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 2010
Upper School students have signed up for sixteen different units this spring:
THE GRAND TETONS AND YELLOWSTONE PARK
Would you like to visit two of the most beautiful federal parks in the nation? Then the Grand Tetons /Yellowstone Spring Unit is for you! This trip is geared toward those interested in the environment, the outdoors, fresh air, huge open spaces, wildlife, and amazing stars in the sky.
The course will include a 9-day trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone from May 21 through May 29. The sights are awesome! We’ll fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We’ll stay at the Teton Science School in Kelly, Wyoming, on a 900-acre campus five miles from Jackson Hole will include accommodations in cabins with running water and showers. The food is excellent!
Most of the lectures and activities will be outdoors and may include but not be limited to such areas and topics as: Hiking, Water/Glacier/Ecology, Geology, Wildlife Observation, Field Ecological Research, Astronomy, Community Service, Geysers/Plumes/Hot Springs/Mudpots, Fire Ecology/Alpine Ecology, Field Ecological Research
SPANISH EXCHANGE PROGRAM
In this Unit you will be appropriately challenged and immeasurably enriched by the experience of living as a native Spaniard, rising each day to the new sights, sounds and rhythms of historic Zaragoza in beautiful northeastern Spain.
GSB offers the Spanish exchange every year with our sister school, Juan de Lanuza. You will be paired with a Spanish student by gender, age, interests, and other commonalities. For approximately12 days in mid-April your family will host the student from Juan de Lanuza School of Zaragoza, Spain. In turn, you and your GSB schoolmates will spend the same number of days living with your respective host families in Zaragoza.
While staying with your host family in Spain, you will be fully immersed in the Spanish language and the local customs. The family will also make efforts to introduce you to places and experiences in Zaragoza and its region of Spain. The students will adapt to a new routine/schedule, experience new foods, immerse themselves in a Spanish-speaking household and adapt to change in a short period of time. Almost universally, GSB students who have participated in this program describe it as “a once in a lifetime experience.”
AVENTURE FRANCAISE
Artists, kings, soldiers, and couturiers, all have celebrated la Belle France. For centuries, they have decorated, defended, and glorified its beauty, culture and freedom of expression. During this Spring Unit, we will walk through many of the historic cities, picturesque villages and unforgettable countryside that contribute to the inimitable charm and fascination with the Hexagone.
This Spring Unit is historically-based and each of you is expected to research one of the sites we will visit. You will present this site in a five-minute power-point presentation to class while on campus prior to departure. In addition, while in France you will be expected to keep a daily journal of observations, reflections and interpretive impressions such as illustrations, collages of collected materials, and other imaginative designs. Finally, GSB French students will be expected to record your journal entries in French and speak the idiom at every possible opportunity.
STANDING IN AMERICAN SHOES – PERSPECTIVES ON THE ECONOMY FROM THE UNEMPLYOYED TO CORPORATE EXECUTIVES
What is the world of work really like? It depends of course on where you are standing.
This Spring Unit will examine different workplaces to give you insight and perspective on both the opportunities and hard realities faced by Americans today.
Visits with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds (university professors, executives, entrepreneurs, the unemployed, blue collar workers) will provide a backdrop for discussion of Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickled and Dimed. She traveled across America and took various jobs to experience and report on the American workplace and the difficulties faced by so many in making ends meet.
This course will help you place a human face on the economic challenges that confront Americans today and gain invaluable experience that will inform your studies in high school and beyond.
CULINARY PANACHE!
"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."
In the age of the Food Network, Top Chef, and celebrity chefs such as Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, and Emeril Lagasse food is big business and show chefs and stylists make sure that everything looks “good enough to eat”. In this Spring Unit, you will participate in classes focusing not only on the preparation of food, but also on the presentation of food.
We will emphasize the last course of the meal as we participate in classes focused on the decoration of desserts, drawing from traditional ethnic practices to imaginatively eclectic designs. Other food elements such as sushi and the bento box will also be studied in their culinary preparation and presentation as well as their wider cultural contexts.
You will study the history of some main ingredients such as sugar, vanilla, and coffee, examine the marketing of food products, and learn how to write restaurant and cookbook reviews. Day field trips to local bakeries and restaurants will also be included The final project will be Gill’s own version of Food Network programming complete with commercials and cooking demonstrations.
GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD CAMPUSES: A LEGACY BUILDING PROJECT CONTINUED
“Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out.”
Robert Frost, “Mending Wall”
Four years ago ten Gill St. Bernard’s students began construction on a project aimed at beautifying our school’s campus. With nineteen pallets of stone, a vision, and perseverance, the first two thirty foot lengths of stone wall along our formerly gravel campus exit were laid intricately by hand. Three years later, two more portions were laid down, bringing the project closer to its overall goal of reaching the bridge. With the road now used as a campus exit, those walls are earning the attention they deserve. Here is your chance to play a part in our school’s history and participate in a project that will establish and leave a lasting legacy at Gill St. Bernard’s School.
We will take at least two field trips during the two and a half week period. One will be to Storm King Arts Center in upstate New York. Other trips will take us to local stone wall structures. In addition, we’ll link-up with the Stone Wall Initiative, a stone wall preservation movement located at the University of Connecticut, in an attempt to place stone walls within their historical and archaeological context.
OCEANS – DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
The vast oceans of the world have provided humans with resources for hundreds of years. With world population growing at an alarming rate, the oceans are a vast resource that must be used wisely. Overfishing, water pollution, along with habitat alteration and destruction along the shores are environmental problems facing this generation and the next.
This Unit will focus on the oceans with particular attention being paid to conservation and sustainability. The biodiversity of species in the oceans of the world will be examined. Focusing on conservation, endangered species and dwindling fish populations will be studied. In addition to the oceans as a source for fish, we will examine aquaculture as an alternative to open fishing in the world’s oceans.
Students will participate in 6-7 day trip to the Florida Keys where they will be immersed in activities such as, snorkeling several coral reefs (the rainforests of the sea), mangrove kayaking, dolphin discovery and a turtle hospital tour. Evening programs will include marine habitats of the Florida Keys, reef fish ID, Cassiopeia stress lab, and nocturnal adaptations.
THE WORLD OF VOICE OVER: MORE THAN JUST SPEAKING
This exploration into the world of voice over will guide you step by step through building the skills needed for public speaking, making presentations, and voice over. You will learn about timing, tempo, reading comprehension, script analysis, interpretation, and acting intentions. Also included is the opportunity to witness a live voice over production…a real recording session! See how it’s really done and add your own sound effects! Experience the audition process and be one’s own creative team through this exciting and in-depth look into the voice over industry.
We will travel daily to New York City to receive instruction from professionals and work in a professional recording studio. For those of you with interested in broadcasting and entertainment, or simply wish to develop your speaking confidence and presence, this is a truly unique and rewarding opportunity!
CAD ( COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN)
If you can dream it, you can design it....
Architects, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, landscape designers, interior designers, genealogists, forensic scientists and a host of other professions have used CAD in recent years to plan, organize, and visually communicate their ideas to colleagues and clients.
In this Spring Unit you will explore design principles and the production process needed to produce high-quality CAD renditions using "SmartDraw" software. We will examine diagrams of electrical schematics, architectural designs, floor plans, landscape layouts, etc. --- a wide variety of areas and skills.
Guest presenters who are professionally involved in this field will be invited to speak to the class. Also, we will take several one-day field trips to visit places where state-of-the-art CAD technology is being utilized.
Along the way, you will also learn how to use today’s digital equipment: computers, scanners, digital cameras, DVD-burners, etc.
INTERIOR DESIGN
“The house is but the externalized man [and woman].”
Frank A. Parsons, Interior Decoration: Its Principles and Practice
In an increasingly global and advertising-driven world our public and personal spaces provide meaningful insight into what makes us tick. From color psychology to feng shui the world of interior design attempts to create spaces where the various activities of our lives can be completed and balanced.
In this Unit we will study the history of Interior Design as well as its practical applications. Speakers will include scholars of the history of design, interior designers, architects, textile and furniture designers, and other professionals who work to create the spaces where we live and work. Workshops with design professionals will also help students test their knowledge and instincts about what makes a “good space.” We will also visit off-campus locations to observe the design principles they employ and to critique their form and function.
As a final project, you will create a design plan for a specific room of your choosing. The elements will include possible floor plans, color choices and explanations, fabric and furniture choices, possible accessories to spice up their design, and an explanation of the choices you made.
SPORTS BLOGGING
This Spring Unit will provide you the opportunity to create a web blog from scratch and report to the world your opinions about a favorite sport or team. For example, you could blog about the New York Yankees, Manchester United Football Club, a college team, or even a college sport like baseball. There will be an emphasis on sports journalism and the difference between what blogging and sports reporting.
We will meet with an experienced sports blogger, a newspaper reporter/blogger, and discuss the gains and losses involved in blogging. We will also invite to class a local sports editor or visit one at her or his office to learn first-hand the issues pertaining to the growing phenomenon of sports blogging. Perhaps we may even arrange to guest blog for one of the many existing venues or simply submit a blog or two to them.
HELPING WITH HORSES – CARRIAGE RIDES, HIPPOTHERAPY & MORE
In this Unit you will learn from several groups that use horses as treatment tools. Volunteering at local organizations, visiting local Equestrian sites, meeting professionals in the area of veterinary medicine and hippotherapy, you will have many opportunities to spend time with horses, learn about these magnificent animals from professionals, and assist others to experience horses as part of their therapy.
As part of your involvement in this exciting field of hippotherapy, you will assist two organizations:
Driving for Surviving is a pediatric oncology equestrian carriage driving program for children. This group works to meet the needs of children who have been diagnosed with cancer and are preparing for their post-treatment life.
Your Unit group will also visit Hamilton Farm, the home of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation. We will also visit with a veterinarian who works with horses and, hopefully, a physical therapist who uses Hippotherapy as a therapeutic tool.
A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE – YOUTH EDUCATION SERIES AT DISNEY WORLD
When Walt Disney created Disney World, he built more than a theme park; he built an organization that has stood the test of time as a model of commitment to excellence, attention to detail, and a passion for learning. Through the Youth Education Series and custom arrangements, our students will work with the professionals who have made Disney synonymous with quality.
During our stay, each of you will select 8 different seminars led by Disney experts among a long list of possibilities. Choices include topics in the areas of American history, animation art, improvisation, veterinary science, leadership, marine biology, broadcasting, physics, world cultures, production arts, music and technology. These high-quality offerings expose students to career possibilities, help build life skills and involve everyone in team-building activities. When this Spring Unit was last offered, many students (and teachers) felt that the seminars were the most enjoyable part of the trip!
SPORTS-FOR-ALL
"How far is far, how high is high? We'll never know until we try."
Song from The California Special Oympics
In this Unit, you will learn how people with physical and cognitive disabilities can participate in various sports through adaptations in equipment, rules, and coaching.
Field trips to adapted physical education classrooms, athletic organizations, and special events will give you first-hand training and guidance in how a person with physical and/or cognitive disabilities participates in sport. Research into Adapted Physical Education, the Special Olympics, and Paralympics organizations will introduce you to athletic opportunities available, both past and present, to people with disabilities.
At the conclusion of the Spring Unit we hope to organize a “GSB Sport-For-All Festival” for athletes with disabilities on the GSB campus. So, if working with people with disabilities is a passion or interest you have, this program is an opportunity to give the best of yourself, to inspire individuals to overcome their disabilities and feel the exhilaration of athletic experience!
MAN’S BEST FRIEND – THE WONDER OF DOGS
“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe, we are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without doubt the best deal that man has every made.”
--Roger Caras, American Wildlife Photographer, Writer and Preservationist
This Unit provides hands-on experience in discovering the seemingly limitless potential of our canine friends. Working with the Seeing Eye in Morristown, you will learn about the guide dog as a means for coping with blindness. You will be taught training methods utilized by instructors at the Seeing Eye and share a unique opportunity to work with a guide dog while walking the streets of Morristown.
Most days of this Unit are spent on the Seeing Eye's Morristown campus. You will work in kennels with guide dogs, meet seeing eye students, view a surgical procedure in the Stabile Canine Health Center, and explore myriad issues specific to blindness. Additionally, a visit to the Seeing Eye Breeding Center in Mendham, New Jersey is scheduled.
An overnight trip to upstate New York is also planned. Here a community of monks has become world-famous for their expertise in breeding, raising, and, most notably, training all breeds of dogs in their kennels.
JAZZ – THE ORIGINAL HIPSTERS
When we look back to our American cultural history, jazz is that first beacon of cool that stands out amidst a blur of other social happenings. Jazz is the origin of hip, the beginning of fresh, the trendsetter of all tight grooves to come. The music reflected the revelations and daily pulse of new social eras in our country, provoking imagery of those eclectic scenes that still resonates with us today in what has become a relatively jazz-less era.
In this Unit you will learn the deliciously scandalous history of jazz. Its historic figures, classical recordings and visual footage, and exciting field trips to New York will be vital to your experience of jazz music and its history. You will feel the energy in New York jazz clubs, the bass and drums rumbling and horn wailing its solo flight in the filtered light.
Each week will culminate in a trip to a major site of contemporary jazz scene. An evening at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in the heart of Jazz at Lincoln Center will demonstrate one perspective on the ways in which jazz can be saved as a culture treasure, in addition to providing you with exposure to some of the music’s heaviest hitters.
The other jazz field trip will situate students in the polar opposite representation of the jazz world, downtown on Spring Street at the Jazz Gallery. Here is the creative pulse of the music today, and the heart of musical and artistic experimentation. The Gallery’s director will spend the evening with us, allowing everyone an opportunity to shadow a typical night at one of the most relevant places of today’s jazz scene.
