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Civil War Class Visits the Onondaga Historical Association

       The oldest group of students are taking part in a social studies unit looking at the causes and events leading up to the Civil War. This is a continuation of the Westward Expansion unit they completed last year. They have had remarkable discussions about what freedom is, what you can own and Read More >>

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Native Americans and their Biomes

 We started our unit by studying physical maps of the United States. We also looked at and discussed maps that show climate, and precipitation. Then we studied the biomes of North America and compared their boundaries to the physical map.             After reading about each biome and sharing what each had to offer in terms Read More >>

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Socrates Trial

Socrates was found innocent! At his trial at The New School, our children rewrote history. The re-enactment of the trial of Socrates marked the culmination of three months studying Ancient Greece by the entire school. To set the stage, children created a set showing the hills of Athens and the Parthenon set against Corinthian columns. Read More >>

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Lewis and Clark

Our Lewis and Clark unit began with a Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) exercise using a map showing the Louisiana Purchase. Then we discussed President Thomas Jefferson’s instructions to Lewis & Clark before they set off on their mission. Students had to take on the role of Meriwether Lewis or William Clark and write a letter Read More >>

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Mesopotamia

This fall, the middle group of students studied Mesopotamia. They began their study by looking at the differences between settled and nomadic people. Outdoors, they participated in a role play scenario in which they were nomadic Sumerians hunting and gathering food, creating shelter, and making clothes, tools and weapons. In small groups they read “If Read More >>

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Little House and maple syrup

Our youngest eight students have been having a wonderful time exploring the time period of pioneers by using Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book Little House in the Big Woods.  We started by reading a biography about Laura and then started reading her first book.  As we explored the big woods with Laura and her family, we’ve also Read More >>

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Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece has been a theme discussed by all of the children recently.  The oldest children started with comparing Greece to Mesopotamia.  They quickly discovered, from the maps we compared, that the geography had a huge influence on each civilization.  Next we looked at Greek gods and goddesses and how the Ancient Greeks’ beliefs shaped their daily lives.  Each Read More >>

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Fred Jaquin Mystery Guest

To enrich our study of the Ancient Greeks, Fred Jaquin, Association Professor at Onondaga Community College and Department Chair of the Chemistry & Physical Science Department was a mystery guest at The New School on February 12, 2014. Fred shared his passion and knowledge of the solar system and constellations. At the end of his Read More >>

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Settled Vs. Nomadic

Throughout September and the beginning of October, our youngest students (kindergarten and 1st grade) have been working on the concept of Settled vs. Nomadic. We began the topic with talking about all different kinds of homes. The students generated a list of characteristics and we began to classify the pictures. Students classified the homes in Read More >>

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Field Trip to see Hen, the Mummy!

The kindergarten, first, and second graders took a trip to Cazenovia Library to see Hen, the Mummy. Before we went, we read about mummies–how they are made and why. We also read the book I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert, by Eve Bunting, the “autobiography” of a mummy that provides the essence of life in Egypt during Read More >>