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Late last month, MDIS Grades 6-8 packed up their gear and headed to the Chesapeake Bay to Camp Echo Hill for an experiential learning opportunity. Usually planned for 6th grade students alone, this year’s trip was made extra special with the addition of the 7th and 8th graders who lost their trip to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a sleep-away camp experience, students stay in cabins with 8 of their peers, enjoy meals with classmates, participate in two 3-hour activities per day, and have periods of free time to explore camp with their friends. As a part of their ongoing science curriculum, their activities this year were primarily based around ecology and “challenges by choice”, one of the key reasons for this trip every year. Ms. Vance, MYP science teacher and leader of the annual Echo Hill experience, says that one of the main reasons this trip is so special is the way it is able “to bring any new students into the group, make them feel included and important, and give everyone a part of things. It requires a lot of communication with each other.” Ms.Vance says that her favorite part of the Echo Hill trip is getting to see students learn to believe in themselves. The camp’s daily challenges, “challenges by choice”, allow for every child to choose their own goal for each activity. A 40-foot-high rope swing might be a fun challenge for some, but for others, the appropriate challenge might be to sit on the swing, without any additional height. This is to emphasize that no personal challenge is too small to be worthy of celebration.

As school year 22-23 began, MDIS students had the chance to come together to prepare and get excited for a fresh start this year! Each grade level participated in Student Summit meetings: gatherings of students and teachers to learn about MDIS’ IB standards, socially acclimating to a new year, doing research honestly, self-management skills, and science fair details while getting to connect with peers in a light-hearted setting. Some student favorites included a group play put on by MDIS upper school teachers about self-management, and a discussion with our Administration about school dance ideas for the year. After the morning sessions, MDIS faculty and students gathered together on the Tiger Terrace to grab a slice of pizza and get to know each other.

Current MDIS families can access our MDIS Connect Google Site, which serves as our communications hub. Any information that is shared through ManageBac, our learning management system, will be curated in MDIS Connect. MDIS Connect has the following sections:

★ Home: Calendar and information about upcoming event(s)
★ PYP (Grades 1-5):  Updates and information regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment (CIA), programs, and activities
★ MYP (Grades 6-10): Updates and information regarding CIA, programs, and activities
★ DP (Grades 11-12): Updates and information regarding CIA, programs, and activities
★ Student Government Association (SGA): Events, activities, and service learning
★ Student Life: Clubs, activities, events, and Global Ambassadors Program
★ College & Career: Information and resources
★ IB 101: International Baccalaureate World School-related information
★ Resources: Important documents including the Academic Calendar, A to Z Guide, etc.

On Saturday, April 30, 2022, MDIS Celebrated its 5th Annual Earth Day Festival! We are happy to have held this event in person for our MDIS families this year and hope that we can invite our community next year. 

The Earth Day 2022 theme was Restore Our Earth: Drive Change & Make an Impact. Based on this theme, MDIS students have focused on the following topics over the course of the last eight weeks: 1) Climate & Environmental Literacy, 2) Act on Climate Change, 3) Conservation & Restoration, 4) End Plastic Pollution, and 5) Food & Environment.  The goal for Earth Day 2022 was for students to curate their learning by planning and designing an exhibit to: