
Happy Mid-Autumn and Mooncake Festival!
Middle school Mandarin students made mooncakes by hand with Ms. Cui to celebrate the holiday. In China, people start preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival one week in advance. Before the festival day, people visit their hometown to reunite with family. On the day, all family members eat mooncakes under the bright moonlight. Parents buy or…

Experimenting With Density in Science
7th-grade students are learning that density is the amount of mass in a given volume. They applied this knowledge in Ms. Spaeth’s Science class by pouring liquids of different colors and densities together in test tubes and noting what they observed.

Why Are 8th Grade Students Stacking Cups?
In Math class, 8th graders used linear relationships to determine the exact number of cups it would take to reach Mr. Ranney’s height. They had to work together in organized groups to get their answers.

Houses Compete at Middle School
(Photos below) Middle school students joined different groups, called houses on Friday, named after the elements with colors given for each. They competed in fun games together, like bowling and dropping a tennis ball from the second floor into containers for points. Students and teachers will continue competing in challenges throughout the school year with…

Welcome Back to School
We’re back! The 2021-2022 school year is underway. Full of smiles we could see, even under our masks, spending time with friends, outdoor learning, and just being together again feels fulfilling.

Congratulations to the class of 2021
Congratulations to our graduating class of 2021. We held a lovely ceremony on the middle school campus where teachers read speeches dedicated to our departing 8th graders.

AAPI Heritage Month- History Shared at Opening Assembly
During Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders heritage month, our 7/8 History teacher, Chris Chiang, at our Opening assembly, is sharing a four-part video series he created about the history of AAPI communities in America. He shared the struggles, triumphs, and contributions of Asian immigrants and their fascinating stories through all four phases starting in the…

Biology and Cell Phones Merge in 8th-grade Science Class
Our 8th-grade students have embarked on a biology unit, exploring microscopic life using microscopes outfitted with phones for taking pictures and videos. The unit traces how life evolved at the smallest level. First, the students looked at water samples under a microscope to start thinking about what life needs. Then they looked at samples that…

Mock Trial in 8th Grade Social Studies
The Keys School annual tradition of a grade-wide mock trial/moot court was held last week, with 8th graders in Mr. Chiang’s Social Studies class participating. It was a virtual civil rights/civil liberties moot court. The cases the students argued were Obergefell v Hodges and Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The students…

Resistance for Justice in 5th Grade Social Studies
In 5th-grade Social Studies, students studied about resistance for justice in America. Ms. Simpsons shared: As we continue to learn about Colonial America’s restrictive social structures, we have also begun to talk about types of resistance. Students read through a variety of examples of historical figures/groups/events that resisted the social structures in place while on-campus…