“Dino Trouble.” “Abyss.” “The Overgrown World of the Mice.” “Pineapples at Sunset.” “Rabbit in Space.” These intriguing titles are some of the tunnel books created by Hyla 6th graders using collage, implied line, and six different sheets of paper in Art. The goal of this project was to look at the elements of art in new and deeper ways through telling a moment of a story. Earlier this fall students had opportunities to consider and evaluate elements including line, shape, and color as tools for their work, growing in their thinking as artists. Art teacher Kate…
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Collaborative work and supportive relationships are core to Hyla’s mission. As a school, we believe deeply in the importance of close, caring connections not only for academic growth but also for holistic development. “Our goal is to know each other as whole people.” The 7th grade “Know This to Know Me” project illustrates these values: two teachers this year are combining their expertise to help students develop skills with technology, acquire deeper understanding of media, and build supportive connections with each other. Jeff created this project last year in the new HyLab makerspace so that 7th…
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What do you do when you’re stuck at home for the summer in a pandemic? Hyla grad Chloe Boeker made the most of it. She turned her passion for the environment and a love for the Puget Sound into a community project involving family, friends, and environmental experts. Luckily for us, she selected Hyla as the site and gave our school community the gift of a new rain garden in our orchard behind the barn. Environmental activism runs in the family. Chloe’s uncle, Todd Vogel, is the Managing director at Loom, a foundation that funds projects…
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At its core, Global Education examines the interconnectedness of diverse groups around the world by exploring different histories, perspectives, and voices to introduce students to a plurality of experiences and viewpoints. Equipped with the ability to see people and events within an interconnected context, students develop skills to engage with peers from different backgrounds and work together toward meaningful solutions. Ultimately, Global Education is collaboration in action: it invites students — emerging global citizens — to work with others, not for others. The Thanksgiving holiday provides an opportunity for students to practice these skills by exploring different perspectives within…
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Creativity and commitment, especially through this pandemic, can help us continue our compassion, as our students are learning through their service to Helpline House, Bainbridge Island’s food bank and social services provider. The history of Hyla and Helpline goes back more than 20 years, woven into our school culture and traditions. Former math teacher Chris Johnson helped students serve at the food bank in the beginning, and after she retired, former science teacher Cami Holtmeier took over the tradition from 2013-2019. According to Cami: “Most years eight Hyla kids worked about an hour each school week…
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Last week, Hyla teachers provided interactive opportunities to help students understand our election process so that they will become engaged citizens and active voters by the 2028 Presidential election. Hyla Math Classes: With teachers Cindy, Alex, Erik, and Josh, students in all grades learned about the popular vote, representational vote, and the Electoral College system through the process of selecting a candy. From the school-wide popular vote, three strong candidates emerged: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat, and Sour Patch Kids. In a representational voting exercise, students were sorted into different-sized groups and only one representative…
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This week, Señora Ivonne has been asking her students how Día de los Muertos (celebrated on November 2) differs from American Halloween. Here were some 6th grade responses: “They’re celebrating the dead and not scaring people.” “It is more ceremonial.” “It’s almost religious.” 7th and 8th graders analyzed similarities and differences, using a Venn diagram, and 8th graders also strengthened their reading comprehension with an article in Spanish. 6th graders created traditional papel picado decorations, making careful cuts in tissue paper. As the class practiced vocabulary, students commenting on the sounds — calacas (skull), cempasúchil (marigolds)— Señora Ivonne pointed out…
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Tech week is a beast! Having spent the two previous years on stage in drama class, 8th graders now shift into digital film, a medium that Chris says introduces students “to broader areas of artistic expression other than performance.” First, 8th graders were challenged to create an ad that told a story in under 30 seconds. Next, they wrote their own movie shorts of 2 to 5 minutes in length. The theme is perspective: how the camera can be tricked and the narrative can be turned. So far students studied pre-production conceptualization and explored production department work,…
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Can you write a poem about McDonald’s? Ask a Hyla 7th grader! This month, Emelio’s 7th grade English students — in addition to daily freeform writing and novel reading — have been studying poetry to strengthen their own writing. Sections decorated their tents for Halloween, with ghosts and webs, and these spooky scenes seem fitting for studying poetry. Some of the poems they’ve been studying include language and scenes that are fantastical, imaginary, and mysterious. Some poems ask haunting questions. Some poems are puzzling or surprising or defiant such as Liz Waldner’s “Trust” or Ronald Wallace’s…
Read More →Jeff and Alex have been collaborating and using outdoor spaces for creative and engaging opportunities. Alex explained the sixth graders Science class last week: “In this photo, students are making a map of the sport court from a bird’s eye view. Their job was to look around the sport court and add all the objects to their maps. They were considering scale and proportion (how big are the objects in relation to other objects), accuracy (how can we use the grid lines on the paper and the markers along the sides of the sport court to…
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