Potomac Stories

The kindergarten paleontologists continued studying dinosaurs with a fossil dig in the big sandbox. They had tremendous success finding deer antlers, cow jaws, and scapulas. They really dug it! 

Poetry may be one of our young authors’ favorite genres! Once students in Ms. Berke’s grade 1 class got past the notion that poems have to rhyme, their pens started flying across the page. You would be amazed by the weight and power of their poems. At the end of the unit, each child selected a poem to publish. On the Friday before Winter Break, the class held a poetry reading at a "coffee shop" for our writing celebration. Kids sipped hot chocolate and enjoyed a snack while they listened to poets read their poems out loud. 

Kindergarteners are continuing their studies in kitchen chemistry! In a recent experiment, they learned about diffusion – or when things spread out. They observed the sugar coating diffusing off Skittles and added a sugar cube in the center for even greater diffusion excitement. This was a sweet science lesson! 

On Tuesday morning, the third grade Students for Environmental Action (SEA) and Trail Guardian committees planted garlic and buckwheat in the Lower School garden beds, which will serve as a native pollinator garden during the summer and early fall months. The students learned how to plant garlic and when to harvest the buckwheat before it grasses. It was a beautiful, brisk morning to hone their farming skills!

Second graders recently took a field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian! Students were able to explore and think about how culture is conveyed through stories, dance, music, art, and values. Teachers helped students find examples of how where you live affects how you live. It was an educational day, and the students enjoyed the museum.

Our third graders enjoyed an onsite field trip on Tuesday! The students worked with the Watershed Education and Outreach organization from Fairfax County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services to conduct benthic macroinvertebrate organisms and water quality studies in Pimmit Run creek on campus. The students learned about water quality metrics that help identify the health of a stream, such as dissolved oxygen and pH. We are happy to report that by both standards, we are in the moderately healthy range. In addition, they observed various benthic macroinvertebrates, including mayflies, hellgrammites, and damselflies. It was a terrific... and wet day of learning on our beautiful campus! Relive moments from the field trip.