2016 End Session - An Adventure in Learning

The PGIA has a well-established tradition of "End Session".  End Session, as you might guess, happens the end of each school year - the last two to three weeks.  It provides an opportunity for students to study an area of interest for the full period, without the distraction of other classes, homework, etc.  The PGIA staff put together 7 to 10-ish great programs for these periods and each teacher or two mentor their own program and group. 

This year's choices were announced last night to a full house of PGIA students and parents.   Without further ado, here they are!

VIMSIA End Session - Latin Dance

The purpose of the Latin Dance end session was to give students an overview of different Latin dances, their origin and cultural interconnection. The Latin dances explored in this course, included: Salsa, Bachata, Argentine Tango, Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Flamenco, and Bolero. Students gained a better understanding of Latin-American culture by exploring different dances and rhythms, unique to specific countries and regions within Latin America and the Spanish Speaking Caribbean. Participants also learned to dance and practiced these dances, along with exploring Latin Culture in our local environment by going to lunch to Cafe Amalia and Melt Mexican Grill. Team building activities and outings to the beach also helped students engage in this end session.

Documentary End Session Presents - "The Climb"

This is the culminating project for the Documentary End Session Group, under the mentorship of Mr. Williams.  It is a MUST SEE.  Hysterical.  Kudos all.

Scuba End Session

In the capable hands of Mr. Marc Corbeil, the PGIA Scuba End Session group attained their PADI certifications in Open Water as well as Advanced Open Water Scuba.  Turtles and sharks and fish, oh my!

Great underwater video.  How amazing that we have all of this is our backyard!  Our beautiful island in the Caribbean Sea.

Drama End Session Presents "Peter Pan"

Click to view photo slideshow of peter pan, created by karen gauriloff

The Drama End Session put on their performance of Peter Pan on Friday.  This was the first play to be done on our Solar Awning Stage.  It was a great venue!  We had over 200 people attend - there was plenty of space, the concession stand was open and worked well.   I sat in the first row of chairs behind all of the younger children, who decided to sit cross legged front and center.  While up and running about during set changes, they were quick to pop back in their seats when the curtain went up - and seemed mesmerized throughout.

Kudos to Ms. Bump and the cast and crew!   

Canada End Session - Women's World Cup

End Sessions are just swimming along.  Here is an email just received from Ms. Elger.  She and Mr. Elger have the Women's World Cup - Canadian Cultural Experience End Session.  Sounds like all is well and kids are happy!  

“Good afternoon, everyone,

I hope this finds you well. I apologize I haven’t sent an update. The WiFi at our hotel was a bit spotty the last two nights. We are currently on the train from Quebec to Montreal.

Short story, everyone is fine. A few of us are getting a little sick, but we’re managing it with Advil Sinus, EmergenC, fluids and rest. We think it has a lot to do with the temperature change. It’s been cold and we had rain today, so we’re all adjusting to Canada from our sunny STT. Since the last email, we have seen sights, shopped, ate, went to a hockey game, and ridden buses and trains.

Long story, your students are just amazing! Joey and I have been inspired by their abilities to take risks. Each of you would be very proud. On Sunday, we started our day with discovering a beautiful bakery. The food was just delicious! It was an inspiring way to begin our glorious day. We took the bus to Old Town, and students had a few hours to explore and shop on their own. We then took the funicular to a plaza where we were entertained by a street performer. We had breath-taking views of the St. Lawrence River and got to see the Chateau Frontenac, one of the most photographed hotels in the world and where Churchill and Roosevelt planned the D-Day invasion. We then ate poutine for lunch, while a few students went to a Creperie. We ventured back to the hotel, had some downtime, and left for the hockey game. The Memorial Cup was amazing! The students really enjoyed their first live hockey game. It went into overtime, and the ending was very dramatic! It was a great game. We had lights out when we returned to the hotel, and everyone was tucked safely and soundly in their beds. The following day, the group went to an amazing market. Many of the students enjoyed the fresh tomatoes! Our plan was to go to a museum about the French/Indian War, but the restoration that should have finished in April was still on-going. So, we just enjoyed playing in a huge field. A few students rolled all the way to the bottom. We got some great videos of this! Afternoon naps and downtime at the hotel followed. We then left for our “fancy” dinner. What fun!! Everyone looked so precious all dressed up. Our waiter was fantastic, and the food was out of this world. Our party ordered everything from steaks to pate to rabbit to liver to truffles to homemade sodas and several things in between. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and each other. We then returned to the hotel for downtime before lights out at midnight. We knew today would be cold and rainy, so we planned a day inside at a local mall. Students shopped to their hearts content and ate from all the options at the food court. Mr. Elger and I saw an IMAX film in French and gave the students Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We took a bus back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, took a bus to the train station, and boarded the train. We will arrive in Montreal around 6:00 and check into our hotel. Tonight will be an easy and relaxing one. Tomorrow, we will be sight-seeing and spectators at an MLS game. The next day, we will be at an amusement park.

Again, I cannot tell you how fantastic your children are being. They are so polite when we are on any form of public transportation, always offering their seats to locals. They open doors for each other. They’re just really great young people. I know y’all miss them, but thank you for letting us have this experience with them.

Please text or email if you need us.

Take Care,
Elizabeth”

Peru End Session - Spanish Immersion - Update from Mr. Gever

This is an update that was received from Mr. Gever, who is traveling is Peru with Ms. Weichman and the Spanish Immersion End Session Group.  Enjoy!  Hopefully more good pictures to follow.

We have done tons of walking at very high altitude, 11,000+ feet, and it's freezing cold (for us) but there has not been any significant grumbling. 

We met a lady the other day on one of the tours and asked her if her hotel had heating, as our apartment doesn't.  (You have to muster up all your courage just to go to the bathroom.)  She said she wasn't sure if there was heat or not in her hotel and added, "Why would you need it?".  She's from London.  

This is really an amazing place to visit.  The natural landscapes are amazing.  We went through the Sacred Valley yesterday, a long, narrow valley boxed in by steep mountains on both sides and occasional towering peaks, some permanently covered in snow.  Blending in in a very organic way, ancient Incan agricultural terraces and ruined cities.  It's also fascinating to think that the rushing rivers draining to the east feed into the Amazon jungle.  We are just at the edge between the Andes altiplano and the Amazon rainforest.  Next week we are going to Machu Picchu, which I think actually lies within the rainforest.  

We went to a village yesterday where we were shown how traditional weaving and dying is done.  All the Quechua-speaking ladies were dressed in their traditional garb (but not just for the tourists).  One of them had actually learned enough English to explain everything to us in English.  (Unfortunately, the tour was not in Spanish.)  She had a really cute accent, and even made jokes.  It was amazing to see the variety of colors they can extract from different plants and the cochineal insect.  They showed us how pure cochineal gives a black color, but when mixed with lemon juice it produces an orange color.  

I also learned in a private discussion with our tour guide, that all those hand-made alpaca sweaters us tourists love to buy are not really alpaca wool.  She said a pure alpaca sweater would cost about $100, which is why most Peruvians don't wear it.  If it's "baby alpaca" (first cut), double the price   The best quality wool is from the vicuña, which is what the Incan emperors used.  These days a sweater made of this type of wool would cost upwards of $500! The guide also told me that cochineal is extremely expensive and is not used for dying any ordinary garments.  

STEM End Session - Skyler's Robotic Cobra!

Skyler Anspacher shows off his robotic cobra, built in the STEM End Session led by Mr. Palmer.