Check out some of the highlights from our week at Brooklyn Collaborative!
We’ve had a super busy week in the library! We hosted a visit with Grade 6 from author Abby Hanlon. Every day, the library is bustling at lunch. Grade 9 had a class visit to refresh their IR book choices. Shout out to librarian Amanda Clarke for building a strong culture of reading at Brooklyn Collaborative!
On 1/8, students capped off their bacteria expedition (“The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”) with a PBAT investigation they designed in small groups. They are testing how effective some household cleaning products and home remedies are against the growth of bacteria, in order to test the efficacy of non-medical antibacterial agents.
On 1/9, students in the Green Engineering class conducted an energy audit as data collection for their expedition “How can we make BCS more sustainable in our energy use?” They collected simple data about the number and types of devices in each classroom/office that use electricity. Students will be sharing their data in a poster session on Tuesday 1/16 Pd 7&8. They will sharing their data about BCS’s carbon footprint, calculated based on the audit data as well as strategies that we can take to make sure we are more sustainable.
On 1/10, we debuted our new Fitness Dance Studio with support from Councilmember Brad Lander. See our larger post here:
http://www.bcs448.org/2018/01/10/110-debut-of-our-dance-fitness-studio/
On 1/11, seniors held their first Town Hall of the year. They planned and delivered talks on “changing your perspective” and powering through the last months of their high school career. They finished with shout-outs from every Crew, acknowledging nominated students that have shown growth over their four years at BCS. Congrats to Kayla S, Andy C, Jordan L, Kyshawn H, Jalilah D, Sergio E, Chris R and Christian M! (Senior crews also took a break to participate in Crewlympics on Friday! All smiles when the crew wins a round of Pop Up Pirate!)
On 1/12, we had our celebratory Model Job Fair to cap off another semester of successful junior internships. The internship program is an important part of the BCS experience: for one semester during their junior year, BCS students earn credit by working on Monday and Wednesday afternoons with one of our partner organizations in the private, public or non-profit sector. The internship culminates with the supervisors evaluating their interns and with the BCS Model Job Fair: interns represent their organizations and conduct mock interviews with their 9th & 10th grade classmates—the future interns of our program. In the lead up to Model Job Fair, we recognized Career Week in the Upper Grades! On Mon 1/8 and Thurs 1/11, students experienced structured lessons in Crew about career interests and pathways, focusing on developing their own career goals. Students even learned more about how staff members came to our careers! On Fri 1/12, we held our annual Model Job Fair from 11am-12:40pm! Students conducted a scavenger hunt as they interacted and interviewed with the junior interns, learning about the diverse range of our internship offerings and enhancing their own interview and resume skills.
Drafting students are finishing up their first big design project on Building Community. So far, they’ve produced sketches, as well as plan and elevation view drawings. This week they built 3D models of their designs using found materials. They’ll be showcasing their work on Friday 1/19 and Fri 2/2 during period 4. Please join us!
On 1/12, we had our annual Fall Alum Meet Up for BCS graduates at Brownstone Billards. Graduates returned to catch up with each other and with school staff, including special guest former BCS college counselor Josh Steckel. We’re so proud of our graduates. Brooklyn Collaborative had our first graduating class in 2009!