Walden Community School

   

The Student-Written, Weekly Blog  of The Walden Community School! 

Weekly

This week the Walnuts went to their first field trip to the Chelonian (Turtle) Research Institute. While there, we got to see many different turtles and tortoises such as Galapagos Tortoises, a.k.a. G-Torts, and snapping turtles. Everyone enjoyed it, and we're very eager to go for another visit!

-Sidney McCall

The Largest Cicada Tortoise at the Institute

And the smallest turtle at the Institute overall!

    Walnuts feeding the Galapagos Tortoises.

Arts & Activities

While not quite related to our in school activities, we have successfully recruited another member of the "Walden Fanpires." This unoffical club for the fans of the Twilight Saga, written by Stephenie Meyer, is made up of Karin, Sidney, Skipper, Karin, myself, and our newest member, Madelaine.The books take place in Forks, Washington and tell the story of the human Bella and the amazing, gorgeous vampire, Edward. So far, everyone except for Madelaine has finished all four books. This is understandable, considering that each book is about 500 pages, and she just started reading last week. We have also made plans to dress up as the main characters for Halloween. Even our school's founder and director, Dr. Carol Mikulka, has jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. I wonder if going to see the movie in November will count as an educational field trip...We'll find some way to tie it in.

- Katie Mikulka

 

 

WE LOVE TWILIGHT!!!!

 

Lists

For those of you who wonder how a person in his or her right mind can draw without looking at the paper, here are the different and rather effective forms of contour drawing the Walnuts have learned since beginning class with Kim and Byron:

 

1. Blind Contour

    In order to draw according to the style of blind contour, the artist must look only at his subject and draw without picking up pencil from the paper. This exercise allows the artist to draw shapes that happen to form into an object rather than draw what he or she thinks should be there.

2. Point to Point Contour

    Whereas blind contour usually involves more fluid, sensitive lines, point to point contour involves looking strictly at where the shape of the object turns and drawing a line between each shift accordingly.

3. Gesture Drawing

    Perhaps the quickest form of contour drawing, gesture drawing involves drawing the "essence" of the human form. That translates to capturing the feeling of the various curves and skeletal features which work together to expression a certain feeling. The model may also move while the artist draws, depicting the trail of motion between poses. Thus, gesture drawing is a sort of precursor to animation. Of course, humans are not the only objects on earth that have emotion--gesture drawing works equally well with plants and inanimate objects.

-Madelaine Romito

 

News & Need-to-knows

An especial note to parents: this coming Monday we scheduled a field trip to the Stormwater Management Facility at UCF, which means a little change in morning drop-off procedures. If you live closer to the school building, please arrive at the Applebee's restaurant closest to the UCF campus by 7:30 A.M. If you have any questions, concerns, or alternate plans feel free to call Karin Williamson before Monday morning!

 

 

Also, all the Walnut parents gathered for a parent meeting on Wednesday morning. Dr. Mikulka and Karin led discussions including but not limited toering the weekly assessment structure, school accreditation, range of wireless internet access, and future building plans. Dr. Mikulka also mentioned our neighbors, numbering among them a couple who make artisan blue cheese on their dairy farm, a somewhat hesitantly friendly preschool owner, and even a mysterious owner of the lot behind us. We hope to see all of our parents together at least once a month for similar gatherings!

-Madelaine Romito

 

Understandings

While Sasha was out of town, Carrie interviewed Maddy. Here is what see had to say...

 

MEET... MADDY McCALLISTER

Q: How do you compare Walden this year to last year?

A: I liked having a small school, but a bigger school is more fun.

 

Q: You were the youngest last year. Do you like having people a little younger than you?

A: It's fun to have kids my age, but I like having kids older than me.

 

Q: What is your job in our Walden blog?

A: I'm the Junior Photographer with the Senior photographer Abigail.

 

Q: Last year you only came part time. Do you like it more coming full time?

A: Yeah, because I get to see my friends more and it's fun to go to school.

 

Q: What is your favorite school subject?

A: Art, because it's fun to draw abd you can do whatever you want.

 

Q: What is your favorite part of having a small school?

A: Everyone gets to see each other everyday.

-interview conducted by Carrie Mikulka

 

Trivia

In honor of Dr. Peter Pritchard, the world-renowned turtle and tortoise expert we spoke with on Monday, this week's triva is all about British slang. While we learned a lot from Dr. Pritchard, it was perhaps his British accent that we enjoyed the most.

British Slang            

Axe - Guitar

Boot - Trunk

Codger - Eccentric Old Man

Don't get your knickers in a twist - Don't get upset

Fringe - Bangs

Knees up - Dance Party

On the Blower - On the phone
-Skipper Williamson

Clip art found by Katie Mikulka

Hope you enjoyed this week's edition of The Walnut!

-Katie and Madelaine, senior editors

 

The W.A.L.N.U.T.

Weekly

Herman the Tortoise

This week, Abby’s tortoise Herman was the Walden guest pet for the week. He enjoys sunbathing, sleeping, and just being a tortoise. Also, he’s 6 months old and has a love for fruit.

Picture By Maddy McCallister

Wally Windfrill the Gopher Turtle

BIG NEWS

Wally the Gopher turtle has made a grand appearance. Wally isn’t exactly a class pet, but he’s lived on the Walden grounds long enough to be called family. In the last few days, he’s been very withdrawn, but he’s finally emerged from his home in the Walnut Jungle (That’s the backyard.)

Picture By Karin Williamson

-Sidney McCall

Arts & Activities
This was a very event-filled week in the arts at Walden. We continued our study of contour drawing, and becoming more familiar with tracing shapes with our eyes. This week also brought a new addition to our art education. Each week, we while now have a block of time called "Studio Time". This time allows us to explore new techniques and practice what we have learned. We also had our second yoga class with Sasha's mom, Krista. This week, we learned a "Sun Salutation", a series of different poses. Most of the yoga poses are named after different animals and plants, including the turtle, lion, dog, tree, camel, and frog. (See the List section for more about the different yoga  poses.) We ended our yoga class with a moment of relaxation, and deep breathing. Each yoga class begins and ends with the phrase "Namaste", meaning "The light in me sees the light in you." In dance this week, Ms.Gale announced that we will begin work on a Halloween program. We are all on the lookout for good Halloween music and poems to perform. In addition to talking about our Halloween show, we also began our study of dance history. As we continue throughout the year, we will learn about the dances of various time periods. Just like last week, we started our class with a warm-up and continue to become more comfortable performing with our improv activities. As you can see, this was a very busy week in the arts at Walden. Check back next week for more updates!
-Katie Mikulka

Picture By Karin Williamson

Lists
For those of you who are unfamiliar with yoga, here is a list of some of the poses Ms. Krista Berman taught us on Thursday:
a. Up-dog: bracing your body on outstretched arms, lay your hips to the floor and look upwards, stretching your arms and abdominal muscles.
b. Down-dog: With hands and feet planted on the ground, lift your hips upwards to form a triangle with your body and the floor.
c. Camel Pose: standing on your knees, stretch your arms back to your ankles and look up.
d. Fish Pose: lying flat on your back, prop your upper body up on your elbows and place your hands beneath your bottom. Then look up and point your toes.
e. Tree Pose: standing on one foot, bring the other foot up between your legs and place your hands in prayer position.
f. Child's Pose: lying on the floor with knees tucked under your abdomen, stretch your arms out in front of you and bow your head. This pose resembles the position in which babies lie in the womb, making this pose one of the most relaxing positions in yoga.
We all look forward to our next yoga practice on September 25th with Ms. Krista. Remember to bring your yoga mat and stretchy pants!
- Madelaine Romito

Picture By Karin Williamson

News & Need-to-knows
This week in humanities we began studying the birth of civilization with Sumer and Mesopotamia along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present-day Iran. As a supplementary project, we carved our cuneiform initials in clay. In science, we finished our study of prehistory with virtual demonsrations of forming fossils. As for Latin, we can now translate two very practical sentences: Sum nauta and Sum agricola, meaning I am a sailor and I am a farmer. And Ms. Gretchen and the fifth graders learned how to create graphs:

  Picture By Madelaine Romito

-Katie & Madelaine

Understandings

MEET SIDNEY MCCALL  

Picture By Madelaine Romito

Q: How do you compare Walden this year from last year?
A: Well, this year the school is much more organized, and we have more freedom but at the same time we are learning many things with one-on-one attention--unlike public middle school.

Q: This is the first year you have done FLVS at Walden. How do you feel about FLVS?
A: Yes, this is the first year I've done FLVS. Because we do a lot of off-ground activities, FLVS provides the same structure that we would have in public school, so we are still on track with them.

Q: How do you feel about having a school with only nine people?
A: At first it felt a little strange being in school with so few people, but now they're kind of like extended family many times removed. Every day it's like a family reunion.

Q: What is your favorite part of Walden?
A: My favorite part about Walden is that you are not put under pressure that you usually receive in public school. 

Q: What are you looking forward to most this year?
A: I'm really looking forward to learning new things that I never had a chance to learn in public school.

Q: If you could change anything about Walden what would it be?
A: So far there is nothing that I would change, except the paint job. I want to add some color.
- Interview conducted by Carrie Mikulka and Sasha Berman

Turtle Trivia
In honor of our shelled visitors this week, here are some great turtle facts:
1. Fresh water turtles are calledterrapins in the United Kingdom.
2. Sea turtles have existed for over a hundred thousand years.
3. The Latin name for the Galapagos tortoise is Geochelone elphantopu.
4. A tortoise was sentenced to death in July 1981 for supposedly using magic to kill members of a Kenyan tribe. Thankfully, the government stepped in before the execution.
5. Every tortoise has its own individual shell markings that make them unique.

- Skipper Williamson

The W.A.L.N.U.T. 9/5/08

Welcome to the first edition of the W.A.L.N.U.T., the student edited blog of the Walden Community School! Here you will find weekly updates, student and teacher profiles, trivia, fun facts, and anything else we think you should know. Notice the title of our blog is an acronym, standing for the following:

Weekly
(weekly field trips)

Arts and Activities
(updates on Wednesday's curricula & crafts)

Lists
(supply lists for classes or field trips and upcoming dates)

News and Other Need to Knows
(what is happening in Walden classes & other important info)

Understandings
(interviews with students, staff, parents, and other willing volunteers!)

Trivia
(fun fact about fun topics)

Now that we have that settled...

Weekly
No field trips as yet, but Ms. Karin has us in suspense for next Monday. Hints are welcome!

Arts & Activities
This week in art, we studed contour drawing, and next week we will begin still lifes. (See below for art supply list.) We are continuing our weekly movement and drama class. We haven't started any major projects yet, but continue to become more familiar with our warm-ups and dance lingo. Stay tuned for an interview with our wonderful drama and movement teacher, Ms. Paula K. Gale, in the "Understandings" section.

An Example of Advanced Contour Drawing  

Lists
ART SUPPLY LIST:
Art bag/ Box/ Container
Pencil Box/ Bag
Colored pencils
Thin tip markers
Soft lead pencil #2
6B pencil
Sharpener
Scissors
Invisible Matte Tape
Blank 3x5 index cards
Any favorite
Water color pencils
Thick markers
Art notebook

For next Wednesday, September 10th, remember to bring a large sketch pad, markers, and/or a 6B pencil.

 

News & Need-to-knows
    Since the chinchilla idea fell through (thanks Karin), we now have a temporary class pet named Bruce. He is a yellow Neopet penguin, and he happens to be rather low maitenance seeing as how he is stuffed. Hopefully he will fill the void until we actually get a live class pet. He will be traveling between the school and the Miller Household. We know that Liv and Em will take great care of him.

Isn't he cute?

    Science and humanities revolved around the origins of humankind, with an especial focus on archeology and environmental science. Activities included studying the three ages of prehistory with a supplementary video, Ape to Man, about ancient man and the missing link. Ms. Gretchen also recruited us as amateur archeologists during a mock dig for artifacts. On Thursday, Ms. Karin split us into groups for worksheets on invasive plants. In the following weeks we look forward to the dawn of civilization and lessons on how to care for our environment.

Understanding
This week, Sasha and Carrie interviewed Madelaine. Here is what she had to say...

1) Q: How old are you?
    A: I am 16 years old, I will be 17 on September 11th.

2) Q: How do you feel about being the oldest student at Walden Community School?
    A: I like it because I can be a good mentor if anyone needs help.

3) Q: How do you compare Walden Community School to your other schools? 

    A: Walden has no grades and it allows students to not compare themselves with others.

4) Q: What is your favorite part about Walden? 

    A: I would have to say my favorite part about Walden are Wednesdays because I like the arts in general.

5) Q: What is the most memorable part of Walden so far?

    A: It was difficult letting go of public school and the IB program.

 

Trivia

At Walden, we start our mornings with a Latin lesson and Greek root. This week, one of our Greek roots was "phobos", meaning irrrational fear. The fear of stories, myths, and lies is called mythophobia. Here are some interesting tidbits about various superstitions...

 

- Did you know that the day of the week that the first flower of spring blooms foreshadows the year ahead? Here is what each day of the week is said to mean...

 

Monday = Good Fortune 

Tuesday = Success 

Wednesday = Marriage 

Thursday = Warning 

Friday = Wealth 

Saturday = Misfortune

Sunday = Weeks of good luck 

 

- Ivy growing on a house is said to protect it from evil.

 

- If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of Autumn, then you will not have a cold all Winter.

 

- A rainbow in the East sky means a sunny day is to come. A rainbow in the West foretells a rainy day.

 

- Rosemary is said to keep witches away.  

 

 

Thank you for reading the debut issue of the W.A.L.N.U.T! Check back next Friday for an all new edition!

 

-Katie and Madelaine

(Co-Editors-in-Chief)

!!! School Supplies List !!!

 

 

 

Walden Community School

 Supplies List

 

What to bring with you on your first day at Walden…..

 

 

 

Lower

School (1st - 5th Grade)

 

1 - 3-ring Binder (Portfolio)

1 - Spiral notebook

1 - Composition notebook (For ABC books)

1 – 12 Pack of No. 2 pencils

1 – Pack of Computer/ Printer Paper

1- Pack of Wide ruled notebook paper

1 – First Months Tuition for Tennis $ 40.00

1 - School planner of your choice (Walmart, Kmart, Office Depot)

1 – Pack of 100 3x5 Index Cards (Small ones)

 

 

 

Upper

School (6th - 12th Grade)

 

5 - 3-ring Binders (1 for portfolio and 1 for each FLVS subject)

4 - Spiral notebooks (Or 1 for each core subject)

1 - Composition notebook (For ABC books)

1 – 12 Pack of No. 2 pencils

1 – Pack of Computer/ Printer Paper

1- Pack of Wide ruled notebook paper

1 – Pack of graph paper

1 – First Months Tuition for Tennis $ 40.00

1 - School planner of your choice (Walmart, Kmart, Office Depot

1 – (Possibly) Scientific Calculator

1 – Compass (If enrolled or planning on enrolling in Geometry)

1 – Pack of 100 3x5 Index Cards (Small ones)

Tennis !!!

!We have finalized our decision on pursuing Tennis!

We WILL be playing Tennis this year! Woo Hoo !!!!

We will be meeting @ Phelps Park in Winter Park on Wednesday mornings @ 8:00 sharp.
Tennis fees will be $ 40.00/ month. Please bring a check with you on the 1st day of school made payable to Walden Community School for the first months fees.
Starting Sept 1st I will be including the fee with your tuition invoices.

We are in the process of possibly building a Tennis court on school grounds. This will help in many many ways. I will keep everyone posted as soon as I have more info.

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us @ 321-251-6377

Enrollment Wrap Up

We are wrapping up our enrollment this week for the 2008-2009 school year beginning Monday, August 18th. Space is limited so please act soon to reserve your child's spot @ Walden. To speak directly with our Admissions administrator please contact Karin Williamson @ 321-279-2637.

Registration & Enrollment Deadline.....

We are approaching our registration and enrollment deadline. Please mark these dates in your calendars:

All students must be enrolled by July 15th, 2008

All deposits must be paid by August 1st, 2008

The school year will begin on August 18th, 2008!

Science Summer Camp

!! Coming Soon !!

Walden Community School Science Summer Camp

 

Who: Any and All Children Ages 6 to 14 years old

What: Science camp with a mid-morning snack the students will help prepare. All students should wear     comfortable clothes, a hat and sunglasses; they should bring sun block, bug spray and a water bottle each day.

Where: Walden Community School Campus
            4595 Howell Branch Rd
            Winter Park, Fl 32792

When: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

First Session:  July 7th - July 11th
Second Session: August 4th - August 8th

Cost of the camp:  $ 75.00/ Child ($ 50.00 for siblings)
                            $ 20.00 Materials Fee for EACH child

For more information please contact WCS @ 321-251-6377 or by email @: info@waldencommunityschool.com 

Take advantage of this great opportunity to see what we're all about!