Songwriters and Recording Technology Students Unite
This week, students in the seventh and eighth grade Songwriting arts elective showcased their work in a Tiny Desk-inspired recording event in the Erskine Library. They collaborated to think about form, lyrical rhyming structures, rhythm, harmonic accompaniments, melody, and instrumentation to write their final projects for this class. Students from the Recording Technology arts elective learned about the pre-production process including microphone selection and placement, gain staging, and collaborative problem-solving in a recording environment. Students performed and recorded two original songs. Check out videos of the songs “Toronto” and “California.”
– Kassie Bettinelli and Tyler Cotner, music teachers
Step Into the Studio Night
Wednesday, November 20 at 7 p.m.
Palandjian Arts Center
If you’d like to hear more from other BDS songwriters and the a cappella singers, and witness what it takes to conduct a live recording in a studio space, please join us for our first-ever Step Into the Studio event. All families are welcome.
Eighth Graders Study the Science of Inheritance
In eighth grade science, students have been studying how inheritance works in humans. After looking at simple Mendelian traits such as hair type and smile dimples, students moved on to look at how human blood types are inherited. To determine what blood type could be donated to a recipient, students completed an activity in which they simulated blood transfusions using water and food coloring. If the donated blood caused the recipient’s blood to change from its original color then the transfusion was not successful. Using this model students were then able to apply this to the actual blood types in the A-B-O blood system to understand who can get what blood type. This will set us up to be able to test our blood to determine our blood types later in November.
– Sandra Trentowsky, eighth grade science teacher
Arts Update: First and Third Graders Create Wooden Happy Blocks, Robots
Over the past few weeks in woodworking, the first and third graders have been learning a variety of new skills. The first graders picked up their hammers with enthusiasm and used their new skills to create Happy Blocks. They painted the block and then hammered nails to create the likeness of a happy face. The third graders are taking it up a notch or two this fall and have designed robot creatures. The students started by making drawings of their creatures and then created a collage to represent the different parts to make with wood. Finally, the third graders brought their robot creatures to life by cutting and assembling them in wood.
– Bill Smith, woodworking teacher
