Every year children randomly are assigned another student to make a gift for. When they present their gifts they share an appreciation which explains why they made the gift. In the picture above a child is being presented with a handmade joke book. Other gifts included a board game about whales, a model of a Read More >>
Shakespeare visits
Shakespeare visited the school to share his life story, to answer questions and to listen to the older students recite their monologues from Macbeth, Midsummers Night’s Dream, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare also listened to a song students wrote and admired the replica of The Globe which they designed and built. ShakespeareWritten by Read More >>
Read Aloud
At the end of every day, we schedule time for Read Aloud. During this time a teacher reads to a small group of students. Students often choose to draw in their sketchbooks as they listen. The groups change according to the book we read. At the beginning of the year we split into two mixed Read More >>
Bruce Coville Showers Sparks of Inspiration at The New School
Students at The New School have been exploring Shakespeare, reading Bruce Coville’s adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, and of Hamlet, two of seven plays he has reworked for young readers. The Syracuse author of a variety of enticing books for children brought his boundless enthusiasm and talents to the school this week, describing the history Read More >>
Anthony Salatino is Mystery Guest
Anthony Salatino became this year’s first Mystery Guest at The New School. Tony is the choreographer of Syracuse Stage’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Our smart children were able to figure out in 3 minutes why he was at the school and then Tony answered their questions. Here are a few Read More >>
Writing Workshop: Living Forever
The fourth through eighth graders have been working on a writing piece based off the novel Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. In the story the main character is faced with a challenge to drink from a spring that could make her live forever. Students were asked to choose whether or not they would want to Read More >>
Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)
SSR is a great time for students to sit down and enjoy the pleasures of a good book. But during this time of day, there could be more than just silent reading going on! Many days you could see students reading to older or younger students, students reading to adults, adults reading to students, students listening to Read More >>
Bill Peet Author’s Study
April 17, 2011Dear followers of the famous Bill Peet,We, the following students at The New School, (Ciara, Savannah, Greer, Mae, Autumn, Alaira, Emmy, Bobby, Monae, Sam and Ace) spent ten weeks listening and discussing Wump World, Farewell to Shady Glade, The Ant and the Elephant, and The Wingdingdilly.• We liked how Bill Peet makes up Read More >>
Eric Carle Author’s Study
Recently at snack time, the students have been exploring the different styles of author/illustrator Leo Lionni and Eric Carle. The students with desks upstairs have been reading and discussing the similarities in styles of Lionni books such as Tico’s Golden Wings, Fish is Fish and Pezzettino. One of the themes that students discovered is that Read More >>
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
During Read Aloud, the 5th – 8th graders listened to “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin. In this story Min-Li, a young Chinese girl, becomes a hero as she travels to find her family’s fortune by talking to the Man in the Moon. Along the way she learns many good lessons about Read More >>