please refer to our School Calendar.
Rhetoric
The Uphams Corner Charter School educates and cultivates
the whole child. We believe that all students
have something excellent and original within them, that each child brings
a promise to our door. Our work
is to make that promise real. This process takes incredibly hard work
from students, families and
teachers—it requires constant revision, rethinking, and a commitment
to doing the best, deepest work
we can. Only then will our students realize their excellence and be ready
for college and the freedom in
life that education brings.
Education is not only about your classes. It is about
how to make a good life for yourself and the people
around you. Our teachers are dedicated to instilling virtues of integrity,
responsibility, reflection, and action
in each of our students. This instruction calls for personal knowledge
and growth, so our teachers get to
know the students and their families well. Our families are key partners
in this endeavor, always available
for conversation and support.
Adolescents have a natural instinct to question assumptions
and to seek new answers. We see this as
our greatest asset—its the foundation for true intellectual excellence
and integrity. The study of rhetoric
harnesses this energy for academic and social ends. It isn’t just
public speaking. It’s media studies,
documentary work, MTV, and Socrates—as one modern rhetorician put
it, "Everything’s an argument," and
we’re here to give our students a voice in that discussion.
Our school schedule
The school
calendar generally
follows that of the Boston Public Schools, in order to facilitate schedules
for
families with students in the district system. Teachers and students
are all expected to devote extraordinary
energy to the life of the school;
they all, therefore, need time to pursue lives apart from it.
The school day begins with Crew teachers taking attendance and reading
the news of the day, including the
word of the day. Students spend some
time explicating the word into its part of speech, meter, definition,
valence,
and etymology. Crew teachers are also Student Advisors, students
may check-in with their Crew teacher
regarding any concerns. Seniors
use this time to apply to high schools and to prepare for graduation
when the
time comes. Many teachers follow this with extra curricular
activities such as arts and crafts, strategy games,
designing fund raisers
for charitable causes, and much, much more. At 8:30, the entire school,
including the
Principal, settles down with a book of choice for a sobering
20 minutes of silent reading.
Then at 8:55 the academic day begins with students
immersed into their core classes of Rhetoric (Literacy &
Composition),
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Latin (7th & 8th Graders only),
Music (exclusively for
Seniors), and Physical Education. Classes are
scheduled in such a way that students are able to reach their
maximum
potential in each.
• In
the daily 90-minute blocks of rhetoric, students read materials that
challenge their critical thinking
and decision-making
skills, motivating them to express their understanding by the pen or
by oration.
• This
year’s mathematics team has divided the students into smaller learning
groups for their daily 90-minute
workout, which
promises to improve their understanding of mathematics and to strengthen
their competency
as mathematicians.
• In addition,
all grades experiences a daily hour of theory and practice in the realm
of science. Students use
the scientific method to
explore the chemical, biological, astronomical, and physical conditions of the
world,
to devise possible solutions for the complex problems faced today and in the
future
• Students alternate days between social
studies and physical education for an hour of engaging learning
activities in each.
• In social studies,
as in all classes, students practice their rhetoric skills, while studying
the nature of
humanity in the past and present, investigating problems encountered
and created, looking at solutions
our ancestors developed, and making predictions
for future improvements.
• As part of physical
education, students are taught about nutrition, health, hygiene, and adolescent
biology.
These issues will continue to be addressed with a multidisciplinary approach
throughout
students' education at UCCS.
• Latin, a requirement
for the Upper House, enhances the student’s
knowledge of the English language
and prepares them for the various Latin
high schools, as it improves their second-language acquisition skills.
• Eighth graders
enjoy music, learning some theory, as well as vocal and instrumental practices.
Each year,
the eighth-grade class records a CD with a collection of their
individual compositions.
In the final hour
from 3:00-4:00, the day ends with our newly implemented electives program.
• UCCS, having always had a strict homework policy, decided this year
that if a student exhibits a pattern of
missing homework, they
are automatically enrolled in the homework club for a month, to help them
get
on
track. There they are expected to complete assignments in a
timely manner and can also get help if needed.
• Students who have demonstrated
a need for tutoring participates in the tutoring program, receiving help
in
whatever subject deemed
necessary. Teachers and college students work with very small groups to help
each
individual become a successful scholar.
• Students
who are doing well in all subjects choose from a variety of electives/clubs
to develop the other
side of their brain. Some clubs are permanent for
the year such as the peace club, the art club, the
double-dutch club, and
the ”Things That Fly” club.
There are also the soccer and basketball clubs, the
chess and board
games clubs, the music and drama clubs, and finally the research
and pen pal clubs.
Students have an opportunity to be creative or active and to show off or
develop expertise in areas
beyond academics.
The week ends with Friday Forum bringing the whole school together for
lively debate and
common inquiry about
issues facing the academic community
and the city at large. All schoolwork aims at
these public presentations.
Whether students are researching the Neponset River’s ecosystems,
explicating
Horatian odes, or producing
the best Hamlet the city’s
ever seen, they’re preparing for a real audience: their
teachers
and colleagues, who
will challenge and celebrate the work of their friends.
The year ends with June Projects. UCCS students devote themselves to a
school-wide social justice project, in
which they use the academic skills
they learned during the year to analyze and solve justice issues in the
community.
The general student body is dismissed at noon each day. The afternoons
are filled with the sixth and
eight graders participating in Portfolio
Defenses and teachers working diligently to finish the year's work and
prepare
for September. The portfolio defenders appear before a panel of three teachers,
administrators, or Board
members. These students answer questions regarding
their Portfolio and all the work they have done in the
previous two years.
The Defense is a time for great challenge and excellence. To pass to the
next grade, you
need to pass your Defense, and when students do pass, it
is time to celebrate.
