September 2022 - Saturday Academy at DDC!
Saturday Academy at DDC!
In this September 2022 Issue:
Spotlight on:
The Billion Oyster Project, a nonprofit focused on restoring oysters in New York Harbor, covers its summer 2022 partnership with DDC. Click here to read how students monitored water quality, interacted with marine life, and learned to solve environmental challenges.
DDC Launches Saturday Academy!
On October 15, DDC will launch Saturday Academy, its fall college prep and academic enrichment program for 9^th to 12^th grade students. This full-day in-person program will run every Saturday from 10am to 3pm until December 17 and offer four humanities courses, three STEM courses and one art class. Students will also enjoy two monthly HMB activities to foster social-emotional skills, as well as college prep class tailored to each grade. 12th grade students will receive 1:1 individualized support as they prepare their college applications.
This fall we are introducing a wide range of exciting subjects, from social movements to genetics to the arts, says Rabiyya Smith, DDC Pedagogical Specialist. We want to expand our students’ educational interests, build their self-confidence and ultimately, inspire their enthusiasm for life-long learning.
A Few Highlights:
-
African-American Protest Music: From Bebop to TikTok
-
James Jennings, Instructor. James is a Master’s Student in the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department at Columbia University.
The sustainability and historical influence of a social movement largely rests on what people are singing, says James, and their voices have the power to shape the moral trajectory of a nation. One of the main events I would like students to remember is the 1969 Black Woodstock – the Harlem Cultural Festival – where Nina Simone premiered “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black” at the height of the Black Power movement. This class will also examine contemporary issues and review the ethics of social responsibility.
-
-
Glass Half Full or Half Empty
-
Theodore Maximilian Nelson and Dennis Zhang, Instructors. Theodore, CC’24, is a computer science major and a premed student currently performing research at the Columbia Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dennis, CC’24, is a biology major researching both gene-editing and bioethics, respectively in the Columbia Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics.
Students learn best with a variety of hands-on activities, says Theodore. In this class, students learn several lab techniques focused on sequencing analysis. This cutting-edge technology in biomedical research uncovers and reads the order of four chemical bases – A, T, C and G – within a sequence, just like we read letters and words in a book, he explains. By reading the entire human genome - nearly three billion bases long - sequencing has revolutionized the study of DNA and RNA biology. Since every living cell has a different set of RNA, the objective of the course is to discover and verify previously unknown RNAs within different kinds of human cells. This course will provide students with actionable skills and offer them a lifelong vision in the medical field.
-
-
Ballet
-
Ana Dimas, Instructor. Ana is a classically trained dancer and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts High School and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She heads the Bronxville Ballet Not For Sale, a nonprofit that delivers the beauty and joy of ballet to those in need.
Dance is a discipline of study that requires the same learning processes in the classroom as science or music, says Ana. It demands self-discipline, persistence and creativity and fosters self-esteem, poise and physical confidence. College is not just about academic achievements; it is also about personal growth. Embracing fear or trepidation and trying something new is the first and best step to a full life in a broader, bigger world.
-
Double Our Discovery, Double Our Impact!
Click Here to “Change a Life”
Double Discovery Center
Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 306
2920 Broadway, MC 2604
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212 854 3897
Fax: 212 854 7457