Ensworth Middle School Drama presents USA, a Dramatic Revue, on Saturday, February 25 at 5:30 p.m. in Frist Hall. The play is comprised of a set of stories that take place from 1900 through 1930. From the dreams of flying among birds to the lessons of a woman entrepreneur, our middle school actors and actresses give new life to stories that are often unfamiliar to their audience.
Inside the classroom, Mr. Kautzman challenged his students to maintain the standard of Ensworth excellence. He required respect, honor, and integrity. Over the years, his students stood when he entered the classroom and shut the door to begin class, and they waited to sit until they were told they could. He made such an impact on his students that they had bumper stickers and t-shirts made that said, “I survived Kautzman.”
Last week, Photo 1 students in Ms. Deal-McEver’s class did a day of "fake ghost photography" to explore the greater concept of constructed images. In their unit on constructed images, or completely staged photos, they are learning about how easy it is to fabricate meaning in images. They have looked at internet images from “proof of ghosts” websites and figured out how most of the images were actually made.
This is Mrs. Wolter and Mrs. Harris' first year to use collaborative curriculum of music and rhythm to explore and develop Chinese skills. It is called 一起唱 or yīqǐ chàng, which means "Sing Together."
This program started when Mrs. Wolter and Mrs. Harris looked at the schedule, saw that their time with first grade classes fell on the same day and wondered if they could find a way to teach collaboratively. Research shows that music benefits language learners. Through music, students learn vocabulary, sentence patterns, and pronunciation. Most of all, the students have fun and are challenged to incorporate music skills such as composing and playing rhythms, identifying phrasing, and learning improvisation skills all while singing or chanting in another language.
When our faculty begin at Ensworth, they learn about the culture and traditions of the school, and they are encouraged to build upon these cornerstones of excellence. Mr. Arthur rose to that challenge from the beginning of his 32-year tenor.
One of the cornerstones of an Ensworth education is learning how to be contributors to society. This is incorporated through a myriad of projects in each grade; fundraising pennies for Habitat for Humanity, cross-curricular projects that include a service component (like the seventh grade memory project), and service learning days at the High School.
These past few weeks, the fifth graders have been immersed in the egg drop project. A favorite fifth grade tradition, each year students learn about how to best protect raw eggs from a two-story fall. The tradition has evolved over time and now helps students learn about the brain, helmets, and head trauma.
This past weekend, Ensworth robotics competed in the First LEGO League (FLL) State Tournament. Ensworth was represented by two competitive robotics team this season; a sixth grade team and seventh/eighth grade combined team. Both teams progressed through the Nashville Qualifier in December, with the sixth grade winning the third place Champion’s Award. In the state tournament, our seventh/eighth grade robotics team received first place in the Gracious Professionalism category at the State Tournament.
The upcoming Ensights magazine is all about tradition. In preparation for its launch, we have arranged four blog posts that delve into the origins of Ensworth traditions and the people that make them so special. This first post is about tradition in the arts - specifically with Mrs. Pickel. Enjoy!
This semester, we are lucky to have gained three new students in our Ensworth family. I caught up with them to see how their semesters are going, how they’re liking Ensworth, and to welcome them into our community.
Happy Year of the Rooster! From kindergarten to twelfth grade, Ensworth students have been celebrating the new year in style with dumplings, calligraphy, origami, poems, songs, and more.
Mr. Scott’s sixth grade World History class has been transported back in time to Ancient Greece. From donning their chiltons (what you and I know as togas), to debating at the assembly and competing in the Olympics, these students have done it all.
This week, our High School assembly had a special guest speaker, Dr. Sybril Brown. Dr. Brown spoke to the students about the effects of social media and the ramifications that reach far beyond a device’s screen.
One of our beloved traditions is the Second Grade Puppet Shows. Each year, the Grade 2 teachers pick their class’ story and help them create puppets, the stage backdrop, and get ready for their big performance. Each class performs in front of the other Grade 2 classes and their parents.
This year, we had two AP studio students, Shona O'Bryant and Sam Slipkovich, win several awards at the 2017 Regional Scholastic Art Competition hosted by Cheekwood Museum.
Last Friday, Grade 8 finished up their immigration project with a trip through Ellis Island. For the fourth year in a row, students got into character to simulate the experience of immigrants coming to America between 1800 and 1920.