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Biography Book Club

Students in this book club read a biography of their choosing over the summer.  When they returned to school this fall, they had to answer questions about their biography and create a poster advertising a speaking engagement by the subject of their biography.  Students then had to write a paragraph summarizing the book and create Read More >>

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Habitats

                Students in Kindergarten through second grade have been learning about habitats and the different species that live in them.  So far we’ve read “A House for Hermit Crab,” written by Eric Carle as an introduction to what a habitat is.  We’ve compared our own habitat to Hermit Read More >>

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Hope in my Heart

               Four children have been reading “Hope in my Heart,” a diary written by Kathryn Lasky from the My America series.  They have been developing new vocabulary using context clues to help understand words we aren’t sure of.  Each class we have a discussion to ensure comprehension.  The novels they’ve Read More >>

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Writing Workshop using Wordless Picture Books

             Third grade students have been discussing the stages of writing and practicing prewriting and drafting.  For the first prewriting class we created a story map as a class using a picture book without words.  This gave the students an opportunity to see how to begin writing a well organized story.  Read More >>

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Human Body

Students in all grades have started exploring the human body. We begun by studying our skeletory system. All of the classes started with a jump rope activity where they explored what moved when they jumped. This led to a discussion on the “hard” things inside our body that we can’t see, but know are there. Read More >>

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Lyle the Crocodile

Students in Kindergarten and First Grade are exploring the fun of Bernard Waber’s loveable crocodile, Lyle. Each week we read a Lyle book and then draw and write about one part of the book. Students love predicting what will happen in the story from the pictures, discussing vocabulary and drawing their own pictures for each Read More >>

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Highland Forest in October

Twice a year the students at The New School camp out overnight at Highland Forest. It is a magical two days at Pines Camp. On Thursday night parents join us for a potluck dinner and songs around the campfire. On our Thursday hike, after reading a book about birds nests, we challenged children to create Read More >>

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Play at The New School

At The New School we value “play.” Twice a week children enjoy a half hour of free time during gym. Three times a week we play cooperative games. During free time children enjoy many different activities. Children need this time to independently develop creative games and projects. The “building craze” started about two years ago. Read More >>

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Family Picnic September 2012

At the end of the first three days of school new and returning families traditionally gather for an informal potluck at Ryder Park, Dewitt. While the children climbed, slid and swung on the playground, parents and teachers had a chance to get reacquainted. Towards the end of the picnic parents introduced themselves and shared their Read More >>

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Salt Museum Field Trip 2012

The whole school visited The Salt Museum which is located in Onondaga Lake Park. This is without doubt one of the best local field trips for elementary school children. Ghost Maggie brought the history of the Salt Industry in Syracuse to life with her humor and knowledge. Ghost Maggie introduced the many ghosts (played by Read More >>