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Alumnus, Brennan Zimmer Volunteers at The New School

Alumnus, Brennan Zimmer is volunteering at The New School on Mondays. He is coordinating our first chess club. Twelve children expressed an interest, so Brennan will alternate working with 6 children each Monday. Brennan is currently a student at OCC and working at Price Chopper. What a treat to have him back in our classroom after all Read More >>

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Highland Forest

Twice a year the whole school spends two days camping in Highland Forest. This outdoor adventure provides us with a wonderful way to get to know each other better and to share in the delights of nature. Our two days are full of hours playing by the pond, catching and releasing critters, hiking in the Read More >>

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Investigations

Investigations is scheduled every afternoon from 1:30pm until 2:25pm. Most children will say this is the best part of the day, running neck and neck with gym or outdoor play! During Investigations children are offered a choice of activities. If all their “contract work” from the morning is complete they can sign up for one Read More >>

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Apple Picking at Beak and Skiff

Thanks to the Brower family, we now have our own school van. Transporting ten children at a time, we went on our first field trip of the year to pick apples at Beak and Skiff. The apples we picked were then the main ingredient for some delicious recipes the children cooked during Investigations at school. Read More >>

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Gift Giving

Our last day of school is magical. No other way to describe it. Each child is read a letter which celebrates an accomplishment of the year. The whole school listens. Then each child is presented with a gift – a box which illustrates the letter. No two children are the same. No two letters are Read More >>

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Industrial Revolution

The older students collaboratively drafted a letter to President Obama voicing their concerns after the garment factory tragedy in Bangladesh. We are waiting for a response… June 1, 2013 Dear President Obama, We are sending you this letter to express our upset and distress about the families of the more than 1,000 victims of the Read More >>

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Architecture 101

Paul Otteson, Alaira’s father, came to the New School to share a strangely beautiful student architectural model in balsawood to introduce the underlying structure of a building. The students were fascinated to learn about joists and studs and to think about placement of windows and doors…

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Mystery Guest: Ruth Heller

Ruth Heller gave us so much information about her healthcare workers’ union, 1199SEIU, which we could relate to our study of the industrial revolution. We had great questions and comments as we thought about workers’ rights past and present and other human rights the union supports.

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Microscopes

Our nine oldest students are participating in classes on using a microscope and making slides.  To start off this class and after watching a video on the parts of a microscope, students were paired and asked to find those parts on their microscope – which were all different from the video!  This was more challenging Read More >>

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Creating a Nature-Classroom Interface

Creating a Nature-Classroom Interface. By Emily Martin  To synthesize their knowledge of biomes, the 3rdgraders at TNS along with the 1st and 2nd graders were involved in a lesson allowing them to delve deeper into these habitats.  Emily Martin, senior at SUNY ESF, brought to the table a lesson plan about competition in the natural Read More >>