The Challenge Program

Welcome to the Challenge Program!  There are lots of new and interesting things planned for the 2006 -2007 academic year.  The overall theme for this school year is Inquiring Minds.  Every grade level will be exploring various ways to discover new things about ourselves and our world.  We will assess our learning styles and strengths, learn new ways to think logically, complete a themed study of a topic (a different topic for each grade level, see below), study a student-chosen environmental science topic within an independent study framework, and learn about the history of Bucks County through a study of the life and times of Henry Mercer.

3rd grade - Our themed work this year will have us taking an imaginary trip to locate and collect the ingredients of our favorite recipes.  Once we "find" our ingredients, we will take them home and create a feast!  We will write and illustrate a story that describes our trip in colorful detail.  We may even tell you a little about the history of our favorite food.

 4th & 5^th grade - Our themed work this year will see students  experiencing the American westward migration of the early 19^th century.  They will read memoirs of people who actually made the journey, play “Pioneers”, an interactive role playing game, complete an individual project on a topic of interest, and write and perform in a play which depicts the trials, successes, and culture of the early pioneers. The students are encouraged to use their imagination and interests to create unique “diaries” of their experiences while journeying west.

 6^th grade - Our themed work this year will take us on a virtual trip around the world!  Students will learn about self-chosen cultures and countries by planning an around-the-world excursion.  The students will read the novel Around the World in Eighty Days, plan his/her own trip around the world, keep a journal of “experiences” during the trip, keep record of expenses, investigate time zones and methods of travel, and create a visually appealing scrapbook of the trip. The students are encouraged to use their imagination and interests to create a unique trip around the world.

 7^th grade - Our themed work this year will have students exploring the history of flight.  Some of the topics we will be exploring are: the history of flight from ancient myth to modern commercial aircraft, famous people/concepts in aviation, investigating latitude and longitude, playing the interactive role-playing game “Flight”, and creating models of history-making craft.  The students are encouraged to use their imagination and interests to personalize their study of flight.

8^th grade - Our themed work this year will see the eighth grade students developing reasoning skills and exploring forensics (the scientific study of evidence).  The students will take on the roles of forensic scientists and criminologists to learn to objectively observe data, conduct various tests to determine materials and patterns in a search for clues, develop and test theories, solve a “crime”, and create a “crime” for classmates to solve.