From 01/27/2024: Morgantown-based fiddler, guitarist and singer/songwriter Gray Buchanan previewing her SongSpace show at First Unitarian with Bertha and the Belles, 1/27 (7:30 pm), Shadyside.
Read the full story »Higher Achievement Pittsburgh
Higher Achievement Pittsburgh serves 5th through 8th grade students by providing a rigorous year-round learning environment, caring role models, and a culture of high expectations, resulting in college-bound scholars with the character, confidence, and skills to succeed.
As the 2012-2013 school year came to a close, we caught up with some of the mentors, interns, scholars and a program director to hear about their experiences with the Higher Achievement Pittsburgh initiative at Pittsburgh Milliones 6-12 and Pittsburgh Faison PreK-5.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 15 – Quiz Ball
Our 15th day of Radio Camp (15!!!!????) brought with it a new game called Quiz Ball–aka Cleverly-Disguised-Learning Ball! An odd mixture of baseball, Jeopardy and classroom-indoor-ness, Quiz Ball is played by two teams and conducted in 9 innings. Each player of a team takes turns answering a radio or social studies oriented question, if they answer the question correctly they get a chance to throw a ball at the chalkboard where upon three large and four small circles are drawn representing different hits. A player can either hit a single, double or triple, while home runs are represented by the smallest circles.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 14 – Microphone Review
On our 14th meeting, campers, after being taught–on three separate occasions–how a microphone works, after having built their very own microphones, were asked to reflect on what they had learned. And it was a ton of stuff: what “electromagnetic induction” is, that copper wire actually qualifies as a household item, and even how to pronounce the word “diaphragm!
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 13 – Microphone Building 365
On our thirteenth meeting, campers who hadn’t gotten a chance to test their handcrafted microphones in the past finally got their day in the handcrafted-microphone-testing sun! Kiyleaha tried out her maniacal laugh, Tiara had a shout-out for Chance, and everybody played with magnets.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 12 – Microphone Building 210
It’s hard to believe, but we are officially halfway through this year’s wonderful Summer Dreamers Academy! Today we put the final touches on our very own hand-built microphones, connected them to a mixer/speaker combo, and amplified some 6th grade voices–DIY style.
Reading is FUNdamental: Everybody Wins!
From Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh, Everybody Wins! is a lunchtime literacy and mentoring program that pairs elementary school students with volunteers from local companies and organizations to share lunch, conversation, and good books.
In Spring 2013, participants in the Everybody Wins! program at four local Pittsburgh Public Schools discussed their mutual love of books, and the benefits of reading aloud to someone one-on-one. Participating schools include: Pittsburgh Faison K-5, Pittsburgh King PreK-8, Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 and Pittsburgh Weil PreK-5
This project was made possible with support from Reading Is FUNdamental Pittsburgh and United Way of Allegheny County.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 11 – Microphone Building 101
On our eleventh day of Radio Camp, campers were asked how they thought microphones worked; “microchips,” “electricity” and “fleas on tiny treadmills” were all pretty common explanations. After recording their imaginative reverse-engineering’s, they learned about the true inner workings of a microphone, starting with what a transducer is and does. All of this techno babel then led to each camper building their very own dynamic microphone out of household items.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 10 – Technology
On our tenth day of Radio Camp we asked our campers what they thought “Technology” was. The most frequent answers were “electronics” and “Xbox 360,” but the campers soon learned that it was pretty much everything around us. After learning some scientific definitions, they then made these recordings about not only what they think technology is, but what else they would like to know.
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 9 – Posters and Radio Ball
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On our ninth day of …
Radio Camp 2013 – Day 8 – Rhythm, Tempo & Dynamics
Our eighth day of Radio Camp was crazy, super fun! We learned a slew of new scientific-y terms like: rhythm, tempo and dynamics, and we also learned how to play Radio Ball! The game is a combination of freeze tag and kickball, with a kernel of cleverly disguised learning at it’s core. Then, with Mr. Andy on drums, the campers danced the afternoon away, mirroring his drum beats and exemplifying the previously discussed terms with their footloose feet.
