Blockbuster Summer
7/24
Today was another fun-filled Wednesday met with comfortable weather, drying the campus from the overnight showers. We are pleased to welcome back Mr. Marchand as our highlight teacher. Mr. Marchand has built incredible rapport with his students this month, individualizing his lessons and approaches to best teach writing. This is the latest update from his class:
In Writing I, students become acquainted with and learn to appropriately utilize assistive technology to improve their writing. Week 2, they fully engaged in understating basic grammatical principles and writing mechanics, which they are successfully implementing into their final assignment. Writing I emphasizes the entire writing process and encourages students to go through each step in the process to better understand the value in the writing progression. Finally, students practice proper revision and editing and do so with greater degree of independence.
In pairing with this week’s theme: Plan for Yourself—students are working to complete a multi-paragraph essay, where they identify the aspect(s) of the writing process that they a) struggle with the most, and b) find themselves enjoying/doing with the greatest degree of ease; develop a plan that they can implement during the upcoming school year to help them succeed on academic writing assignments; and explain how and why that plan would foster success on a given writing assignment. With that, on Monday, each student engaged in individual and global brainstorming and completed subsequent graphic organizers for their respective papers. Today, students dove into the process of drafting and revising their first and second paragraphs. Tomorrow, I will have several productive individual sessions that focus on incorporating appropriate transition words and transition sentences in multi-paragraph essays, while maintaining academic tone.
This week's lesson hits upon several curricular items including having organize and develop multi-paragraph essays. Moreover, the class strives to incorporate three different modes (i.e. narrative, expository, persuasive) of writing, and this week, we introduced our third mode: expository essays.
Today, students answered the following warm up question: You win a million dollars, but there’s a catch— you have to spend it all in 24 hours, or you lose all the money. What do you do? As you can imagine, students had no trouble finding inspiration and reaching the limit (minimum of five sentences). In period 2, the students asked me the question, and I told them I would buy an X-series Master Craft… I showed them the boat, and soon enough, three responses came back buying boats. I was so proud…
The students have been impressive with their warm up prompt answers all summer long, and I look forward to their reflection piece on Thursday. They will have an opportunity to reflect on their own progress in writing, research, and overall performance; they will also answer an open-ended question, which asks them to reflect on the course itself. I look forward to their candid responses.
It is a pleasure to report that based on recent writings, students are in tune with their writing strengths as well as their struggles, which indicates a recognizable sense of self-reflection, as they have been open and honest when sharing their thoughts in their final essay. I hope that each student continues to develop and expand in awareness of self, as it will yield terrific results in their writing and propel their bright futures.
The afternoon was comfortable and engaging. The video game group had an exciting time playing with a flight simulator on the big screen, competing to see who could achieve the smoothest landings with a variety of planes. Meanwhile, the fitness crew received a valuable lesson on proper breathing techniques while lifting weights, enhancing their workout routines. Over in the V-PAC, where our art activities take place, students proudly received their finished ceramic projects. Others explored their creative side by mixing colors in shaving cream, enjoying both an artistic and sensory experience.
This evening, we rented out a theater for a special screening of the new movie "Twisters." The students were thrilled by the action-packed film, enjoying the excitement while snacking on popcorn and treats. It was a fantastic way to unwind and bond over a shared cinematic experience, adding another memorable moment to our final week. We will surely be well rested for our final day of classes tomorrow. Students and staff are rooted in the moment here at Forman Summer, soaking in all of our experiences before we wrap up the month on Friday.
Today was another fun-filled Wednesday met with comfortable weather, drying the campus from the overnight showers. We are pleased to welcome back Mr. Marchand as our highlight teacher. Mr. Marchand has built incredible rapport with his students this month, individualizing his lessons and approaches to best teach writing. This is the latest update from his class:
In Writing I, students become acquainted with and learn to appropriately utilize assistive technology to improve their writing. Week 2, they fully engaged in understating basic grammatical principles and writing mechanics, which they are successfully implementing into their final assignment. Writing I emphasizes the entire writing process and encourages students to go through each step in the process to better understand the value in the writing progression. Finally, students practice proper revision and editing and do so with greater degree of independence.
In pairing with this week’s theme: Plan for Yourself—students are working to complete a multi-paragraph essay, where they identify the aspect(s) of the writing process that they a) struggle with the most, and b) find themselves enjoying/doing with the greatest degree of ease; develop a plan that they can implement during the upcoming school year to help them succeed on academic writing assignments; and explain how and why that plan would foster success on a given writing assignment. With that, on Monday, each student engaged in individual and global brainstorming and completed subsequent graphic organizers for their respective papers. Today, students dove into the process of drafting and revising their first and second paragraphs. Tomorrow, I will have several productive individual sessions that focus on incorporating appropriate transition words and transition sentences in multi-paragraph essays, while maintaining academic tone.
This week's lesson hits upon several curricular items including having organize and develop multi-paragraph essays. Moreover, the class strives to incorporate three different modes (i.e. narrative, expository, persuasive) of writing, and this week, we introduced our third mode: expository essays.
Today, students answered the following warm up question: You win a million dollars, but there’s a catch— you have to spend it all in 24 hours, or you lose all the money. What do you do? As you can imagine, students had no trouble finding inspiration and reaching the limit (minimum of five sentences). In period 2, the students asked me the question, and I told them I would buy an X-series Master Craft… I showed them the boat, and soon enough, three responses came back buying boats. I was so proud…
The students have been impressive with their warm up prompt answers all summer long, and I look forward to their reflection piece on Thursday. They will have an opportunity to reflect on their own progress in writing, research, and overall performance; they will also answer an open-ended question, which asks them to reflect on the course itself. I look forward to their candid responses.
It is a pleasure to report that based on recent writings, students are in tune with their writing strengths as well as their struggles, which indicates a recognizable sense of self-reflection, as they have been open and honest when sharing their thoughts in their final essay. I hope that each student continues to develop and expand in awareness of self, as it will yield terrific results in their writing and propel their bright futures.
The afternoon was comfortable and engaging. The video game group had an exciting time playing with a flight simulator on the big screen, competing to see who could achieve the smoothest landings with a variety of planes. Meanwhile, the fitness crew received a valuable lesson on proper breathing techniques while lifting weights, enhancing their workout routines. Over in the V-PAC, where our art activities take place, students proudly received their finished ceramic projects. Others explored their creative side by mixing colors in shaving cream, enjoying both an artistic and sensory experience.
This evening, we rented out a theater for a special screening of the new movie "Twisters." The students were thrilled by the action-packed film, enjoying the excitement while snacking on popcorn and treats. It was a fantastic way to unwind and bond over a shared cinematic experience, adding another memorable moment to our final week. We will surely be well rested for our final day of classes tomorrow. Students and staff are rooted in the moment here at Forman Summer, soaking in all of our experiences before we wrap up the month on Friday.
Shiny Rocks and Study Skills
7/23
We kicked off Tuesday of Week 4 with another productive morning of classes. Dr. O. is back as our highlight teacher. Dr. O. is a valuable member of the Forman School staff, bringing strong values for mental and physical health. His approach is gentle but encouraging, helping increase engagement. He shares the following updates from his class:
Science of Studying
In today's Science of Study class, we focused on teaching students effective time management strategies for essay exams. We discussed common time management challenges and explored breaking the essay process into smaller tasks. Students then practiced allocating specific times for brainstorming, outlining, writing, and reviewing using a sample essay prompt and a timer to simulate an exam. Afterward, students reflected on what strategies worked well and what needed adjustment. This lesson aimed to help students gain practical skills and confidence in completing essays within the time limit, fostering better study habits and academic success.
This week's curriculum in the Science of Study class focuses on enhancing students' test-taking skills, particularly their ability to manage time effectively during exams. Lesson 2 on planning and organizing time during essay exams fits seamlessly into this theme by addressing a critical aspect of test-taking—time management. Previously, we introduced general time management principles and strategies for multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Today's lesson built on that foundation by applying those principles specifically to essay exams, allowing students to practice and refine their skills in a focused, practical context. This progression ensures that students are comprehensively equipped to handle different exam formats with confidence and efficiency.
As we finish up the course, we will focus on managing test anxiety and reflecting on progress, ensuring that students leave with a comprehensive set of skills to excel in their academic pursuits.
Parents may find it valuable to know that the course has provided students with essential skills for effective essay writing and time management, including personalized feedback to help them improve. The full-length essay simulation and peer review workshops offered practical experience in realistic settings, preparing students for actual exams. The final lesson will focus on managing test anxiety and reflecting on progress, equipping students with tools to stay calm and evaluate their growth. Overall, the course has aimed to enhance students' academic abilities and confidence, setting them up for future success.
Learning and the Brain
Today's lesson in the Learning and The Brain course focused on developing and presenting research-based projects. Students began by using planning sheets to outline their projects, with teacher support available for guidance. They then created their projects using research findings from the previous lesson and various presentation tools like PowerPoint. During the peer review activity, students exchanged feedback to refine their work. Finally, students presented their projects to the class, utilizing creative formats such as skits or digital presentations. This lesson aimed to enhance their research and presentation skills, boosting their confidence in effectively communicating their findings.
This week's curriculum in the Learning and The Brain course has centered on research, making today's lesson a natural progression. After spending last class exploring research methods and findings, today's focus on developing and presenting research-based projects allowed students to apply their newly acquired knowledge in a practical setting. By outlining, creating, and presenting their projects, students were able to consolidate their understanding of research and refine their communication skills. This hands-on experience not only reinforced their research skills but also demonstrated how to effectively convey complex information to others, aligning perfectly with this week's emphasis on research.
Students should look forward to tomorrow's session, which will focus on reflecting on personal learning habits and strategies. In this lesson, they will use reflection journals to evaluate their current learning practices, guided by prompts that encourage deep thinking about what works best for them and what challenges they face. After sharing their reflections in small groups, students will create personalized learning strategy plans, incorporating their insights and setting goals for improvement. The session will also include one-on-one student-teacher conferences, where they will receive tailored feedback and guidance. This process aims to enhance their self-awareness and effectiveness in learning, ensuring they have a clearer path to achieving their academic goals.
Parents may be interested to know that tomorrow's session will focus on helping students reflect on and improve their personal learning habits. By using reflection journals and engaging in guided group discussions, students will gain insights into their own learning processes and identify effective strategies. The lesson will also feature one-on-one conferences with the teacher, offering personalized feedback and support to help students set and achieve their learning goals. This approach aims to enhance students' self-awareness and academic performance, providing them with the tools and strategies to become more effective learners.
We’d like to thank Dr. O. for joining the Forman Summer program again and also wish him a Happy Birthday! In the afternoon, students enjoyed cool weather for their activities.
The soccer group, with large numbers this week, saw evenly matched teams battling it out on the pitch. The hiking group ventured to Steep Rock Nature Preserve, where they explored the quartz mine, crossed the Henry David Thoreau bridge, and collected some quartz keepsakes. Meanwhile, the music group delved into the importance of bass and drums, focusing on how they maintain timing and rhythm in a song.
In the evening, we wrapped up our final round of counselor chats. Ryan, Mimi, and Jeremy shared their inspiring stories of perseverance and personal growth throughout their educational careers, leaving students motivated and reflective. As we near the end of our summer program, these stories provided valuable insights and encouragement for our students.
We kicked off Tuesday of Week 4 with another productive morning of classes. Dr. O. is back as our highlight teacher. Dr. O. is a valuable member of the Forman School staff, bringing strong values for mental and physical health. His approach is gentle but encouraging, helping increase engagement. He shares the following updates from his class:
Science of Studying
In today's Science of Study class, we focused on teaching students effective time management strategies for essay exams. We discussed common time management challenges and explored breaking the essay process into smaller tasks. Students then practiced allocating specific times for brainstorming, outlining, writing, and reviewing using a sample essay prompt and a timer to simulate an exam. Afterward, students reflected on what strategies worked well and what needed adjustment. This lesson aimed to help students gain practical skills and confidence in completing essays within the time limit, fostering better study habits and academic success.
This week's curriculum in the Science of Study class focuses on enhancing students' test-taking skills, particularly their ability to manage time effectively during exams. Lesson 2 on planning and organizing time during essay exams fits seamlessly into this theme by addressing a critical aspect of test-taking—time management. Previously, we introduced general time management principles and strategies for multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Today's lesson built on that foundation by applying those principles specifically to essay exams, allowing students to practice and refine their skills in a focused, practical context. This progression ensures that students are comprehensively equipped to handle different exam formats with confidence and efficiency.
As we finish up the course, we will focus on managing test anxiety and reflecting on progress, ensuring that students leave with a comprehensive set of skills to excel in their academic pursuits.
Parents may find it valuable to know that the course has provided students with essential skills for effective essay writing and time management, including personalized feedback to help them improve. The full-length essay simulation and peer review workshops offered practical experience in realistic settings, preparing students for actual exams. The final lesson will focus on managing test anxiety and reflecting on progress, equipping students with tools to stay calm and evaluate their growth. Overall, the course has aimed to enhance students' academic abilities and confidence, setting them up for future success.
Learning and the Brain
Today's lesson in the Learning and The Brain course focused on developing and presenting research-based projects. Students began by using planning sheets to outline their projects, with teacher support available for guidance. They then created their projects using research findings from the previous lesson and various presentation tools like PowerPoint. During the peer review activity, students exchanged feedback to refine their work. Finally, students presented their projects to the class, utilizing creative formats such as skits or digital presentations. This lesson aimed to enhance their research and presentation skills, boosting their confidence in effectively communicating their findings.
This week's curriculum in the Learning and The Brain course has centered on research, making today's lesson a natural progression. After spending last class exploring research methods and findings, today's focus on developing and presenting research-based projects allowed students to apply their newly acquired knowledge in a practical setting. By outlining, creating, and presenting their projects, students were able to consolidate their understanding of research and refine their communication skills. This hands-on experience not only reinforced their research skills but also demonstrated how to effectively convey complex information to others, aligning perfectly with this week's emphasis on research.
Students should look forward to tomorrow's session, which will focus on reflecting on personal learning habits and strategies. In this lesson, they will use reflection journals to evaluate their current learning practices, guided by prompts that encourage deep thinking about what works best for them and what challenges they face. After sharing their reflections in small groups, students will create personalized learning strategy plans, incorporating their insights and setting goals for improvement. The session will also include one-on-one student-teacher conferences, where they will receive tailored feedback and guidance. This process aims to enhance their self-awareness and effectiveness in learning, ensuring they have a clearer path to achieving their academic goals.
Parents may be interested to know that tomorrow's session will focus on helping students reflect on and improve their personal learning habits. By using reflection journals and engaging in guided group discussions, students will gain insights into their own learning processes and identify effective strategies. The lesson will also feature one-on-one conferences with the teacher, offering personalized feedback and support to help students set and achieve their learning goals. This approach aims to enhance students' self-awareness and academic performance, providing them with the tools and strategies to become more effective learners.
We’d like to thank Dr. O. for joining the Forman Summer program again and also wish him a Happy Birthday! In the afternoon, students enjoyed cool weather for their activities.
The soccer group, with large numbers this week, saw evenly matched teams battling it out on the pitch. The hiking group ventured to Steep Rock Nature Preserve, where they explored the quartz mine, crossed the Henry David Thoreau bridge, and collected some quartz keepsakes. Meanwhile, the music group delved into the importance of bass and drums, focusing on how they maintain timing and rhythm in a song.
In the evening, we wrapped up our final round of counselor chats. Ryan, Mimi, and Jeremy shared their inspiring stories of perseverance and personal growth throughout their educational careers, leaving students motivated and reflective. As we near the end of our summer program, these stories provided valuable insights and encouragement for our students.
Final Week Fun: Geometric Insights, Outdoor Adventures, and Mindful Reflections
7/22
Today marked the first day of our final week at Forman Summer. Students began their day with breakfast and morning classes, setting a productive tone.
We discovered the formulas for area of 9 different geometric shapes, and we then applied that knowledge to work with composite figures and with surface area. Reed enjoyed seeing the patterns, and he identified the information needed to apply to each new step in the process.We are focusing on area, surface area, and volume of two and three dimensional objects, so the lesson today was a building block for the final day of applying all of this knowledge to volume.
Reed has been highly engaged, and readily making connections with the ideas. Having a three dimensional object to view has been a huge benefit.
Reed will see how all of the elements of our lessons this week will merge into the applications needed for volume. He will also look forward to feeling confident when he begins his geometry course during the school year.
The students in class were practicing all four operations with polynomials. They are identifying the elements included with polynomials, and challenging themselves to multiply a binomial by a trinomial. Division always presents the most challenges, so we will continue to practice multiple methods of division on our final day of class.This week was all about finishing up with systems of equations, and diving into the four operations using polynomials. We were able to review the work from earlier in the week, including addition and subtraction, and then dive into the more complex procedures involved with multiplication and division.
Iris and Angus have been highly motivated to pull all of the pieces together with polynomials. Ella was very attentive and so good about taking notes. Maria and Jack are taking great steps to participate more frequently in class.The students will feel so much more confident in the fall when their math courses begin. They have taken on challenges, and solidified many of their mathematical skills.
The algebra class successfully completed the challenge of finding a way to create the first 100 numbers using 4 or less fours, and any mathematical operation. It was truly a gift to see them dive in with such enthusiasm, and to see the pattern recognition improve on a daily basis.
In the afternoon, we launched our last round of activities with great enthusiasm.
Hiking was a big hit, with students exploring the boardwalk at White Memorial Conservation Center. During their hike, they identified four birds—Mallard, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Goldfinch, and Common Yellowthroat—as well as spotting toads and some wildflowers. It was a fantastic way to connect with nature and enjoy the outdoors.
Back on campus, students in the jewelry class learned new patterns for string bracelets, showcasing their creativity. The tennis players competed in doubles matches, adding a friendly competitive spirit to the afternoon. Basketball enthusiasts were joined by Mr. Brochu, who flaunted his height to challenge all those who accepted.
This evening, we completed the Mindfulness Mondays series with Mrs. Bloom. The students finished their 'Possible Selves tree' project, reflecting on their growth and aspirations. They also took a moment to write thank you cards to a staff member or friend of their choosing, highlighting their appreciation for someone who has made a positive impact on them this month. This activity fostered gratitude and a sense of community, rounding off a day filled with learning and connection.
Today marked the first day of our final week at Forman Summer. Students began their day with breakfast and morning classes, setting a productive tone.
We discovered the formulas for area of 9 different geometric shapes, and we then applied that knowledge to work with composite figures and with surface area. Reed enjoyed seeing the patterns, and he identified the information needed to apply to each new step in the process.We are focusing on area, surface area, and volume of two and three dimensional objects, so the lesson today was a building block for the final day of applying all of this knowledge to volume.
Reed has been highly engaged, and readily making connections with the ideas. Having a three dimensional object to view has been a huge benefit.
Reed will see how all of the elements of our lessons this week will merge into the applications needed for volume. He will also look forward to feeling confident when he begins his geometry course during the school year.
The students in class were practicing all four operations with polynomials. They are identifying the elements included with polynomials, and challenging themselves to multiply a binomial by a trinomial. Division always presents the most challenges, so we will continue to practice multiple methods of division on our final day of class.This week was all about finishing up with systems of equations, and diving into the four operations using polynomials. We were able to review the work from earlier in the week, including addition and subtraction, and then dive into the more complex procedures involved with multiplication and division.
Iris and Angus have been highly motivated to pull all of the pieces together with polynomials. Ella was very attentive and so good about taking notes. Maria and Jack are taking great steps to participate more frequently in class.The students will feel so much more confident in the fall when their math courses begin. They have taken on challenges, and solidified many of their mathematical skills.
The algebra class successfully completed the challenge of finding a way to create the first 100 numbers using 4 or less fours, and any mathematical operation. It was truly a gift to see them dive in with such enthusiasm, and to see the pattern recognition improve on a daily basis.
In the afternoon, we launched our last round of activities with great enthusiasm.
Hiking was a big hit, with students exploring the boardwalk at White Memorial Conservation Center. During their hike, they identified four birds—Mallard, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Goldfinch, and Common Yellowthroat—as well as spotting toads and some wildflowers. It was a fantastic way to connect with nature and enjoy the outdoors.
Back on campus, students in the jewelry class learned new patterns for string bracelets, showcasing their creativity. The tennis players competed in doubles matches, adding a friendly competitive spirit to the afternoon. Basketball enthusiasts were joined by Mr. Brochu, who flaunted his height to challenge all those who accepted.
This evening, we completed the Mindfulness Mondays series with Mrs. Bloom. The students finished their 'Possible Selves tree' project, reflecting on their growth and aspirations. They also took a moment to write thank you cards to a staff member or friend of their choosing, highlighting their appreciation for someone who has made a positive impact on them this month. This activity fostered gratitude and a sense of community, rounding off a day filled with learning and connection.
The Days Are Zipping By
7/21
Today was a relaxed Sunday on campus with multiple options for excitement off-campus. Students seeking adventure had the choice of trips to the mall, R&B Sportsworld, axe throwing, and a zipline park. At R&B Sportsworld, students competed in mini golf, raced in go-karts, tried their luck in the batting cages, and won tickets in the arcade.
Those who chose the zipline park progressed through challenging obstacles and enjoyed thrilling rides, adding a burst of adrenaline to their weekend. The axe throwing group had 100% of its attendees hit a bullseye, allowing them to sign the ‘Bullseye Wall’ at Litchfield Axe Throwing.
On campus, students had the freedom to explore our various activity areas, watch movies in the student center, or simply enjoy the sunshine on our beautiful campus green. It was a perfect day for relaxation and casual fun, providing a balance to the action-packed week and to help us prepare for the coming week of academics.
As is our tradition, we concluded the day with dorm cleanup and our weekly preparation session. With only one week left of Forman Summer, everyone is feeling the bittersweet anticipation of our final days together. Time has flown by, and we are excited to make the most of the upcoming week!
Today was a relaxed Sunday on campus with multiple options for excitement off-campus. Students seeking adventure had the choice of trips to the mall, R&B Sportsworld, axe throwing, and a zipline park. At R&B Sportsworld, students competed in mini golf, raced in go-karts, tried their luck in the batting cages, and won tickets in the arcade.
Those who chose the zipline park progressed through challenging obstacles and enjoyed thrilling rides, adding a burst of adrenaline to their weekend. The axe throwing group had 100% of its attendees hit a bullseye, allowing them to sign the ‘Bullseye Wall’ at Litchfield Axe Throwing.
On campus, students had the freedom to explore our various activity areas, watch movies in the student center, or simply enjoy the sunshine on our beautiful campus green. It was a perfect day for relaxation and casual fun, providing a balance to the action-packed week and to help us prepare for the coming week of academics.
As is our tradition, we concluded the day with dorm cleanup and our weekly preparation session. With only one week left of Forman Summer, everyone is feeling the bittersweet anticipation of our final days together. Time has flown by, and we are excited to make the most of the upcoming week!
Memorable Moments at High Meadows
7/20
Today marked our final Saturday trip, and we ventured to High Meadows in Granby, Connecticut. The scenic drive was filled with anticipation, and the students' faces lit up as we pulled into the campground, teeming with exciting activities. Students had the opportunity to enjoy horseback riding, experiencing the beauty of the camp from a unique perspective. The pool, complete with a diving board, hosted diving contests that saw some impressive feats and the occasional flop. For those feeling creative, the arts and crafts stations were a popular spot to make souvenirs and jewelry. The bounce houses and climbing wall provided plenty of thrills, while friendly competitions in mini golf, bocce, tennis, and ping pong kept everyone entertained.
The day was filled with various competitions, including a pie-eating contest where students enthusiastically showcased their speed-eating skills. Intense and fun knockout games on the basketball courts were a big hit, and laughter filled the air during a lively game of musical chairs. The grill was fired up for lunch, serving delicious hot dogs and hamburgers alongside a refreshing salad bar. It was the perfect meal to fuel our busy day. With intermittent jumps in the pool to cool off.
As the day came to a close, we returned to campus, tired from the excitement but filled with wonderful memories of our adventure at High Meadows. The friendships formed in these short weeks are certainly impactful and that was evident throughout today.
Today marked our final Saturday trip, and we ventured to High Meadows in Granby, Connecticut. The scenic drive was filled with anticipation, and the students' faces lit up as we pulled into the campground, teeming with exciting activities. Students had the opportunity to enjoy horseback riding, experiencing the beauty of the camp from a unique perspective. The pool, complete with a diving board, hosted diving contests that saw some impressive feats and the occasional flop. For those feeling creative, the arts and crafts stations were a popular spot to make souvenirs and jewelry. The bounce houses and climbing wall provided plenty of thrills, while friendly competitions in mini golf, bocce, tennis, and ping pong kept everyone entertained.
The day was filled with various competitions, including a pie-eating contest where students enthusiastically showcased their speed-eating skills. Intense and fun knockout games on the basketball courts were a big hit, and laughter filled the air during a lively game of musical chairs. The grill was fired up for lunch, serving delicious hot dogs and hamburgers alongside a refreshing salad bar. It was the perfect meal to fuel our busy day. With intermittent jumps in the pool to cool off.
As the day came to a close, we returned to campus, tired from the excitement but filled with wonderful memories of our adventure at High Meadows. The friendships formed in these short weeks are certainly impactful and that was evident throughout today.
From Classroom to Rapids
7/19
We started our day with the usual routine of breakfast and classes, setting a steady pace for the final day of Week 3. We are happy to welcome back Ms. Thiel as our highlight teacher. She has graced us with the following updates from her room:
Pre-Algebra:
In our Pre-Algebra class, students have been diving into fundamental math concepts through engaging and interactive methods. They've been mastering the order of operations, operations with fractions/decimals, simplifying fractions, finding common denominators, and comparing and creating equivalent fractions. We've introduced ratios, solved proportions, and explored percentages, including calculating them. To make learning enjoyable, we've incorporated fun games and activities. Students have practiced these concepts through worksheets supplemented with fun games like Kahoot, Blooket, and Jeopardy, as well as various partner activities, ensuring a comprehensive and enjoyable learning experience.
Algebra 1:
In our Algebra 1 class, students have been developing their problem-solving skills through a variety of engaging and interactive activities. They've been learning to solve one and two-step equations with whole numbers, as well as tackling equations that include decimals and fractions. We’ve introduced the fundamentals of functions and explored graphing linear equations. Students have also been working on understanding and graphing the slope-intercept form. Similar to my other classes, online platforms like Kahoot and Blooket have been a hit as supplemental material. Through collaborative partner activities, they’ve been gaining a strong grasp of these essential concepts in an enjoyable and supportive learning environment.
Algebra 2:
In our Algebra 2 class, students have been delving into advanced mathematical concepts with enthusiasm and determination. They've been mastering factoring techniques, including GCF, grouping, and situations where a=1 and a>1, as well as completing the square and using the quadratic formula. Our exploration of quadratics has included graphing through vertex, intercept, and standard forms, and solving word problems involving quadratic equations. Students have also been learning about inverse equations, solving them algebraically and graphically, and proving inverses through composition. We've introduced the fundamentals of trigonometry, providing a solid foundation for further study. Throughout these topics, students have been building on their previous knowledge and growing their confidence in mathematics, becoming more adept at tackling complex problems and appreciating the beauty of mathematical relationships.
To wrap up our final day of activities for week 3, we were sure to soak up the last opportunity with the groups we signed up for. The rafting crew celebrated their last session by renting a raft and rowing as a team to conquer some thrilling rapids. It was an exhilarating end to their week of training and teamwork. Our fitness enthusiasts learned essential safety techniques for spotting, ensuring they can support each other effectively during workouts. Opting for a relaxed afternoon, the baking crew voted to watch baking competitions in the student center on the big screen, enjoying a calm and inspiring end to their week.
For the evening we stuck to our Friday Movie Night theme. Students enjoyed some free time before gathering in the V-PAC building with snacks in hand to watch the classic "Cool Runnings," getting into the Olympic spirit with the Jamaican bobsled team.
Tomorrow, we embark on our final Saturday trip to High Meadow, where we'll enjoy swimming, climbing the wall, and face painting with friends. It's set to be a fun-filled day, a perfect conclusion to Week 3.
We started our day with the usual routine of breakfast and classes, setting a steady pace for the final day of Week 3. We are happy to welcome back Ms. Thiel as our highlight teacher. She has graced us with the following updates from her room:
Pre-Algebra:
In our Pre-Algebra class, students have been diving into fundamental math concepts through engaging and interactive methods. They've been mastering the order of operations, operations with fractions/decimals, simplifying fractions, finding common denominators, and comparing and creating equivalent fractions. We've introduced ratios, solved proportions, and explored percentages, including calculating them. To make learning enjoyable, we've incorporated fun games and activities. Students have practiced these concepts through worksheets supplemented with fun games like Kahoot, Blooket, and Jeopardy, as well as various partner activities, ensuring a comprehensive and enjoyable learning experience.
Algebra 1:
In our Algebra 1 class, students have been developing their problem-solving skills through a variety of engaging and interactive activities. They've been learning to solve one and two-step equations with whole numbers, as well as tackling equations that include decimals and fractions. We’ve introduced the fundamentals of functions and explored graphing linear equations. Students have also been working on understanding and graphing the slope-intercept form. Similar to my other classes, online platforms like Kahoot and Blooket have been a hit as supplemental material. Through collaborative partner activities, they’ve been gaining a strong grasp of these essential concepts in an enjoyable and supportive learning environment.
Algebra 2:
In our Algebra 2 class, students have been delving into advanced mathematical concepts with enthusiasm and determination. They've been mastering factoring techniques, including GCF, grouping, and situations where a=1 and a>1, as well as completing the square and using the quadratic formula. Our exploration of quadratics has included graphing through vertex, intercept, and standard forms, and solving word problems involving quadratic equations. Students have also been learning about inverse equations, solving them algebraically and graphically, and proving inverses through composition. We've introduced the fundamentals of trigonometry, providing a solid foundation for further study. Throughout these topics, students have been building on their previous knowledge and growing their confidence in mathematics, becoming more adept at tackling complex problems and appreciating the beauty of mathematical relationships.
To wrap up our final day of activities for week 3, we were sure to soak up the last opportunity with the groups we signed up for. The rafting crew celebrated their last session by renting a raft and rowing as a team to conquer some thrilling rapids. It was an exhilarating end to their week of training and teamwork. Our fitness enthusiasts learned essential safety techniques for spotting, ensuring they can support each other effectively during workouts. Opting for a relaxed afternoon, the baking crew voted to watch baking competitions in the student center on the big screen, enjoying a calm and inspiring end to their week.
For the evening we stuck to our Friday Movie Night theme. Students enjoyed some free time before gathering in the V-PAC building with snacks in hand to watch the classic "Cool Runnings," getting into the Olympic spirit with the Jamaican bobsled team.
Tomorrow, we embark on our final Saturday trip to High Meadow, where we'll enjoy swimming, climbing the wall, and face painting with friends. It's set to be a fun-filled day, a perfect conclusion to Week 3.
Learning and Leisure
7/18
Today brought another beautiful day, perfect for our exciting lineup of activities. After some breakfast students headed to their classes where we continued to make strides. Mr. Brochu is back to share an update from his classes, which seem to be favorites amongst many of our students.
Science of Studying
This week in the Science of Studying, students have begun to reflect on the skills they have learned and what ones they particularly find interesting. So far, we have discussed, studied, and practiced using; the spaced study practice, interleaving practice, dual-coding, elaboration, and retrieval practice. Although there is no physical test to study for, students have analyzed case studies, done practice activities, and completed written reflections highlighting their understanding of each skill.
In class today we began our reflection on what we have learned so far. A large part of this course deals with metacognition and our own awareness of our thought process. With this, students completed a self-assessment reviewing the study strategies they used before this course, how effective they were, and then in comparison, what new knowledge they gained and do they plan on implementing these skills after the class ends.
Following this, students then evaluated two different study skills we looked at and graded them based on their criteria of; ease of use, effectiveness, time efficiency, flexibility, engagement, and overall satisfaction. Students were asked to evaluate their favorite study skill and least favorite study skill. Upon the completion of the evaluations, students also completed a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen skill and how they could integrate into their own study sessions.
It is safe to say that after these reflections and evaluations, these students have made considerable progress in their understanding and application of the skills they have learned. It has been fantastic watching each of them find what works best for them and hearing them discuss how they plan to use these new skills next school year. I am positive that as we continue in this course, students will continue to grow and build on these skills and truly build on their newly found strengths.
Going For Gold
In Going for Gold our main focus has been building and creating their research projects. Previously, students have made tremendous progress in building a research question, creating an outline, and executing a plan. On top of that, they have also practiced time management, task prioritization, creating due dates, brainstorming ideas, and mapping out their thoughts. Students have also completed self-reflections on their progress and created numerous action plans to achieve daily goals.
Today in class we discussed different ways to progress through creative thinking. We discussed the values of brainstorming, mind mapping, and reverse thinking to work our way through certain scenarios and how these methods can create ease when we go into things like a research project. The students were given a scenario on how we can reduce plastic waste in schools, and were tasked with being as creative as possible to brainstorm and map out ideas of their thoughts and plans. These students certainly understood how to get creative as we had plans that involved drones and radar to recycling centers remaking products for those in need. It was amazing to see their curiosity and creativity take over as they nailed the task at hand.
We also talked about the values of encouraging creativity, embracing failure, and the values of working in a collaborative environment when crafting ideas. We had a large discussion on how sometimes with creativity, failure can become present and that can be OK, it is a process in how we learn and our ability to overcome obstacles is what presents itself in the end.
As we continue forward with our goal of completing a multi-week research project as well as building our executive functioning skills, I am excited to continue to witness these students' growth and perseverance every day. Next week, we will be delving into peer editing and final presentations!
The fun continued this afternoon with another perfect day of weather. Our horseback riding group took advantage of the great weather and dabbled in some trail riding. The students enjoyed exploring the scenic trails, learning to handle their horses in a different environment. The baking group whipped up batches of delicious chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies. Remarkably, they managed to do so without making a significant mess, showcasing their growing baking skills and teamwork. In our arts classes, students are starting to wrap up their work for the week. In ceramics, they are putting the finishing touches on their pieces by applying glaze, excited to see their creations come to life in the kiln. It was a productive and enjoyable day, filled with creativity and new experiences. As we head into the final day of Week 3, we look forward to seeing all the amazing work our students have accomplished.
Today brought another beautiful day, perfect for our exciting lineup of activities. After some breakfast students headed to their classes where we continued to make strides. Mr. Brochu is back to share an update from his classes, which seem to be favorites amongst many of our students.
Science of Studying
This week in the Science of Studying, students have begun to reflect on the skills they have learned and what ones they particularly find interesting. So far, we have discussed, studied, and practiced using; the spaced study practice, interleaving practice, dual-coding, elaboration, and retrieval practice. Although there is no physical test to study for, students have analyzed case studies, done practice activities, and completed written reflections highlighting their understanding of each skill.
In class today we began our reflection on what we have learned so far. A large part of this course deals with metacognition and our own awareness of our thought process. With this, students completed a self-assessment reviewing the study strategies they used before this course, how effective they were, and then in comparison, what new knowledge they gained and do they plan on implementing these skills after the class ends.
Following this, students then evaluated two different study skills we looked at and graded them based on their criteria of; ease of use, effectiveness, time efficiency, flexibility, engagement, and overall satisfaction. Students were asked to evaluate their favorite study skill and least favorite study skill. Upon the completion of the evaluations, students also completed a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen skill and how they could integrate into their own study sessions.
It is safe to say that after these reflections and evaluations, these students have made considerable progress in their understanding and application of the skills they have learned. It has been fantastic watching each of them find what works best for them and hearing them discuss how they plan to use these new skills next school year. I am positive that as we continue in this course, students will continue to grow and build on these skills and truly build on their newly found strengths.
Going For Gold
In Going for Gold our main focus has been building and creating their research projects. Previously, students have made tremendous progress in building a research question, creating an outline, and executing a plan. On top of that, they have also practiced time management, task prioritization, creating due dates, brainstorming ideas, and mapping out their thoughts. Students have also completed self-reflections on their progress and created numerous action plans to achieve daily goals.
Today in class we discussed different ways to progress through creative thinking. We discussed the values of brainstorming, mind mapping, and reverse thinking to work our way through certain scenarios and how these methods can create ease when we go into things like a research project. The students were given a scenario on how we can reduce plastic waste in schools, and were tasked with being as creative as possible to brainstorm and map out ideas of their thoughts and plans. These students certainly understood how to get creative as we had plans that involved drones and radar to recycling centers remaking products for those in need. It was amazing to see their curiosity and creativity take over as they nailed the task at hand.
We also talked about the values of encouraging creativity, embracing failure, and the values of working in a collaborative environment when crafting ideas. We had a large discussion on how sometimes with creativity, failure can become present and that can be OK, it is a process in how we learn and our ability to overcome obstacles is what presents itself in the end.
As we continue forward with our goal of completing a multi-week research project as well as building our executive functioning skills, I am excited to continue to witness these students' growth and perseverance every day. Next week, we will be delving into peer editing and final presentations!
The fun continued this afternoon with another perfect day of weather. Our horseback riding group took advantage of the great weather and dabbled in some trail riding. The students enjoyed exploring the scenic trails, learning to handle their horses in a different environment. The baking group whipped up batches of delicious chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies. Remarkably, they managed to do so without making a significant mess, showcasing their growing baking skills and teamwork. In our arts classes, students are starting to wrap up their work for the week. In ceramics, they are putting the finishing touches on their pieces by applying glaze, excited to see their creations come to life in the kiln. It was a productive and enjoyable day, filled with creativity and new experiences. As we head into the final day of Week 3, we look forward to seeing all the amazing work our students have accomplished.
Rain of Shine, Talent Shines Bright
7/17
Another beautiful day down.We were welcomed by warm weather and smiling faces this morning at breakfast before we broke for our classes. We are very happy to hear from Mr. Cholnoky again about his most recent lesson plans. He shares the following:
‘In our third week, both our writing classes have been busy at work! We've progressed through research methods, grammar units, persuasive writing, scaffolds, mind maps, and graphic organizers. It's been an action filled week, so strap in for the recap!
Students in Writing I began their week embarking on creating a persuasive essay. They were tasked with identifying a part of classrooms that they struggle with and then developing a potential solution to that issue. Ideas ranged from independent working environments, creating printouts with larger/different fonts, finding ways to refocus in a distracting environment, and more! The goal here is to introduce them to persuasive writing as a concept; they need to find something that they personally struggle with and think critically of a solution that truly addresses the problem.
Today we continued steady progress on starting that essay after finishing our graphic organizers yesterday, using the first portion of class to actually put words down on paper. The second portion of class was dedicated to the editing process. Many students have had some experience in preliminary editing - things like punctuation and grammar. We dove deeper today, looking at adapting flow, avoiding repetition, and making our writing sing. This can be an intensive process that asks students to share their writing with each other and look to both give and receive feedback. In particular, we focused on sentence length. Students are familiar with the idea of varying sentence length, but rarely are given the opportunity to edit and perform it on a piece of writing that they've spent time and effort on with an instructor.
For this process, we take each of our sentences and highlight the writing with either a red color, denoting that particular sentence is short, a green color, denoting medium length, or blue for longer sentences. In the first stages of that editing process, students often have big green blocks of text with a few sentences of shorter or longer length scattered about. However, with some adjustments and investigation on the value of both short and long sentences, students slowly make their way through their essay moving ideas, phrases, and words around to create a smoother essay that sings, rather than speaks. If you're curious about what this idea can look like, Gary Provost - an American writer, dives into the "singing" of writing as an artform within typical writing and I'd highly recommend checking him out!
Looking forward in our Writing I class, we'll be exploring the value of expository writing in our last week. Comparing expository with persuasive writing, students will write a final short essay asking them to examine an area of the writing process that they struggle with and develop a plan for themselves to navigate and succeed with the writing process in mind.
In Writing II, students have finished up our research portion of their essays. They're writing a chunkier but deeper essay, looking to really engage the readers in thorough discourse and critical thinking by developing their own research question, thesis, and structuring an essay to answer a question that is personally engaging to them. The last week has been sourcing information. We started with Google Scholar, getting them accustomed to the most basic and free tools available to them at any time. Later in the week, we moved to JSTOR, a digital archive and database that students have access to through their Forman emails.
In JSTOR, students have access to a much wider range of sources. Many of the sources available in JSTOR are normally paid sources, but Forman provides access to a vast majority of the sources, strengthening our breadth of options. We begin by examining studies through their abstracts, a brief summary of the original intent of the study alongside methodology and findings. From there, we can determine the relevancy of the source to our subject matter. Each student has curated their own research question that personally interests them, giving meaning to the searching that they're doing.
On the last few days of the week we began the actual scaffolding and writing process. For this process, we've been exploring the use of scaffolding graphic organizers. Later in the process, we've familiarized ourselves with Cornell's notation system and incorporated it into our sourcing and writing process. A notable chunk of class was spent walking through the process of successfully developing a thesis carefully. A huge part of this is avoiding confirmation bias while looking through our sources and using the opportunity to present conflicting information in a way that actually strengthens their final product rather than hindering it.
For the last week of Writing II, we'll be starting the process of our essay, complete with an introduction, five body paragraphs, and a conclusion. From there, depending on the time we have, we'll fit in some peer reviewed feedback and finishing editing touches before we wrap up the course at the end of the week. Exciting stuff!’
This afternoon, we skillfully dodged the thunderstorms, managing to complete all of our activities until Block 4. Before the rain swooped in, the horseback crew was able to complete a full ride, the white water group learned how to kayak across ‘rooster tails’, and all of our art students made the walk across campus while staying dry. Once again, we practiced flexibility by moving the outdoor activities inside for the end of afternoon activities. Fortunately, we have a variety of indoor options to keep everyone engaged. Some students took the time to compete in billiards, others flocked to the gym to play frisbee, and some enjoyed the pinball machines.
In the evening, for Competitive Wednesdays, we hosted our very first talent show and lip sync competition. The students showcased their incredible talents and creativity, making it a night filled with laughter, applause, and memorable performances. From dancing to drinking water incredibly fast, each act brought something unique to the stage. The highlight of the night was the winning group that performed "I'm Ken" from the hit movie Barbie. Their energetic and entertaining performance won over the judges and the audience alike. We were also spoiled by a performance from counselor Doug that played a mashup of Billy Joel songs on the piano while serenading us. The students were blown away and ready for bed following the exciting night.
It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to shine and support each other, highlighting the sense of camaraderie that continues to grow within our Forman community. Check out the photo tab in the blog for videos of tonight’s performances and stay tuned for more excitement tomorrow!
Another beautiful day down.We were welcomed by warm weather and smiling faces this morning at breakfast before we broke for our classes. We are very happy to hear from Mr. Cholnoky again about his most recent lesson plans. He shares the following:
‘In our third week, both our writing classes have been busy at work! We've progressed through research methods, grammar units, persuasive writing, scaffolds, mind maps, and graphic organizers. It's been an action filled week, so strap in for the recap!
Students in Writing I began their week embarking on creating a persuasive essay. They were tasked with identifying a part of classrooms that they struggle with and then developing a potential solution to that issue. Ideas ranged from independent working environments, creating printouts with larger/different fonts, finding ways to refocus in a distracting environment, and more! The goal here is to introduce them to persuasive writing as a concept; they need to find something that they personally struggle with and think critically of a solution that truly addresses the problem.
Today we continued steady progress on starting that essay after finishing our graphic organizers yesterday, using the first portion of class to actually put words down on paper. The second portion of class was dedicated to the editing process. Many students have had some experience in preliminary editing - things like punctuation and grammar. We dove deeper today, looking at adapting flow, avoiding repetition, and making our writing sing. This can be an intensive process that asks students to share their writing with each other and look to both give and receive feedback. In particular, we focused on sentence length. Students are familiar with the idea of varying sentence length, but rarely are given the opportunity to edit and perform it on a piece of writing that they've spent time and effort on with an instructor.
For this process, we take each of our sentences and highlight the writing with either a red color, denoting that particular sentence is short, a green color, denoting medium length, or blue for longer sentences. In the first stages of that editing process, students often have big green blocks of text with a few sentences of shorter or longer length scattered about. However, with some adjustments and investigation on the value of both short and long sentences, students slowly make their way through their essay moving ideas, phrases, and words around to create a smoother essay that sings, rather than speaks. If you're curious about what this idea can look like, Gary Provost - an American writer, dives into the "singing" of writing as an artform within typical writing and I'd highly recommend checking him out!
Looking forward in our Writing I class, we'll be exploring the value of expository writing in our last week. Comparing expository with persuasive writing, students will write a final short essay asking them to examine an area of the writing process that they struggle with and develop a plan for themselves to navigate and succeed with the writing process in mind.
In Writing II, students have finished up our research portion of their essays. They're writing a chunkier but deeper essay, looking to really engage the readers in thorough discourse and critical thinking by developing their own research question, thesis, and structuring an essay to answer a question that is personally engaging to them. The last week has been sourcing information. We started with Google Scholar, getting them accustomed to the most basic and free tools available to them at any time. Later in the week, we moved to JSTOR, a digital archive and database that students have access to through their Forman emails.
In JSTOR, students have access to a much wider range of sources. Many of the sources available in JSTOR are normally paid sources, but Forman provides access to a vast majority of the sources, strengthening our breadth of options. We begin by examining studies through their abstracts, a brief summary of the original intent of the study alongside methodology and findings. From there, we can determine the relevancy of the source to our subject matter. Each student has curated their own research question that personally interests them, giving meaning to the searching that they're doing.
On the last few days of the week we began the actual scaffolding and writing process. For this process, we've been exploring the use of scaffolding graphic organizers. Later in the process, we've familiarized ourselves with Cornell's notation system and incorporated it into our sourcing and writing process. A notable chunk of class was spent walking through the process of successfully developing a thesis carefully. A huge part of this is avoiding confirmation bias while looking through our sources and using the opportunity to present conflicting information in a way that actually strengthens their final product rather than hindering it.
For the last week of Writing II, we'll be starting the process of our essay, complete with an introduction, five body paragraphs, and a conclusion. From there, depending on the time we have, we'll fit in some peer reviewed feedback and finishing editing touches before we wrap up the course at the end of the week. Exciting stuff!’
This afternoon, we skillfully dodged the thunderstorms, managing to complete all of our activities until Block 4. Before the rain swooped in, the horseback crew was able to complete a full ride, the white water group learned how to kayak across ‘rooster tails’, and all of our art students made the walk across campus while staying dry. Once again, we practiced flexibility by moving the outdoor activities inside for the end of afternoon activities. Fortunately, we have a variety of indoor options to keep everyone engaged. Some students took the time to compete in billiards, others flocked to the gym to play frisbee, and some enjoyed the pinball machines.
In the evening, for Competitive Wednesdays, we hosted our very first talent show and lip sync competition. The students showcased their incredible talents and creativity, making it a night filled with laughter, applause, and memorable performances. From dancing to drinking water incredibly fast, each act brought something unique to the stage. The highlight of the night was the winning group that performed "I'm Ken" from the hit movie Barbie. Their energetic and entertaining performance won over the judges and the audience alike. We were also spoiled by a performance from counselor Doug that played a mashup of Billy Joel songs on the piano while serenading us. The students were blown away and ready for bed following the exciting night.
It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to shine and support each other, highlighting the sense of camaraderie that continues to grow within our Forman community. Check out the photo tab in the blog for videos of tonight’s performances and stay tuned for more excitement tomorrow!
Beat the Heat
7/16
Tuesday brought another typical day of engaging morning classes, with students delving into their chosen subjects with enthusiasm. Sara Reilly is back as our spotlight teacher to share some updates from her exciting reading classes:
Reading Principles
This week in Reading Principles we are focusing on the Megawords Curriculum ,specifically in the areas of Reading and Spelling. I will conference individually with each student to target specific strategies, based on their individualized Pre- Assessment, to provide support in these areas. Further, we will engage in vocabulary games to inspire students with the confidence to apply these strategies and skills as assessed by the Pre-Test.
This lesson is one of several lessons this week that explicitly teaches the reading, spelling , vocabulary and contextual uses of multisyllabic words through multi-sensory instructional methods in combination with the systematic progression of skills.
Each student is demonstrating more confidence and eagerness to delve into this work, which supports their diverse learning needs in this area. It is evident that students enjoy this critical work.
The students are excited to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of word games including a lightening round that will be competitive and enthralling for all.
I commend this group of students for actively providing valuable feedback to each lesson that provides me with additional information to individualize lessons. It is a great group to work with on a daily basis!
Reading Comprehension
We are on an exciting journey to research a variety of non-fiction articles to support individual reading comprehension strategies. We continued our work in developing questions about nonfiction text. Students examined questions that promote a deeper dive into the comprehension process. We are also continuing our work in summarizing text with the use of annotation strategies. Further, many students develop solid skills in their reading by breaking up complex text into smaller sections. These strategies support student growth.
The continued goal for each student in this class, is to develop a repertoire of reading comprehension strategies. This is important that they have choices in which strategy is more aligned to the particular text that they are reading in a variety of settings.
The students are enthusiastic in utilizing a variety of reading strategies that target the particular text. Many students have commented that they used to rely on only one type of reading strategy that did not provide them with options for increased learning.
We will continue to focus on high impact reading strategies , such as questioning and searching-selecting in the week ahead. Students will apply these strategies to the lyrics in their favorite songs.
This group of students continue to develop their reading comprehension repertoire in a sophisticated manner. This is an engaging group of students!
We are lucky to have Ms. Reilly teaching reading using her down-to-earth and quirky approach to truly engage our students. The afternoon activities were accompanied by great weather, allowing students to make the most of the beautiful day while finding respite from the heat with popsicles and intermittent breaks in the shade or air-conditioned buildings.
The white water crew continued their practice with 'wet exits' and learned how to carve into the current, building on their skills in preparation for some bigger river rides.Tennis enthusiasts had the option to play ping pong or compete against staff on the tennis court, adding an element of fun and friendly competition to the day. Meanwhile, the basketball group enjoyed some games of knockout before breaking a sweat playing a full game. During breaks between activities, a group of students flocked to the pinball machines where there is currently a grand mission to break some of the existing high scores.
In the evening, we enjoyed another round of counselor chats featuring Ben and Mason. Both are continuing their education in college after successful high school years at Forman School. Students were captivated by their stories and experiences in sports, the arts, and navigating social life. Hearing from these accomplished former students provided valuable insights and inspiration for our current summer program students.
We have some big plans for Competition Wednesday and look forward to whatever other fun comes with another day at Forman Summer. Keep an eye on the photo section of the blog for some examples of the fun!
Tuesday brought another typical day of engaging morning classes, with students delving into their chosen subjects with enthusiasm. Sara Reilly is back as our spotlight teacher to share some updates from her exciting reading classes:
Reading Principles
This week in Reading Principles we are focusing on the Megawords Curriculum ,specifically in the areas of Reading and Spelling. I will conference individually with each student to target specific strategies, based on their individualized Pre- Assessment, to provide support in these areas. Further, we will engage in vocabulary games to inspire students with the confidence to apply these strategies and skills as assessed by the Pre-Test.
This lesson is one of several lessons this week that explicitly teaches the reading, spelling , vocabulary and contextual uses of multisyllabic words through multi-sensory instructional methods in combination with the systematic progression of skills.
Each student is demonstrating more confidence and eagerness to delve into this work, which supports their diverse learning needs in this area. It is evident that students enjoy this critical work.
The students are excited to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of word games including a lightening round that will be competitive and enthralling for all.
I commend this group of students for actively providing valuable feedback to each lesson that provides me with additional information to individualize lessons. It is a great group to work with on a daily basis!
Reading Comprehension
We are on an exciting journey to research a variety of non-fiction articles to support individual reading comprehension strategies. We continued our work in developing questions about nonfiction text. Students examined questions that promote a deeper dive into the comprehension process. We are also continuing our work in summarizing text with the use of annotation strategies. Further, many students develop solid skills in their reading by breaking up complex text into smaller sections. These strategies support student growth.
The continued goal for each student in this class, is to develop a repertoire of reading comprehension strategies. This is important that they have choices in which strategy is more aligned to the particular text that they are reading in a variety of settings.
The students are enthusiastic in utilizing a variety of reading strategies that target the particular text. Many students have commented that they used to rely on only one type of reading strategy that did not provide them with options for increased learning.
We will continue to focus on high impact reading strategies , such as questioning and searching-selecting in the week ahead. Students will apply these strategies to the lyrics in their favorite songs.
This group of students continue to develop their reading comprehension repertoire in a sophisticated manner. This is an engaging group of students!
We are lucky to have Ms. Reilly teaching reading using her down-to-earth and quirky approach to truly engage our students. The afternoon activities were accompanied by great weather, allowing students to make the most of the beautiful day while finding respite from the heat with popsicles and intermittent breaks in the shade or air-conditioned buildings.
The white water crew continued their practice with 'wet exits' and learned how to carve into the current, building on their skills in preparation for some bigger river rides.Tennis enthusiasts had the option to play ping pong or compete against staff on the tennis court, adding an element of fun and friendly competition to the day. Meanwhile, the basketball group enjoyed some games of knockout before breaking a sweat playing a full game. During breaks between activities, a group of students flocked to the pinball machines where there is currently a grand mission to break some of the existing high scores.
In the evening, we enjoyed another round of counselor chats featuring Ben and Mason. Both are continuing their education in college after successful high school years at Forman School. Students were captivated by their stories and experiences in sports, the arts, and navigating social life. Hearing from these accomplished former students provided valuable insights and inspiration for our current summer program students.
We have some big plans for Competition Wednesday and look forward to whatever other fun comes with another day at Forman Summer. Keep an eye on the photo section of the blog for some examples of the fun!
Journey of Reflection and Adventure: Finding Meaning in Exploration
7/15
We kicked off Monday of Week 3 with great enthusiasm as students eagerly jumped back into their weekly classes and embraced a new batch of afternoon activities. Our spotlight teacher today is none other than Dr. O, who is a true academic in all things health. This summer he is teaching The Science of Studying and Learning and the Brain. He shares the following from his classes:
Science of Studying:
Today in our Science of Studying course, we dived into the essential skill of tackling short answer questions effectively. This skill is crucial for students to articulate their understanding concisely and clearly, which is vital for academic success. Here’s a detailed overview of our lesson and the engaging activity we conducted.
Students should be looking forward to:
Learning and the Brain:
Today's lesson was focused on enhancing students' memory and retention through spaced practice and interleaving techniques.
We began with a brief introduction to the concepts of spaced practice (reviewing information over increasing intervals) and interleaving (mixing different types of problems or subjects). Then, we moved on to the main activity, the "Memory Mastery Challenge.”
Each student received a set of flashcards with information to memorize. They reviewed the flashcards for a few minutes, then set them aside. We engaged in a different activity, such as walking, to keep their minds active and break the monotony. After a set interval, the students returned to the flashcards for another review session. This process was repeated several times, with the intervals between review sessions gradually increasing.
Today, we tackled strategies for enhancing memory and retention in the Learning and The Brain course. This lesson fits into our weekly focus on applying brain science to improve academic habits. The next classes will cover techniques for improving focus and concentration, creating a brain-friendly study environment, and managing stress and emotions for better learning. By incorporating these strategies, students will develop a comprehensive toolkit to boost their learning and retention capabilities. This progression ensures a well-rounded approach to mastering effective study habits.
To wrap up, we discussed how these techniques helped them remember the information better and how they can apply these methods in their own studies. The activity was made more engaging by timing the intervals and rewarding students for correct answers, turning learning into a fun and competitive game.
Looking ahead, students should be looking forward to engaging and interactive lessons on Techniques for Improving Focus and Concentration, Creating a Brain-Friendly Study Environment, and Managing Stress and Emotions for Better Learning. These sessions will include fun activities like focus training circuits, designing ideal study spaces, and stress-busting workshops. These lessons aim to equip students with practical strategies to enhance their learning experience and overall well-being.
After a balanced lunch, students transitioned to their new activities, with some exciting additions to the schedule, including white water rafting and baking. The white water crew started their preparation by learning how to do 'wet exits,' gearing up for the thrilling river adventures ahead this week. During Block 4, a brief New England thunderstorm rolled through. Fortunately, we had indoor alternatives lined up for field sports, showcasing our flexibility. Students competed in ping pong and billiards, enjoying some friendly competition while waiting out the storm. Once the skies cleared, they returned to the beautiful sunshine, making the most of the remainder of the day.
This evening we resumed our Monday Mind activities with Ms. Bloom. Building on the ‘about me’ pages the students started last week, students sorted their personal characteristics into 3 parts:
Trunk: The whole person
Each limb: Major area of the person's life (strengths as a learner and person and other information from the about me page)
Branches: Represent what they are currently thinking about themselves in each area
This self-reflection activity was well received by our students and we look forward to building on this activity next week.
It was an eventful and enjoyable start to the week, filled with new experiences and adaptability. We look forward to the adventures and learning opportunities that Week 3 will bring at Forman Summer!
We kicked off Monday of Week 3 with great enthusiasm as students eagerly jumped back into their weekly classes and embraced a new batch of afternoon activities. Our spotlight teacher today is none other than Dr. O, who is a true academic in all things health. This summer he is teaching The Science of Studying and Learning and the Brain. He shares the following from his classes:
Science of Studying:
Today in our Science of Studying course, we dived into the essential skill of tackling short answer questions effectively. This skill is crucial for students to articulate their understanding concisely and clearly, which is vital for academic success. Here’s a detailed overview of our lesson and the engaging activity we conducted.
- Objective: The primary objective of today’s lesson was to teach students effective strategies for answering short answer questions. By the end of the session, students should be able to approach these questions with confidence and structure their responses clearly and concisely.
- Introduction: We began the lesson with a brief introduction to short answer questions. These questions require students to provide a concise and precise response, often in a few sentences. Key strategies were shared to help students tackle these questions effectively:
- Read the question carefully: Understand what the question is asking.
- Identify keywords: Focus on important terms that guide your response.
- Structure answers clearly: Ensure the answer is logically organized and directly addresses the question.
- Activity: Short Answer Scramble: To reinforce the strategies discussed, we engaged in a fun and competitive activity called the Short Answer Scramble. Here’s how it unfolded:
- Step 1: Questions were prepared and written on index cards. These questions covered various topics to ensure a comprehensive practice session.
- Step 2: Group Division Students were divided into small groups to foster collaboration and peer learning. Each group was given a set of index cards with the short answer questions.
- Step 3: Answering Questions Groups were allotted a set time to answer as many questions as possible. This time constraint added an element of urgency and encouraged students to think quickly and efficiently.
- Step 4: Peer Review After the time was up, groups exchanged their answered questions with another group for peer review. This step allowed students to see different approaches to answering the same question and provided an opportunity for constructive feedback.
- Step 5: Group Discussion Groups discussed the answers, focusing on clarity, completeness, and how well the question was addressed. This discussion highlighted effective strategies and common pitfalls to avoid.
- Wrap-Up : We concluded the lesson with a class-wide discussion on what strategies worked best. Students shared insights on how they approached the questions and what techniques they found most helpful. This reflection helped solidify the strategies discussed and gave students practical tips for future short answer questions.
- Today’s lesson was a great success, and students left with practical strategies to tackle short answer questions confidently. By making the activity interactive and competitive, we ensured that learning was both effective and enjoyable. We look forward to seeing how these strategies will enhance their performance in future assessments!
Students should be looking forward to:
- Multiple-Choice Mastery: We'll dive into effective strategies for tackling multiple-choice questions, including techniques for eliminating wrong answers and making educated guesses.
- Essay Excellence: We'll explore how to structure and organize essay responses, focusing on creating strong thesis statements, supporting arguments, and concise conclusions.
- Time Management Tips: We'll cover practical time management techniques to help students allocate their time wisely during exams and avoid feeling rushed or overwhelmed.
- Interactive Review Sessions: Engaging and interactive review sessions where students can practice what they've learned through fun activities and games.
- These upcoming lessons will continue to build on the skills we've started developing, ensuring students are well-prepared and confident for all types of test questions.
Learning and the Brain:
Today's lesson was focused on enhancing students' memory and retention through spaced practice and interleaving techniques.
We began with a brief introduction to the concepts of spaced practice (reviewing information over increasing intervals) and interleaving (mixing different types of problems or subjects). Then, we moved on to the main activity, the "Memory Mastery Challenge.”
Each student received a set of flashcards with information to memorize. They reviewed the flashcards for a few minutes, then set them aside. We engaged in a different activity, such as walking, to keep their minds active and break the monotony. After a set interval, the students returned to the flashcards for another review session. This process was repeated several times, with the intervals between review sessions gradually increasing.
Today, we tackled strategies for enhancing memory and retention in the Learning and The Brain course. This lesson fits into our weekly focus on applying brain science to improve academic habits. The next classes will cover techniques for improving focus and concentration, creating a brain-friendly study environment, and managing stress and emotions for better learning. By incorporating these strategies, students will develop a comprehensive toolkit to boost their learning and retention capabilities. This progression ensures a well-rounded approach to mastering effective study habits.
To wrap up, we discussed how these techniques helped them remember the information better and how they can apply these methods in their own studies. The activity was made more engaging by timing the intervals and rewarding students for correct answers, turning learning into a fun and competitive game.
Looking ahead, students should be looking forward to engaging and interactive lessons on Techniques for Improving Focus and Concentration, Creating a Brain-Friendly Study Environment, and Managing Stress and Emotions for Better Learning. These sessions will include fun activities like focus training circuits, designing ideal study spaces, and stress-busting workshops. These lessons aim to equip students with practical strategies to enhance their learning experience and overall well-being.
After a balanced lunch, students transitioned to their new activities, with some exciting additions to the schedule, including white water rafting and baking. The white water crew started their preparation by learning how to do 'wet exits,' gearing up for the thrilling river adventures ahead this week. During Block 4, a brief New England thunderstorm rolled through. Fortunately, we had indoor alternatives lined up for field sports, showcasing our flexibility. Students competed in ping pong and billiards, enjoying some friendly competition while waiting out the storm. Once the skies cleared, they returned to the beautiful sunshine, making the most of the remainder of the day.
This evening we resumed our Monday Mind activities with Ms. Bloom. Building on the ‘about me’ pages the students started last week, students sorted their personal characteristics into 3 parts:
Trunk: The whole person
Each limb: Major area of the person's life (strengths as a learner and person and other information from the about me page)
Branches: Represent what they are currently thinking about themselves in each area
This self-reflection activity was well received by our students and we look forward to building on this activity next week.
It was an eventful and enjoyable start to the week, filled with new experiences and adaptability. We look forward to the adventures and learning opportunities that Week 3 will bring at Forman Summer!
Rest and Reset
7/14
Today was a warm and sunny Sunday, perfect for a mix of relaxation and fun. The day started with a delightful brunch and open campus locations, giving students the freedom to choose how to spend their day. Friendships and endless options for activities makes for a guaranteed fun time.
Some students opted for a trip to the mall, where they shopped, enjoyed treats, and had a blast in the arcade. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to bond and enjoy each other’s company outside of the campus setting. Back on campus we had students attempt to beat high scores on the pinball machines, enjoy snacks while watching the England v. Spain soccer game on the big screen in the student center, and enjoy the warm weather from our beautiful campus green.
After dinner, students had some free time to unwind before heading back to their dorms for some healthy Sunday preparation. This evening routine, prompted and modeled by our dorm parents and counselors, helps students get ready for the week ahead, starting off with clean and tidy communal spaces.
It was a day filled with leisure, fun, and a touch of preparation, setting a positive tone for the week to come. We look forward to more excitement this week with the start of new afternoon activities. We have some hot days in the forecast and will be prepared with water stations, popsicles, and indoor options for fun after each productive morning of classes.
Today was a warm and sunny Sunday, perfect for a mix of relaxation and fun. The day started with a delightful brunch and open campus locations, giving students the freedom to choose how to spend their day. Friendships and endless options for activities makes for a guaranteed fun time.
Some students opted for a trip to the mall, where they shopped, enjoyed treats, and had a blast in the arcade. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to bond and enjoy each other’s company outside of the campus setting. Back on campus we had students attempt to beat high scores on the pinball machines, enjoy snacks while watching the England v. Spain soccer game on the big screen in the student center, and enjoy the warm weather from our beautiful campus green.
After dinner, students had some free time to unwind before heading back to their dorms for some healthy Sunday preparation. This evening routine, prompted and modeled by our dorm parents and counselors, helps students get ready for the week ahead, starting off with clean and tidy communal spaces.
It was a day filled with leisure, fun, and a touch of preparation, setting a positive tone for the week to come. We look forward to more excitement this week with the start of new afternoon activities. We have some hot days in the forecast and will be prepared with water stations, popsicles, and indoor options for fun after each productive morning of classes.
Bonds and Baseball: A Memorable Saturday Night
7/13
Today marked our second Saturday trip, and it was packed with excitement and fun. The day began with brunch before open activity locations on campus, giving students the freedom to choose from relaxing in the student center, playing videogames in the game room, working out, playing basketball, or competing in volleyball on the campus green. Some opted for runs to Target to stock up on some dorm essentials, while others indulged in the Taste of Torrington food run, sampling local delights.
In the evening, the entire Forman Summer Program headed to Dunkin Park in Hartford, Connecticut, for a minor league baseball game. The Hartford Yard Goats could not pull off a win against the Portland Seadogs, but luckily we had a non-bias section of fans that were more interested in experiencing America’s pastime surrounded by friends. We had a reserved ‘party plaza’ with a perfect view and where food and sodas were provided, allowing students to relax and enjoy the game. The beautiful New England evening was filled with the crack of baseball bats and the cheers of the crowd.
Students had a fantastic time exploring the park, sampling ice cream, cotton candy, and other classic ballpark treats. Adding to the excitement, it was Peruvian Heritage Night, providing a unique cultural experience for everyone.
The bus rides to and from the game were filled with the buzz of friendship, showcasing the strong bonds forming between students. It was a memorable day, filled with fun, food, and fellowship. We look forward to a fun Sunday together and some time carved out to rest and reset for the coming week.
We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank our kitchen staff that have work tirelessly to provide balanced meals with multiple options 7-days a week here at Forman Summer. They have been responsive to students with dietary needs and preferences and always are sure to serve us and clean up after us with a smile on their faces.
Today marked our second Saturday trip, and it was packed with excitement and fun. The day began with brunch before open activity locations on campus, giving students the freedom to choose from relaxing in the student center, playing videogames in the game room, working out, playing basketball, or competing in volleyball on the campus green. Some opted for runs to Target to stock up on some dorm essentials, while others indulged in the Taste of Torrington food run, sampling local delights.
In the evening, the entire Forman Summer Program headed to Dunkin Park in Hartford, Connecticut, for a minor league baseball game. The Hartford Yard Goats could not pull off a win against the Portland Seadogs, but luckily we had a non-bias section of fans that were more interested in experiencing America’s pastime surrounded by friends. We had a reserved ‘party plaza’ with a perfect view and where food and sodas were provided, allowing students to relax and enjoy the game. The beautiful New England evening was filled with the crack of baseball bats and the cheers of the crowd.
Students had a fantastic time exploring the park, sampling ice cream, cotton candy, and other classic ballpark treats. Adding to the excitement, it was Peruvian Heritage Night, providing a unique cultural experience for everyone.
The bus rides to and from the game were filled with the buzz of friendship, showcasing the strong bonds forming between students. It was a memorable day, filled with fun, food, and fellowship. We look forward to a fun Sunday together and some time carved out to rest and reset for the coming week.
We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank our kitchen staff that have work tirelessly to provide balanced meals with multiple options 7-days a week here at Forman Summer. They have been responsive to students with dietary needs and preferences and always are sure to serve us and clean up after us with a smile on their faces.
Half-Month Happenings
7/12
Today marks the end of our second week at Forman Summer, and what a fantastic week it has been! From engaging classes and skill-building activities to thrilling challenges and relaxing free time, our students have put in tremendous effort and enthusiasm every day. Becky Stull, one of our Cognition and Learning Department staff during the school year, is teaching three reading classes this summer and has the following to share about her classes thus far:
Reading Comprehension
We have spent a great two weeks together! Today in Reading Comprehension we continued to read a short story titled "The Monkey's Paw". This story gives us the opportunity to sharpen our skills in the realm of vocabulary comprehension, characterization, mood, symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing. The students continue to practice their annotation skills and they are improving every day!
Understanding and being able to identify these literary devices help the students to think critically, be active readers and to comprehend and retain the text.
The students have discovered how important it is to use context clues in order to understand unfamiliar vocabulary words and they did a great job using textual evidence in order to make connections to the text. We also practiced making visual images of what we are reading and they really enjoyed hearing each other's perspectives. .
As we continue reading the story, students will practice inferencing, and will fill out story plot diagrams in order to identify the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. We will demonstrate our comprehension of the text through prompts and students will create alternative endings to the story where they can share their thinking and connections to the text.
This class has truly learned how to work collaboratively and to support each other in their reading journeys!
Reading Principles:
As we finished up our second week together, today in class we reviewed the six syllable types and worked together to identify open and closed syllables, long and short vowel sounds, and practiced breaking up multisyllabic words. The students practiced spelling out "nonsense words" in order to test their knowledge on spelling rules. I already see an improvement in their understanding of these concepts! We also took part in reading a non fiction passage followed by comprehension questions, vocabulary comprehension, and identifying antonyms and synonyms.
Through Wilson's Just Words and Megawords, students are able to put into practice the strategies they need to break apart words and understand the spelling rules that can be challenging. Engaging in different types of passages such as both fiction and non fiction texts, enables students to be able to work with various types and styles of writing. We were able to pull out the main idea and supporting details of the work by using evidence from the text.
Through the process of teaching reading and spelling strategies, we use a multi sensory approach which helps the students to stay engaged and be an active member of the learning process. They are truly becoming more confident readers!
As we move forward, we will continue to work on using strategies to become more fluent and confident readers. We will delve into short stories and continue using the Wilson Just Words program and Megawords in order to support our growth in reading. We will also work more on identifying the main idea, supporting details, vocabulary, and supporting our claims through textual evidence.
We complete entrance and exit tickets daily that range from quick questions on the material to fun riddles, which they love! This group has been actively engaged in the learning process and I am excited to work with them for the next couple of weeks as we go through this journey together!
Critical Reading:
The students entered the room in anticipation for the novel we are reading together titled, "One of us is Lying". They are truly enjoying this book which brings an amazing level of discussion. Incorporated into our discussion was character development, significant quotes, and making connections through textual evidence. We have been using graphic organizers in order to keep our thoughts and claims in an organized space. They have mentioned how much this has helped them to understand both the sequence of events and the traits and developments of the characters. We are also annotating as we read, making careful note of things like quotes, setting, character change, questions we may have and things we are wondering about. We also read a short nonfiction story about The Bell Witch and responded to questions targeted towards critical thinking, analyzing the text, inferencing, and vocabulary comprehension. The class enjoyed this spooky story and were thoroughly engaged in the events
Using these reading strategies has helped us to be active readers and to comprehend the author's purpose, the themes, symbols and the overall messages of the text. While they are annotating, they are realizing that this helps them to retain much of the information and makes it more manageable to locate evidence to support their claims.
Our class discussions on our reading have been engaging and have included thinking critically, and finding the deeper meaning of the text. They have been making connections and have been understanding the why and the how of the text rather than just the what. It has truly been a joy to witness!
As we continue the novel we will continue to put into practice annotating, supporting our thinking with textual evidence, expanding our vocabulary, inferencing, and thinking critically. We will read more nonfiction articles and stories in an effort to identify the author's purpose, the main idea, supporting details, and being active and engaged readers. Throughout all of our activities we will explore different types of graphic organizers and other ways to organize our thoughts.
Working together as a group on reading critically, has provided us with many meaningful discussions and ideas as readers. I am amazed at the connections this class makes with the text and with how introspective they are. I firmly believe that the next two weeks will be filled with even more engagement and discussion and I am so excited for it!
This afternoon we took a moment to reflect on another week of afternoon activities, preparing for the new schedules we will start on Monday. Capitalizing on our final day in these activities, we fully engaged in the fun. The coding group delved into programming, creating moving animations that showcased their growing skills. The golf group had a productive session at the driving range, hitting a few buckets of balls to perfect their swing. Meanwhile, our painting class put the finishing touches on their masterpieces, displaying incredible creativity and talent.
As we wrapped up this week, the excitement for the upcoming weekend was prevalent. Students are looking forward to a well-deserved break filled with fun and relaxation. We have a variety of activities planned to ensure everyone has a wonderful time while recharging for the week ahead.
Whether it's unwinding with friends, participating in leisure activities, or simply enjoying some downtime, this weekend promises to be a perfect balance of rest and enjoyment after a week of hard work and achievements.
We are incredibly proud of our students' dedication and spirit and can't wait to see what the next week brings. Here's to a relaxing and enjoyable weekend for all!
Today marks the end of our second week at Forman Summer, and what a fantastic week it has been! From engaging classes and skill-building activities to thrilling challenges and relaxing free time, our students have put in tremendous effort and enthusiasm every day. Becky Stull, one of our Cognition and Learning Department staff during the school year, is teaching three reading classes this summer and has the following to share about her classes thus far:
Reading Comprehension
We have spent a great two weeks together! Today in Reading Comprehension we continued to read a short story titled "The Monkey's Paw". This story gives us the opportunity to sharpen our skills in the realm of vocabulary comprehension, characterization, mood, symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing. The students continue to practice their annotation skills and they are improving every day!
Understanding and being able to identify these literary devices help the students to think critically, be active readers and to comprehend and retain the text.
The students have discovered how important it is to use context clues in order to understand unfamiliar vocabulary words and they did a great job using textual evidence in order to make connections to the text. We also practiced making visual images of what we are reading and they really enjoyed hearing each other's perspectives. .
As we continue reading the story, students will practice inferencing, and will fill out story plot diagrams in order to identify the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. We will demonstrate our comprehension of the text through prompts and students will create alternative endings to the story where they can share their thinking and connections to the text.
This class has truly learned how to work collaboratively and to support each other in their reading journeys!
Reading Principles:
As we finished up our second week together, today in class we reviewed the six syllable types and worked together to identify open and closed syllables, long and short vowel sounds, and practiced breaking up multisyllabic words. The students practiced spelling out "nonsense words" in order to test their knowledge on spelling rules. I already see an improvement in their understanding of these concepts! We also took part in reading a non fiction passage followed by comprehension questions, vocabulary comprehension, and identifying antonyms and synonyms.
Through Wilson's Just Words and Megawords, students are able to put into practice the strategies they need to break apart words and understand the spelling rules that can be challenging. Engaging in different types of passages such as both fiction and non fiction texts, enables students to be able to work with various types and styles of writing. We were able to pull out the main idea and supporting details of the work by using evidence from the text.
Through the process of teaching reading and spelling strategies, we use a multi sensory approach which helps the students to stay engaged and be an active member of the learning process. They are truly becoming more confident readers!
As we move forward, we will continue to work on using strategies to become more fluent and confident readers. We will delve into short stories and continue using the Wilson Just Words program and Megawords in order to support our growth in reading. We will also work more on identifying the main idea, supporting details, vocabulary, and supporting our claims through textual evidence.
We complete entrance and exit tickets daily that range from quick questions on the material to fun riddles, which they love! This group has been actively engaged in the learning process and I am excited to work with them for the next couple of weeks as we go through this journey together!
Critical Reading:
The students entered the room in anticipation for the novel we are reading together titled, "One of us is Lying". They are truly enjoying this book which brings an amazing level of discussion. Incorporated into our discussion was character development, significant quotes, and making connections through textual evidence. We have been using graphic organizers in order to keep our thoughts and claims in an organized space. They have mentioned how much this has helped them to understand both the sequence of events and the traits and developments of the characters. We are also annotating as we read, making careful note of things like quotes, setting, character change, questions we may have and things we are wondering about. We also read a short nonfiction story about The Bell Witch and responded to questions targeted towards critical thinking, analyzing the text, inferencing, and vocabulary comprehension. The class enjoyed this spooky story and were thoroughly engaged in the events
Using these reading strategies has helped us to be active readers and to comprehend the author's purpose, the themes, symbols and the overall messages of the text. While they are annotating, they are realizing that this helps them to retain much of the information and makes it more manageable to locate evidence to support their claims.
Our class discussions on our reading have been engaging and have included thinking critically, and finding the deeper meaning of the text. They have been making connections and have been understanding the why and the how of the text rather than just the what. It has truly been a joy to witness!
As we continue the novel we will continue to put into practice annotating, supporting our thinking with textual evidence, expanding our vocabulary, inferencing, and thinking critically. We will read more nonfiction articles and stories in an effort to identify the author's purpose, the main idea, supporting details, and being active and engaged readers. Throughout all of our activities we will explore different types of graphic organizers and other ways to organize our thoughts.
Working together as a group on reading critically, has provided us with many meaningful discussions and ideas as readers. I am amazed at the connections this class makes with the text and with how introspective they are. I firmly believe that the next two weeks will be filled with even more engagement and discussion and I am so excited for it!
This afternoon we took a moment to reflect on another week of afternoon activities, preparing for the new schedules we will start on Monday. Capitalizing on our final day in these activities, we fully engaged in the fun. The coding group delved into programming, creating moving animations that showcased their growing skills. The golf group had a productive session at the driving range, hitting a few buckets of balls to perfect their swing. Meanwhile, our painting class put the finishing touches on their masterpieces, displaying incredible creativity and talent.
As we wrapped up this week, the excitement for the upcoming weekend was prevalent. Students are looking forward to a well-deserved break filled with fun and relaxation. We have a variety of activities planned to ensure everyone has a wonderful time while recharging for the week ahead.
Whether it's unwinding with friends, participating in leisure activities, or simply enjoying some downtime, this weekend promises to be a perfect balance of rest and enjoyment after a week of hard work and achievements.
We are incredibly proud of our students' dedication and spirit and can't wait to see what the next week brings. Here's to a relaxing and enjoyable weekend for all!
Inspiring Learning and Outdoor Fun
7/11
Students deserve recognition for continuously arriving to breakfast and classes on time as we prepare to wrap up week 2 of Forman Summer. Our highlight teacher today is a very gifted educator that shows his passion for reaching all of his students’ needs daily. Jeremy Marchand shares the following from his writing classes:
‘The Writing I classes are meant to provide the students with research-based methods, assistive technology, and individual instruction in the name of unlocking their voice. To assist students in their endeavor to discover their writing voice, the course equips them by strengthening their grammar skills and improving their structural organization.
Last week, the course introduced assistive technology (speech-to-text, text-to-speech, Grammarly), to help in their first formal writing assignment. This week, we put the formal writing on hold (temporarily, of course) and divert our attention to one of the world’s most exciting and invigorating topics: GRAMMAR… And perhaps my excess enthusiasm has permeated into the students’ attitudes toward the subject, but I must say, we are having a good time with Grammar!
Nevertheless, Week 2 is “Grammar Week,” and the daily lessons are structured so that each class is dedicated to introducing two or three (sometimes four) grammatical concepts, where students apply their grammatical learnings in different exercises and activities. Today we reviewed the Parts of Speech, Subject/Verb Agreement, and Shifts in Verb Tense and Mood—and then we covered Parallel Structure, Pronoun Clarity, and Determiners. At the start, students struggled to grasp Parallel construction, in concept, anyways; but during the activity, they absolutely nailed it! Writing is about sound—and many of these concepts are perceptible and recognizable in sound and corrected easily through sound. I love seeing the students immediately recognize an error and know [intuitively] how to fix it.
Grammar week is an integral part of the course. Our aim is for the students to build a better understanding of grammar and writing mechanics so as to revise and edit with a greater degree of independence. Of course, our program is heavy on assistive technology, which includes utilizing Grammarly, but in cultivating an "independence" in revision with respect to grammar, one also builds self-confidence that transcends beyond writing and writing ability.
Regardless of the objective for each week, class begins with either a team grammar competition and/or a fun/creative writing prompt. As for the prompt, students have five to seven minutes to complete a small paragraph (approximately 5-6 sentences), and then share it with the class, if they choose to do so. This year has seen the best student-led participation I have ever seen. To say the students have taken a liking to the “sharing” portion, would be an understatement. And although I am ever-hesitant to stifle a great conversation among students, out of necessity, I created a “mute” button that the kids (ironically) seem to enjoy so we can move on to the lesson… Regardless of the time spent, I love their enthusiasm, creativity and willingness to share.
Today’s prompt was submitted by a student in Writing I, period one; this student designed the following question: If you were stuck on a deserted island, with no chance of rescue for two years, what three things would you want to have with you? Why did you bring those things? What would you do to survive? I was impressed with the creativity…and the items had quite a range, from a camping knife to a stretch limousine, fully loaded with enough food for two years. The conversation that ensued was enjoyable (and I learned a lot about new survival skills (e.g. limo)…) Tomorrow, they will answer: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live and why? I await the many awesome responses to come.
Next week in writing class, students will return to formal writing. They will engage in CAST paragraph structure for a persuasive essay assignment: In a 3-paragraph CAST essay, students are to identify an aspect of their current academic environment that they believe impedes their success as a student (an issue); Propose a solution to that issue, then Explain how and why that solution would foster success in your current academic environment. I look forward to working with the students as they journey through the process of writing.
One of my primary goals is for the students to gain self-confidence as they realize their potential in writing and to find some enjoyment in the process. The writing prompts have proved successful in this regard; I genuinely look forward to the students’ responses, their creativity, and the way many of them have enthusiastically discussed (and defended) their answers.’
This afternoon’s activities were met with warm sunshine that warranted popsicle breaks throughout! The High Ropes Course participants had an exhilarating time climbing into the canopy of the trees to tackle the challenging 'lily pad' obstacle. Down at the fields, the golf group practiced their chipping skills with buckets and nets, taking a refreshing break to cool off in the Bantam River. Meanwhile, the music class found their rhythm, perfecting the songs they've been learning throughout the week.
This evening, students enjoyed some extra free time at our structured stations, which included the tennis courts, student center, gym, and campus green. Most students found this time to be relaxing and restorative after a long and beautiful day, providing a perfect balance of activity and relaxation.
It was another wonderful day filled with skill-building, fun, and relaxation. We look forward to another weekend and continued excitement here at Forman Summer.
Students deserve recognition for continuously arriving to breakfast and classes on time as we prepare to wrap up week 2 of Forman Summer. Our highlight teacher today is a very gifted educator that shows his passion for reaching all of his students’ needs daily. Jeremy Marchand shares the following from his writing classes:
‘The Writing I classes are meant to provide the students with research-based methods, assistive technology, and individual instruction in the name of unlocking their voice. To assist students in their endeavor to discover their writing voice, the course equips them by strengthening their grammar skills and improving their structural organization.
Last week, the course introduced assistive technology (speech-to-text, text-to-speech, Grammarly), to help in their first formal writing assignment. This week, we put the formal writing on hold (temporarily, of course) and divert our attention to one of the world’s most exciting and invigorating topics: GRAMMAR… And perhaps my excess enthusiasm has permeated into the students’ attitudes toward the subject, but I must say, we are having a good time with Grammar!
Nevertheless, Week 2 is “Grammar Week,” and the daily lessons are structured so that each class is dedicated to introducing two or three (sometimes four) grammatical concepts, where students apply their grammatical learnings in different exercises and activities. Today we reviewed the Parts of Speech, Subject/Verb Agreement, and Shifts in Verb Tense and Mood—and then we covered Parallel Structure, Pronoun Clarity, and Determiners. At the start, students struggled to grasp Parallel construction, in concept, anyways; but during the activity, they absolutely nailed it! Writing is about sound—and many of these concepts are perceptible and recognizable in sound and corrected easily through sound. I love seeing the students immediately recognize an error and know [intuitively] how to fix it.
Grammar week is an integral part of the course. Our aim is for the students to build a better understanding of grammar and writing mechanics so as to revise and edit with a greater degree of independence. Of course, our program is heavy on assistive technology, which includes utilizing Grammarly, but in cultivating an "independence" in revision with respect to grammar, one also builds self-confidence that transcends beyond writing and writing ability.
Regardless of the objective for each week, class begins with either a team grammar competition and/or a fun/creative writing prompt. As for the prompt, students have five to seven minutes to complete a small paragraph (approximately 5-6 sentences), and then share it with the class, if they choose to do so. This year has seen the best student-led participation I have ever seen. To say the students have taken a liking to the “sharing” portion, would be an understatement. And although I am ever-hesitant to stifle a great conversation among students, out of necessity, I created a “mute” button that the kids (ironically) seem to enjoy so we can move on to the lesson… Regardless of the time spent, I love their enthusiasm, creativity and willingness to share.
Today’s prompt was submitted by a student in Writing I, period one; this student designed the following question: If you were stuck on a deserted island, with no chance of rescue for two years, what three things would you want to have with you? Why did you bring those things? What would you do to survive? I was impressed with the creativity…and the items had quite a range, from a camping knife to a stretch limousine, fully loaded with enough food for two years. The conversation that ensued was enjoyable (and I learned a lot about new survival skills (e.g. limo)…) Tomorrow, they will answer: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live and why? I await the many awesome responses to come.
Next week in writing class, students will return to formal writing. They will engage in CAST paragraph structure for a persuasive essay assignment: In a 3-paragraph CAST essay, students are to identify an aspect of their current academic environment that they believe impedes their success as a student (an issue); Propose a solution to that issue, then Explain how and why that solution would foster success in your current academic environment. I look forward to working with the students as they journey through the process of writing.
One of my primary goals is for the students to gain self-confidence as they realize their potential in writing and to find some enjoyment in the process. The writing prompts have proved successful in this regard; I genuinely look forward to the students’ responses, their creativity, and the way many of them have enthusiastically discussed (and defended) their answers.’
This afternoon’s activities were met with warm sunshine that warranted popsicle breaks throughout! The High Ropes Course participants had an exhilarating time climbing into the canopy of the trees to tackle the challenging 'lily pad' obstacle. Down at the fields, the golf group practiced their chipping skills with buckets and nets, taking a refreshing break to cool off in the Bantam River. Meanwhile, the music class found their rhythm, perfecting the songs they've been learning throughout the week.
This evening, students enjoyed some extra free time at our structured stations, which included the tennis courts, student center, gym, and campus green. Most students found this time to be relaxing and restorative after a long and beautiful day, providing a perfect balance of activity and relaxation.
It was another wonderful day filled with skill-building, fun, and relaxation. We look forward to another weekend and continued excitement here at Forman Summer.
From Classes to Challenges: A Day of Skill and Bonding
7/10
Our Forman Summer morning routine was made extra special with the omelet station this morning, allowing students to enjoy a personalized and delicious start to a productive morning. We are pleased to share the following update from Jennifer Duncan’s math classes, where students are thriving with the engaging lessons.
Algebra 1:
We are currently working on discovering relationships with linear equations and their graphs.Looking at our curriculum, linear functions are the first graphs we will explore. All of our students have been very engaged in the exploration of linear functions on Desmos, a fun computer program that is a valuable tool in our room. They have also been working on a challenge problem together in class, and having side conversations about finance. The collaborative nature of our class has been helpful in acquisition and true understanding of the content. We will be making a drawing of their choice using linear equations on Desmos, which will surely be a fun group activity and a chance for our students to show some of their creativity.
Geometry:
We have been working hard to be using the language of geometry as we explored the relationship between various quadrilaterals. We are laying the groundwork for being able to complete a proof using the definitions and properties we have explored and the students will surely be surprised when they find how much our skills build on each other this month. We have been studying polygons in general, and we took a deep dive into the study of quadrilaterals and triangles. Our class size is small which has helped our students to have been so attentive and enthusiastic about the study of geometry. They have been soaking up the ideas and discovering so much on their own. As the course proceeds, we will be putting more and more pieces together. We will look at some proofs, create some formulas to use, and use patty paper to discover relationships. The most engaging task so far is when we put our geometry skills together with a shelf building project where parallel lines were a must!
After a productive morning of classes, we savored a tasty lunch of fajitas before diving into our afternoon activities. The golf group had an exciting time at a simulator, competing in a closest-to-the-pin challenge. Meanwhile, our metalworks students made significant strides on their jewelry projects, displaying impressive creativity and skill. The swimming group took advantage of the sunny weather to enjoy the pool where cannonball competitions were inevitable.
The evening was filled with energy and excitement as we hosted a series of Minute to Win It competitions. Students from different dorms faced off in quick and entertaining challenges, earning bonus points for sportsmanship and enthusiastic support for their teammates. Newton dorm emerged as the champions, winning a pizza and wing party. However, all dorms enjoyed a night of laughter and friendly rivalry, with the added fun of uniting against the counselor team. The most entertaining event appeared to be the Cookie Monster game where contestants had to maneuver an oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth using only their face muscles.
It was another fantastic day filled with learning, fun, and friendship. We have more sunny weather in the forecast and look forward to another beautiful day of Forman Summer.
Our Forman Summer morning routine was made extra special with the omelet station this morning, allowing students to enjoy a personalized and delicious start to a productive morning. We are pleased to share the following update from Jennifer Duncan’s math classes, where students are thriving with the engaging lessons.
Algebra 1:
We are currently working on discovering relationships with linear equations and their graphs.Looking at our curriculum, linear functions are the first graphs we will explore. All of our students have been very engaged in the exploration of linear functions on Desmos, a fun computer program that is a valuable tool in our room. They have also been working on a challenge problem together in class, and having side conversations about finance. The collaborative nature of our class has been helpful in acquisition and true understanding of the content. We will be making a drawing of their choice using linear equations on Desmos, which will surely be a fun group activity and a chance for our students to show some of their creativity.
Geometry:
We have been working hard to be using the language of geometry as we explored the relationship between various quadrilaterals. We are laying the groundwork for being able to complete a proof using the definitions and properties we have explored and the students will surely be surprised when they find how much our skills build on each other this month. We have been studying polygons in general, and we took a deep dive into the study of quadrilaterals and triangles. Our class size is small which has helped our students to have been so attentive and enthusiastic about the study of geometry. They have been soaking up the ideas and discovering so much on their own. As the course proceeds, we will be putting more and more pieces together. We will look at some proofs, create some formulas to use, and use patty paper to discover relationships. The most engaging task so far is when we put our geometry skills together with a shelf building project where parallel lines were a must!
After a productive morning of classes, we savored a tasty lunch of fajitas before diving into our afternoon activities. The golf group had an exciting time at a simulator, competing in a closest-to-the-pin challenge. Meanwhile, our metalworks students made significant strides on their jewelry projects, displaying impressive creativity and skill. The swimming group took advantage of the sunny weather to enjoy the pool where cannonball competitions were inevitable.
The evening was filled with energy and excitement as we hosted a series of Minute to Win It competitions. Students from different dorms faced off in quick and entertaining challenges, earning bonus points for sportsmanship and enthusiastic support for their teammates. Newton dorm emerged as the champions, winning a pizza and wing party. However, all dorms enjoyed a night of laughter and friendly rivalry, with the added fun of uniting against the counselor team. The most entertaining event appeared to be the Cookie Monster game where contestants had to maneuver an oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth using only their face muscles.
It was another fantastic day filled with learning, fun, and friendship. We have more sunny weather in the forecast and look forward to another beautiful day of Forman Summer.
Summer Cool-Down
7/9
Week 2 is under way and we are well accustomed to the morning routine at this point. We were welcomed to the day with sunshine and breakfast as students prepared to chip away at their academic curriculum. We’d like to share an update from our teacher of the day, Diantha Glitz, who teaches multiple art during the school year, during afternoon activities, and is leading our summer class Going for Gold. She shares the following:
‘Today we began our hunt for credible resources on our research projects. We started with a short investigation of the Dewey Decimal System before exploring the Forman Library. After returning from the library we debriefed about the pros and cons of print resources, and started planning how to extend our resources digitally. This is building off of our prior topic brainstorming and allowing us to take our next steps in building a meaningful project. Everyone did a good job searching even if their topic only left limited options on the stacks. As we move ahead, students are looking forward to an activity called the Imaginary Birthday Party. This will be a chance to put task management skills to the test. So far this has been a wonderful group of students that have been supportive of each other's learning.’
We are lucky to have such an engaging and creative teacher taking part in Forman Summer.
The heat and humidity this afternoon really picked up so instead of our scheduled activities, we took a surprise trip to the bowling alley. The students welcomed the air-conditioned environment and quickly got into the spirit of friendly competition. The thunderous sounds of bowling pins smashing couldn't drown out the laughter and conversation of all of our students. Being flexible with our routine has never been so easy. To add to the fun, we surprised the students with delicious pizza while we were out. It was the perfect treat to complement a fantastic afternoon.
In the evening, we gathered in the V-PAC building for another round of 'Counselor Chats.' Students had the opportunity to hear from Forman Alumni about their experiences at Forman School, the challenges they faced in high school, and their transitions into college. These sessions provided valuable insights and inspiration, helping our students feel more prepared and motivated for their own journeys. We’d like to thank Henry and Yasmine for sharing their experiences and answering questions from our students. The session was informative and the students seem to relate to their counselors, helping further establish rapport.
The weather is forecasted to be more comfortable tomorrow and we look forward to continuing with our afternoon activities.
Week 2 is under way and we are well accustomed to the morning routine at this point. We were welcomed to the day with sunshine and breakfast as students prepared to chip away at their academic curriculum. We’d like to share an update from our teacher of the day, Diantha Glitz, who teaches multiple art during the school year, during afternoon activities, and is leading our summer class Going for Gold. She shares the following:
‘Today we began our hunt for credible resources on our research projects. We started with a short investigation of the Dewey Decimal System before exploring the Forman Library. After returning from the library we debriefed about the pros and cons of print resources, and started planning how to extend our resources digitally. This is building off of our prior topic brainstorming and allowing us to take our next steps in building a meaningful project. Everyone did a good job searching even if their topic only left limited options on the stacks. As we move ahead, students are looking forward to an activity called the Imaginary Birthday Party. This will be a chance to put task management skills to the test. So far this has been a wonderful group of students that have been supportive of each other's learning.’
We are lucky to have such an engaging and creative teacher taking part in Forman Summer.
The heat and humidity this afternoon really picked up so instead of our scheduled activities, we took a surprise trip to the bowling alley. The students welcomed the air-conditioned environment and quickly got into the spirit of friendly competition. The thunderous sounds of bowling pins smashing couldn't drown out the laughter and conversation of all of our students. Being flexible with our routine has never been so easy. To add to the fun, we surprised the students with delicious pizza while we were out. It was the perfect treat to complement a fantastic afternoon.
In the evening, we gathered in the V-PAC building for another round of 'Counselor Chats.' Students had the opportunity to hear from Forman Alumni about their experiences at Forman School, the challenges they faced in high school, and their transitions into college. These sessions provided valuable insights and inspiration, helping our students feel more prepared and motivated for their own journeys. We’d like to thank Henry and Yasmine for sharing their experiences and answering questions from our students. The session was informative and the students seem to relate to their counselors, helping further establish rapport.
The weather is forecasted to be more comfortable tomorrow and we look forward to continuing with our afternoon activities.
Work hard, Play hard
7/8
As we kicked off the first day of week 2, students swiftly transitioned to their classes after an eventful weekend, ready to embrace new challenges and learning opportunities.
We are delighted to share updates from both of Annie Crawford's Reading classes: Reading Comprehension and Critical Reading. Students have been making great progress, with engaging lessons designed to enhance their understanding and analytical skills:
Reading Comprehension Course
Welcome to our Reading Comprehension course! As we journey towards improving reading skills for our students, today was all about mastering the art of finding the main idea and identifying supporting details in non-fiction passages. Here’s a recap of the engaging and enlightening activities that took place during today’s class.
Introduction to the Main Idea: We began by diving straight into the concept of the main idea. To set the stage, I posed a simple question to the students: “What is the main point of your favorite movie?” This relatable question helped students understand that just like movies, different types of reading material have central messages or points, known as the main idea.
Mini-Lesson: Our mini-lesson focused on defining the main idea as the central point or message the author wants to convey and gave straightforward examples. Students took notes on how to focus first on identifying the topic in just 1-2 words, then examining the facts and examples to answer the question, “What does the author want me to know about this topic?” Finally, students evaluated the supporting details to answer the question, “What do they prove?” in order to write the main idea in their own words, in one complete sentence.
Guided Group Practice: Next, we worked together to read several short passages and identify the main idea using the above technique. This collaborative approach allowed them to discuss and reason out their thoughts, making the learning process interactive and fun.
Individual Practice: We then moved to individual practice where each student received a longer passage about how some endangered animals are actually increasing in number. Their task was to read the passage and identify the main idea and supporting details on their own. This task allowed them to apply the skills independently, reinforcing their learning. The lively discussion that ensued was a testament to their growing understanding and confidence.
Today's lesson was in keeping with week's theme of Assist Yourself, with a focus on discipline-specific skills and strategies. The main objective is for the class to learn, practice, and become increasingly comfortable with using a variety of skills and strategies to improve their reading comprehension.
A Critical Reading Journey
As part of our Critical Reading course, we dedicated a crucial session to evaluating evidence and supporting details. Here’s a look at how we approached this essential aspect of critical reading and the activities that engaged the students.
Warm-Up Discussion: We began the day with a thought-provoking warm-up. Students were asked, “When someone tells you something important, how do you know if it’s true?” This question encouraged them to think about the importance of evidence in everyday life, setting the stage for the day's lesson.
Mini-Lesson: Understanding Evidence and Supporting Details
Definition and Importance: We started our mini-lesson by defining evidence as the facts, statistics, examples, and other information that authors use to support their main ideas and arguments. Supporting details were explained as the pieces of evidence that help to explain, prove, or enhance the main idea.
Example Analysis: Using a simple example, we illustrated how evidence supports the main idea. We highlighted each supporting detail and discussed how it provides evidence for the main idea.
Guided Practice: Evaluating Evidence Together
Group Activities: The class worked together to read short passages and agree on the main ideas. Then their task was to identify and evaluate the supporting details. This collaborative activity encouraged discussion and critical thinking as students worked together to determine whether the details effectively supported the main idea.
Students presented their findings, discussing which supporting details were the most compelling and why.
Critical Evaluation of Evidence: We then moved to a second activity where students were given a longer, more complex passage. The group had to read the passage, identify the main idea, and critically evaluate the supporting details.
We discussed which pieces of evidence were the most convincing and which ones needed more support. This exercise helped students understand the importance of strong, relevant evidence in supporting an argument.
Independent Practice: Applying Evaluation Skills
Individual Task: For independent practice, each student was given a passage about how some endangered animals are actually increasing in number. Their task was to identify the main idea and evaluate the supporting details on their own. This allowed them to apply the skills they had practiced in groups independently. As students worked, I provided guidance and answered questions, ensuring that each student could successfully evaluate the evidence and supporting details.
This afternoon introduced a fresh batch of activities for the students. This week, they have the exciting options of swimming, tackling the High Ropes Course, golf, and exploring Boat Building, in addition to the options provided last week. These activities provide diverse opportunities for students to discover new interests and develop various skills. The golf crew took advantage of the sunshine and brought their adventure passports to the amazing Matterhorn Mini Golf Course in Canton, CT. One student came out victorious but all celebrated with ice cream. Back on campus students stayed cool between activities with freeze pops.
In the evening, Ms. Bloom led an enriching activity focused on self-reflection and perspective-taking. Each student completed an 'about me' page, filling it with details about formative memories, personal goals, and passions. The students found this guided reflection both enjoyable and insightful. This exercise will be an integral part of Ms. Bloom's 'Possible Self' curriculum for future Monday night sessions.
It was a rewarding and inspiring start to the second week, setting a positive tone for the days ahead. We look forward to sharing more updates as Forman Summer continues!
As we kicked off the first day of week 2, students swiftly transitioned to their classes after an eventful weekend, ready to embrace new challenges and learning opportunities.
We are delighted to share updates from both of Annie Crawford's Reading classes: Reading Comprehension and Critical Reading. Students have been making great progress, with engaging lessons designed to enhance their understanding and analytical skills:
Reading Comprehension Course
Welcome to our Reading Comprehension course! As we journey towards improving reading skills for our students, today was all about mastering the art of finding the main idea and identifying supporting details in non-fiction passages. Here’s a recap of the engaging and enlightening activities that took place during today’s class.
Introduction to the Main Idea: We began by diving straight into the concept of the main idea. To set the stage, I posed a simple question to the students: “What is the main point of your favorite movie?” This relatable question helped students understand that just like movies, different types of reading material have central messages or points, known as the main idea.
Mini-Lesson: Our mini-lesson focused on defining the main idea as the central point or message the author wants to convey and gave straightforward examples. Students took notes on how to focus first on identifying the topic in just 1-2 words, then examining the facts and examples to answer the question, “What does the author want me to know about this topic?” Finally, students evaluated the supporting details to answer the question, “What do they prove?” in order to write the main idea in their own words, in one complete sentence.
Guided Group Practice: Next, we worked together to read several short passages and identify the main idea using the above technique. This collaborative approach allowed them to discuss and reason out their thoughts, making the learning process interactive and fun.
Individual Practice: We then moved to individual practice where each student received a longer passage about how some endangered animals are actually increasing in number. Their task was to read the passage and identify the main idea and supporting details on their own. This task allowed them to apply the skills independently, reinforcing their learning. The lively discussion that ensued was a testament to their growing understanding and confidence.
Today's lesson was in keeping with week's theme of Assist Yourself, with a focus on discipline-specific skills and strategies. The main objective is for the class to learn, practice, and become increasingly comfortable with using a variety of skills and strategies to improve their reading comprehension.
A Critical Reading Journey
As part of our Critical Reading course, we dedicated a crucial session to evaluating evidence and supporting details. Here’s a look at how we approached this essential aspect of critical reading and the activities that engaged the students.
Warm-Up Discussion: We began the day with a thought-provoking warm-up. Students were asked, “When someone tells you something important, how do you know if it’s true?” This question encouraged them to think about the importance of evidence in everyday life, setting the stage for the day's lesson.
Mini-Lesson: Understanding Evidence and Supporting Details
Definition and Importance: We started our mini-lesson by defining evidence as the facts, statistics, examples, and other information that authors use to support their main ideas and arguments. Supporting details were explained as the pieces of evidence that help to explain, prove, or enhance the main idea.
Example Analysis: Using a simple example, we illustrated how evidence supports the main idea. We highlighted each supporting detail and discussed how it provides evidence for the main idea.
Guided Practice: Evaluating Evidence Together
Group Activities: The class worked together to read short passages and agree on the main ideas. Then their task was to identify and evaluate the supporting details. This collaborative activity encouraged discussion and critical thinking as students worked together to determine whether the details effectively supported the main idea.
Students presented their findings, discussing which supporting details were the most compelling and why.
Critical Evaluation of Evidence: We then moved to a second activity where students were given a longer, more complex passage. The group had to read the passage, identify the main idea, and critically evaluate the supporting details.
We discussed which pieces of evidence were the most convincing and which ones needed more support. This exercise helped students understand the importance of strong, relevant evidence in supporting an argument.
Independent Practice: Applying Evaluation Skills
Individual Task: For independent practice, each student was given a passage about how some endangered animals are actually increasing in number. Their task was to identify the main idea and evaluate the supporting details on their own. This allowed them to apply the skills they had practiced in groups independently. As students worked, I provided guidance and answered questions, ensuring that each student could successfully evaluate the evidence and supporting details.
This afternoon introduced a fresh batch of activities for the students. This week, they have the exciting options of swimming, tackling the High Ropes Course, golf, and exploring Boat Building, in addition to the options provided last week. These activities provide diverse opportunities for students to discover new interests and develop various skills. The golf crew took advantage of the sunshine and brought their adventure passports to the amazing Matterhorn Mini Golf Course in Canton, CT. One student came out victorious but all celebrated with ice cream. Back on campus students stayed cool between activities with freeze pops.
In the evening, Ms. Bloom led an enriching activity focused on self-reflection and perspective-taking. Each student completed an 'about me' page, filling it with details about formative memories, personal goals, and passions. The students found this guided reflection both enjoyable and insightful. This exercise will be an integral part of Ms. Bloom's 'Possible Self' curriculum for future Monday night sessions.
It was a rewarding and inspiring start to the second week, setting a positive tone for the days ahead. We look forward to sharing more updates as Forman Summer continues!
Lake Compounce Adventures - A Day of Thrills and Chills!
7/7
Our first Sunday at Forman Summer was remarkable! We kicked off the day with a scrumptious breakfast with options such as chocolate chip banana pancakes, setting a cheerful tone for the exciting day ahead.
Beneath a stunning sunny sky, we headed to Lake Compounce amusement park. The students were ecstatic to explore all the park's attractions. From thrilling roller coasters and refreshing water slides to entertaining carnival games, there was an abundance of fun to be had by all.
Throughout the day, students enjoyed a variety of options for lunch and snacks, keeping their energy levels high. Ice cream was a popular choice, providing a delicious way to cool down and adding to the day’s enjoyment. Many students also triumphed at the carnival games, winning prizes and creating wonderful keepsakes (taking up a few extra seats on the bus ride back to campus).
Overall, it was a fantastic excursion filled with laughter, adventure, and friendship. Our students returned to Forman School with bright smiles, ready to unwind and look forward to another exciting week of activities and learning. Sundays at Forman Summer involve dorm cleanup and week preparation led by dorm parents and counselors to help form healthy readiness habits for our students. Waking up with our school supplies prepared and a tidy space is sure to start us on a good foot for week 2 of classes.
We’d like to thank our Forman maintenance and grounds crew for keeping the rest of campus clean, mowed, and operable. Their dedication ensures that so much of the summer program runs seamlessly.
Keep an eye on the blog for further updates and photos from each adventure!
Our first Sunday at Forman Summer was remarkable! We kicked off the day with a scrumptious breakfast with options such as chocolate chip banana pancakes, setting a cheerful tone for the exciting day ahead.
Beneath a stunning sunny sky, we headed to Lake Compounce amusement park. The students were ecstatic to explore all the park's attractions. From thrilling roller coasters and refreshing water slides to entertaining carnival games, there was an abundance of fun to be had by all.
Throughout the day, students enjoyed a variety of options for lunch and snacks, keeping their energy levels high. Ice cream was a popular choice, providing a delicious way to cool down and adding to the day’s enjoyment. Many students also triumphed at the carnival games, winning prizes and creating wonderful keepsakes (taking up a few extra seats on the bus ride back to campus).
Overall, it was a fantastic excursion filled with laughter, adventure, and friendship. Our students returned to Forman School with bright smiles, ready to unwind and look forward to another exciting week of activities and learning. Sundays at Forman Summer involve dorm cleanup and week preparation led by dorm parents and counselors to help form healthy readiness habits for our students. Waking up with our school supplies prepared and a tidy space is sure to start us on a good foot for week 2 of classes.
We’d like to thank our Forman maintenance and grounds crew for keeping the rest of campus clean, mowed, and operable. Their dedication ensures that so much of the summer program runs seamlessly.
Keep an eye on the blog for further updates and photos from each adventure!
Welcoming Weekend
7/6
Our first Saturday at Forman Summer has been nothing short of amazing! We kicked off the day with a delicious brunch where students enjoyed a variety of options, including the popular make-your-own waffle station. The energy and excitement were palpable as everyone anticipated a fun-filled day ahead.
Students had the opportunity to sign up for either a trip to the movies or to the mall. Both trips were a hit, providing a perfect blend of entertainment and retail therapy. The moviegoers returned with smiles and stories from the new release Despicable Me 4, while the mall-goers came back with bags (and some mall pretzels) and a sense of satisfaction from their shopping spree. The students from the mall trip got to choose their own groups, showing the bonds that are already being established among our students. The acceptance of one another has truly been admirable.
The beautiful weather continued to grace us, allowing for some enjoyable outdoor options on campus after the trips. The sun was shining bright, making it an ideal afternoon for various activities. After dinner, students made the most of the available locations, spreading out across campus to enjoy different social opportunities. Some took to the fitness center for a workout, others relaxed in the student center, and many engaged in ball games on the campus green. In the student center, students took part in a competitive video game competition to find out who is the best at Super Smash Brothers. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the doubles tennis matches between students and counselors. The matches were intense, filled with competitive spirit and enthusiastic support from spectators. It was a fantastic display of skill and camaraderie, ending the day on a high note.
Overall, today was a perfect blend of socialization and relaxation, setting the stage for the real excitement tomorrow—a trip to the amusement park Lake Compounce. We can't wait to share all the fun and adventures from our first big trip!
Our first Saturday at Forman Summer has been nothing short of amazing! We kicked off the day with a delicious brunch where students enjoyed a variety of options, including the popular make-your-own waffle station. The energy and excitement were palpable as everyone anticipated a fun-filled day ahead.
Students had the opportunity to sign up for either a trip to the movies or to the mall. Both trips were a hit, providing a perfect blend of entertainment and retail therapy. The moviegoers returned with smiles and stories from the new release Despicable Me 4, while the mall-goers came back with bags (and some mall pretzels) and a sense of satisfaction from their shopping spree. The students from the mall trip got to choose their own groups, showing the bonds that are already being established among our students. The acceptance of one another has truly been admirable.
The beautiful weather continued to grace us, allowing for some enjoyable outdoor options on campus after the trips. The sun was shining bright, making it an ideal afternoon for various activities. After dinner, students made the most of the available locations, spreading out across campus to enjoy different social opportunities. Some took to the fitness center for a workout, others relaxed in the student center, and many engaged in ball games on the campus green. In the student center, students took part in a competitive video game competition to find out who is the best at Super Smash Brothers. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the doubles tennis matches between students and counselors. The matches were intense, filled with competitive spirit and enthusiastic support from spectators. It was a fantastic display of skill and camaraderie, ending the day on a high note.
Overall, today was a perfect blend of socialization and relaxation, setting the stage for the real excitement tomorrow—a trip to the amusement park Lake Compounce. We can't wait to share all the fun and adventures from our first big trip!
Triumphs and Togetherness: Celebrating a Stellar First Week on Campus
7/ 5
Our students have found their rhythm here at Forman Summer. Classes are progressing through their respective curriculums with full engagement and participation. We are happy to hear from Mr. Cholnoky who has prepared an introduction and peek into his classroom this past week:
"Hi all! I'm Peter Cholnoky, a writing teacher at Forman's Summer Program. I teach both Writing I and Writing II and in the past week we've been familiarizing ourselves with writing fundamentals, as well as expanding upon some of the themes that they've likely explored during the regular school year. I'm thrilled to give you a little sneak peek into our beginning and tell you a little bit about where we're going!
Writing I begins with the typical introductions and class activities that come with learning each other's names and creating a classroom environment that can be nurturing and healthy. We've looked at assistive technology, helping students set up their computers with various programs like Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech in order to give them a wider array of tools that might be able to help them through the process. Our class begins each morning with a 5 minute Free Write -- students are given an initial prompt but encouraged just to keep writing about anything that comes to their mind. This activity serves two major purposes: firstly it asks the students to write about whatever is occupying their minds, and secondly it challenges them to continue to write even if they feel like they don't have much to say. Often recommended by writing specialists and authors, Free Writes offer a strategy to help avoid writer's block and encourage creativity and personality from the moment students begin our class together.
After our Free Write, we've started working on our first assignment in the class. This assignment is mainly a reflective prompt, asking students to tell a story when one of their greatest strengths helped them overcome one of their greatest weaknesses. We use the analogy of Superman, who has a multitude of notable strengths and the iconic weakness of Kryptonite. Despite his weakness, he regularly prevails, and our aim in the assignment is to showcase how, similarly to Superman, our students meet challenges each day and their strengths help them practice resilience. The prompt requires students to write a 10 sentence paragraph to tell this story with plenty of steps and graphic organizers along the way to help them formulate their thoughts and create a sequence of events.
Writing II is where students look to begin learning about research papers and aim to better understand crafting a supported claim through sourced information. Our first few days of classes involved looking through databases, primarily JSTOR and Google Scholar, and identifying key details that can help students analyze strong sources from weaker ones. From there, we familiarize ourselves with parts of academic studies like abstracts in order to understand methodology and practice within these academic journals and books. Finally, we begin looking for sources to answer a specific question/prompt: "Why does the human body need sleep?". This prompt serves as our guided writing topic, where students crafted a short but succinct response based on evidence they had gathered through our studies.
Looking towards the future, students will be partaking in a larger brainstorming process of first locating concepts and topics that interest them and then work to craft a research question that they can actually try to answer through sourcing. In the past, students have expressed interests in topics such as aviation, food consumption, renewable energy, emotional health, and more. Once their topics are decided and their research questions are forged, they begin the process of more independent research that involves numerous check-ins, supports, and finally constructing a written essay response that aims to place sources in conversation with each other in order to answer their question in the standard MLA format.
Across both classes students are learning to get more comfortable with the writing process even if it might have given them anxiety or difficulty in the past. We're demystifying the process of writing, both for academic purposes and personal fulfillment, particularly with the goal of highlighting writing within the humanities. I'm excited for the next few weeks, where we'll continue to get stronger as writers together through writing, editing, learning how to give effective feedback, and finally finishing a final product that students can feel proud of producing!"
The afternoon brought perfect weather for outdoor activities, remaining dry and pleasant throughout. Students enjoyed their chosen activities, making the most of the beautiful day and the opportunities to learn new skills and have fun. Ceramics class put the finishing touches on their assorted projects, until they are fired in the kiln and glazed. Our director John Strawson also joined in on the fun, engaging in an intense doubles match with the tennis group.
After dinner, students had free time to relax and explore various locations around the Forman School campus. Whether playing games, socializing, or simply enjoying the serene environment, everyone found a way to unwind after the classic New England thunderstorm rolled by at dinner.
The highlight of the evening was our Friday night film, where students gathered to watch the classic "Rookie of The Year." The movie was a hit, with students enjoying snacks and sharing laughs and banter with their new friends. It was a fantastic way to end the day, keeping everyone dry and entertained.
As we look forward to the weekend, we are excited for more adventures and memorable moments at Forman Summer. Stay tuned for more updates and highlights!
Our students have found their rhythm here at Forman Summer. Classes are progressing through their respective curriculums with full engagement and participation. We are happy to hear from Mr. Cholnoky who has prepared an introduction and peek into his classroom this past week:
"Hi all! I'm Peter Cholnoky, a writing teacher at Forman's Summer Program. I teach both Writing I and Writing II and in the past week we've been familiarizing ourselves with writing fundamentals, as well as expanding upon some of the themes that they've likely explored during the regular school year. I'm thrilled to give you a little sneak peek into our beginning and tell you a little bit about where we're going!
Writing I begins with the typical introductions and class activities that come with learning each other's names and creating a classroom environment that can be nurturing and healthy. We've looked at assistive technology, helping students set up their computers with various programs like Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech in order to give them a wider array of tools that might be able to help them through the process. Our class begins each morning with a 5 minute Free Write -- students are given an initial prompt but encouraged just to keep writing about anything that comes to their mind. This activity serves two major purposes: firstly it asks the students to write about whatever is occupying their minds, and secondly it challenges them to continue to write even if they feel like they don't have much to say. Often recommended by writing specialists and authors, Free Writes offer a strategy to help avoid writer's block and encourage creativity and personality from the moment students begin our class together.
After our Free Write, we've started working on our first assignment in the class. This assignment is mainly a reflective prompt, asking students to tell a story when one of their greatest strengths helped them overcome one of their greatest weaknesses. We use the analogy of Superman, who has a multitude of notable strengths and the iconic weakness of Kryptonite. Despite his weakness, he regularly prevails, and our aim in the assignment is to showcase how, similarly to Superman, our students meet challenges each day and their strengths help them practice resilience. The prompt requires students to write a 10 sentence paragraph to tell this story with plenty of steps and graphic organizers along the way to help them formulate their thoughts and create a sequence of events.
Writing II is where students look to begin learning about research papers and aim to better understand crafting a supported claim through sourced information. Our first few days of classes involved looking through databases, primarily JSTOR and Google Scholar, and identifying key details that can help students analyze strong sources from weaker ones. From there, we familiarize ourselves with parts of academic studies like abstracts in order to understand methodology and practice within these academic journals and books. Finally, we begin looking for sources to answer a specific question/prompt: "Why does the human body need sleep?". This prompt serves as our guided writing topic, where students crafted a short but succinct response based on evidence they had gathered through our studies.
Looking towards the future, students will be partaking in a larger brainstorming process of first locating concepts and topics that interest them and then work to craft a research question that they can actually try to answer through sourcing. In the past, students have expressed interests in topics such as aviation, food consumption, renewable energy, emotional health, and more. Once their topics are decided and their research questions are forged, they begin the process of more independent research that involves numerous check-ins, supports, and finally constructing a written essay response that aims to place sources in conversation with each other in order to answer their question in the standard MLA format.
Across both classes students are learning to get more comfortable with the writing process even if it might have given them anxiety or difficulty in the past. We're demystifying the process of writing, both for academic purposes and personal fulfillment, particularly with the goal of highlighting writing within the humanities. I'm excited for the next few weeks, where we'll continue to get stronger as writers together through writing, editing, learning how to give effective feedback, and finally finishing a final product that students can feel proud of producing!"
The afternoon brought perfect weather for outdoor activities, remaining dry and pleasant throughout. Students enjoyed their chosen activities, making the most of the beautiful day and the opportunities to learn new skills and have fun. Ceramics class put the finishing touches on their assorted projects, until they are fired in the kiln and glazed. Our director John Strawson also joined in on the fun, engaging in an intense doubles match with the tennis group.
After dinner, students had free time to relax and explore various locations around the Forman School campus. Whether playing games, socializing, or simply enjoying the serene environment, everyone found a way to unwind after the classic New England thunderstorm rolled by at dinner.
The highlight of the evening was our Friday night film, where students gathered to watch the classic "Rookie of The Year." The movie was a hit, with students enjoying snacks and sharing laughs and banter with their new friends. It was a fantastic way to end the day, keeping everyone dry and entertained.
As we look forward to the weekend, we are excited for more adventures and memorable moments at Forman Summer. Stay tuned for more updates and highlights!
Red, White, and Bounce
7/4
Our day began with the usual hearty breakfast, fueling students for their engaging morning classes. As always, our teachers provided captivating lessons tailored to each student's needs. One of those teachers we’d like to showcase today is Amanda Thiel, who is leading two of our math classes this summer. She shares the following:
‘Pre-Algebra: Understanding the Real Number System
In our Pre-Algebra class, students have been focusing on the Real Number System. They began by defining different types of numbers—such as integers, rational numbers, and irrational numbers—and identifying where each form of the number fits within the system. Students then applied these definitions to a series of problems in a comprehensive packet. This exercise helped solidify their understanding and provided a practical application of the concepts discussed in class. Moving forward, students will use this information to solve multi-step addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. They will be manipulating positive and negative numbers along with fractions and decimals.
Algebra 1: Mastering the Order of Operations
The Algebra 1 class has been diligently working on the order of operations. After an initial review and practice session, students collaborated in small groups to solve more complex problems. Each group was given equations and tasked with manipulating them using order of operations to achieve the correct answers. This collaborative approach not only reinforced their understanding but also encouraged peer learning and critical thinking. Moving forward, students will use these skills to aid their understanding in solving one and two step equations.
Algebra 2: Distinguishing Functions and Relations
In Algebra 2, students have been exploring the distinctions between functions and relations. Through examining points, mapping diagrams, and graphs, they learned to identify whether an equation represents a function or a relation. The use of visual aids and interactive lessons helped make these abstract concepts more accessible and understandable. Moving forward, students will use these skills to identify the domain and range of relations. They will do this by solving equations algebraically and through graphing.’
We appreciate Ms. Thiel’s analytic and methodical approach to building on her students’ math skills.
Lunch served as the gateway to an afternoon filled with excitement. We transformed the campus with inflatable bounce houses, jousting stations, water slides, and an obstacle course. For those seeking a more relaxed afternoon or respite from the refreshing New England weather, we screened "The Little Rascals" in the student center, complete with snow-cones and cotton candy for a complete Independence Day theme. Some students chose to take a trip to Target, picking up essentials and a few fun extras. It was a great opportunity to stock up and enjoy a change of scenery.
Tonight, dinner was followed by extended free time, allowing everyone to unwind and enjoy the beautiful evening. The highlight of the night was gathering around for s'mores, sharing stories, and laughing as the sun set on beautiful the Litchfield hills.
We will finish the week strong tomorrow as we prepare for our first weekend together at Forman Summer.
Don’t forget to check out the photos tab in the blog to keep up with the fun times!
Our day began with the usual hearty breakfast, fueling students for their engaging morning classes. As always, our teachers provided captivating lessons tailored to each student's needs. One of those teachers we’d like to showcase today is Amanda Thiel, who is leading two of our math classes this summer. She shares the following:
‘Pre-Algebra: Understanding the Real Number System
In our Pre-Algebra class, students have been focusing on the Real Number System. They began by defining different types of numbers—such as integers, rational numbers, and irrational numbers—and identifying where each form of the number fits within the system. Students then applied these definitions to a series of problems in a comprehensive packet. This exercise helped solidify their understanding and provided a practical application of the concepts discussed in class. Moving forward, students will use this information to solve multi-step addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. They will be manipulating positive and negative numbers along with fractions and decimals.
Algebra 1: Mastering the Order of Operations
The Algebra 1 class has been diligently working on the order of operations. After an initial review and practice session, students collaborated in small groups to solve more complex problems. Each group was given equations and tasked with manipulating them using order of operations to achieve the correct answers. This collaborative approach not only reinforced their understanding but also encouraged peer learning and critical thinking. Moving forward, students will use these skills to aid their understanding in solving one and two step equations.
Algebra 2: Distinguishing Functions and Relations
In Algebra 2, students have been exploring the distinctions between functions and relations. Through examining points, mapping diagrams, and graphs, they learned to identify whether an equation represents a function or a relation. The use of visual aids and interactive lessons helped make these abstract concepts more accessible and understandable. Moving forward, students will use these skills to identify the domain and range of relations. They will do this by solving equations algebraically and through graphing.’
We appreciate Ms. Thiel’s analytic and methodical approach to building on her students’ math skills.
Lunch served as the gateway to an afternoon filled with excitement. We transformed the campus with inflatable bounce houses, jousting stations, water slides, and an obstacle course. For those seeking a more relaxed afternoon or respite from the refreshing New England weather, we screened "The Little Rascals" in the student center, complete with snow-cones and cotton candy for a complete Independence Day theme. Some students chose to take a trip to Target, picking up essentials and a few fun extras. It was a great opportunity to stock up and enjoy a change of scenery.
Tonight, dinner was followed by extended free time, allowing everyone to unwind and enjoy the beautiful evening. The highlight of the night was gathering around for s'mores, sharing stories, and laughing as the sun set on beautiful the Litchfield hills.
We will finish the week strong tomorrow as we prepare for our first weekend together at Forman Summer.
Don’t forget to check out the photos tab in the blog to keep up with the fun times!
A Day of Discovery
7/3
Day 3 began with another delicious breakfast, featuring an 'eggs your way' station that was a big hit. Well-nourished and energized, students found their way into their morning classes. As always, our teachers provided engaging lessons tailored to each student's needs, taking full advantage of our small class sizes to ensure personalized attention. Our highlight teacher of the day is Hayley Mcgovern who teaches Going for Gold: Long-term Planning and Project Analysis. Ms. Mcgovern shared the following from her class:
‘Today we established what essential question or topic each student is focusing on for their multi-week project. The objective of this assignment is to show students how to manage their time effectively, prioritize tasks, break down large tasks into manageable parts, and organize their thoughts and ideas.
Each student chose a topic that sparks their interest and aligns with their passions, helping them dive deeper into the topic. Ideas generated in class ranged from luxury sports cars, the power of working with horses as therapeutic animals, the environmental impact of off-road dirt biking, the relationships between dogs and humans, how marketing affects beauty standards, and the benefits of the outdoors on mental health and overall wellness.
I am impressed by how insightful the discussions in class have been so far, as all of the students have been contributing to topic ideas and encouraging each other to ask crucial questions for deeper analysis of their respective projects. I look forward to seeing the development of these projects in the coming weeks and building on the skills required to conquer larger projects and tasks with this group.’
Mrs. McGovern serves as our World Language Department Chair and Spanish teacher during the school year and we are very fortunate to have her during the Forman Summer Program.
Lunch featured the classic comfort combo of grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup, offering a satisfying meal to transition into the afternoon's activities. Students continued to immerse themselves in their chosen activities, from music and ceramics to basketball and frisbee. The tennis group was particularly creative today, engaging in mini games on the courts and challenging each other to learn how to juggle when taking a break from the warm weather. The enthusiasm and creativity on display were truly inspiring.
But the excitement didn't stop there. Wednesday evenings at Forman Summer are reserved for Competitive Wednesdays, and tonight's trivia competition was made more exciting by the chance to win gift cards to the school store. Students and staff alike enjoyed the spirited competition, testing their knowledge of popular logos on the big screen in our beautiful VPAC building. The consistent chatter is a clear indicator of the bonds being built amongst the students.
After a full day of learning, activities, and friendly competition, bedtime welcomed us with open arms. The beautiful weather continues to be on our side, with more sunshine and warm days ahead. We look forward to another day of growth, fun, and memorable experiences tomorrow at Forman Summer!
Day 3 began with another delicious breakfast, featuring an 'eggs your way' station that was a big hit. Well-nourished and energized, students found their way into their morning classes. As always, our teachers provided engaging lessons tailored to each student's needs, taking full advantage of our small class sizes to ensure personalized attention. Our highlight teacher of the day is Hayley Mcgovern who teaches Going for Gold: Long-term Planning and Project Analysis. Ms. Mcgovern shared the following from her class:
‘Today we established what essential question or topic each student is focusing on for their multi-week project. The objective of this assignment is to show students how to manage their time effectively, prioritize tasks, break down large tasks into manageable parts, and organize their thoughts and ideas.
Each student chose a topic that sparks their interest and aligns with their passions, helping them dive deeper into the topic. Ideas generated in class ranged from luxury sports cars, the power of working with horses as therapeutic animals, the environmental impact of off-road dirt biking, the relationships between dogs and humans, how marketing affects beauty standards, and the benefits of the outdoors on mental health and overall wellness.
I am impressed by how insightful the discussions in class have been so far, as all of the students have been contributing to topic ideas and encouraging each other to ask crucial questions for deeper analysis of their respective projects. I look forward to seeing the development of these projects in the coming weeks and building on the skills required to conquer larger projects and tasks with this group.’
Mrs. McGovern serves as our World Language Department Chair and Spanish teacher during the school year and we are very fortunate to have her during the Forman Summer Program.
Lunch featured the classic comfort combo of grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup, offering a satisfying meal to transition into the afternoon's activities. Students continued to immerse themselves in their chosen activities, from music and ceramics to basketball and frisbee. The tennis group was particularly creative today, engaging in mini games on the courts and challenging each other to learn how to juggle when taking a break from the warm weather. The enthusiasm and creativity on display were truly inspiring.
But the excitement didn't stop there. Wednesday evenings at Forman Summer are reserved for Competitive Wednesdays, and tonight's trivia competition was made more exciting by the chance to win gift cards to the school store. Students and staff alike enjoyed the spirited competition, testing their knowledge of popular logos on the big screen in our beautiful VPAC building. The consistent chatter is a clear indicator of the bonds being built amongst the students.
After a full day of learning, activities, and friendly competition, bedtime welcomed us with open arms. The beautiful weather continues to be on our side, with more sunshine and warm days ahead. We look forward to another day of growth, fun, and memorable experiences tomorrow at Forman Summer!
Right into the Rhythm
7/2
Our second day kicked off with a hearty breakfast, fueling our students for their first day of classes. Each class began with brief introductions from our dedicated teachers, setting an engaging and positive tone for the month ahead. With our small class sizes, we are able to focus on individualizing lesson plans to cater to each learner's needs, ensuring a supportive and enriching educational experience. We are fortunate to have one of our veteran teachers, Sara Reiley, as our highlight teacher of the day. She has shared the following update from her class:
‘It was exciting to witness the diligence and enthusiasm of our scholars on our first day of class.
Our focus today was building our class community with high expectations and thought provoking engagement. Students were comfortable working collaboratively and sharing insights relative to their own reading process. This metacognition strategy encouraged the reader to delve deeper into the why and how of the reading process.
We will be focusing on the importance of integrating writing, listening, and speaking with the reading process to enhance comprehension skills. Students engaged in a quick write prior to actively listening to the short story, Ruthless, by William DeMille. This strategy focused on checking for understanding in a way that inspires students. The students then responded to an overall theme in the story. It is a brief response, usually three - five minutes, to a probe. In the case of this story the probe targeted the idea of justice.
The discussion relative to the idea of justice in this short story, was insightful and engaging, motivating the students to explore their preconceived ideas. We will continue to explore the short story as a vehicle for opportunities to enrich reading comprehension skills.
In my Reading Principles class. We focused on individual student needs in reading, by gaining an understanding of the strengths and challenges as we prepared to understand our own learning profiles. It was important to delve into the metacognitive process of Goal Setting as we established three individual goals for each student .
We will begin building our repertoire of strategies tomorrow to address student goals, as we integrate the Wilson Just Words curriculum.
Students will continue to focus on developing active reading strategies such as annotating, and monitoring their comprehension. In addition, we will focus on evaluating new ideas, making inferences and supporting their claims with evidence from the text.
Further, we will also explore student choice research topics to delve further into the related strategies of comprehension of a variety of texts.
As we engage in prioritizing student input into their learning process, we will further extend the learning strategies to include the application of reading fluency and comprehension skills as part of the overall approach to increase student confidence.
Students will continue to create a repertoire of comprehension strategies to delve into a variety of texts. We will also focus on integrating authentic literature, so that students will apply these new strategies to their reading.’
We are fortunate to have teachers like Sara Reiley teaching these functional reading skills that will surely translate to every subject area.
After a productive morning of classes, lunch served as the perfect transition to the afternoon's activities. Students eagerly dove into their chosen activities, which this week include music, ceramics, metalsmithing, basketball, frisbee, field sports, pickleball, fitness, jewelry making, fishing and drawing. The variety of options ensures that there is something for everyone, fostering creativity, teamwork, and physical fitness.
Taco Tuesday themed dinner provided a relaxed and enjoyable end to a busy day. Tuesday evenings at Forman Summer offer a unique opportunity for our students to hear from Forman alumni during our 'Counselor Chats.' These sessions are a time for counselors to share their experiences navigating social and academic challenges, and to offer advice on progressing through school and into college. It's an inspiring and motivational way to conclude the day. Students were able to hear the stories of Doug and Lauren, two Forman Alumni that shared their experiences at Forman and answering questions from students, fostering a productive conversation.
As the day wound down, students had downtime to relax and recharge. The forecast continues to show sunshine and warm New England weather, promising more beautiful days ahead.
We look forward to another productive and exciting day tomorrow at Forman Summer!
Our second day kicked off with a hearty breakfast, fueling our students for their first day of classes. Each class began with brief introductions from our dedicated teachers, setting an engaging and positive tone for the month ahead. With our small class sizes, we are able to focus on individualizing lesson plans to cater to each learner's needs, ensuring a supportive and enriching educational experience. We are fortunate to have one of our veteran teachers, Sara Reiley, as our highlight teacher of the day. She has shared the following update from her class:
‘It was exciting to witness the diligence and enthusiasm of our scholars on our first day of class.
Our focus today was building our class community with high expectations and thought provoking engagement. Students were comfortable working collaboratively and sharing insights relative to their own reading process. This metacognition strategy encouraged the reader to delve deeper into the why and how of the reading process.
We will be focusing on the importance of integrating writing, listening, and speaking with the reading process to enhance comprehension skills. Students engaged in a quick write prior to actively listening to the short story, Ruthless, by William DeMille. This strategy focused on checking for understanding in a way that inspires students. The students then responded to an overall theme in the story. It is a brief response, usually three - five minutes, to a probe. In the case of this story the probe targeted the idea of justice.
The discussion relative to the idea of justice in this short story, was insightful and engaging, motivating the students to explore their preconceived ideas. We will continue to explore the short story as a vehicle for opportunities to enrich reading comprehension skills.
In my Reading Principles class. We focused on individual student needs in reading, by gaining an understanding of the strengths and challenges as we prepared to understand our own learning profiles. It was important to delve into the metacognitive process of Goal Setting as we established three individual goals for each student .
We will begin building our repertoire of strategies tomorrow to address student goals, as we integrate the Wilson Just Words curriculum.
Students will continue to focus on developing active reading strategies such as annotating, and monitoring their comprehension. In addition, we will focus on evaluating new ideas, making inferences and supporting their claims with evidence from the text.
Further, we will also explore student choice research topics to delve further into the related strategies of comprehension of a variety of texts.
As we engage in prioritizing student input into their learning process, we will further extend the learning strategies to include the application of reading fluency and comprehension skills as part of the overall approach to increase student confidence.
Students will continue to create a repertoire of comprehension strategies to delve into a variety of texts. We will also focus on integrating authentic literature, so that students will apply these new strategies to their reading.’
We are fortunate to have teachers like Sara Reiley teaching these functional reading skills that will surely translate to every subject area.
After a productive morning of classes, lunch served as the perfect transition to the afternoon's activities. Students eagerly dove into their chosen activities, which this week include music, ceramics, metalsmithing, basketball, frisbee, field sports, pickleball, fitness, jewelry making, fishing and drawing. The variety of options ensures that there is something for everyone, fostering creativity, teamwork, and physical fitness.
Taco Tuesday themed dinner provided a relaxed and enjoyable end to a busy day. Tuesday evenings at Forman Summer offer a unique opportunity for our students to hear from Forman alumni during our 'Counselor Chats.' These sessions are a time for counselors to share their experiences navigating social and academic challenges, and to offer advice on progressing through school and into college. It's an inspiring and motivational way to conclude the day. Students were able to hear the stories of Doug and Lauren, two Forman Alumni that shared their experiences at Forman and answering questions from students, fostering a productive conversation.
As the day wound down, students had downtime to relax and recharge. The forecast continues to show sunshine and warm New England weather, promising more beautiful days ahead.
We look forward to another productive and exciting day tomorrow at Forman Summer!
Sunny Beginnings
7/1
We are thrilled to welcome you to the start of an exciting month at Forman Summer! Today marks the beginning of a journey filled with learning, friendship, and unforgettable experiences.
The weather welcomed us with a sunny, warm day – the perfect backdrop for the start of our adventure. As our new students arrived and moved into their dorms, there was an unmistakable buzz of excitement in the air. The energy and enthusiasm were palpable as everyone settled into their new home away from home. Any first day jitters were quick to subside as students took part in ice breaker games and campus tours.
After arrival, we gathered for a fun filled picnic where students had the opportunity to start mingling and making new friends. The campus green was filled with lively conversations as everyone began to get to know each other.
During icebreaker activities, we found common interests and gained perspective on the variety of destinations our students are joining us from. We are 47 students from five countries and 14 states.
Down time in the dorms allowed everyone to unpack and set up their rooms before indulging in the popular ‘build your own mac n’ cheese’ dinner. The day wound down with games on the green and free time, accompanied by free ice cream from a local ice cream truck. A perfect treat to end a perfect first day of Forman Summer.
The students are resting up for their first day of classes tomorrow. Don’t forget to check back to the blog for daily updates from our classes, afternoon activities, and exciting news. Here’s to a memorable and exciting month!
We are thrilled to welcome you to the start of an exciting month at Forman Summer! Today marks the beginning of a journey filled with learning, friendship, and unforgettable experiences.
The weather welcomed us with a sunny, warm day – the perfect backdrop for the start of our adventure. As our new students arrived and moved into their dorms, there was an unmistakable buzz of excitement in the air. The energy and enthusiasm were palpable as everyone settled into their new home away from home. Any first day jitters were quick to subside as students took part in ice breaker games and campus tours.
After arrival, we gathered for a fun filled picnic where students had the opportunity to start mingling and making new friends. The campus green was filled with lively conversations as everyone began to get to know each other.
During icebreaker activities, we found common interests and gained perspective on the variety of destinations our students are joining us from. We are 47 students from five countries and 14 states.
Down time in the dorms allowed everyone to unpack and set up their rooms before indulging in the popular ‘build your own mac n’ cheese’ dinner. The day wound down with games on the green and free time, accompanied by free ice cream from a local ice cream truck. A perfect treat to end a perfect first day of Forman Summer.
The students are resting up for their first day of classes tomorrow. Don’t forget to check back to the blog for daily updates from our classes, afternoon activities, and exciting news. Here’s to a memorable and exciting month!
Welcome Summer Program Families!
Dear Forman Summer Families,
With the end of the school year approaching, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Forman Summer in July! Our program seeks to provide your child with an engaging and enriching summer experience while simultaneously challenging them to extend themselves beyond what they thought they were ever capable of. I am incredibly grateful and humbled to lead this exceptional program. I am also privileged to have an excellent, energetic staff who will be sure to make this a memorable summer for your child.
We are planning an exciting Orientation grounded in community building, fun, and adventure! Click here for a detailed Orientation schedule. As a reminder, our program begins on July 1st. Please take a moment to review the suggested packing list and submit the roommate questionnaire form to help you and your child prepare for the Forman Summer Program experience. Additionally, you can click here to view the weekday daily schedule.
Please note that Brittany Bloom, the Dean of Academics of the Summer Program, will be in contact with families regarding course selections.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Forman Summer, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to meeting and working with your child in July!
Sincerely,
John Strawson
Director of the Summer Program
[email protected]
860.567.6215
Forman School Summer Program
12 Norfolk Road
Litchfield, CT 06759
www.formanschool.org
Travel Information
If you are flying into Connecticut to join us, below are possible options for your air travel:
Click here for a Visitor's Guide to facilitate your planning.
Closing Ceremony — July 26th
The Forman Summer Program closing ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Visual and Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will run for approximately 45 minutes. Students will move out of their dorms and leave campus immediately afterward.
We are looking forward to meeting you and your child! Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
With the end of the school year approaching, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Forman Summer in July! Our program seeks to provide your child with an engaging and enriching summer experience while simultaneously challenging them to extend themselves beyond what they thought they were ever capable of. I am incredibly grateful and humbled to lead this exceptional program. I am also privileged to have an excellent, energetic staff who will be sure to make this a memorable summer for your child.
We are planning an exciting Orientation grounded in community building, fun, and adventure! Click here for a detailed Orientation schedule. As a reminder, our program begins on July 1st. Please take a moment to review the suggested packing list and submit the roommate questionnaire form to help you and your child prepare for the Forman Summer Program experience. Additionally, you can click here to view the weekday daily schedule.
Please note that Brittany Bloom, the Dean of Academics of the Summer Program, will be in contact with families regarding course selections.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Forman Summer, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to meeting and working with your child in July!
Sincerely,
John Strawson
Director of the Summer Program
[email protected]
860.567.6215
Forman School Summer Program
12 Norfolk Road
Litchfield, CT 06759
www.formanschool.org
Travel Information
If you are flying into Connecticut to join us, below are possible options for your air travel:
- Bradley International Airport (39.2 miles, 55 minutes)
- Laguardia Airport (94.3 miles, 1 hour and 45 minutes)
- JFK International Airport (100 miles, 1 hour and 50 minutes)
- Logan International Airport (134.3 miles, 2 hours and 20 minutes)
Click here for a Visitor's Guide to facilitate your planning.
Closing Ceremony — July 26th
The Forman Summer Program closing ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Visual and Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will run for approximately 45 minutes. Students will move out of their dorms and leave campus immediately afterward.
We are looking forward to meeting you and your child! Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
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