Back-in-School Night

Upper School parents and caregivers were invited for a glimpse of what learning looks and feels like in Penn Charter Upper School classrooms at our "Back-in-School Night" on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023 from 7-8:30 p.m.

The night included more than 30 “lessons” pulled directly from Upper School classes and taught by Penn Charter faculty and staff. Crafted by our skilled teachers, the lessons leverage interactions in the classroom to generate questions, encourage critical discourse, create opportunities for cognitive dissonance, and support meaning-making.

Also Featured: Portrait of a Penn Charter Learner

Our Portrait of a Penn Charter Learner is deeply embedded in our educational program. How this synergy happens was also highlighted during the program. Each course was connected to one element of the Portrait to allow attendees to experience how the Portrait plays out in the schoolhouse.

An optional light dinner provided by the Upper School parent chairs was available prior to the event.

Back-in-School Night Courses

Analyzing Cultures: Products, Practices and Perspectives

Approaching Medical Decisions

Teacher

Tom Rickards

Subject

Biomedical Ethics

Course Description

We will imagine that we are on an ethics panel in a hospital. We will present you with a number of medical cases to review and you will need to come to a consensus on a recommendation to either the health care provider and/or the patient. We will then discuss different philosophical approaches to ethics and what types of reasoning your panel used in making a decision.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Compassionate Friend

Chlorophyll and Light Absorption

Teacher

David Nichols

Subject

Advanced Biology

Course Description

During this lesson we will briefly discuss the ability of plants to absorb light at specific wavelengths during photosynthesis and then extract chlorophyll from a common plant such as spinach or wheatgrass. Once extracted, the chlorophyll can be scanned in the classroom using a piece of equipment called a spectrophotometer, and the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll can be viewed and measured.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Civil Disobedience and Unrest

Teacher

Sharon Ahram

Subject

Peace, Justice and Social Change

Course Description

How are acts of civil disobedience and Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence still used today? We will compare and contrast civil rights movements in the 50s and 60s to current day movements. We will discuss the impact of youth organizing to bring change around the world.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Change Cultivator

Collaborative Poetry Illumination

Communicating with Mathematics

Cryptology

Deal Makers and Deal Breakers

Teacher

Emma Cohen-Westbrooke

Subject

9th-Grade Health

Course Description

9th Grade Health’s unit on relationships focuses on understanding what makes a relationship healthy, unhealthy, and when a relationship moves from unhealthy to abusive. In this lesson, participants will define the concepts of “deal makers” and “deal breakers” and assess what qualities in a romantic relationship might fall under those categories.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Deriving the Meaning of the Sine, Cosine, and Tangent Ratios

Teacher

Liz Flemming

Subject

Precalculus

Course Description

Deriving the meaning of the Sine, Cosine, and Tangent Ratios - a hands on lesson! Through measuring some angles and sides in similar triangles, together with some calculations, we will discover the concepts behind the basic trigonometric ratios. All materials and calculators will be provided - no math knowledge required other than the ability to divide two numbers on a calculator and measure segments and angles. Help will be provided if that scares you - but be a courageous learner and you will be fine!

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Energy Conservation - The Nerdy Derby

Engage Your Word Power Through Latin

Teacher

Marianne Master

Subject

Latin I

Course Description

Did you know that over 60% of English words are derived from Latin? In this lesson, you will learn how to use knowledge of Latin and English vocabulary to make connections between the two languages. Learn how to explore a word’s etymology and identify authentic and false cognates. By the end of the session, you will be able to translate simple Latin sentences by using your enhanced word power.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

Expectations vs. Reality of Women’s Roles in 17th Century American Legal Cases

Teacher

Brooke Stratton

Subject

Women and Gender in American History

Course Description

We’ll review the traditional views and legal standing of women in the early colonies as well as the reality that those norms were often overlooked or ignored. We will explore 17th century court cases that offer examples of women acting according to or outside of the ‘proper’ roles of their gender. What do these cases tell us about society’s priorities and the realities of life in colonial America?

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Heads Will Roll: How Gender Informs the Creation of Two Judith & Holofernes Paintings

House and Home

Teacher

Liz Jones

Subject

English IX

Course Description

Examining students’ experiences with house and home in order to empathize with the situation of the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun. Parents will assign homes to family members from a small selection of options. Journal writing reflection will follow. Large group discussion.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Compassionate Friend

Intensive or Reflexive?

Teacher

Peter Morton

Subject

Latin III

Course Description

“She herself” did something or “she” did something “to herself”? For native English speakers, the distinction between these two meanings of “herself” is instinctive, but in Latin they are communicated with quite different words that follow different rules. Working first in English, then in Latin, students will create rules to describe the two uses of “herself” in English and then apply those rules to Latin sentences to determine Latin’s rules for this concept.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Invent a Numbering System

Teacher

Michael Moulton

Subject

Computer Science Principles

Course Description

Build a new numbering system from scratch and use the number system to count. Jump from your numbering system to other ways of counting including Binary, Decimal, and Hexadecimal systems. See how alternative number systems make digital technologies work

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

The Integrity Tower

Teacher

Michael LoStracco

Subject

Quaker Principles and Practice

Course Description

George Fox, a founding figure of the Religious Society of Friends, emphasized the importance of “learning experimentally” when it comes to spirituality and questions of religion, by which he meant through direct experience. This lesson is an opportunity to experientially engage with the Integrity testimony through play. Hint: it involves Jenga!

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Is God a Mathematician?

Teacher

John Tralie

Subject

Calculus

Course Description

The recognition of patterns is the cornerstone of a successful mathematician. It can be asked are these patterns discovered by our civilization or hidden for our discovery by the Creator? Learners will evaluate patterns in what is popularly called “Pascal’s Triangle” but which is traceable to Islamic, Indian, and Chinese mathematics centuries before. The discovery will lead to the proof of the Power Rule of Differentiation.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

Learning and the Brain: How Teachers are Moving Research Into Practice

Teacher

Alice Bateman

Subject

Teaching and Learning Center

Course Description

This lesson will look at the emerging research about Mind Brain Education (MBE) and connect it to the craft of teaching. This engaging lesson will examine the neuroscience of learning and how teachers use this information to inform their approach. MBE concepts including the link between emotion and cognition, powerful feedback, and reducing cognitive load will be explored.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Let’s Talk About Travel!

Teacher

Israel Pacheco

Subject

Spanish II

Course Description

One of the ways for second language development to successfully take place is through meaningful communication. In this introductory class to traveling, learners will use a variety of language forms to communicate where they have traveled and expressed their preferences.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

Levittown: A Case Study in Racial Segregation

Teacher

Catherine Murray

Subject

Advanced/AP U.S. History

Course Description

Suburban communities grew substantially throughout America in the post-WWII era. Yet, the idyllic Cape-Cod homes and lush lawns obscured a reality of harassment and violence that plagued the first African American family to move to Levittown, Pennsylvania, one of the most well-known of these planned communities. In this session we will engage in a close reading and analysis of primary sources in order to understand the relationship between housing, segregation and the Civil Rights Movement.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

Macromolecule QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Teacher

Jeff Humble

Subject

Biology

Course Description

Participants will be up moving, scanning various QR codes that will prompt them with a question about carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Once their answers are recorded they will then seek out the correct answer and scan the next QR code. In order to advance, the correct answer must be recorded and located in the classroom.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Mi Familia y Yo (My family and I)

Teacher

Errol Flynn

Subject

Spanish I

Course Description

Parents will have an opportunity to use Spanish nouns, adjectives, and verbs to create personalized descriptions of their PC students. Parents will also share the descriptions they create with their peer parents and receive feedback from them and from myself. By the time the lesson wraps up, parents will have a finished Spanish product to show their students when they arrive home!

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading

Teacher

Emily Kleinle

Subject

The Literature of Food & Culture

Course Description

Students will be given a short excerpt to read in small groups. Groups will be given prompts and asked to complete close reading tasks focused on a different element (text structure, text purpose, inferences, setting, figurative language). Groups will then be jigsawed and asked to share out answers to create one complete text annotation.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator

On Being Wrong: Confirmation Bias and You

Teacher

Michael LoStracco

Subject

Theory of Knowledge

Course Description

You can’t learn anything new without being first ignorant or wrong. If that’s the case, why is it so difficult to admit either? This lesson explores the virtues of epistemic humility through understanding confirmation bias and how it can be an impediment to knowledge. In an age of polarized extremes and ideological certainties, understanding our shared biases can go a long way toward building a more civil discourse.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Center for Public Purpose Open House

Teacher

Aly Goodner

Subject

Center for Public Purpose

Course Description

The Center for Public Purpose will be open for families to visit and have examples of student experiences to share. This will include visual images of student/class CfPP connected projects, information on community partners & ways to engage, materials to share about Lehr Grant opportunities, and space and time to ask questions.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

All

Qu’est-ce Que la Francophonie? (What is “Francophonie”?)

Teacher

Allen Marianna

Subject

French I

Course Description

French, you’re practically fluent, right? Based on all of the words you see every day: baguette, café, oh là là! But why is this language seen and used all around the world from the World Cup to the Olympic Games to the United Nations? Can I identify specific places and cultures beyond France and Canada where this language is used in everyday life?

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Courageous Learner

Re-Storying Native Peoples: Intro to the Lenapehoking & “Wampum,” a Lenape Story

Teacher

Lisa Turner

Subject

American Studies

Course Description

In this session, participants will participate in a brief orientation to the Lenapehoking, or ancestral land of the Lenape, where Penn Charter currently resides. Participants will also co-tell a story shared by Chief Bob Redhawk of the Lenape Nation of PA. Participants are also invited to explore a surprise, content-related “fidgeting” activity that will build focus while also supporting stewardship of the current residents of Lenapehoking.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Change Cultivator

Social Impact Investment

Teacher

Aly Goodner

Subject

Philanthropy/Social Impact Investing

Course Description

Imagine you are a venture capital investment team and have $1M to potentially invest in 3 different companies. Which one(s) do you choose? How do you allocate? Families will be given three options and will discuss the financial, social, and environmental implications of the three companies and the potential investment. As a group we will explore te question, “Should there be a relationship between investments and values?” Following this, families will learn about local social impact investment opportunities aggregated by the past summer Philanthropy and Social Impact Investment Class.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Change Cultivator

What Now? Model Refinement in the Chemistry Classroom

Teacher

Michael Aviles

Subject

Advanced Chemistry

Course Description

In the chemistry classroom, students are regularly presented with new evidence that requires them to amend their current models. Through collaboration with peers and classmates as a whole, students in chemistry are able to develop refined models which explain newly observed phenomena. Attendees of this session will engage in a modeling board meeting and will come away with an appreciation for the hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning in Modeling Instruction.

Portrait of a PC Learner Domain

Constructive Communicator