“Social distancing” or “physical distancing” are terms used interchangeably to describe the healthy physical distance needed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. Healthy human beings, however, also require
social connection
in order to maintain their individual and collective resilience.
As we continue to maintain physical distance, we will continue to be equally committed to sustaining healthy social connections. While students and faculty will be officially on Spring Break next week, we will keep our virtual doors of communication open to facilitate connection to one another, to our neighbors, and to our community. Please stay tuned for the Spring Break schedule, and in the meantime, consider joining us for lunch on Monday with Chef Christine, and continue to share your pictures and stories by sending them to
jneuner@mphschool.org.
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Celebrating Spring!
Mr. Vural reports: "Seventh grader Evie McGuire-Griffin isn't letting social distancing get in the way of her pursuit of science! She is raising painted lady butterflies at home. As of today, all five have emerged from their chrysalises, and are dining on orange slices and sugar water. She will be making observations on their food choices and habits as she tries to carry them through to the next generation. She shared live video of the butterflies with her class during our office hours." What a great way to celebrate spring!
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Broadcasting Class Tackles the World of Livestreaming
In Mr. Zlomek's Broadcasting class Friday, students had a chance to interview Kevin Manne, one of the creators of Buffalo Pinball, a Twitch partnership channel that creates livestream programming online five nights a week. In the world of livestreaming, a partnered Twitch channel is the equivalent of getting your show signed on a major television network! The Buffalo Pinball streams have been running for five years! Students had a chance to learn about the trials and tribulations of running a livestream network and start to generate ideas as to the types of livestreams they could create themselves.
The class had previously been working on an interview podcast, which has been put on hold for the moment. They are now shifting their focus to livestream technology on platforms like Twitch.tv, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Students will eventually create their own channels and find different ways to share their talents with the world.
The conversation with Kevin was student-led and all 14 students asked him poignant questions about the Twitch platform, livestreaming's effect on their lives as global citizens, and the practicality of running a streaming network. The entire interview was a little over an hour, but
take a look at a excerpt below.
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Watch this week's video above and check out
the photos below!
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This Week's Wildflowers
with Audrey Yeager
Today, I hiked through Clark Reservation in Jamesville to hunt for wildflowers with my children Charlotte and Kyler. It is still very early in the season, but there have been some sunny days, rain, and temps are getting warmer. My kids were the ones who found the first two flowers, common violet and periwinkle. On our way out, I was excited to find a cut-leaf toothwort starting to bloom!
The common violet can be found in yards, roadsides, and trails from April through October, which is a long season. Both the flowers and the leaves are edible, and different parts of the plant have historically been used medicinally for colds and headaches.
Periwinkle is a non-native flower brought to the U.S. in the 1700s. It was a favorite in landscaping, but quickly escaped and naturalized into shady, woodland areas. and it is considered invasive in many states. This flower is so popular that Crayola even named one of its crayons after it!
Finally, c
ut-leaf toothwort, c
ardamine concatenata
(formerly
dentaria laciniata
), grows in shaded woodland areas. The tooth-like projections on the rhizomes give it its name (and also its former genus name "
Dentaria
"). It is a larval food-plant for several species of butterflies, but will be completely gone by summer. The invasive Garlic Mustard plant has caused declines in populations of Toothworts, thereby affecting populations of the butterflies, especially the West Virginia White butterfly.
Happy wildflower hunting! Be sure to email your selfies with wildflowers
here.
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Wacky Wednesday in Second Grade!
Mrs. Congel put her own spin on Wednesday's April Fool's Day lesson. Take a look at her second grade reading lesson focusing on reinforcing reading and spelling words with R-controlled syllables.
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PE Class: Home Edition
Mrs. Demers's PE challenge has got MPHers up and moving. Check out these photos of basement bootcamp!
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And this Lower Schooler is completing her obstacle course in her back yard!
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The Mirakian boys have put their own spin on fitness.
Check out the video below.
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Sixth Graders "Tinker" with 3D Technology
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The students in Sixth-Grade Technology were assigned the task of creating a 3D model of the Knox Farmhouse using the software TinkerCAD. They had access to a Google street view of the building, as well as a few photos. Owen Reckess got right to work on the design (just moments after it was assigned) and, prior to the start of class, had already completed the majority of his work. During the check-in, he shared his screen in Google Meet and presented it to the class. He answered some questions from his peers about how he solved different design problems and then requested that the class tackle the Phoenix Student Center next! Stay tuned!
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Alumni Staying Connected
We had originally planned on hosting an Alumni Regional Reunion in New York City this month, but we found ourselves having to adapt to the times! So, Alumni Relations Associate Erica Toyama launched a Zoom reunion last night, where she was joined by MPH alumni Jared Balanoff ’91, Polly Englot ’12, Noah Kellman ’09, Lloyd Tepper ’85, Blair Frodelius ’82, and Meg Curtis ’17. Many MPH faculty and staff joined in on the fun as well, including Dave McCusker, Kelly Rose, Ted Curtis, Matt Spear, Will O’Malley, Michele Koziara, and Rick Huyge. This event is just the first of many MPH alumni virtual events to come!
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Lower School Band isn't missing a beat!
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Upper School Distance Learning!
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A talented fifth-grader sewing masks. Thank you!
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MS Tournament of Desserts! The winner was: BROWNIES!
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