Pictures From the Past Few Days

Playing Minute to Win It

The Winning Team

Playing Face the Cookie

Wet Day!

Playing hangman in writing class.

Writing Class with Teacher Rob

Lunch!

Students eating in the dining hall

Here are some Parent Comments and Suggestions!

International Ivy asked our students and families this week to fill out a survey about our program.  Here are some comments we would like to share:

Thank you so much for a fabulous summer camp/enrichment experience!  

Everyone was welcoming and warm.  B.R. has enjoyed his two weeks.  Thanks.

Different factors were important for my children.  This camp was a good balance for their different personalities.  
 

Writing Class Assignment

This is an assignment that was written by a student in writing class.  They were asked to write DURING class to write an essay compared to two poems.  This is something that would be asked of a much higher grade level because of the short amount of time, and the students did a magnificent job.

 Two Poems

By: R.G.

          These two poems, "Marvellous Travel" by Joshua Fernandez and "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, are very enthralling.  "Marvellous Travel" is about a writer who travels different places and with different things.  "The Road Not taken" is about a person who has to choose which road to take and by choosing the road less traveled by, he discovered something new.  I like :The Road Not Taken: more because the poet has to make a choice, he discovered something new, the poetic format, and the fact that he traveled through his home state. 

          There are many extra similarities between the two home state poems.  First, in both poems, the poet travels somewhere.  "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood."  According to this quite, Robert Frost is traveling on two roads in a yellow wood.  In "Marvellouis Travel" the poet travels to different continents.  Next, they both discover something in their travels.  "Watching those silently cry, Asking themselves the question why, someone left them without saying goodbye."  According to the quote, Joshua Fernandez discovers that man people are in pain and are sad.  Finally, they both are written in first person.  Accordingly, there are many similarities.  

          There are also many differences between the two poems.  First of all, "Marvellous Travel" is way longer than "The Road Not Taken" with 22 lines.  "The Road Not Taken" only has 16 lines.  Next, the author of "Marvellous Travel" would be very happy to go traveling again.  Robert Frost, author of "The Road Not Taken" would rather not go back to the worn out field.  Finally, they travel to different places.  Fernandez travels around the world in Asia, America, or Europe.  Frost stays in the yellow wood of Massachusetts.  Though in his home state, he discovered something he'd never ever seen.  As you can see there are also man differences. 

          I like "The Road Not Taken" more because of the poetic format, the fact that the poet has to make a choice, the fact that the poet discovered something new, and the fact that he traveled through his home state.  First, I like that he made his poem four lines per stanza and included a rhyme scheme.  A rhyme scheme makes this poem sound good.  Second, the poet had to make a choice.  I like when people have to make a chouce because it makes a poem or a story more suspenseful on what would happen if he chose a certain one.  Third, I like that he discovered something new by taking a different path.  Though it was worn out and he'd never come back, it's always better when you do something different.  Finally I like that he traveled through his home state an found places that he's never seen before.  It's great because you get to explore places you've never seen before vecause you always want to see the world, not your home state.  Now you know why I really like this poem.  

          I like "The Road Not Taken" more because the poet has freedom.  He has freedom to add suspense, change the poetic format, create a discovery and set the story in his home state.  I think that Frost write great poems that has imagery, suspense, and poetic format.  I learned a lot from this great poem.  

Today, we made something that looked like snow.  We used sodium polyacrylate, and water.  It was cool.  It rose a bit, and felt mushy.


Sincerely, 
N.N.

Today in Mad Science, we made fake snow.  It was soft, and you could not eat it.  We also made sound effects with different things like chains, coconuts, gloves, shoes, wooden boards, and rainsticks.  Today mad science was fun. 

Today we learned about insects.  That was really gross.  There were a lot of cool facts.  We just made some snow.  And now we are making sound effects that they use in movies.  They use them because the footsteps or anything isn't loud enough for the microphone.  They have to use different props for each sound!  I had fun! 

**S.P. 

My Week at International Ivy

My week at International Ivy was so fun,
Now it's hard to believe that it is done.
The classes were cook and the breaks were awesome,
Now I will tell you all about them. 


I had writing from nine to twelve thirty
But don't worry, I'm not that nerdy.
I wrote essays, stories, and many poems.
I am sure to share them at my home.


I had video game creation until five, 
It was a blast, and a jive.
I get to take home twelve games, 
I only get to play them cause they're far from lame. 


I had two breaks during the whole day,
I just had one so I'm like "yay"!
We did a lot of stuff like minute to win it, 
Because the counselors have so many wits.


Now that you know that camp was a blast, 
I hope next summer comes really fast.


D.G.

International Ivy

The week at Ivy 
Has been fun
With lots of lively stuff!
We had wet-day and 
Friday, and now the 
Week is done.


We played dodgeball,
Capture the flag,  and
Even duck, duck, goose!
We made new friends
but kept the old. 


We wrote short stories, 
and did study skills. 
There was rain and there was sun.
We'll never forget the fun we had
At International Ivy! 


S.B.

Writing Class - International Ivy Poem

I liked the breaks
There were many different stakes
Writing was fun
It was like playing with a machine gun.


We played a game
Which increased my fame
My robot's name is Death
You can tell by his uneven breath.


I love this class
It's a blast
I love the Ivy Points 
They're like golden coins.


This class is the best 
There is no test
When I get out of here
I'll say to my parents this class is very dear


S.S. 

International Ivy Camp Poem - Writing Class

International Ivy camp was a blast
The Caldwell College campus was very wast. 
I enjoyed writing to be better
And remember when I forgot a letter. 


Lunch was awesome in the cafeteria
Though we had to deal with heat bacteria.
During breaks we had snack outside
Though we felt like we were being fried.


Then I had Robotics class
Lego Mindstorms NXT was a blast.
Then at 5:00 we had to go
I was sad that only a few more days were left.


I had writing class until twelve thirty
I thought I might be kinda nerdy.
We wrote stories, poems, and plays
I like the poem about the horse that goes neigh.


In the afternoon, I had Robotics
The Lego Mindstorm NXT's were symbiotic.
We programmed our robots to do cool things
We are so awesome we can make it sing.


My favorite part of the day was break
There were so many snacks I didn't know what to take. 
We played different games and had so much fun
We had a great time on wet day in the sun.


R.G.

Two Articles Essay

Yesterday in Writing Class, the students were asked to read and answer comprehension about two articles.  Here is the assignment that one of our students wrote and decided to share on the blog.

Two Articles

By: R. G.

These two articles we read in class, “Sweet Corn” by Tony Earley and “Inside Alaska” by Rob Knotts, are very entertaining. “Sweet Corn” is about the author’s grandma’s delicious corn and how electricity helped her keep corn. “Inside Alaska” is about the exploration of caves in the Alaskan rainforest that has led to great discoveries. I like “Inside Alaska” more because of the exploration, the personal experience, and the location.

               There are many similarities between both articles. Both articles have personal experiences throughout the article. In “Sweet Corn,” he states his experience eating Granny’s corn. In “Inside Alaska,” he starts the article by providing his experience exploring a cave. Second, both articles have great discoveries that help humanity. “Inside Alaska” has a discovery that helps scientists uncover human history while “Sweet Corn” has a discovery that helps Granny keep corn year round. Finally, both articles have important secrets like Granny’s corn secret. According to this paragraph, there are many similarities.  

               There are very few things different in both articles. First of all, they take place in different places. One takes place in North Carolina while the other takes place in Alaska. Next, one article was about food while the other was about cave exploration. Finally, “Inside Alaska” is longer with 17 paragraphs while “Sweet Corn” has 5 paragraphs. As you can see, there are very few things different between the two articles.

               I like “Inside Alaska” for many reasons. First, I like it because they explore different caves. I like reading stories about people who explored different dangerous places and how they survive and what they find. Second, I like that the author included a personal experience. It gives a good hook to the beginning of the story and it certainly got me interested in this story. Finally, the place this story takes place is Alaska. I really like Alaska because of the glaciers and the rainforests. Now you know why I really like “Inside Alaska.”

               I like “Inside Alaska” more because of the exploration, the personal experience, and the location. Scientists found evidence of human history is Alaska, the author includes a nice touch with the personal experience, and scientists searched the Alaskan caves for evidence. This is a great summary of the article. Rob Knotts added a technique that a lot of writers forget, a hook. His personal experience drew me into the story when I first heard it. I will certainly remember to include a hook while writing.

               

Science Class

Before in science we poured water into a tornado jar.  Then we put red food coloring into the water.  Then we put glitter , and closed the cap, and shook it.  It was cool. 

Sincerely,

N.N.

Today we made tornadoes with red water and gold glitter.  We are making volcanoes with red food coloring.  The most fun part about today is making the tornadoes.  I had fun.

**S.P.

Mad Science

Today in mad science we made mini tornadoes.  First we filled the cup with water.  Then we put red food coloring.  After, we put the cap on and shook the cup.  Last we put glitter in the cup and put the cap on.  That's how we made mini tornadoes.  After, we made mini earthquakes.  We made structures and saw if it could handle an earthquake.  Last we made mini volcanoes.  We put water and red food coloring.  Last we put the volcano in water and it erupted.  Mad science was fun.

M.S.

Weird and Amazing Science

Here is a post from our international student.  Her English has become so much better!  She is always speaking and practicing her writing. 

I'm very very funny this class today.  I make a catapult.  I know triangles is a strong shape.  I like how you taught me to make a volcano.