AN IB WORLD SCHOOL

Academic News

All of the 6th graders gathered on Sept. 21 to learn about the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.  They used Playdoh to make the character for "moon" and then stamped it into a mini-Moon Cake.  They also watched a short video and cut out one of the characters using blue paper.  See a Photo Gallery of all the activity that day.

IB Highlights: 100 Meter Dash

September 27, 2021

Extended Essay Highlight:  Senior Fair Niven is asking this question for her EE:  "How does the amount of protein in a protein shake effect the heart rate of a person running the 100m dash?"  She plans to have Mark Rickard as her supervisor.  She will be collecting her own data and comparing it to other data that has been already collected.  Fair ran the 100 meter dash in 12.76 seconds this spring to win the race at the District 7 NE 2B Championships!
 
CAS Project Highlight:  Stella Brown and Maddy Roberts, both seniors, proposed a Saint George’s mural.  They are experienced with both physical and digital art, which is why they chose to do this CAS project.  For their investigation, they are going to do research and learn more about how to design and paint a mural, and also how to logistically keep it from fading away.  We cannot wait to see this new addition to our campus!
 
IB Question of the Week:   Who is the Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB)?  
Mr Olli-Pekka Heinonen started his tenure as the eighth Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in May 2021.  You can read more about him here: https://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/governance-and-leadership/director-general/
 
Please refer to the International Baccalaureate page on the SGS website and to the IB Resources page in PowerSchool Learning for detailed IB information.  As an 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).  
• CAS Experiences: All of our Upper School students, pre-IB (grades 9-10), full diploma candidates and course candidates, complete CAS experiences with reflections.
• CAS Project: Our full diploma students complete CAS projects that follow an 18-month portfolio, full of reflections. 
• EE: Seniors spend a year researching and writing a 4000-word extended essay on a topic of their choice.  

See Seniors in Biology Lab

September 20, 2021

The senior IB Biology students mixed water and green algae in the Bio Lab to use in later experiments on photosynthesis.  See a Photo Gallery of them using the lab's equipment to get their mixtures just right.

The Lower School Library became a cafe for a day, as the 5th graders enjoyed a "Book Tasting", where they got to sample books from a variety of different genres, writing a few notes about each.  See a Photo Gallery of them in the library preparing for a big reading challenge coming up soon.

Pedro Tomazzelli's Kindergarten Spanish class stepped outside on a sunny morning to identify things that were different colors -- azul, verde, rojo, blanco, and gris.  See a Photo Gallery of the kids pointing to different colored things.

Thursday, Sept. 16 is Parent Night at SGS for Middle and Upper School families.  Parents are invited to meet their children’s teachers and learn about their classes.  The evening begins at 6:00pm in Founder Theater for introductions and each family's schedule for the evening, which will run until after 8pm depending on the grade of your student.  (An informational meeting will be held before Parent Night from 5:30-5:55pm in the Dragon Room for the optional Washington D.C. trip in June.  This is open to students currently in grades 7-9.)  See a Parent Night Schedule on the website and plan to meet other parents and teachers for this informative evening!

 

5th Graders Update Story Trail

September 13, 2021

The 5th graders put a new book, Dragons Love Tacos, on the Story Trail above campus for the month of September.  See a Photo Gallery of them placing the new pages on the viewing posts, and plan to walk the trail and enjoy the story this month!

We hope SGS parents will join the Lower School staff for this highly informational evening on Thursday, Sept. 9 beginning at 6:30pm.  Back to School Night is designed for teachers to speak to a broad audience about classroom policies, philosophy, and curriculum.  See Rick Petrini's Letter for more details about the evening.

Students headed into the Middle School on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Lower School on Wednesday, Aug. 28 posed with "frames" to celebrate their first day of school.  See photo galleries of the Middle Schoolers and the Lower School Students at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year!

Saint George’s welcomes new teachers and staff members for the 2021-22 school year.  They include:

Lauren Boubel is a Math teacher in the Upper School (grades 9-12) and will be head of the Math department.  She holds Math and Education degrees from the University of Washington and a masters from Portland State University.  Lauren previously taught at an International Baccalaureate school in Portland.  She also has experience as a professional chef and a bike repair shop manager. 

Katie Fitzpatrick is the Coordinator for the After-School Enrichment Club in the Lower School (grades K-5).  She is a student in the teacher education program at Whitworth University.  Katie loves working with children, and she brings a great deal of energy and enthusiasm into developing and supervising this active and enriching program.

Tracy Gonser is the School Registrar and Executive Assistant to the Head of School.  A current SGS parent and school volunteer, Tracy brings organizational experience from her work in the insurance industry.  She also will assist with School Development duties.

Daniel Johnson is the teacher for Economics, English, and Film in the Upper School.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Montana State University.  Daniel has experience as an International Baccalaureate instructor, having lived in Uzbekistan, China, and Ecuador before serving as a long-term substitute at Saint George’s last year.

Ross Miller is teaching Physics in the Upper School.  Ross earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physics from the University of Idaho.  He has experience implementing universal design-based curriculum so that students of all abilities and experiences are supported in learning science. His interests include helping students use their prior experiences to better understand magnets, momentum, and quantum physics.

Jess Miotke is the school’s 4th grade teacher.  She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education from the University of Oregon.  Jess has extensive experience teaching elementary students, much of it overseas in schools offering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.  She has held numerous leadership and training positions on top of her teaching duties.

Cynthia Kirkman Romoff is the Lower School Music teacher, specializing in voice and performance.  She earned a B.A. from Whitworth University in Theatre and Music and did her graduate studies at the University of Denver in Voice and Opera.  Cynthia, a Saint George’s alumna, has an eclectic and extensive work history, from teaching in schools to singing opera.  Her son Max will join the 9th grade class at SGS this fall.

Morgan Russell is the Spanish teacher for grades 6 and 7 in the Middle School.  He holds a degree in Spanish Language & Literature from Whitworth University.  Morgan has studied in Spain and Guatemala and travelled in a variety of Spanish-speaking countries.  He also enjoys travel, backpacking, and caving. 

Claire Tau is teaching Spanish in the Middle and Upper Schools and for International Baccalaureate classes.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language & Literature and a master’s in Special Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she also earned Nevada state K-12 certification in Spanish.  Claire helped a school in Las Vegas develop a middle school Spanish program in the process of becoming an International Baccalaureate candidate school.  Claire is an outdoor enthusiast, and her two daughters will join SGS for grades 1 and 3.

Pedro Tomazzelli is the Lower School Spanish teacher.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitworth University, where he recently finished his master’s in Education degree.  A native of Brazil, Pedro is trained in second-language acquisition strategies, is fluent in three languages, and has classroom experience in both Deer Park and Mead school districts.

Jack Wren is a Math teacher in the Upper School.   He holds degrees in Math and in Education from the University of Virginia.  Jack’s experience includes leading student chess camps and being a successful cross country runner, a sport he will help coach at SGS.

From left to right in the photo above, they are Pedro, Cynthia, Jack, Ross, Lauren, Morgan, Tracy, Daniel, and Jess.  Please welcome each of these new Dragons!


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