Round 2: PE and General Elective Choices

On Monday, October 27th, 2014, during last period, students will sign up for the second round of electives. This second round will begin after fall conferences on Monday, November 3rd, 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 three elective rounds left this school year.

If, for any reason, your child will be absent from 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM on Monday, October 27th, 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.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Kimberley Gorman -Trick

General Electives

Magic the Gathering – Card Game – Vicki Jenkins & Nat Lange
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!

Lego Robotics & Computer Programing – Jeff Steele
Using our brand new Lego Mindstorms, two teams of students will learn to build and program the brand new EV3 Mindstorm! This elective will meet in the computer lab on most days or operate out of the science room. You do not need to have any experience with robots or Legos to join in on this elective.

Quilt Making – Cami Holtmeier
Come learn how to sew! For many years, Hyla students have sewn quilts that are a highly sought after item at the Hyla auction. These colorful works of art start with a few kids sewing colorful cloth in geometric shapes to form blocks, which are then assembled into a larger quilt. If you have a sewing machine, we’d love to borrow it, because we will need to find some loaner machines so more people can sew at the same time. Previous sewing experience is not required. This is a community service elective.

Quiet Reading – Jennifer Haase
I love to read. I especially love to read historical fiction (although I adore The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series). I extra especially love to read a good book when it is cold, rainy and dark outside. This elective rotation is the PERFECT time to get cozy and read! Sign up, bring a good book, along with a snuggly blanket or pillow, and read with me.

Fresh Friday – Kimberley Gorman-Trick & Laura Jones
Hyla’s first Fresh Friday meal was offered five years ago on the heels of a mini-term examination of food. Students put together an incredible salad bar using key ingredients from our own garden. Since then, we have tried to offer as many fresh meals as we can. We’ve had Mexican inspired meals. French. Italian. This year, we will be drawing inspiration from our cultural mini-term studies.

During our last days before winter break (December 16 – 19, 2014), students will be examining different cultures. Our job will be to create a meal for the community (students, faculty, and parents) that celebrates all these cultures! If you are creative, love cooking, and want to host a community luncheon, please join us!

This is a community service elective. We expect that you will be here during the last days before break. Please check your calendars; we will need all hands on deck!

Garden Design – Mike Fosmark
The Bucklin Hill Farm was established in 1887. It’s not hard to imagine how important a garden would have been to the success of the farm. Now, over a hundred years later, the garden is still a vital part of the land. Bainbridge community members have P-Patches of raspberries, strawberries, various squashes, kale, potatoes, and chard in the Hyla garden. We have had our own garden for the past five years but it needs an overhaul! We would love to provide more food for the school and the community, particularly Helpline.

If you are interested in designing the new and improved garden, please join this elective. Garden expertise is not necessary but welcomed! We will look at other gardens to see what works best in our area and collaborate with the crew digging during PE to create a functional space. This is a community service elective.

Papermaking – Colleen Carroll
Humans have been making paper by hand for 2000 years yet many of us don’t think of the significance of the paper we use daily. In this class, we will delve into techniques of making paper and the artistic possibilities of the process. We will make our paper from recycled paper collected around Hyla and our homes, and experiment with color and other materials like plants and cloth. The last several weeks of our elective, we will share our new expertise with the wonderful people of Island Time Activities, a center for adults with disabilities on Bainbridge Island. This is a community service elective.
Mind Wanderer – Melissa Dempsey
Last year a dedicated team of students created Hyla’s first literary magazine. The title is Mind Wanderer and the magazine contains art work, poetry, short stories and photography. As a member of the magazine staff, you’ll be designing ads that will bring in submissions, designing the front and back covers, the layout of the inside pages and reading through the submissions gathered. This elective is the tech work involved with creating a magazine, but as a member of the staff you are welcome to submit your writing, artwork or photography. However, it is not required. Most classes meet in the tech lab. There is a copy of last year’s magazine in the humanities room – come by and check it out.

Video Making – Kris Van Gieson with David Baker
We will focus on video production and editing techniques. We will learn a little bit about good sound and how to frame a shot. We will consider background distractions and good lighting. We will use iMovie as our video editing software and learn how to use transitions, titles, and fades as well as voice overs, sound effects, and wise use of background music. We will film one quick movie and have each person edit the same footage in their own unique style. Then we’ll begin working on a larger creative project. We have been asked to contribute to the video that will be shown at the Hyla Auction so we will begin making plans and shooting footage for that.

PE Elective Offerings

Rock Wall – Jeff Steele
The Hyla barn contains a fully functional rock wall. If you join this elective you will spend an intense amount of time on the wall. We have rock shoes to fit most feet, ropes to practice your knots, chin up bars to work on your upper body strength, and lots of game do-dads to help you forget about the fact that your arms are killing!

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 start bringing Hyla kids to work with Misty again this year! All levels of experience are welcome. You only need comfortable clothes; yoga mats will be provided.

Fresh Friday (PE style) – Kimberley Gorman-Trick
According to WebMD, you can burn up to 400 calories an hour weeding! Personally, I think it’s just a lot of fun to dig and get dirty. If you are interested in helping me get the Hyla garden ready for winter, please join me! We will be working on preparing the garden for the garden designers in Mike’s general elective. Our goal is to continuing growing herbs and expand our crops to help sustain more fresh lunches.

This is a community service elective. You do need to be prepared for inclement weather! Boots and gloves are important! We have all the tools here!

Water Polo – Colleen Carroll & Mike Fosmark
If you’re a swimmer, or love the water, or like soccer or basketball, or just want to try something new and exciting, this is the sport for you! Colleen played water polo at BHS and Middlebury College and has several years’ experience teaching the sport to newcomers. We will learn the basics of the sport: egg-beater treading, passing, shooting, defending, dribbling, and the game rules. All levels welcome but you do need to be a moderately strong swimmer confident in deep water because we will be in the dive tank at the Nakata Pool. You must bring a swimsuit and towel each class but all other equipment will be provided.

Amazing Race – Melissa Dempsey
Clues, secret codes, mental challenges, physical challenges, lots of running and maybe even pirates are involved in this elective. Each week a treasure is hiding and each week, in teams of two, you’ll be using clues to find it. But it’s not all smooth sailing because there are obstacles along the way. The Hyla campus is our field of play and we treasure hunt rain or shine. All you need to participate are comfy shoes, rain gear (when needed) and a sense of fun. These are all new courses, so former Amazing Racers are welcome to participate.

Frisbee Games – Kris Van Gieson
We will play some ultimate but we will also play frisbee golf, box, schtick, goaltimate, and maybe even guts. We will take some time to develop our accuracy and distance skills and perhaps hold a maximum time aloft or freestyle competition. So many great games centered around one amazing disc of plastic. We will be outside in the late fall weather so be sure to come prepared with a positive attitude and clothes that will keep you comfortable when it is wet and cold.

Team Sports – Andrew Lovejoy
In this elective we’ll play a lot of sports that don’t get much time in PE class: flag football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse… who knows what else! This will be a chance to enjoy some classic team sports and perhaps learn something new about some of them! We will probably be at Hyla some of the time and travel to Battle Point on other days.