Girls who have the will, have the ability, especially in Upper School faculty member Meghan Ward’s Marine Biology class! To best help her students continue their study of Chordates and Fish, she replicated her planned classroom lesson: a dissection. “The girls dissected sharks before we left, and then I posted videos of me doing the rest of the dissections for them on the Learning Commons,” noted Ward. “Today’s lesson was on bony fish, class Osteichthyes. It was so nice to be able to show the girls via Zoom the parts of the fish. Even if they were not getting their hands dirty, I think they appreciated getting to see what we were learning about.”

Logging in from their home study spaces, students created their own sketches as Ward talked. “Meeting as a class, even if it is online, helps to maintain the Ashley Hall community, as well as model more of a normal classroom environment,” Wickie Fort ’21 pointed out. “Mrs. Ward’s virtual dissection gave us the opportunity to ask her and each other questions if we were confused. Being together in our class helps things to feel more normal during this strange time, and I always look forward to seeing Mrs. Ward. She is so positive and inspirational and always brightens my day! I value all the virtual classes I have, and I am so excited for our next Marine Science Zoom!” Ward echoed her students’ positivity. “It is hard to teach a lab science distance-style, but we are making the best of it, and I hope to be able to do more interactive Zoom lessons,” said Ward. “Collaborating with the girls via Zoom gives them a chance to ask questions and feel more connected to the learning.”