Tag: dyslexia

Welcoming New Teachers

For a school dedicated to awakening genius through creative discovery, it is important to find teachers who have caught the vision and love being pushed to be their best. Our new teachers this year fit the bill. Let us introduce Ms. Melody Heath (Temple U), new teacher of science and math, Mr. Aaron Vander-Collins (Liberty U, Rutgers), our new teacher of music.], and Mr. Jabarr Graves (Chatham U) new teacher of art.

Field Trips to Finish Well

Sophia Academy’s school year is hurtling to a close. As we continue to delve into history and science, math and literature, we also take time to learn outside the classroom. This spring, our field trips included an art-based trip to the Schuylkill River and its hiking trails, a science trip to Eastern University’s planetarium and observatory, and a hands-on trip to a New Jersey egg farm where we helped care for animals and made home-made pizza.

Looking for material for a natural sculpture a la Andy Goldsworthy
Building a natural sculpture
Learning to control the telescope from the computer
Dr. Bradstreet, Astronomy professor, explains how the telescope follows the sun

Authentic, Hands-on

What is “authentic, hands-on” education? Education that prepares students with skills they can use in the adult world of 2022 and beyond. As part of Sophia Academy’s mission to awaken genius in students with language-based learning differences, we are always seeking to find ways to give our students practice with the same skills they might use as an adult.

We were fortunate to receive an award for the school as part of the Excellence in Teaching Award given to Mr. Brockman. With that award, we purchased curricula and equipment to enable students to learn design and development skills as they use tinkerCAD. Our new 3D printer has students quite excited!

J-Term a Hotbed of Activity

Creating shields and crowns, trees, and costumes

J-Term 2022 at Sophia Academy focused on writing, producing, and acting in plays and videos. After studying myths and legends of the world, one class turned a classroom into a car repair and body shop as they brought the legend of John Henry to life. The other class started from scratch, writing their own script, then creating the props, costumes, and set, and finally producing a play for invited guests. Real-world skills learned ranged from sewing to video-editing.

Standing up for the little guy

Occupational Therapy and Executive Function

You probably think Occupational Therapy works with fine and gross motor skills, helping you eat after a stroke or helping kids learn to crawl. But, oh, there is so much more. One of the areas of life occupational therapists address is that of executive function skills.  What are those? Check out this list:

Task Completion
Planning
Prioritizing                                      
Processing Speed
Self-Monitoring
Cognitive Flexibility
Foresight
Hindsight
Problem Solving
Persistence
Shift
     (and many more)
       Many people struggle in one or more of these areas.  They may find it hard to make a decision, to stay on track with an activity, or to plan and prioritize tasks in a project.  At Sophia Academy, we work to help students  overcome deficits in any of these areas. To that end, we have formed a relationship with the Occupational Therapy department at Temple University. Two graduate students from that program will complete their clinical requirements in our classrooms, helping us with everything from executive function deficits to social and emotional development to fine motor skills. Lauren and Michaela will be a part of our school one day a week until the end of their semester. Welcome, Temple OT!
    We have linked some of the executive function areas listed above to articles that provide activities to help grow in those areas. While much of it is written for younger children, any of the activities can be adjusted to meet the needs of any person from three to ninety-three.

Pumpkin Carving Comes Early to Sophia Biology Class

Comparing water samples gathered from Lorimar Park, growing mold on jack-o-lanterns, checking out crystalline structures under a microscope: these are just a few ways students put feet and hands on their learning under the direction of Mrs. Gudz, Biology teacher at Sophia Academy. Mrs. Gudz comes to Sophia after years of teaching and working in the health professions. She loves making the world of science come alive to students (and vice versa), but she especially loves the opportunity to help young men and women grow in character, in wisdom, and in favor with God.