On  Tuesday, December 17, 2013, during last period, students will sign up for the third round of electives.  This second round will begin on Monday, January 6, 2014.  Students will be choosing one PE elective and one General Elective.

Take some time to discuss the choices as a family!  Students should have their top three or four choices in mind for both categories to ease the signup process.  You will notice that some electives are designated as Community Service electives. We expect each student to sign up for a community service elective at least once during the year.  There are four elective rounds throughout the year.

If, for any reason, your child will be absent from 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM on Tuesday, it is essential that you email Dianne prior to 11:00 AM with your child’s top four choices each for PE and General Electives in rank order so that we can facilitate their inclusion in the signup process.

General Electives

Sewing For Haiti – Jill Elliott: Over a year ago Hyla students were busy creating crazy shorts and beautiful dresses for a Haitian orphanage that Kris Rogers is associated with. This year we would like to sew “crayon rolls” and create homemade color books to send to the same group of young people in Haiti.  Some previous basic sewing knowledge would be helpful but if you have none and have the desire to truly learn, we will do our best to find a job for you as we set up and sew in the library for a good cause! This is a community service elective.

Journal Doodles and Doodle Challenge– Kimberley Gorman-Trick & Laura Jones: Sometimes a doodle is more than a doodle.  Although doodling has some negative connotations, these squiggles are quickly becoming recognized as art.  If you are interested in exploring your doodles, join Kim in the English room once a week and Laura in the art studio once a week.  We will examine the world of doodles and take the doodle challenge.  Unleash your creativity!

Magic the Gathering – Card Game – Vicki Jenkins: Magic the Gathering uses collectible playing cards to play a strategy-based game of epic duels, summoned creatures, and sorcerer’s spells. If you’ve played before and already have your deck carefully assembled, or if you want to see how it works and build a deck to play with from my collection, this is your chance!

Little House – Jennifer Haase: If you love the Little House on the Prairie books and/or television series or if you simply love the pioneer era, this is the elective for you. I grew up with the Little House books as well as the television series…it aired from 1974 until 1984 on NBC (Monday nights at 8:00) and it continues to be my favorite show! We will be viewing some of my most beloved episodes from the first four seasons during class and will also get the chance to do some “Little House” activities (maybe a craft or cooking something) and discussion about the real-life Ingalls family and life on the frontier in the second half of the 19th century (1800’s). Stop by the history room to check out my poster of the real Laura Ingalls and her family (Ma, Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Grace) from the year 1891. See you in Walnut Grove!

Songwriting – Andrew Lovejoy: Songwriting is a mysterious craft, and I can’t say I have a method for teaching it, but in this elective we’ll explore it together. We’ll spend time writing songs, and learn some exercises and games that will help get the ideas flowing; we’ll listen to some of the great songwriters and see what we can learn from them; and we’ll give each other a supportive environment to test out our songs. No experience with songwriting is required!

The new Hyla literary magazine – Melissa Dempsey: This must be the year for new publications at Hyla.  First a newspaper and now a literary magazine.  This elective will create a publication where students at Hyla can submit  art, poetry, stories, and photographs.  Your creative endeavors will be published in the magazine and the magazine will be available to the Hyla community. Since this is the first time for this magazine, we’ll be designing it all:  the title, the layout, the cover, submission guidelines, and whatever other elements need to be created.  Students in this  elective can submit their artwork and writing too, but this elective is for anyone who likes to work and have fun at the same time. This is a community service elective.

Board Games- Cindy Schacht: Do you love to play classic board games? Join me to play the classics like Scrabble, Cranium, Balderdash, Speed, Sorry, or Monopoly. We can also decide on other games as a group. It will be fun and hopefully a little competitive.  According to my memory (which might be a bit selective), I’ve only lost Monopoly a few times, and I’m not sure I’ve ever lost at Speed.

Fixing Things at Hyla – Kris Van Gieson: Needed – a small group of problem solvers that are handy with tools or interested in learning how to use them.  One of our primary tasks may be to take down and rebuild the cargo net.  It has come to the point that ongoing cargo net repairs are too frequent and don’t last as long as they should.  We will also look for other repair opportunities such as picnic tables, squeaky doors, chairs that need a little glue, knobs and handles that are loose and other annoyances that might need a little fixing.  This is a community service elective.

Advanced Electromagnetism: Volta, Faraday, Tesla – Jeff Steele: Where did the idea of electrical charge come from?  How did we begin to harness the electrons that make up every atom in our world? What’s with that weird rock that draws things to it? When we discovered the connections between charge and magnetism a revolution in technology sprang forth. Through a series of labs we will probe the above questions and you will learn to rewire a lamp, build a direct current motor, and explore how the next generation or rockets will be launched into space.

Just Some Good Ol’ Reading Time – Mike Fosmark: Whether you are like me and want to read the book before the movie comes out or you just like to get lost in a great story, time to just sit and read is sometimes hard to come by. Sometimes it’s a downright luxury. Let’s take some time to read our best-loved tales, catch up on an assignment, or find a new favorite. Come with a book (or three), get comfortable, and read to your heart’s content.

PE Electives

Walking the Island! – Jill Elliott & Laura Jones: Come hike the trails of Bainbridge. Hike and enjoy the company of old friends or develop new ones as we wander aimlessly through the Island forests.  We may walk the Grand Forest or Gazzam Lake trails or find new ones together. Who knows where our feet will take us!

In Defense of Self or Others – Kimberley Gorman-Trick: In this elective, we will study the basics of self-defense and learn verbal and physical strategies to deal with confrontations.  We will practice techniques involving boundary setting, verbal cues to avert conflict, and controlled physical tactics through simulated scenarios.  This is a great refresher for those who have already taken the class.

More Yoga – Jennifer Haase & Misty Fasig: Yoga is many things.  It is a great challenge.  It is a great way to get strong and flexible. It can improve your balance.  It can help focus your mind and create a positive outlook on life. People often start yoga for one reason then realize how beneficial it is in other areas of their life.  In this exploration of yoga we will be learning basic and challenging poses, and how to flow smoothly from one to another.  We will travel to Bainbridge Yoga House to meet with our instructor, Misty Fasig.  I am excited to continue with this discovery! All levels of experience welcome. You only need comfortable clothes; yoga mats will be provided.

Ultimate Skills – Andrew Lovejoy: Ultimate season may feel a long way away, but really it’s just around the corner. In this elective we’ll get a head start on the season, working on skills that will improve our game. We will also definitely play some Ultimate, but compared to the last Ultimate elective there will be less emphasis on “just playing”, and more on refining specific skills. This is open to all levels: if you’re new to the game but want to play, you can get a head start before the season, and if you’re an experienced player you can learn some new tricks and solidify old skills.

Frisbee Golf – Paul Carroll: We will be playing frisbee golf (with normal frisbees) on the Hyla course, but since Kris has been doing this in the last session, I will also bring in equipment that will allow us to set up “holes” of our own (through hula hoops, knocking down posts, etc.) either in our meadow or in the parking lot across the street. We will probably alternate between the two modes. You don’t need to have played this before, and, just so you know, you aren’t allowed to get a better score than Paul does. Game on.

Archery – Melissa Dempsey and Mike Fosmark: Archery is a sport for everyone.  Whether you’re just beginning or an expert archer please join me out in the field to take aim at our targets and shoot some arrows. You’ll learn and practice safety procedures, proper form and adjusting your aim in the hope of hitting that elusive bullseye.  You’ll also be introduced to the nationally accepted technique for competitive shooting.  Compound bows, arrows and balloons for popping are provided.

Trail Running – Kris Van Gieson: We will run in the sun and snow and rain on some really great running trails around Bainbridge Island.  This is a great opportunity to build endurance for track and ultimate and other spring sports.  It’s also fun if you enjoy running through the forest and are hardy enough to deal with all kinds of weather without complaining.  Be sure to be prepared for the weather every Monday with a decent pair of running shoes, water bottle, clothes to run in, and something warm to wear after running in the cold and wet.

Carpet squares, Pool Noodles & Blindfolds – Jeff Steele: Get ready to get tired!  This elective will be non-stop movement from the time you enter the door. I will be pulling from my long history as a trip leader, environmental educator and birthday party entertainer for a wild sequence of games that will keep you on the go for at least an hour straight.  There will be a leadership opportunity within this elective; you’ll have the opportunity to put forth your own game to lead.