High School Corner • September 5, 2023
Author: Caroline Lewis
Welcome back to the High School Corner! Each week the Corner will detail recent and exciting activities happening in the High School.
Classroom Bonding
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| During our first weeks of school, the High School focuses on building community, bonding with new students, and exploring real world activities and places that involve topics we will be researching and discussing this academic year. This exploration and community bonding involves many outings to different locations within Houston. Our first outing of the year focused on working together as a community to solve problems. We went to Escape Game Houston, where we split into two different teams to solve rooms. Both teams escaped with extra time left, and it was a great experience and way to connect as a group! |
The Museum of Natural Science
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| In class this year, two of our main topics of study will be Environmental Science and early US History. On our second outing of the school year we traveled to the Houston Museum district, where we visited the Museum of Natural Sciences. We visited two exhibits. The first exhibit we visited was the newly renovated Hall Of The Americas, where we took an hour-long tour led by Mr. Dirk Van Teurenhout, a curator at the museum and former SCM parent. We learned about Indigenous people both in the past and in the present and how their cultures have persevered through trials. The tour was incredibly informative and it was amazing to experience the passion and excitement for the Hall from Mr. Van Tuerenhout. After visiting the Hall of Americas, we went to the new shark exhibit where we were able to touch a variety of different sea creatures, including sharks! After lunch, we saw a film called The Great Barrier Reef, which followed the life of Jemma Craig, a woman who grew up on an island in the reef. We learned about The Great Barrier Reef, the ocean life in the area, and specifically how climate change has affected the reef and the wildlife in it. |
The Arboretum and Barbie!
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| Our first outing of our third day of activities was to the Arboretum, where we took a tour led by a member of the education team. On the tour we learned about native Texas plants and how they are able to persevere through Texas’ many environmental challenges. We also learned about the environment of the Arboretum, and the wildlife within it. After the Arboretum, we headed to a movie theater, where we had VIP tickets to see Barbie! After a popcorn-filled afternoon, we headed back to class, where groups seminared on the movie and its significance as an introduction to our Literature Seminar class.
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Casa de Esperanza
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| Our fourth outing of the year was to Casa de Esperanza, where we learned about Casa’s mission and helped the staff by putting together back-to-school kits and backpacks for Casa’s children. We also sorted food for an upcoming food drive, created activity and birthday kits, and helped prepare for upcoming events. |
Spiritual Retreat
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Our last introductory outing of the year was a unique, interesting, and spiritual experience. We visited Sister Theresa Josephine and her sisters at the Vietnamese Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate Province, where we began a new spiritual journey in the new year. Our first activity was a journaling activity, where we reflected on the four pillars of the Dominican Order (preach, study, prayer, and community), and how we could incorporate them into our community this year. After reflection, we visited the chapel where we participated in Adoration with the sisters. Once we were done, we had lunch, before heading back to the chapel for confession with Father Richard. Many of our students participated in confession and were able to feel clean and free of burdens to start the new year. After confession, we had Mass with Father Richard. This Mass was very special for a few reasons. Not only were we the only people present, but Father Richard specifically catered to us and explained all the parts of the Mass to us before we began.
We enjoyed going on all these outings, and we are excited to continue learning about these topics!
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