Fall Project Culmination

Roads are all around us. Roads take us to school, to the store, and to visit family and friends. When riding in vehicles, children gaze out of he windows and watch the world go by. They delight in pointing out features on the road that, for adults, are simply part of the landscape: light poles, reflector bumps, overpasses, and bridges. In the classroom, roads become a key feature in the Block area, where children push cars from one building or place to another. Outdoors, children ride trikes on what they call “roads,” which often include traffic signs and police officers. The study on roads provides children with an opportunity to learn how roads are made, where roads take us, how we can stay safe on the road, and the features that make up a road. When children work together to create roads, they use a variety of skills to plan, write, draw, build, and negotiate with others, and meet interesting people.

A study of roads encourages children to explore a topic that is familiar to them as they learn to gather information, solve problems, imagine, and think symbolically. In the study, children will investigate the features of roads, how roads help us, and how they are made and repaired. The study of roads also offers a meaningful way for children to use skills in literacy, mathematics, and the arts. During the study, the children built all types of roads in the classroom and outdoors with cardboard boxes, tape, paper, blocks, sand, and roads. We got to study a map and plan an RV trip to Disney World.

The 4k kiddos are excited to share their journey with you on dogs! They have been delving deep into learning all about dogs through a wide variety of experiences, including visits from guest experts, like a vet, an author, a representative from Hand ‘n Paws, and more, as well as through conducting their own research. Your child will take on the 'expert' role and teach you all he/she learned throughout the process. Through their unique interests and wonders about dogs, many skills were gained along the way. Parents will have the opportunity to view the project board as well as visit learning stations that will take you through each phase.

What has a backbone, dry scales, and is cold-blooded? A reptile!!! Through experiential learning, Kindergarten has been learning all about the many different types of reptiles and their habitats. Through guest expers, a visit to the zoo, and our own research, we discovered so many interesting facts about how reptiles protect themselves, where they live, what they eat, and what makes each reptile distinctive. Come and visit our reptile house to learn about the differences between turtles and tortoises, what makes an alligator different from a crocodile, how reptiles can camouflage themselves, and much more!

Our first graders have been fluttering into learning with their exciting Butterfly Project! Through hands-on exploration and creative activities, students discovered the amazing world of butterflies — from tiny eggs to graceful adults. They studied the life cycle of butterflies, identified the parts of a caterpillar and butterfly, and learned to compare and contrast butterflies and moths.

Students also explored fascinating topics like animal adaptations including mimicry and camouflage, discovered how butterflies act as important pollinators, and practiced symmetry through art and math connections. We took a journey to learn about migration, including the Monarch butterfly’s connection to Día de los Muertos.

Our young scientists even investigated the world’s biggest and smallest butterflies, identified species common in Alabama, and discussed how butterflies protect themselves from predators.

This project combined science, art, literacy, and cultural studies — helping students see how curiosity can take flight, just like a butterfly!

Have you wondered what the beginning of our Nation was like? Join 2^nd grade in a journey back to the inception of our Nation. Tour the Highlands School Colonial America Museum and discover how to navigate a 17^th century merchant ship, life in Jamestown, Virginia, and Plymouth, Massachusetts. You may even learn more about crafts and trades of the times. Additionally, you can explore the relationship between Native Americans and the colonial settlers. 2^nd Grade students will be happy to guide you through the museum and share their expertise.

The 3rd grade students have been exploring the essential question, “What makes an animal well suited to life in Alabama?” through their Animals of Alabama project. Throughout this project, the students have participated in hands-on explorations to discover how animals are classified and to learn about their traits and adaptations. They have heard from guest experts at the Birmingham Zoo and the Alabama Wildlife Foundation to learn about various Alabama animals, and they have visited Ruffner Mountain to experience the woodland habitats that are prominent in Alabama and the types of animals adapted to live here.

4th grade has practiced their research skills this Fall to become experts on ENERGY while answering our Essential Question, "What is energy and how does it impact our world?" Through their collective research, students now understand Einstein's Law of Conservation of Energy. Students recognize that although the energy in the universe is constant, energy is constantly changing forms and being transferred.  Fourth grade students chose energy topics such as: atoms, batteries, stored energy, electrical circuits, nuclear energy, static electricity, potential and kinetic energy, geo-thermal energy, energy in nature, chemical energy, fossil fuels, EV cars vs. gas powered cars, renewable energy, mechanical energy, sports energy, human body energy, sound energy and light energy.

The 5th grade fall project is focused on community support organizations and the essential question: Who in a community is vulnerable or marginalized and where can they find support? This work started in the first weeks of school with our discussions of the main characters in the two books read over the summer, Out of My Mind and The Boy Who Painted the World. Thinking about the experiences of Melody, a handicapped girl, and Indigo, a homeless boy, led us to wonder who else in a community might be vulnerable or marginalized. We also had questions about where does the help for those in need come from and what kind of needs exist in the Birmingham area. Guest expert Meg Ford from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham told us about some of the diverse organization and resources available in our area. We learned from the United Way of Central Alabama that hunger, homelessness, mental health, senior support services, early childhood development, and youth health are some of the greatest needs in central Alabama. After reviewing a diverse selection of local community support organizations covering a wide range of needs, students chose an organization they felt an affinity for and focused on learning more about it. It is our hope that you will visit the 5th grade Community Support Organization Fair and discover an organization doing work you would like to support!

The Journey is a cross-curricular, project-based learning (PBL) endeavor in sixth- and seventh-grade Humanities and Language Arts. Journey—the act of traveling from one place to another—is often cited as a metaphor for periods of personal change and development, or for life in general. In this PBL, students work independently on one of three self-selected Journeys to design and “pack” a suitcase. They will present and expound on their suitcase creations at the project culmination.

PBL offers students the opportunity to investigate journeys that have shaped our lives, such as migration, loss, resistance, creativity, and identity. Whether reflecting on personal journeys (literal and metaphorical) or researching historical moments, students discover and participate in the three essential truths or enduring understandings of this project work:

1. Everyone has a journey.
2. Everyone’s journey is different—potentially challenging—and worthy.
3. Because the journey is a universal human experience, we have connections and can support one another along the path. 

In Phase One, students began with the October 1st Inception Activity by reflecting on the question, “What do we already know?” In small, mixed groups of sixth- and seventh-graders, students shared their personal stories of journeys, big and small, in their own lives and in their families' lives. They also shared journeys they’ve learned about in school, in their communities, and through cultural traditions and identity. Journeys about friendships, family dynamics, and actual physical journeys also informed their work in Story Circles.

In Phase Two of our project, students did an impressive amount of fieldwork on The Journey, where they were explored a plethora of resources including the personal stories of nine experts, representation in local museums, cultural festivals, and even journeys from the other side of the world expressing the anguish of war through beautiful symphonic compositions (Kakissis, Palamarenko, and Dixon, NPR, Oct. 22, 2025).

Phase Three consists of synthesizing 1) what they already know; and 2) what they learned from fieldwork. Synthesis and research are then used in the design and creation of their suitcase, which represents their own Journey. Ms. Roberts and Ms. Rohlfs-Hill look forward to seeing you at the culmination!

During the Fall Semester, students in Environmental Science have been researching issues impacting the environment on both a local and a global scale and are developing informational displays highlighting their research. As an inception activity, we began the project by observing a series of pictures of the environment (both positive and negative) while brainstorming words and phrases that came to mind with each image. We also watched an episode of the APT series Discovering Alabama, Alabama Allure, which highlights some of the incredible natural wonders of our state.  The students met with Pat Byington, a local author and environmental activist, who told us about the important biodiversity in our state. He also shared environmental success stories that have occurred here. We took a field trip to see the UAB Solar House and Sustainable Community project, where we learned more about alternative energy and ways to incorporate sustainability into our daily lives. The students then brainstormed a list of environmental issues and selected the issues they were most interested in learning more about. 

As a part of our project planning, the students developed a list of essential questions common across all the environmental issues they have been researching. In addition to these essential questions (listed below), the groups determined additional areas of research for their individual projects:

• What/who is causing the problem?
• What/who is the problem impacting?
• What are ways that we can solve the problem or that the problem can be solved?
• What might/will happen if the problem isn’t solved?
• How long might/will it take to solve the problem?
• When did the issue start?
• How long before the issue was recognized?
• Where did the issue start?
• How fast did the issue spread?
• Does this issue impact a local area, a region, or the entire planet?

Along with the list of essential questions is a set of enduring understandings that students should come away from this project with:

• Humans have impacted the environment both positively and negatively.
• Environmental Issues have an impact on humans and societies.
• Individuals can have a positive impact on the environment / environmental issues.
• There are solutions to environmental issues.
• These and related issues have impacts that are both global and local.