Pinpoints Pinpoints Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 12

The Learning Center:
Oozing
with excitement
Word travels quickly – just across the hall – to fifth graders
not in The Learning Center, and that is all part of the plan.
The sink in the corner cabinet of the fourth and fifth grade
Learning Center common space is one popular spot. Dr.
Seuss would smile at the fun fifth grade Learning Center
students are having with Oobleck up to their elbows.
The heart of the ONE School project, of course, is bringing students
of The Learning Center together with their peers in Lower School and in
Middle School. The Academic Center, with its new classroom suites, does
precisely that. It does what it is intended to do.
Robin Crawford’s room is just off that sometimes-slimy common space.
Teacher of language and writing to twelve fifth graders (only four at a
time), Mrs. Crawford has difficulty containing her enthusiasm for the new
Learning Center location. She exclaims, “Because we are now part of the
Academic Center, our Learning Center students see their non-Learning
Center friends throughout the entire day, beginning when they first come
to school in the morning. This is huge. Their lockers are right here with the
other fifth grade lockers, all mixed in together. That’s important. Students
line up together for specials.” She goes on to say, “As a teacher, I feel more
a part of the fifth grade team this year. We integrate together, just as the
students do. Since we are in close proximity, I’m enjoying getting to know
all the students, not just Learning Center students.”
The new classroom design allows students to have more area than before
when using voice typing, speech-to-text, as they write. Desks on rollers give
10
freedom to move toward
individual spaces. Chrome
books with microphones
no longer pick up a neighbor’s voice,
and creative and reflective writing come more easily
now. The large, interactive wall monitor is similar to a
Smartboard.
Mrs. Crawford points out an important detail: “This
room has four walls and a door! That might not sound
exciting to some people, but this is the first time I’ve
had that since I came to The Learning Center in 2011.
It’s a huge help in keeping the noise level down.” The
room actually has two doors now, with a sliding, barn-
type door connecting to Erin Nuzzo’s room, filled with
science and math activities. It’s Mrs. Nuzzo’s students
who make the Oobleck, by the way, so why would
anybody ever want to shut that sliding barn door?