Streaming Graduation

May 19, 2023

McGuffey’s Graduation and Moving Up Ceremony will be streamed on our YouTube channel starting at 6:00pm.

Posted in alumni, High School

2023 Trivia Night

April 6, 2023

Trivia Night had a triumphant return! Parents, staff, and McGuffey friends gathered in teams to raise money and have a fantastic time. Themes included Fast Food, Mardi Gras, The Addams Family and more. The brand new Fancy Pants Bake Sale brought in over $1,000 on it’s own!

We are grateful to the following bakers for donating their delicious treats to our first annual Fancy Pants Bake Sale: Bigham Artisan Breads and Pastry, The Oxford Donut Shop, Dairy Queen, and Kelly’s Bakery. Thank you also to parents who baked and donated goodies.

Until next year and save the date: February 3, 2024!

Posted in fundraising, Uncategorized

High School Sewing Projects

February 13, 2023

McGuffey High School students have loved visiting our next door neighbor, Thread Up Oxford, which has an abundant supply of fabrics and sewing notions. Students are inventing new projects every week with their inspiring finds while learning how to use a sewing machine and hand sewing techniques.

Posted in art, High School, practical life

Glen Helen, Day Two

February 10, 2023
We are very, very hungry and waiting is hard!
Talking about rocks.
The Geology hike begins!
One trail group under the rocks, one trail group above the rocks.
Hi!
Thinking about aquifers.
The Yellow Spring.
Photographing water running under the rocks.
What made the “potholes” along the river’s banks?
Friendship bracelets.
Shelter building.
Football behind the dorm.
When you bring the same book to read, you are book twins. :)
Can you catch a tennis ball with your feet? The answer is yes.
Campfire stories.
Posted in field trip, Middle School, Upper Elementary, upper unit

Glen Helen Activities

February 9, 2023
Primary and Lower gave us a grand send off!

Glen Helen food is talked about all year, and was just as delicious as we remembered.
Settling into the dorm.
This is a game called Sticks. Everyone here is stuck inside the hula hoop waiting to be set free.
There were many heroic rescues and spirited defenses.
This is what a very successful round of the “Camo” game at Glen Helen looks like.
Now everyone has been found – except for the student who wore camo to play Camo. 
The naturalists led students in a hilarious improv comedy session. (If you look at the window reflections in the photos you can see everyone laughing.) The evening skit program also featured lots of other student participation.
Posted in field trip, Middle School, Upper Elementary, upper unit

A Visit to TOPSS

December 6, 2022

This fall, High School students have been focusing on the United Nations Global Goals, a to-do list for the world. In 2017, world leaders agreed on 17 goals (also known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs) to help heal the climate, ensure food security, combat human rights abuses and much more. These Global Goals aim to be the solution for tackling our biggest problems.

In order to see first-hand how we can help locally with food security and compassion, High School students visited TOPSS, a food pantry and social services center in Oxford. The students learned about the work that happens to meet their mission “to alleviate hunger and support nutrition-related well-being of those in need in the Talawanda School District.” Our own Angela Trubceac, who is a part time staff member at TOPSS, was able to give guidance and involve our students in the work.

Posted in field trip, High School, peace

Chess in Lower Elementary

November 22, 2022

Lower Elementary students recently wrapped up their study of India in History. It is widely believed that the game of chess originated in India. Students learned about the two main theories about how chess came to be. After introducing chess pieces, they spent time playing. Chess is available as a free choice work, so students can continue to play throughout the year.

Posted in Lower Elementary, social studies

Catapulting in High School

November 21, 2022

High School students had a great time creating catapult experiments to study quadratic equations. The catapults were built with popsicle sticks, bottle caps, clothes pin, and a hot glue gun. Students used properties of parabolas to graph quadratic functions and identified characteristics of quadratic functions and their graphs by using a teaching tool for math called Desmos.

Students will recap the catapult project by connecting with science and engineering, finding that Catapult-like devices are sometimes used to launch planes and jets from aircraft carriers with limited runway space.

Posted in High School, math, Uncategorized

Studying Italy

November 18, 2022

As part of their exploration of Europe, Primary has been studying Italy. To celebrate, they made gelato. Ingredients were poured for Italy’s tasty ice cream into the machine at morning meeting. By the time afternoon enrichment rolled around, their gelato was ready.

While they enjoyed their taste of gelato, they invented different floors of gelato—some pretty traditional and others quite original. Everyone thought this exploration of Italy was quite delicious!

Posted in cooking, Primary, social studies

Microscopes

November 15, 2022

High School students recently used microscopes as an introduction to cell biology. They looked at different types of cells, including their own cheek cells, to observe the similarities and differences among them.

Other students had a “Chemistry in Biology” lab, in which they tested for the presence of different types of carbohydrates in various food items: green and yellow bananas, crackers, milk, table sugar, and glucose powder.

Next on the schedule is a remote lab session with scientist Dr. Qian Chen at University of Toledo who is studying the mechanisms of cell division. Students will be remotely controlling an advanced type of microscope, such as an electron microscope. All students will be involved in this experience, as they explore various microscopy techniques in their classes.

Posted in chemistry, High School, science