Our 8th grade was very fortunate this year to participate in an interesting program called Crossing Boundaries. Crossing Boundaries is the Barnes Foundation’s interdisciplinary outreach program for seventh and eighth grade students. This program is generously supported by PECO and The Connelly Foundation and is intended to develop critical thinking skills by introducing students to the unique and multicultural displays of art created by the Barnes Foundation’s founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes. These displays, called ensembles, place art by artists from different time periods and geographic regions in the same wall arrangements to serve as tools for cross-cultural learning. The eighth grade took a close look at the ensemble arrangements and focused their attention on Navajo weavings. The program included two interactive classroom lessons at SBS led by a Barnes Foundation educator and a two- hour field trip to the Barnes Foundation that included a dialogue-based tour of the collection and a hands-on weaving activity. We really enjoyed our day at the Barnes, learned many new concepts and techniques and are anxious to weave in 2015!