Farnsworth House Blog

I interviewed Ms. Nickles who works in the New Lab here at Dalton. She was born in Arkansas, but grew up in Minnesota. She now lives in New York. She has one younger brother. One of her favorite times of the year is during the faculty laptop program, which the New Lab runs in the summer. Ms. Nickles comes to our classroom to help us with computer issues and to teach us how to utilize our computers to the utmost.

LF: How long have you been working with computers?

EN:About 24 years ago, I got my first computer, but I’ve been working in schools for 8 years.

LF: When did you start working at the New Lab?

EN:This is my 6th year in the New Lab.

LF: Why did you choose to work with computers?

EN: I chose to work with computers because technology is fun and there’s always something new that will help us.

LF: What do you do in your free time?

EN: I like to take photographs, go to concerts and hang out with my friends.

LF: What is the hardest computer problem you’ve ever had to solve?

EN: It’s never really a problem with the hardware, more like helping people to be confident enough to use a computer well.

LF: What is the easiest?

EN: When the computer isn’t working and it turned out to be unplugged (on a desktop) [laughs]

LF: What’s your favorite thing with computers?

EN: They are very versatile tools. People can create things they never even thought possible.

LF: What’s your least favorite?

EN: Cleaning computers. They collect a lot of dust and dirt and fingerprints over the years and then you have to clean them with special rags.

LF: Do you have any tips for people who want to work with computers?

EN: You really have to really enjoy learning, because there’s always a lot to learn. (”But that’s the fun part!”)

-LF

Warriors is a really good book written by Erin Hunter. It consists of three series, Warriors, The New Prophecy, and The Power of Three. The books are mainly about a band of cats that call themselves Warriors. They live by a code and consult the Starclan, but Starclan cats are not always clear about their answers… Starclan’s answer in prophecies and sometimes tell the cats in no more than 5 words. They foretell upcoming wars with other clans, or in one book the destruction of their forest home.

The author, Erin Hunter is a really descriptive writer and really gives a feel for the whole setting. You can almost see the forest, home of the Warriors, in your head. This story involves a lot of confusing names such as Fireheart, Feathertail, and Leafpool. They are hard names to remember but Erin Hunter conveniently provides a map of the territory, and a description of all the cats in the book. I think this book is great for animal lovers and people who are interested in astronomy.

This year’s middle school musical was Oliver. The play takes place in England during the 19th century. It is about a young orphan’s experiences. Oliver runs away from the orphanage and finds himself in situations of all kinds. He lives through good and bad events.
The middle school actors in this play were excellent. The singing of Oliver and Nancy was very impressive. 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders were in the play. They projected their voices very well. I loved the humor and the accents.  Their accents were almost perfect.  The musical accompaniment was very good and they never missed a note. The stage design was very realistic and helped tell what was going on in the story.  The ending was sad because Nancy dies, and Fagean gets put in jail. I thought all the actors were amazing. This is entertainment at its best.
-MR and JA

Three Wishes is a book by Deborah Ellis. It is about the lives of Palestinian and Israeli children who are living in the Middle East. This book takes place 5 or 4 years ago, so some situations have changed. Recently there are less incidents of suicide bombings in Israel. Some situations are the same. For example, the Israeli’s and the Palestinians are still at war and barely ever have peace. Some people have not recovered emotionally and physically because their houses have been bombed and they are going through trauma or are in hospitals.

Some of the kids in this book have very extreme stories to tell. For example, one kid said that when his mom was at a Palestinian checkpoint the Israeli soldiers said that she had to eat grass and then they would let her go through the checkpoint. Some of the stories the kids tell are hard to believe.

I believe that though the Israeli’s have done some wrong things, they are not cruel people. You have to remember to be equal minded as you read this book and remember that both sides are going through a lot.

I recommend this book to anyone who knows what is going on in the Middle East and to anyone who wants to learn about what’s going on in the Middle East.

-MR

This past December House 44 joined us at Big Dalton for the first time. Not just for a visit, for breakfast and Candle Lighting. Candle lighting starts Dalton’s winter-break. On this day two people from each grade come up onto the theater stage and light a candle. People from the faculty and parents also light candles. We do this every year.  Farnsworth House brought in food that we all shared.  We gave our buddies a tour of the school. Some of our buddies have been to Big Dalton because they have older siblings. A group of people played a game of cards. Other 3rd graders and 4th graders ate food.  After we took our buddies on a tour of the school we were all tired from all the stairs.  At the end of the candle lighting ceremony everyone left on their winter breaks for two weeks.

-KS, SW, JM

When we found out that we were going to have to interview an immigrant about their experience of coming to America for our year long immigration study, as well as write a book about their experience, we were ecstatic (well, most of us anyway). First we had to find an interviewee and ask them questions about their immigration experience. We went through many steps and the process took a long time but it all paid off in the end. After about 2 months of transcribing, editing and illustrating we were finally done! We were all finished with our books. We were ready for an Oral History Celebration!

Farnsworth House Oral History party was everything we hoped for- if not more. We were sent to the Smart Board in random order to read our introductions and two juicy quotes from our books. Then we dined on delicious delicacies that each student brought in from all different countries. Although claustrophobic, there were so many people packed into our room, it was a huge success. Parents, and some of the people we interviewed, came and we all had a fun time. Also, the teachers loved the yummy leftovers!

HL and KB

When we first walked into Big Dalton in September we were not official citizens. We had to go through a citizenship ceremony. Our citizenship ceremony was fun. Ms. Hixson (middle school principal) and Ms. Stein (head of school) spoke to us about the responsibilities of being a citizen at Dalton. They reminded us that we have a responsibility to keep Dalton clean and safe, where every student feels at home and included. Each House made a big puzzle earlier that week. Each student got to color their own puzzle piece which they then put together with their other House members.The teachers showed a slide show of us when we were making the puzzles.    Then Each House Teacher called us by name and house to come up on stage and accept a certificate and shake Ms. Hixson’s and Ms. Stein’s hands. When we were waiting up on stage some of us felt nervous. After the ceremony we felt relieved and happy.

After school we all went to the cafeteria to play “Bingo” and eat ice cream sundaes. The majority of people liked the ice cream sundaes because it felt good just to relax and eat ice cream in school. The prizes for the people who won “Bingo” were tattoos, stickers, pencils and erasers of blue tiger paws. Our new privledges includes being able to  write to our teachers on our e-mail accounts. We each got to pick our fourth grade community service electives. The electives are pep squad, create stationary, alumni helper, healthy foods, knit and pearl, middle school survival guide and law. We also now get to have lunch dates with anyone in the grade on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fourth grade is a big step forward!

By c17db1 and c17ak1

A sample puzzle

Putting the puzzle together

Pottery Wheel with Ms. Sirow

In art we are learning how to use a pottery wheel. The pottery wheel is a little circle that is flat and it spins around and around. Everyone in our class loves it.  On the pottery wheel people make bowls, donuts, dog bowls, and cups. The pottery wheel is electric. Ms. Sirow helps us with the pottery a lot. If the clay is not centered she will help center it.  If it is close to the end of class she will help us finish and perfect our pot.  I think without Ms. Sirow we would not  be able to do the pottery wheel.  I think the pottery wheel is the most fun thing in the world. Half the class does the pottery wheel. We do art on the 12th floor on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Steps:

You put your clay on it. Then you put your hands in a certain position. That makes it round. Then you put your thumbs in the center and push down. That makes it into something that is round and has a hole in it. Next you take it off the pottery wheel. After that if you want to add a handle on or something you do not want to use the wheel you use your hands!!!!!!! After that you fire it. Next you glaze it. Then one more time you fire it. Now you know how to use the pottery wheel.

Pictures:

(right) this is the pedal that you step on(above) this is what you put your clay on

I recently asked my class to write President Obama in order to let him know what they were feeling and thinking since he has been sworn in. What follows are their responses.

I hope you can stop the war in Iraq. If you know, how long would it take to send all your soldiers back? Are you going to be able to help the economic crisis in the next 4 years?  If not, do you think you’ll become president again?  Another important issue is GLOBAL WARMING!  Is it true that your going to make a solar powered car by 2012? Then by 2016 the USA will be cleaner then ever, if you are still the president. Are you going to make some justified laws to help the world?
-SL

I am a student at the Dalton School. My class watched the inauguration on TV. I would like to congratulate you on being our new president. I believe you can do a great job if you believe in yourself. I think in our country we should have more ways to help people who can’t be as grateful as we are. I think it’s very important to have a new president like you. It is very important to me and my family too. African Americans have come a long way to help us have equal rights. One of the equal rights gained helped you become the president. It must have been really hard. I wish you, Mitchell, Sasha and Malia luck. Your daughters seem very nice and it would be really cool if I met them some day. It would be nice if I meet Malia because I’m also 10. Do your daughters act or feel differently since they’ve become celebrities? Do you feel different?
-DB

Hope. It is a very powerful word.  It is unlike force, which could be good or bad.  It is even unlike change.  Together hope and change are even more powerful. Hope brings a positive attitude to change.  Change is not always the fastest thing, but change can happen.  It might not happen over one year but it will happen over four years. Hope is like light, one speck in the darkness.  You have given the country hope and filled it with the idea of change.  Now that you are the leader, we will follow your beacon through this dark time with hope.
-JF

Congratulations on you’re victorious win! I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t came along. Do you think you might come out of the White House with white hair? Somehow that always happens! You have similar ideas for the country as I do, as in keeping the environment as clean as possible, since it’s the only one we have, and getting soldiers out of Iraq. I think you are a good role model, as well as your wife. Did you like the inaugural poet? She is coming to our school this month. Anyway, thanks for winning. But I knew, in some crazy/unknown way, that you just had to win. I  am big fans of your daughters, and Malia is my age. I used to live in Chicago. Anyway, have a good 4 years in the White House! (Although you really deserve forever.)
-H L

I am very happy that you were elected.  The reason I am very happy that you were elected is because I feel that you really care about everyone.  Your thoughts are amazing.
I know that you are just settling into the White House but I hope you can try and start to make sure the economy gets better.  I do not like it when people are losing money by the second.  Can you please get people jobs all around America?  The reason I would like you to do this is because I do not like to see so many people suffer.
I was also hoping you would try to save the environment.  I hope that you do this because we need a clean environment to live.
Thank you for working so hard to make our country amazing.
-J A

Congratulations on winning the presidential election! I went outside to party and the street was blocked because there were so many people who were celebrating. There was a bus that came down the street and everyone in it was celebrating. My parents saved a bottle of really fancy champagne for a very special occasion. This definitely was one. You absolutely dominated John McCain. Oh, what are you going to do about Blagojevich? I heard you said you had nothing to do with him. I know you don’t. I was very influenced by my parents this election. I know a lot of other kids who were very influenced by their parents also.
I would like to see you work on getting the people to convert at least some of their electricity to solar power. (e.g. lighting can be converted completely to solar power.)
Hope you do well in office!
-C H

I am so happy that you are America’s new president! There isn’t anything else that I would want to see in this country because I know that you will make the right choices! When you became president I was thrilled! I never thought that an election could be so serious! I heard someone on the New York Transit bus say, “Obama equals change! He will be the best president ever!” I definitely agree! There is just one thing I have to say. I think that you should consider thinking about the Iraq War and global warming. Maybe you should ban Hummer cars until they are made with more mileage. I still can’t believe that you are president! When the inauguration was on I felt tears swelling in my eyes. I think that you, Mr. President, will make a difference.
A K

I have almost no doubt that you will be one of the greatest presidents that we will have in the years to come. I am glad that you are taking out the troops from Iraq. So many people have lost the people that their whole life revolved around. I would be happy if you tried to make some bigger shelters because so many people in New York City, where I live, freeze to death while sleeping in the streets in the winter. I also think you should put some money in schools. There are so many children who don’t get a good education because their parents can’t afford to send them to a better school.
L F

You made history! I would like to say that I am very happy you are now America’s official president. I think that you will do an excellent job as president. You have already gotten to work as fast as you can. You are a dedicated President and that is what I like most about you. I would like you to accomplish creating a better health plan for all people and a cheaper one. As you said, your wife looked beautiful at the inaugural balls. You are amazing!
-M R

Congratulations on becoming America’s 1st African-American and 44th President! Your being an African-American has changed the United states forever, it is a big step in improving the civil rights of all people, especially African-Americans. I know under your guidance, the US will be a much happier place for everyone, even those who don’t support you.
It was the right thing to do to wish change and not just laying back and hoping for the best, but taking action right away. You emphasized the fact that if you wish for change, you have to take action. You and Joe Biden will do great things together. You are a role model to a lot of people including myself. You have the ability to get what you want done, no matter what stands in your way.
To tell you the truth McCain stood no chance in the election. Yes We Can! is a really good motto. It can push someone’s  spirit and make people more confident to speak up for what they think is wrong. It kind of gives people the understanding that it is not just the government making decisions, it is the people too, the people of this country.I would like to see him work on getting the people to convert at least some of their electricity to solar power.  (e.g. lighting can be converted completely to solar power.) I really like your plan to stop global warming , and if we really try, I’m sure it will work. Solar panels and electric cars !
-C H

How does it feel to be president of the United States? Did Malia and Sasha make new friends at their new school? How is life different in the White House then your home in Chicago?  Now that you are president, I really hope to see some serious changes, starting in Iraq. Please try to end the war and bring our soldiers home. And the economy, I hope you get the support you need for your recovery plan.  Please also try to make things a little more earth friendly (eg. Paper vs. recycled paper), for environmental purposes. Try to raise money to donate to public schools everywhere. I hope you do many great things, but remember it’s ok to make mistakes. I wish you the very best of luck and I’m counting on you!
-K B

Congratulations on becoming the first African American president. I was so happy when I heard that you had become the president. I’m sure that November 4th was a very special day for us both. I now  have high hopes for this country. I hope you can end many problems such as the economic disaster and the war in Iraq. I also hope that you can help other countries in need and come up with laws that are fair for everyone. I would like it if you did not have war with other countries because that could end up in a disaster. You should use your four years in office very wisely so our country can be fit and ready for the next president. I wish you the best of luck as our new president.
-C S

I just can’t believe you are now the president of the U.S.A.! Everyone I know is glad you won! If you did not win I might even die (literally). The Economy is dropping so much and with out you we might even risk the chance of the next great depression. I would like you to save the economy and lead our country for eight successful years. Remember that I am overjoyed that you are president and wish you the best.

-CY

I hope you do everything you can to help our country with anything it needs.  Our great rain forests are being destroyed from pollution. People are doing way to much littering, not cleaning up after themselves , not taking care of our environment. They need to be recycling.  I think that you should put more trash cans on the street corners to encourage people to throw away their trash.
The pollution is also killing the animals.  The pollution is getting into the ocean and rivers killing the animals that live and eat there.  I also think that you should stop people from eating certain animals. I believe that hunting season should be put to an end, because some people hunt for fun.  Animals like ducks should be able to fly to the South without getting shot out of the air.
I think all schools should get the supplies that they need.  Some schools don’t get enough pencils, scissors, glue and other materials that the kids need to do their work. I think there should be a way to give those schools the materials that they need, so that all the kids will be able to do their work without them having to wait for their turn to use supplies.

KS

Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is a book about a boy in middle school called Toby Harbinger. Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, the land without many vowels, is plotting to try to take over the U.S.A. Oh, by the way, both of Toby’s parents are Star Wars fanatics. They met at the premiere of the fifth Star Wars, one dressed as Princess Leia, one dressed as C-3PO. They have all this Star Wars memorabilia in their basement.

Toby really wants a computer so he sells a Harrison Ford hand-autographed blaster for $2,000 to a guy named D.Arthur Vaderian and buys his own computer. Meanwhile, in the Hubble Middle School, these rich kids called the M.E. kids are trying to win the science fair by cheating. They leave fifty dollars in an envelope, and someone unknown gives them the blueprints that are supposed to help them win the science fair. Toby finds out and tells the principal. Then his school catches on fire because of something someone stuck into his locker. Then he gets into a huge mess…

I would rate this book 4 stars. It starts out a little slow, but it gets a lot better, I assure you. I would recommend it to people who like mysteries and people who like books that have characters with problems.

-CH