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Student Perspectives

Four Things I Love This Year About BASIS Independent Brooklyn

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by Fauve T., 7th grade Student Ambassador

Our Student Ambassadors Program is a way for students to help share their perspectives on our school and the broader community. One of our 7th Grade students volunteered to create a blog post featuring what she loves about this year so far. 

1 – Classes are challenging, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. Chemistry is one of my hardest subjects, yet my teacher Ms. Susanto finds ways to make it exciting too. One day we figured out how many fingernails we would need to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Many of my teachers are approachable and make jokes during class to keep us focused. The teachers also have student hours where they can answer many of your questions in an informal setting.

2 – Through the school’s system of mixing up the classes every year, I’ve expanded my friendship group and got to know so many new and amazing people. I was still able to see some of my friends from last year, who I was worried I would never see again, through electives and school activities. Today I have so many friends with different backgrounds and interests who have also inspired me a lot.

3 – This year I’ve found that there have been so many more opportunities to get involved with the wider school. The student programs the school has provided to us, like the National Junior Honor Society, Math Club, and Student Ambassador, have all helped me to feel welcomed and a part of the bigger community. [By the way, I’m not part of the Math Club even though my parents wanted me to. I am presenting it as an example. Maybe next year :)]. I particularly like being a Student Ambassador because I get to answer some of the questions I had myself going into Middle School for other kids, and now that I can answer them too, I can support the School. I am looking forward to Shadow Days, which I didn’t do as a prospective student, but it’ll be really great for new students to show them around the School and let them know what an actual day in our community is like.

Middle school hallway

4 – Learning the more advanced curriculum gives me a sense of satisfaction and a feeling that I am better preparing myself for my future no matter where I take it. Right now, I’m considering going into animation, becoming a scientist, being an actor, developing games, or becoming an author. No matter what I will end up doing – the classes, the teachers, and the friendships at BASIS are setting me up for success, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here.

Thank you, Fauve for sharing your thoughts and experiences. If you want to learn more about our school, we have a series of admissions events throughout the year to consider.

  1. Classes are challenging, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. Chemistry is one of my hardest subjects, yet my teacher Ms. Susanto finds ways to make it exciting too. One day we figured out how many fingernails we would need to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Many of my teachers are approachable and make jokes during class to keep us focused. The teachers also have student hours where they can answer many of your questions in an informal setting
  2. Classes are challenging, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. Chemistry is one of my hardest subjects, yet my teacher Ms. Susanto finds ways to make it exciting too. One day we figured out how many fingernails we would need to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Many of my teachers are approachable and make jokes during class to keep us focused. The teachers also have student hours where they can answer many of your questions in an informal setting
  3. Classes are challenging, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. Chemistry is one of my hardest subjects, yet my teacher Ms. Susanto finds ways to make it exciting too. One day we figured out how many fingernails we would need to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Many of my teachers are approachable and make jokes during class to keep us focused. The teachers also have student hours where they can answer many of your questions in an informal setting

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a private school serving students in PreK through Gr. 12. Please join our interest list for updates, event information, and more.Click here to join our interest list!

A Day in the Life: Grade 4 with Nitya S., Class of 2031

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Our Day in the Life series for this school year continues with Grade 4 student Nitya, Class of 2031!

Grade 4 students travel from classroom to classroom with their Learning Expert Teacher (LET). This is the last year they have an LET as their Grade 5 year helps prepare them for our Middle School Program. They have eight classes a day with their Subject Expert Teachers (SET), a mid-morning recess, along with their lunch and recess time. Their first class of the day begins at 8:00 AM and their last class ends at 3:35 PM.

Nitya begins her day in Morning Meeting with her Learning Expert Teacher,Nitya Meeting (LET) Ms. Kato. In Morning Meetings, students will receive school announcements, reminders about upcoming events, and review their social and emotional concepts for the day through the Second Step Curriculum.

Nitya’s first class of the day is English! She has English five times a week with her Subject Expert English Teacher (SET) Dr. Ubellacker. This course focuses on four major components: reading, writing, conventions, and scholarship. In reading,
students will be able to recognize basic genre differences and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of texts by
identifying the main idea. In writing, students will also be able to produce short fictional and nonfictional written works, demonstrate mastery of basic paragraph organization, and respond to text-dependent questions by providing specific textual evidence.

Next, Nitya heads to Performing Arts with her SET, Ms. Fisk. Nitya has all her Fine Arts courses – Performing Arts, Music, Engineering &Technology, and Visual Arts – twice a week. This course will encourage students to build upon their performance arts vocabulary as they engage in scene work, improvisation, and pantomime. Students will expand their knowledge of theatrical styles as they explore melodrama, commedia dell’arte, and shadow puppetry.

Subject Expert Drama Teacher, Ms. Fisk, works with students in a circle sit down

After Performing Arts, Nitya has a quick recess break. Grade 4 students have a mid-morning recess every day.

Nitya HistoryThen it’s on to History class with SET Ms. Mokhber Shahin! This course is held every day and is designed to introduce students to social studies and history as discrete subjects within the humanities. Students will begin developing important skills needed to understand and think critically about the past and present. These skills include analyzing primary sources, close-reading non-fiction material, connecting historical events through chronology and cause-and-effect relationships, and evidence-based writing. Students will practice and apply these skills while exploring historical topics such as state and local history and the history of the 20th century. Students will also survey different ways of investigating the human world through archaeology, geography, and government.

After History, Nitya heads to Math with SET, Dr. Xue. Dr. Xue’s goal is for students to gain knowledge of foundational mathematics by focusing on five key areas: operational thinking, number sense, measurement and data, geometry, and mathematical practices. Students have math class five times a week.

Dr. Xue (SET) and Ms. Kato (LET) work together to check student work

Finally, its lunch time! Grade 4 students eat their lunch in our multipurpose room before heading outside to the field for recess. Their lunch period is 40 minutes long.

When Nitya gets back from lunch, it’s PE time! Nitya has PE & Sports with SET, Coach Hicks four times a week. Today they are out on the baseball fields practicing hitting and catching. Nice swing Nitya!

Nitya cracks one past the pitcher’s mound while her classmates wait for their turn to bat

After being on the field for PE, it’s back to a classroom for Mandarin with SET, Ms. Han. Nitya is a new learner of Mandarin so she is in a non-heritage class three times a week. This course is designed to help our primary students learn Mandarin through lessons that are rich in oral language, interactive, and project-based.

SET Ms. Han reviews a quiz with students

For her last class of the day, Nitya has Science with SET, Ms. Martosoetjipto. This is her last class of the day every day of the week. This course is designed to teach essential science topics, as well as organizational and study skills. Science topics include ecology, biology, chemistry, and physics along with the scientific process. This course is taught with the use of hands-on approaches, investigations, and inquiry as much as possible.

Ms. Martosoetjipto, SET, review the lab guidelines before the groups can start their project

Thank you to Nitya and her family for allowing us to document a day in her life at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley Lower School!

BASIS Independent Silicon Valley is a TK – Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings.