On Friday during assembly time, teachers and students stretched their skills and imaginations with an exciting new twist on community time. Instead of meeting in a large gathering, the teachers and students met in small, mixed-age groups for mini courses on a variety of less traditional topics.

In the Junior Building, while some students gave googly eyes and glitter a whole new meaning, others learned about sea turtles and how scientists are trying to help them, and still others planted lettuce starts, learned to make movies, or explored the myriad of things that can be created from giant coffee filters. In Greenleaf, while some students learned the cha-cha or battled wits in a Survivor-styled game, others tried improvisational acting, and still others explored cartooning, songwriting, or drumming. One group even crossed campus to play some squash!

The electives program was put together by fifth grade teacher and Betty Buck chair-holder Jennifer Katsoulis. Jenn’s goal for the program, through the funds provided by the chair, is to seek innovative ways to continue to build a stronger, more vibrant community of learners of all ages through interactive experiences among different groups. She was delighted to be able to place all the students in one of their top three choices, and she looks forward to expanding the program to include some community service and potentially even run the program over several Fridays.

On Sunday, the Middle School Speech Team competed in the Wilson NYC Festival at Wilson Middle School in Natick. As is standard in all Massachusetts Middle School Forensic League contests, the day’s events were offered in two flights. In Flight A, students competed in Prose Reading, Play Reading, “Kiddy Lit,” Personal Narrative Speaking, or Original Oratory. In Flight B, options included Poetry Reading, Duo Interpretation, Impromptu Speaking, Demonstration, and Declamation. Twenty-six Milton Academy Middle School students participated one or more events at Sunday’s festival. Congratulations to all the students for their preparation and their participation. Thank you to the parents who served as judges throughout the day, and to Yoshi Makishima ’11 and Eric Bohn ’12 for their coaching assistance.

Special congratulations to the students who placed in the competition.

• “Kiddy Lit:” Gillie placed second, and Eshani, coached by Olivia Atwood, placed first.
• Declamation: Anne placed fourth.
• Original Oratory: Jeremy placed fifth.
• Duo Interpretation: Jacob and Mack received honorable mention, and Michelle and Emily placed sixth.
• Poetry Reading: Tara placed third, Grace placed second.
• Prose Reading: Logan received honorable mention, Jacob placed fifth, Mack placed third, Maddie L. placed second, and Maddie D., coached by Lily Steig, placed first.
• Play Reading: Libby received honorable mention, Christina placed second.
• Novice Reading: Chloe placed fourth, Hana, coached by Jacqui Smith, placed first.
• Impromptu Speaking: Marshall placed third.
  

It will be a busy spring for our Speech Team as they prepare for six more competitions as well as the National Junior Forensic League Tournament.

Middle School English teacher Derek Palmore hosted a special CAFE session for Middle School students during today’s lunch. On the menu were traditional Hawaiian dishes, some made from Palmore family recipes, including: Veggie Portuguese Soup, pineapple, mango, papaya and lychee, Chicken Adobo, Kahlua Pork and Haupia-Coconut Cream Custard. While the students and teachers enjoyed their lunches, Mr. Palmore shared some of the history and traditions of Hawaii, particularly the changes that have taken place in Hula Dancing since the European discovery of the Hawaiian islands. Mr. Palmore shared pictures of his family to show the multi-ethnic nature of people in Hawaii.

Novelist, magazine writer and science journalist Gregory Mone shared his experiences with the writing process to a riveted fourth grade last week. Mone, who has recently finished his fourth book, and first middle-grade novel, discussed the development of his characters and evolution of some of his favorite lines. He even treated his listeners to the first chapter of his soon-to-be-released book, Dangerous Waters, which revolves around a twelve-year-old fictional character and his friendship with real Titanic passenger Harry Widener.

In the Fourth Grade, students focus on the writing process. The opportunity to visit with professional authors provides them with mentors for their personal expression. Having spent the year developing their skills (prewriting, organizing ideas into paragraphs and developing sentence fluency), students were eager to hear about how particular lines of the book evolved, and how Gregory worked with his editor to revise what was already great writing.

In preparation for Mone’s visit, the students read his middle-grade novel Fish, about a twelve-year-old boy from a poor farming family, who takes a job as a courier for his uncle and is waylaid by pirates.