Megan Wagner-Flynn visited The New School, not as Evan’s sister, but as a Mystery Guest! The students guessed that she was here to share about her experience as a former student at The New School and they were right. Megan brought 3 of her end of year gifts she received. She shared the meaning of Read More >>
Writing Workshop – The Elements of a Good Story
A small group of older students have been discussing the important elements of a great story. First we considered setting and the children created a drawing or map of a place or setting that intrigued them. The following week we discussed character and the importance of considering the inner as well as outer traits of Read More >>
Book Club: Two Tickets to Freedom
The oldest students have all read Two Tickets to Freedom: The True Story of Ellen and William Craft, Fugitive Slaves by Florence B. Freedman. This has been part of their social studies unit on the Civil War. After completing the assigned reading, they met in small groups to discuss questions that not only exercised their comprehension Read More >>
Lego Class
In Lego class we have been learning about simple and powered machines using hands-on activities. We investigated structures and forces, incorporating both rigid and flexible shapes in our deck chair and drawbridge. Applying principles we learned about levers, we made a drumming machine and windshield wipers. Attaching a motor provided opportunities for further exploration. After Read More >>
Vanessa Johnson, Mystery Guest
Our storytelling unit has begun! The gifted Vanessa Johnson kicked it off as our fifth mystery guest. She started her presentation with a clever interaction between herself and three future generations, played by our own Glady, Frannie and Lola! Artfully she demonstrated how stories are passed on from one generation to another and how we Read More >>
Sam Van Aken and his Tree of Life
On Thursday, October 30, Sam Van Aken was our third mystery guest of the year. Sam created, using grafting, a tree that can bear 40 different kinds of stone fruits. The children asked their yes/no questions and quickly determined Sam had come to share something about trees. But then we challenged them, in the remaining Read More >>
Margaret Bourke-White Field Trip
On Thursday, October 16, 2014, nineteen of our oldest students visited Syracuse University’s campus to view Margaret Bourke White’s exhibit of 180 vintage photographs taken in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Germany, England and Italy in the 1930s and 40s. Prior to our field trip, Andrew Saluti, Assistant Director to SU’s Art Galleries, visited The New Read More >>
Geometry
Our 5th graders have been working on all facets of geometry lately. They started with reviewing polygons during class and individual time on their contracts. They played games such as: Guess My Rule and Get it Together Polygon 1-4. The challenge lately has been measuring all types of angles using protractors. An angle hunt around Read More >>
Place Value Fun
Seven 3rd and 4th graders have been working hard in a place value class that has also integrated multiplication. We started with talking about skip counting on the 100s chart and what numbers would land us exactly on 100. We learned that 100 has the factors of 1, 100, 2, 50, 4, 25, 5, 20 Read More >>
Xerox – Learning to Read
To assist children learning how to read, we offer small group instruction that focuses on the six syllable types. Using Road to Reading, and Wilson Language,each week children receive instruction that meets them at their instructional level. Typically children meet in small groups with a teacher three or four times a week for 20 – Read More >>