The Fessenden School

Once students in Mr. B's 5th grade science students completed their bird ID's, they started counting birds at our campus feeders. For one month, boys in each of the four sections will spend time each day observing bird behavior and counting individual bird species. This data is gathered and organized for later analysis. If you see any of these guys in the hall please engage them in conversation - they are very excited to share all they know about birds.

Come by the Fessenden library to check out:


LOWER SCHOOL

Buffalo Soldier

by Sherry Garland
A fictionalized story of one Buffalo Soldier, former slave who heads West and fights in the Spanish American War.

Facing West

by Kathleen Kudlinski
Heading out on the Oregon Trail in 1845, Ben wonders whether he can overcome all the odds, including his debilitating asthma.

Hooway for Wodney Wat

by Helen Lester
Rodney can't pronounce his Rs--they come out sounding like Ws. When the class bully follows his directions in a game of Simon Says, Rodney discovers that his voice is something to celebrate.



MIDDLE SCHOOL

Portraits of African-American Heroes

by Tonya Bolden
Presents twenty outstanding African Americans in words and pictures.

Gregor and the Code of Claw

by Suzanne Collins
When 12-year-old Gregor learns that an ancient prophecy foretells his death, he must gather his courage to defend the land of Regalia from the army of rats, take his mother and sister home safely, and fight his own dark side. (fiction)

Profiles in Sports Courage

by Ken Rappoport
Profiles 12 athletes who have faced and overcome significant challenges in their personal and professional lives.


UPPER SCHOOL

The Hero Project : 2 Teens, 1 Notebook, 13 Extraordinary Interviews

by Robert Hatch & William Hatch
Two teens set out to interview accomplished people in a variety of fields, ranging from musician Yo Yo Ma to film star Jackie Chan.

The Right Stuff

by Tom Wolfe
Portraits of brave astronauts Chuck Yeager, Pete Conrad, Gus Grissom, and John Glenn.


Overboard

by Elizabeth Fama
Escaping from a sinking ferry in the waters off Sumatra, 14-year-old Emily fights for survival for herself and a young Indonesian boy, who draws courage from his quiet but firm Islamic faith. (fiction)


Profiles in Courage

by John F. Kennedy
This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection explores the meaning of courage through stories of integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Come by the Wheeler library to check these out!

LOWER SCHOOL

A Day's Work

by Eve Bunting
When a young boy makes a mistake by lying, his grandfather teaches him the importance of acting honorably.

The Barefoot Book of Knights

by John Matthews
Through their courage, honor, strength, wisdom, patience, and humility, the knights in these stories illustrate what it takes to be a great knight.

Lou Gehrig : The Luckiest Man

by David Adler
Traces the life of the Yankees' star ballplayer, focusing on his character and his struggle with the terminal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.


MIDDLE SCHOOL

Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World

by Ken Beller and Heather Chase
Brief essays on Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Anderson Sa, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hanh, Colman McCarthy, Oscar Arias, Bruno Hussar, Desmond Tutu, Riane Eisler, the Dalai Lama, Henry Salt, Albert Schweitzer, Astrid Lindgren, Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, David Suzuki, Nadar Khalili, and Wangari Maathai.

The Ballad of Sir Dinadan

by Gerald Morris
Though he would rather pursue his talent as a musician, Dinadan is forced to become a knight, and he finds that while minstrels sings of heroic deeds, honor is often found in simpler, quieter ways.

The View from Saturday

by E.L. Konigsburg
Four students develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to have the honor of represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition. (fiction)


UPPER SCHOOL

Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
Peter Collier; photography by Nick Del Calzo

"Paints 116 portraits of men whose incredible bravery in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam is the embodiment of the very term hero." (from dust jacket)

Crooked
by Laura and Tom McNeal

Two ninth graders, Clara and Amos, suddenly find their lives turned upside down by their families, by each other, and by the two meanest brothers in town. They discover that honesty may be the answer, but it's hard to find. (fiction)


Desmond Tutu: Fighting Apartheid
by Samuel Willard Crompton

A biography of the South African cleric and civil rights activist who fought against apartheid and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Fessy faculty members eagerly returned from the winter break a day early to participate in FessyTech 2010. FessyTech was an in-service, professional development day organized by the Fessenden Technology Department in an effort to share ideas and inpsire the creative use of technology in the classroom. The sessions covered topics including Google Apps, My Fessy and Developing a PLN (personal learning network) using resources like Twitter, Google Reader, and ISENET among others.

Teachers were encouraged to share their ideas about how technology can play a role in helping students to become passionate about all kinds of subjects. It was also announced during the conference that a Fessy "Geek of the Week" Award has been established to honor those teachers who are implementing new and exciting, tech-based projects in their curriculum. Faculty members are encouraged to nominate their peers for this highly sought-after and prestigious distinction. ;) Be sure to check out the photos of FessyTech 2010 over on My Fessy.

Fessy is pleased to announce the March Costa Rica Trip with Mr. Cincotta. This excursion is sponsored by the Fessenden school in coordination with NETC Educational Travel. The trip will leave on Saturday, March 13, and return March 20. Enrollment is limited so be sure to contact Mr. Cincotta soon if you are interested. Click here to download an enrollment form. (Also available on My Fessy.)

This year's Fessy Vestival participation was an encouraging sign about the vitality of this growing holiday. Last year was fessy's first foray into the wonderful world of Vestival. With efforts to increase this year's participation from Honorary Vestival Chair, Mrs. Yandoh and others, the Fessy Vestivalers were out in full force this year. "It just warms the cockles of my heart to know that the true spirit of Vestival is alive and well at here at Fessenden" commented a glowing Mrs. Yandoh. She was also very encouraged by the increase in student participation. "To see so many Kindergarteners embracing this holiday is a wonderfully positive indication about the future of vestival." Never one to rest on her laurels, she also pointed out that there are already plans in the works to ensure that next year's Vestival is an "even more epic outpouring of sleeveless love."

Students in Mr. B's science class are in the final unit of their fresh water study - rivers. After learning about river structure and important river vocabulary, the boys were divided into pairs to complete a river puzzle. Each group was given 12 pieces of a a river system. The assignment was to organize and order the river pieces into a complete river system. Once the pieces were glued down they then had to justify why the designed the river the way they did. Each group presented to the class and fielded questions from classmates. No two rivers were exactly the same but all groups did a good job explaining their decisions. The study of rivers continues in class with our model river. Stay tuned for updates from the model river experiments.

by Orson Scott Card

At Battle School religious observances are forbidden, but when a young Dutch student leaves a gift in his friend's shoe, it sparks an unusual rebellion. (fiction)


A Christmas Carol


By Charles Dickens

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.