This is fall conference week, so the schedule for the rest of this week is Tuesday (A), Wednesday (E), Thursday (NO School K-8 and 8 periods for 9-12), and then no school K-12 on Friday, Nov. 6.  Student conferences for grades K-8 are Thursday, Nov. 5 and Friday, Nov. 6 and will be held on Microsoft Teams.  Grades 9-12 will have distance learning classes on Thursday, Nov. 5 and their own conferences on Friday, Nov. 6 (also on MS Teams).  Advisors should have emailed invitations to their TEAMS conference, so if parents haven’t received one yet, they should contact melanie.gee@sgs.org or michelle.bledsoe@sgs.org.

The 10th graders spent time in the Chemistry Lab using Bunsen burners to burn toothpicks that had soaked in chemical solutions.  See a Photo Gallery of the students burning a lot of toothpicks and recording what color flames were associated with different chemicals.

The 8th graders were measuring the speed and acceleration of gravity by dropping tennis balls in the Upper School courtyard.  See a Photo Gallery of Shane Kangas' Math class measuring the distance and speed of the balls, then doing their calculations.

Most of the freshmen and sophomores returned to in-person classes on Oct. 22-23.  From Spanish and Chemistry to Government and Advanced Geometry, it was good to have their energy back in their Upper School classrooms.  See photo galleries of the 9th Graders in different classes and the 10th Graders in some of their classrooms.

Most of the juniors and seniors returned to in-person classes on Oct. 20-21.  From English Literature and Chinese to Math Analysis and Physics, they added some welcome activity to their Upper School classrooms.  See photo galleries of the 11th Graders in various classes, the 12th Graders in their classes, and a IB Spanish Class Video of them moving along with a Spanish Zumba video during an exercise break!

Three SGS seniors have used the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme to explore topics of particular interest to them -- an online literary magazine and the effects of US health policy on South Africa.

CAS Project Highlight:  Paul Darnall and Chaitanya Nalluri are working together on their CAS project of producing the SGS Literary Magazine.  "The Literary Magazine is a production created by Paul and I in order to bring various forms of literary writing to the school," says Chaitanya.  "The magazine will feature works of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Within these categories, the writers will get some flexibility to write funny, serious, relevant, and other types of articles.  There will also be illustrations.  The magazine will be primarily web-based, but we may end up printing it out and distributing it around the school.  We aim to get an issue out by the end of the semester.  We have a solid group of writers right now, but anyone is welcome to join." 

CAS Experiences Highlights:  CAS experiences for all Upper School students (in the US and China) this week included splitting wood, painting Nike shoes, Everlasting Envelopes letter making, Little Spokane River float, school workouts, biking excursions, hiking excursions, learning to hip hop dance, and taking a puppy for a walk.

EE Highlight:  Senior Addy Lennemann’s research question is "To what extent does the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy negatively affect access to health resources in South Africa?"  When asked what prompted her to choose this question, she said, "I chose my research question because I believe more people should be made aware of the changes the Trump Administration has made and the impacts they have.  I think policies that restrict important funding to the point that lives are being lost is a topic that should be written on.  Because it deals with abortion, my topic can be considered taboo, but it is that mentality that places the repressive policy on NGOs in the first place.  I strongly believe that when given the chance, one should advocate for themselves and their community, and this EE is my chance to do so."

IB Question of the Week:  How many schools worldwide offer the IB program?  
On 14 July 2020, there were 7,002 programs being offered worldwide, across 5,284 schools in 158 countries.  The IB publishes a range of statistics and information about its programs.  For more information, you can Follow This Link.

IB Overview:  The Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum for grades 11-12 is made up of six subject groups and the DP core, comprising Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and the Extended Essay (EE).  Please refer to our IB webpage and to the IB Resources page in PowerSchool Learning for detailed IB information.  

Two SGS seniors have used the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme to explore topics of particular interest to them -- winter sports and scavengers!

CAS Project Highlight:  Senior John DeForest centered his CAS project around something he loves… Nordic skiing.  For his project, he helped Mr. Tuck plan and set up the Middle School Nordic Day last winter.  “CAS has both encouraged me to extend my learning into projects I enjoy," says John, "and at the same time reflect on my extracurricular activities more deeply.”  Full diploma students, such as John, complete a CAS project that includes an 18-month portfolio and multiple reflections.  His project's learning outcomes included demonstrating initiative, planning, developing skills, and working collaboratively.    

CAS Experiences Highlights:  CAS experiences for all of our Upper School students this week included a self-care diagram, styling an old hat, geocaching at Otis Orchards, helping at a food bank, writing for The Round Table, selling old clothes, creating a group of people to play strategy games with, pumpkin carvings, and working on SGS community nights.  All Upper School students (pre-IB grades 9-10, full diploma candidates and course candidates) complete CAS experiences with reflections.

EE Highlight:  One of our seniors, Erika Piotrowski, has picked an Extended Essay topic involving condors.  Her research question is, “What role do different scavengers play at a carcass and how do their different roles lead to the overall dynamic at carrion site?”  For those of you who don't know, a carrion site is the location where she places all the meat to attract the scavengers.  Seniors spend a year researching and writing a 4000-word essay on a topic of their choice.

IB Question of the Week:  Who is the head of the IB?
Dr Siva Kumari. She started her tenure as the seventh Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in January 2014 and is the first woman to hold the post.  Read more about her at This Link.  Email elizabeth.tender@sgs.org with any IB questions you'd like answered.

IB Overview:  The Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum for grades 11-12 is made up of six subject groups and the DP core, comprising Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and the Extended Essay (EE).  (Please refer to our IB webpage and to the IB Resources page in PowerSchool Learning for detailed IB information.) 

The Middle School is back!  On Monday, Oct. 5, the 6th graders returned to in-person classes.  Then the next day, the 7th and 8th grade students returned for several days of in-person lessons in a variety of Middle and Upper School classrooms.  See a Photo Gallery of them getting dropped off on Oct. 6 with Golden Tickets in hand.

In each grade, some students are continuing to join their classmates online via MS Teams.  See photo galleries of the 6th Graders in Brad Kirsch's and Kristie Slattengren's classes, the 7th Graders in Spanish and science classes, and the 8th Graders learning their social studies, math and Spanish lessons.