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Systemic Racism

Our children, our students, live in a world that has developed all kinds of media and ways to transmit information, disinformation, ideas, and images.  They hear the media, adults, other peers talking about events and opinions as they move through their days.  Some of these ideas are exciting and innovative, others are darker and disturbing.  Read More >>

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Rigamajig

A part of every afternoon at The New School is a time called Investigations.  During this hour children can choose between several activities:  art studio, construction materials, strategy games, or work on individually designed projects. For several years we have used Rigamajig, designed by Cas Holman of RISDE and represented by KABOOM, as a major Read More >>

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Wildflower Romp

  Our younger students joined other children on a Wildflower Romp at DeWitt Library in early June. They explored the meadow behind the library that is full of many kinds of wildflowers and were encouraged to pick all the flowers they wanted. With an assortment of art supplies available, the children used their flowers to create Read More >>

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Density and Viscosity

This spring students in eighth grade participated in a science class that explored density and viscosity.  Our class started with viewing a short video on density with water, oil and syrup. Students were then asked to come up with ten questions they had and then narrow them down to the best three.  Students then shared Read More >>

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Writing Workshop with Paul

Three of our middle school students participated in a four-session workshop designed to enhance the skills of developing writers. In preparation, the students read “War Horse” by Michael Morpurgo — a story of World War I told through the eyes of a horse. Students discussed the the book and author’s writing style, and then wrote Read More >>

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A Study of Honeybees

This spring, the students in grades 3-6 engaged in an exploratory study of honeybees that touched on their physiology, role in the natural environment, and current threats affecting their population today. We read from Gail Gibbon’s The Honey Makersto acquire some background knowledge of the life cycle of honeybees, conducted a honey tasting to analyze Read More >>

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Clarence Randall, World War II veteran

History is about real people and the places they lived. It is about their stories. Too often in the study of history, our education misses this facet. Last week our older students were part of an extraordinary discussion. One of our students told us her grandfather was in World War II. He is now 99 Read More >>

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The Great Depression Through the Eyes of Artists

The causes and effects of the Great Depression were studied through the eyes of artists Dorothea Lange, John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, a political cartoonist of the era and Langston Hughes. Children created a one-page written and visual response based on one of Lange’s photographs making connections to its historical context by creating. They listened to excerpts Read More >>

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Kate Woodle, Children’s Book Illustrator

Kate Woodle conducted a four-week, illustration workshop for the seven oldest students. Kate kicked off her workshop as a Mystery Guest for the whole school, where she described the process of illustrating a children’s picture book. To the smaller class, students had to bring a fictional story they had written. Kate showed them how to Read More >>

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World War 1

The oldest students spent three months studying the causes and effects of World War 1. The causes were complex. Students looked at world maps showing imperialism around the world prior to the war. Having identified the colonialists gave meaning to the complicated alliances that were formed prior to the war. This led to an examination Read More >>