, clothing, and just things like the Jade and Silk alone were cool to learn about. I love how China keeps similar to Early cultures, like Jade, Silk, and many other things, while still being a very modern civilization. The Buddhist temple was also very interesting, the statues were very well made and the giant world record Buddhist statue was just an amazing feat, I couldn't believe that was carved out of a single tree trunk! I thought China was one of the greatest times of my life and I won't forget it soon.

The Great Wall By Corey


                                                                    The Great Wall

 It stretches over 25,000 miles. The tourists attraction of a life time. An experience that will change your life. Small watch towers separating the time till the end of your long walk. You feel like the king of the world as you walk up the final steps. You start to climb to the top of the watch tower. You made it! The Great Wall of China, you climbed it.


By: Corey

Reflection by Emma


           China was a very fascinating and exciting trip. It was
very fun, but i'm happy to be home. My favorite thing that i did was
ride a segway around the Olympic stadium. Before i knew about the
chance to segway around the track i was really looking forward to
seeing the Bird's Nest. I wanted to see it because i really enjoyed
watching the Olympics in 2008, and i wanted to see it in person. Once
we got into the stadium i was really excited. Corey and I were walking
around the stadium when Corey's mom called us over. Once we got there
she said we could segway around the track. I had never rode a segway
before. Once i was on it i was having a lot of fun. The man watching
over the track said to me "You are number one!" I laughed. It was so
much fun.
           Some of my favorite sites we went to were the Great Wall
of China, the Forbidden City, and the Lama Temple. At the Lama temple
i liked seeing the different styles and sizes of the Buddha. It was
very interesting. The Great Wall was also very fun. The view from the
Wall was amazing and beautiful. Even though the previous events were
my favorite I enjoyed everything very much. If i could go back to
China, i would! But right now i need a little break! Thanks to
everyone who helped organize the trip, you did a great job!
Emma