Immersive
1
Exhibition Wednesday January 26, 2022
Dear Students, Families, and Friends, The Bay School students have been steeped in their Immersive courses for the last three weeks. The Immersive term culminates in an exhibition, normally an in-person community event that allows students to showcase their learning to a broad audience. Exhibition continues to be virtual this term, and we hope that parents, guardians, friends and supporters will join us to celebrate the students’ work. This program contains brief descriptions of Immersive courses and their exhibition plans. Details about each course’s exhibition time and specific student presenters can be found on the schedule of events, a live document that may be updated until Exhibition begins. Student details and links can be found in the “Links, Rooms & Details” tab at the bottom of the sheet. We welcome you virtually to Immersive 1 Exhibition and thank you for joining us! Enjoy!
9th Grade ASSEMBLING SAN FRANCSICO: GEOLOGY OF THE GREATER BAY REGION This is a field-based physical geology course in which students explore the rocks, hills, and waters of the greater San Francisco area. A principal goal is to build students’ confidence and competence in their observational skills and to help them get a sense of how to ground themselves in the literal context required for scientific research. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to view their presentations on all things geologic: from the history of Hawaii, the Alps, and Yellowstone to an exploration of transform faults, salt, fossils, and Earth’s layers. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A.
THE BIOLOGY OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS How can we use current biological research to understand how to build a happy and healthy lifestyle? This course introduces students to the biology of the human body, with a focus on how exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress affect biological processes. EXHIBITION Based on research and experimental results, students will present their findings about best practices for food choices, sleep patterns, activity requirements, and daily habits that optimize biological functioning.
CALIFORNIA NATURAL HISTORY California is a biodiversity hotspot: one of a number of places on the planet supporting particularly high numbers of species that are not found anywhere else in the world. This course introduces students to the science of ecology and methods of quantifying ecosystem services, with a goal of inspiring stewardship of California’s natural communities. EXHIBITION Students invite you to view their creative displays. Each focuses on a particular ecosystem, the climate, and human impacts on said ecosystem. Presentations will be followed by a student-hosted Q&A.
DESIGN 1A Every human-made object we interact with on a daily basis—from phones to cars to furniture to buildings—has been intentionally designed by a person or a team. Using the “design thinking” methodology, students in this course design and produce projects that challenge them to solve specific problems. EXHIBITION Students in this course will present physical models for two projects tackled during this course. Students will describe their models, as well as discuss the successes and obstacles they encountered during the design process.
THE GEOMETRY OF ISLAMIC ART This Immersive explores the artistic traditions that emerged in Islamic art with the absence of figural representations. Students study constructions, symmetry, and tiling groups to better understand the ways that geometry can be used to create works of art, and the ways in which art can help us better understand and illuminate geometrical relationships. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to presentations on Islamic culture and history, as well as on the technical geometric terms studied in this course. The demonstration of constructing a pattern will leave you wanting to pick up a pencil and paper!
HOW CAN WE ALL GET ALONG? How many times have we mistrusted, ignored, judged, or made assumptions about someone because we don’t understand their culture or background? Students in this course practice challenging assumptions about other cultures and formulate possible solutions supported by informed and responsible decision-making. EXHIBITION Students have each created a visual piece in observance of the International Day of Tolerance. Through this activity, students answer the essential question can we all get along? And they examine what we can do to contribute positively to human diversity.
THE MATHEMATICS OF DIGITAL ANIMATION: PIXAR MOVIES BEHIND THE SCENES How can mathematics help us to model characteristics and phenomena we observe (or imagine)? Using Pixar films as a starting point, students learn about the stages of the digital animation process, from character development to fine-tuning the details. EXHIBITION Students will each highlight a particular aspect of digital animation, including lighting, effects, character modeling, and more! Each session focuses on a different film and combination of topics, with additional connections to students’ own character ideas.
10th Grade HUMANITIES 2: SHAKESPEARE UNBOUND This 10th-grade core Humanities course seeks to answer this essential question: Why do we still read Shakespeare? Steeped in Shakespeare’s language and style, students examine various adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, from classic, true-to-the-original interpretations to those loose adaptations that permeate contemporary pop culture. EXHIBITION Students will share their adaptations of The Tempest. Groups from every class will share directing and design vision along with live performances, videos, or storyboard images of their work. If time allows, they will then answer questions from audience members.
11th–12th Grades APPLIED CHEMISTRY: BETTER COOKING THROUGH CHEMISTRY In this course, students step into a laboratory-kitchen to explore the scientific principles underpinning a variety of dishes, including exploring thermal energy transfer in ice cream, identifying the intermolecular forces involved in the creation of emulsions and infusions, marveling at the complex chemical reactions underlying cheese-making and egg dishes, to investigating the role of solubility in preparing candy. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to a live cooking demonstration during which they will prepare a dish, walk you through the cooking process, and explain the science behind the dish!
ASTRONOMY Students in this course use telescopes around the world to search for exoplanets, to find the behavior of variable stars, analyze the spectra of stars, and more. From researching their topic, to analyzing their data and purchasing telescope time, the students take ownership of their research and gain a greater understanding of the challenges and joys of being a scientist. EXHIBITION Students in this course will present research projects and posters.
BUDDHISM Course Description: The essence of Buddhism is to awaken, to be free in the midst of this changing world. Buddhist thought and practice strive to liberate its followers from clinging to notions and unwholesome states, and instead, experience happiness through skillful action and awareness of life as it is. In this course, students study the teachings of Buddhism and practice connecting these teachings to their own lived experience and to Bay’s values. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to student-led lessons during which they will help their audience understand and experience the Ten Grave Precepts. These precepts are codes of conduct that Buddhists use to develop a spiritual grounding, remain present, and guide intentions. Students will also present an overview of the Buddhist conceptions of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and virtue.
CRYPTOGRAPHY Cryptography is the science of secure communication and explores methods for sending and receiving information that can be understood only by the intended recipients. Students in this course trace the historical development of cryptographic techniques from its origins to the modern era and then engage in research on related topics of their own choosing. EXHIBITION Students will share their personal highlights from the course, each focusing on the topic that resonated most strongly with them.
FUTURES PAST AND PRESENT How did people in the past imagine the future? This class explores the history of the future through literature and film; examines the connections that link technologies like the wine press, loom, printed book, and computer; and engages in the process of “strategic foresight” to make our own predictions about the year 2055 and beyond. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to join them for a conversation with their groups, during which they will discuss their final projects, share predictions, and answer questions from the audience.
HIP HOP CULTURE, POLITICS AND PRODUCTION How should the story of hip hop be conveyed and remembered? In order to be culturally literate, it is important to understand our society’s musical forms of expression and how they help to tell the American story. This course delves into the historical context of hip hop by examining the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, Jamaica, and the evolution of dub music, as well as the socioeconomic conditions of the South Bronx. EXHIBITION The culminating experience of this course is a collaborative song that incorporates historical context, four elements of hip hop, and the production skills students acquired in this course. Join us for live presentations!
IMMERSIVE ART STUDIO What is it like to live the day-to-day life of an artist, working feverishly in one’s own studio, gradually assembling a body of artwork for a gallery exhibition? Rather than placing emphasis on the “how-to,” this advanced studio course encourages students to dig deeply into their own art— experimenting, refining, assessing, reworking, and then fine-tuning, while working toward a culminating exhibition. EXHIBITION The artists in this course will hold a private remote viewing of their final art installations for friends and family. Bay community members can visit the exhibit in person from 2 to 2:40 p.m.
THE MODERN AMERICAN FAMILY How do various representations of family structures/dynamics help us understand our own definition of family and our role in it? This course examines different family structures and dynamics through American visual art, literature, television, film, and various forms of nonfiction. Exposure to the different interpretations of family encourages students to understand their own family makeup and their place in it. EXHIBITION Students in this course invite you to group presentations that each examine a different thread of the course, followed by a Q&A.
POVERTY AND JUSTICE Why are some people wealthy while others are homeless? What can be done to solve the homelessness crisis? Focusing on homelessness (or houselessness) in the Bay Area as a case study, students become more familiar with the economic and social structures that exacerbate an increasingly dramatic gap between rich and poor. Students reflect on their own relationship to economic class and explore strategies that individuals and communities have used to address the issue of homelessness/houselessness. EXHIBITION Students have investigated root causes of inequity related to housing, food, and education in the Bay Area. They will present their findings, and make recommendations on how the Bay School community can support an existing effort/organization/initiative that is working for social change.
THERE, HERE: THE PROBLEM OF PLACE IN NATIVE LITERATURE “There is no there there,” Gertrude Stein wrote of her native Oakland, California. Nearly a century later, Oakland-based author Tommy Orange illustrates one of Oakland’s many “theres” in his brilliantly narrated saga of the urban American Indian experience. Taking Orange’s novel There There as its central text, this course expands into an exploration of indigenous history, culture, and representation. Along the way, students map their findings: what theres have you stumbled upon now that you’re here? EXHIBITION Students invite you to the “epilogue” of our course: modeled after the prologue of the novel There There, students found and wrote about artifacts that exemplify contemporary indigenous experiences.
thank you for joining us!