<p> DaVinci SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2016</p><p>Welcome to DaVinci, a Drake High School small learning community for ninth and tenth grade. Our subjects are ART, ENGLISH, SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES and TECHNOLOGY, and our theme is “building to learn; learning to build.” </p><p>We hope this year you will enjoy the opportunity to encounter, think, design, tinker, create, and contribute in these subjects--with each other and with your teachers.</p><p>In order to prepare for our work together, and help us get to know each other better, we would like you to read *The Martian by Andy Weir over the summer.</p><p>The book is a fictitious account of astronaut Mark Watney’s struggle to survive after being stranded on the planet Mars. It celebrates creative thinking, problem solving and the human spirit. Although it is not a literary masterpiece (says Mrs. Sarkisian), it is a digestible and clearly written account of resourcefulness that will help us introduce the program. (Please be advised, the first sentence of the book contains the f- word--justified, we think, by the narrator’s extreme circumstances.)</p><p>In addition to reading The Martian, please create a response that you can share with your DaVinci community on our first full meeting day, Thursday, August 18. This response could take any of the following forms:</p><p>-a piece of writing (book review, research, reflection, poem, short story) -a work of art (drawing, painting, photo, sculpture, collage) -built object or invention -documented scientific experiment -mathematical illustration, data or chart -video or sound clip -scrapbook -map</p><p>This assignment will be an opportunity for you to show us a little bit about your interests and make a first impression on your teachers and peers. We look forward to meeting you.</p><p>-Mr. Beebe, Ms. Buchanan, Ms. Kandall, Mr. Milstead, Ms. Sarkisian, Mr. Varvil</p><p>*copies available in the Drake and public libraries, as well as at local book stores</p>