During the week before Spring Break, 9th grade students took part in the Civic Engagement Design Challenge. The intention of this challenge is to enrich the themes of identity, diversity, action, and justice already embedded in the curriculum, serve as a springboard for meaningful work throughout the term, and possibly inspire interdisciplinary projects.
Monday focused on the topic of Building Humility and Empathy. At the beginning of the day, all the 9th grade students came together for an exercise on youth apathy when it comes to controversial topics.
Later that day, students got to attend Hands-on Design Challenge Workshops of their choice. There were five to choose from.
Workshop 1 was Redesign Design Level Space run by Alice Molinsky ’23 & Karen(?). The discussion surrounded the question of: How can we reimagine different spaces in the Design-Level to support student learning? Students mentioned the positive and negative elements of the Design level, and discussed ways for improvement.
Workshop 2 was Repurposing and Upcycling Clothing run by Mary Brooks, Anna Levine ’22, Bethany Eddy. The essential question was How might we reduce our environmental footprint through repurposing, upcycling, and redesigning clothing? Students repurposed clothing to either create a new piece of clothing or transform it to something completely different.
Workshop 3 was Seawalls: A Climate Justice Project run by Michelle Wildes. The essential question was How might we reduce the impact of climate change in our local communities? Students were informed about the rising sea levels, and how it could negatively impact the surrounding communities in Boston.
Workshop 4 was Reducing Waste at Beaver run by Nate Guevin. The essential question was How might we reimagine the way we consume food, paper products and other materials at Beaver so that we produce less waste? Students reflected on the waste they left behind, and ways we can be more conscious about helping the environment.
Workshop 5 was Belonging and Community run by Geeta Jain and Liz Latour. Students talked about How can we increase belonging and community in the 9th grade? Some shared advice that could be taken to ensure Beaver is a welcoming environment. Students came to the conclusion that students from all grades can come together and form bonds.
