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Harvey ninth graders have been spending a large part of their class time outdoors in their interdisciplinary course called Common Ground. Since the course strives to build the students' understanding of their place in the natural world, the community, and the interconnected landscape of learning - it just makes sense!

In September, the ninth graders explored Harvey's expansive 125-acre wooded campus to take advantage of learning opportunities in our own backyard.

The entire ninth grade class also visited Westmoreland Sanctuary in Mount Kisco, New York, for a day of outdoor education, volunteering, and orienteering. There is so much benefit to spending time in nature and nurturing our environment.

Ninth grade visit to Westmoreland Sanctuary

In mid-October, the class embarked for a morning at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah to explore its "Sonic Innovations" exhibit, a series of sound art pieces that combine natural and human-made elements.

"A big part of our Common Ground course seeks to get students to recognize the intersection between the natural and human-made components of their community," said teacher Nicole Tantillo. "So this was an excellent opportunity to explore how the artists represented that connection."

The students were split into four groups, each led by two Common Ground teachers. They spent the morning walking the grounds, listening to and reflecting on the sound art pieces. Some are interactive, such as the piece titled "Stone Song," in which the pitch of the sound produced is partially affected by the pressure of the weight of visitors who sit on the sculpture. Other pieces require visitors to simply stop and listen. A piece titled "Wild Energy" invites visitors to lay in hammocks, or sit on logs and benches to take in a variety of sounds that are typically outside the range of human hearing but had been manipulated by the artists to be audible to the human ear.

Students recorded their reflections and impressions in their journals which were discussed in their classes later in the week.

Ninth Grader Common Ground field trip to Caramoor
Ninth Grader Common Ground field trip to Caramoor