Restaurant Reviews, Chemistry-in-Cooking Projects & Nyack Seaport Field Trip (Session 2, Week 5)

Welcome to the Fifth Week of the Second Session’s Launchpad newsletter!

This week in Genre, we wrote the rough drafts for our Restaurant Reviews! In these drafts, learners covered everything—from the atmosphere and service to the food quality and even the cleanliness of the bathrooms. Along with drafting, we exchanged peer feedback, revised our work based on critiques, and recorded our first round of video reviews. It was a busy, productive, and exciting week for Genre!

In Quest, we began two major new projects.The first is Exhibition prep. This session’s Exhibition is unlike anything we’ve done before: learners will prepare and serve a full three-course meal to their families! We selected our dishes, planned our menus, and sent out invitations to our guests.

Our second Quest project is the final one of the session. Each learner chose a recipe and researched how different ingredients or variables impact the final result, then selected one variable to experiment with. For example, someone choosing a tomato sauce recipe could test how different thickeners change the flavor and texture. This project will showcase the learners’ chemistry knowledge in a hands-on and delicious way.

In Civ., we focused on the Homestead Act of 1862, a law intended to encourage westward expansion. It allowed anyone over 21 to claim up to 160 acres of land after living on it for five years. In our discussion, we debated its effectiveness and tackled questions like:

• What would be the biggest challenge when moving west?

• Would you rather live in a crowded city tenement and work in a factory, or live in a sod house in Nebraska?

These debates sparked thoughtful conversation and deeper understanding of the era.

We also enjoyed an exciting field trip this week! On Thursday, we visited The Nyack Seaport, a restaurant owned by a Discovery learner’s grandfather. We toured the restaurant, learned about its history, and heard two inspiring stories: one about the owner’s journey in building the business, and another about the career of his son, who worked as a prison cook. The stories were fascinating and gave us a meaningful look into different culinary paths.

Overall, this was a fun, engaging week full of hard work, creativity, and new challenges.Thank you for reading!

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