The Spring Unit
A special feature of Gill St. Bernard’s curriculum is the Spring Unit. A Spring Unit course is taken by all Upper School students each year. The class meets as a group for two weeks, intensively studying a topic and learning cooperatively.
Students create projects, make presentations, travel and work with other students in groups in all Spring Unit courses. Spring Unit experiences complement the regular year’s course of study by extending knowledge or by providing opportunities to apply learning in a practical way. Most importantly, though, the Spring Unit experience literally opens our classrooms to the world as frequent field trips and field studies, often outside the U.S. are integral to the Spring Unit curriculum.
The Unit 2009
Upper School students have signed up for nineteen different units this spring:
Japan – Its Culture and Nation
This Unit focuses on developing an appreciation of Japanese culture through an 8-10 days trip to Japan. We will participate in activities and attend events, as well as visit institutions that reveal the beauty of the Japanese culture. Students will be introduced to art, language, religion, business, food, architecture, fashion, higher education, popular culture and everyday life. Visits to a modern Japanese factory, Tokyo University, art museum, tea ceremony, Shinto shrines, and the famous Ginza shopping area of Tokyo are planned.
Propaganda, Politics, and Polls
During the 2008 presidential campaign we were inundated with messages from the candidates. How do these messages actually affect the voting habits of the American people? Are voters swayed by what they see on TV, the Internet, or what we hear on the radio? What role do polls and the media play in creating support for a particular candidate? What is media bias and what role does it play in all of this? In order to answer these important questions and gain a broader understanding of how the American voter is influenced, this Unit will analyze many aspects of the American election process.
We will study several instances in history where propaganda was used to advance the goals of individuals or parties seeking political position and power. With this background, we will explore the role of the Internet and its use and/or misuse in this past election. Last, we will examine the process of making and taking polls and how it may affect the outcomes of elections.
Research at the Center for Mid-Infrared Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE) Princeton, University
The MIRTHE center in Princeton has opportunities for high school students to participate in research done with sensors in the mid-infrared range of the optical spectrum. The applications of this range are very interesting--health, homeland security, environment. The MIRTHE center is directed by Dr. Claire Gmachl, an electrical engineering professor at Princeton University.
During the first week, the students will learn the basics of optical sensing and communication systems by programming and assembling an optical free-space instant messenger system. The work is hands-on including simple computer programming, assembling electronics boards, soldering, and optical alignment. In week two, the students will apply their knowledge to free-space optical sensing of water vapor and/or carbon dioxide in the mid-wave infrared.
A Museum Masterpiece
The many museums of New York City and New Jersey hold a wealth of local, national and international treasures and history. They are often visited by high school students, but rarely studied in depth. Museum visits including customized tours, special exhibitions, and workshops guided by museum professionals are central to this Unit, which will include visits to such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Newark Museum. During our visits to New York City, an evening or two of dinner and theatre will be included. The final project will focus on creating an “exhibit” or educational material for The Dover Children’s Museum in New Jersey.
Animal Studies – San Diego, California
Students will spend a week in San Diego for a close-up studyt many animals. One of the main destinations is the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Here, they will learn about various conservation programs such as the California Condor Breeding Program and the Cheetah Breeding Program, among many others. Through a GSB alumnus who is a spokesperson for the Zoological Society of San Diego and a Senior Animal Behaviorist and his wife, a senior zookeeper, students in this Unit will get many behind-the-scenes tours and get close and personal with our wild friends. They will tour the Veterinary Medical Center to see state-of-the art facilities and will visit the Zoo’s Wild Animal Park which houses over 3500 wild and exotic animals in their natural habitats.
Land of Fire and Ice
Perched on the edge of the Arctic, Iceland contains some of the most impressive natural wonders in the world. Thundering waterfalls, smoldering volcanoes, slow-flowing glaciers, black lava fields, gushing geysers and soothing thermal pools are the result of the geologic tension between the continents.
An important educational theme of this Unit is the exploration of alternative energy sources. We’ll see how Iceland powers its cities and heats its homes with hydroelectric power and geothermal resources. We’ll investigate how Iceland has developed hydrogen fuel stations which may lead to practical zero-emission vehicles. Our unit concludes with continued study of alternative energy based on campus but including day trips to investigate wind and nuclear power options.
The Grand Tetons
This Unit features an eight-day trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park (six days at the Grand Tetons and two days at Yellowstone). The students will stay at a 900-acre campus five miles from Jackson Hole. Among the offerings are canoeing/hiking, water/glacier ecology, fire ecology/alpine ecology, field ecological research, geology and animal tracking/wildlife observation.
Art and Artisans (Part 2)
This sequel to the Arts and Artisans 2008 Spring Unit will provide past participants with the opportunity to build upon previously developed skills. New and more advanced projects will be assigned to the experienced students, while new students will be introduced to the diverse activities that comprised the first unit. They will create jewelry and ceramic pieces under the guidance of professional artists.
The jewelry making activity includes visits to several jewelry studios. The glasswork component of the unit includes melting and forming glass beads used in the designing of necklaces and earrings. In a visit to a stained glass studio participants build stained glass projects such as jewelry boxes, mirrors and sun catchers. Visits to a ceramics studio includes the creation of new and more advanced pottery projects by students with previous experience. New students will be introduced to basic clay and pottery forming techniques.
Community Garden
The members of this Unit will create a community garden for GSB. A space needs to be fenced, soil needs to be turned over, beds need to be prepared for planting, seed needs to be sown and nurtured. By the Unit’s end, a garden will exist, on its way towards harvest time later in the summer and fall. A trip to the Rutgers University research station, EcoComplex, is planned and as well as a tour of Warren Township’s community garden and an area farm.
Finding Your Balance
This Unit will get students in touch with themselves, physically and mentally. They will learn what healthy diet really means and may join another unit that is planning a community garden, to learn the benefits, both personally and environmentally, of growing our own food. And they will find out just what kind of physical activity they enjoy, and will continue, even when life and school get too hectic. The students will do yoga, use the school’s exercise room, and walk through gardens, fields and meadows, all nearby. They will visit personal health facilities locally and in New York City, read professional journals, short stories, testimonies, and other literature.
Good Fences Make Good Campuses: The Art of the Stone Wall
The focus of this unit is the building of stone structures of permanence and beauty: two thirty foot long, free-standing, mortarless stone walls. Building stone walls of this size requires planning and teamwork. Students will learn the skills of wall building: foundation, drainage, batter (pitch), and proper stone placement. Students will plot the path of the wall, shape individual pieces of stone when necessary, and lay each course. We’ll take at least two field trips to study structure and other aspects of some long-established walls. One trip will take us to Storm King Art Center in upstate New York to view Andrew Goldsworthy’s winding wall.
Constructing a Nature Trail on Campus
In this Unit students will survey and study local ecology, construct a nature trail on campus, and provide the foundation for local nature study and exploration at Gill St. Bernard’s. We will set up a self-guided nature trail along the stream that runs through the campus. The trail will include several stations that we will build to serve as an outdoor educational program, helping make the stream environment a vital resource for teachers and students from kindergarten to the 12th grade.
In order to facilitate our planning and designing we will visit some similar facilities in New Jersey including nearby state and local parks with nature trails. We will also visit the Upper Raritan Watershed Association to meet with its naturalists about the project.
Lincoln and Obama –from Illinois to the White House
In this Unit students will study these two historic figures to gain insight not only into their historic significance but also to understand the personal experiences and forces that shaped them as human beings and inspired them as leaders. We will visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois and visit the Southside of Chicago. In Springfield and Chicago we will speak with historians, community organizers, and others in our quest to shed light on the personal origins of these two Americans.
Living on the Water
This Unit will spend two weeks exploring what it’s like to “live on the water.” How would life change if we left land including many of our creature comforts and, in some capacity, chose instead to commute, exercise, eat, sleep, and live aboard boats? Would our habits and interests change? How would this lifestyle affect our community positively? How would we solve conflict, out of our land-based environment? This course will offer a unique way to experience the world: paddle in hand, sitting at the waterline in a kayak; navigating by moonlight from behind the wheel of a hundred-year-old sailing vessel, while learning the sheets and rigging that make her go; or aboard any number of craft that some people in this world consider a regular and vital component to their everyday lives.
Non-Art Museums
Many people see museums as the tightly guarded repositories of priceless art. But museums also house study collections, objects of scientific interest, and pieces of history that can be just as priceless. By understanding how museums came to be and how they act as cultural landmarks we can see how they mirror the values of our society.
Museums that display objects not regularly considered “art” can be especially important when attempting to answer meaningful questions about our society.
Our objective will be to find answers to these questions through a series of museum visits and tours as well as special presentations by museum professionals. Students will keep a daily journal of which museums we visit, what information they present and how they choose to do this, what specific issues of content or bias these museums face, and how they are moving forward in the 21st century to embrace new technologies.
Coming About!
Students will discover the excitement and captivating adventure of sailing while earning certification from the American Sailing Association. In the sailing capital of the world--the Chesapeake Bay--students will master basic sailing skills and experience the thrill of head-to-head racing. Students will team up to skipper and crew 22-foot daysailers under the watchful eye of skilled, certified instructors. With a combination of classroom preparation, on-the-water instruction and individual practice, students can achieve certification on Basic Keelboat Sailing (ASA101) and Basic Coastal Cruising (ASA103).
High Performance Sports Training
This Unit will focus on athlete training, kinesiology, psychology, and new technologies in the world of sports training. Specialized training techniques for virtually every sport are a growing part of the athletic world. To complement the study of speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, and power, we will examine injury prevention and recovery. Several visits to training facilities will enable the group to study the cutting-edge technologies being implemented and used by high-level athletes. Trips may include top training facilities in the northeast, such as Blue Streak Sports in Stamford, Connecticut where a Frappier Acceleration Ice Hockey Treadmill and synthetic ice surface are among the unique resources used in player development.
The Baseball Beat
This Unit will engage students in a simulated baseball season using the Strat-O-Matic baseball game. Students will be placed in the “press box” as they cover contests played on the tabletop, acting as beat writers for their assigned team. Participants will be responsible for game coverage, interviews and features while being held to the strict deadlines faced by actual beat writers. A daily newspaper will be published featuring contributions from all Unit participants.
Additionally, visits from various media personnel are planned, including a former beat writer for the New York Mets. A visit to The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York will be scheduled.
The Receiving in the Giving – Community Service
All participants learn through doing how to implement a successful service project, from scheduling, planning and contacting agencies to carrying forward the activities. Readings provide instruction on community health and service. Guest speakers who work as volunteers or paid staff in such service activities introduce the students to the life of service to others. Among the activities the students may engage in are creating a texture book for blind children; making a centerpiece for a senior citizens’ center or making a pillow buddy for a child with cancer.
