Living Building class

Two eager juniors are taking Living Building this trimester. Between the two of them, they may have possibly logged the most contact hours of their classmates in the Commons, extending back to their middle school science classes which were the first to be housed in the Commons. This team is...

New Teachers and Commons Courses

For the 2017-18 school year, we are pleased to introduce two new faculty members in the Commons and one new collaborative course! You can meet the new educators below and read more about the course offerings in the Commons for Trimester I.   Meet Lisa Barker, Food and Farm Coordinator....

Introducing Derrick Taylor!

We are pleased to introduce Derrick Taylor, current Nursery Red parent, to the Commons team. With the departure of Chris Hartman, we are glad to bring on Derrick to help round out coverage already provided by our Designer in Residence, Kyle Graves. Derrick Taylor has degrees in Mathematics Education and...

New Faces in the Commons

We are delighted to welcome three new teachers to the Commons this year: Chris Becker, Kevin Boyd, and Lars Kuelling. These three teachers are weaving their way into the established fabric of the building and the learning opportunities therein, as well as working closely with veteran Commons educators. Chris Becker...

Sustainable Systems Thinking– by Seth O’Bryan

Embarking on our third full academic year in the Commons means the addition of new classes and evolved approaches. Seth O’Bryan, co-teacher of the new Sustainable Systems course (co-taught with Chris Hartman) offered this introduction and scope for the course. “What does sustainability mean?  Can it be used as a...

Commons Speaker Series — Student Leaders

On Thursday, April 21, the fourth Commons Speaker Series presentation was held in the BCCE. This event featured five of the current student leaders associated with the various strands or tracks of the Commons: design and innovation; sustainability and data systems; community engagement; social justice and advocacy; and overall student...

New water fountain

Blog post written by Seth O’Bryan, Commons Co-Director and Living Building class teacher:   “Time is money,” is a popular adage I often hear.  If you have walked through the main Gallery recently, then you might have noticed the new water fountain.  It contains a motion sensor water bottle filler...

Dr. Susan Spencer of ROCSPOT returns

One of our former Commons speakers, solar scientist Dr. Susan Spencer of ROCSPOT, returned to campus on Tuesday, Feb. 9, to make new and deeper connections. In an effort to continue to forge meaningful and mutually-beneficial community connections, we asked Dr. Spencer to plug in again to share her expertise....