The Class of 2015 has had a rigorous, productive and exciting first half of the school year!  The 7th grade class started with a new class novel, 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Galbis, as well as exploring the similarities and differences between different types of government.  The novel was only the stepping stone which led to researching current countries in turmoil around the world.  Students from ACS were paired with students from Lady Liberty Charter School, and started collaborating to answer questions about the novel and current events via the internet.  Teachers were able to display responses using padlet.com and engage in whole class discussions based on the answers.  This was only the beginning to the literary journey! Current events, writing objective summaries and lively classroom discussions, through SKYPE, with the other school led to powerful learning.  The venture ended with a live meeting with the author, himself, and the amazing opportunity for both sets of students to meet in person.