The goal of the Special Appeal this year is to enhance the quality of education at BFS, support the school's mission, and integrate our outdoor spaces with a lab-based science curriculum for K - 8. Enhancements to the science curriculum will provide experiences for students that sharpen critical thinking, math and writing/reporting skills, collaboration with others, and learning in multiple ways.
* First, we hope to purchase K - 5 science materials and equipment that are inquiry, process-oriented, and lab-based in approach, for approximately $10,000.
In this K - 5 program, observing, measuring, inferring, predicting, classifying, and collecting and recording data are fundamental to the process approach. Of equal importance is the next step: interpreting data, controlling variables, formulating hypothesis, and testing. What is unique about the process approach at a small school like BFS is that each student uses his/her own materials in each experiment. As BFS scientists manipulate and investigate the materials, they have to "think" about what is happening, write about their findings, collaborate with table partners, and draw their own conclusions and write/report about them. Students will also employ appropriate math skills/graphing skills for measurement or for charts to display their results, depending on the investigation.
* Second, we will need to employ a half-time faculty member to run such a program for approximately $30,000, including applicable benefits. This financial support would be "seed" money for the position to be integrated into our school program in succeeding years.
* The third part of the Appeal is about the need to replace equipment and supplies for the US lab that support our evolving Upper School (6 - 8) science program. Our needs include some minor renovation and removal of the demonstration tables, appropriate seating, chemical glassware, robotics kits, portable burners, light tables, iPads for field use, and more. This project will require approximately $15,000.
We have implemented an innovative Upper School curriculum from the Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP). In the physical sciences, fields of study include Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Sustainability, and Earth Science. Investigations and class activities integrate content, research practices, and technical writing throughout the year that provide a vital platform for building academic content within the context of social issues.
The ambitious total for this all-school program is about $55,000. This initiative will make a real difference for children and the School in their capacity to be problem solvers, collaborators, and critical thinkers in support of a sustainable world.
