The magic

Liliana said "It's such magic being outside with the kids - swinging on vines, looking for holes..." The K-1's are studying local animals and their homes and habitats. On Thursday they found katydids, lady bugs, and many other fascinating creatures. They made observational drawings and notes and added to their collective bank of knowledge about wildlife.

They have each chosen an animal to research through books in the classroom and on the internet with our librarian, Carol. Their joyful curiosity is fueled by forays into the school's woods.

One young researcher has chosen the skunk as his topic. He was a little worried about being sprayed and was relieved to learn there would not actually be a skunk coming to class.

Fall Festival

Fall Festival was a colorful, delicious, fun time for all. Our parents who pull it all together are just wonderful! This year we had several new features with an energy theme - we had solar and wind power from G.E. and lots of recycling information from Covanta. We also had a beautiful Indian dance performance about the cycle of energy and the environment.

Plus the bounce house, climbing tower, face painting, the cake walk, and many other kid-friendly favorites. Exploring the new trails was also a big hit. The beautiful day lent itself to a very successful Open House, too!

Thanks, everybody!

MICE

Make It Clean Everywhere! That was our charge this morning. As part of the school's culture of responsibility and respect, we divided into 12 mixed-age MICE teams to dust, sweep, wash windows, and tidy up common areas of the school. We used vinegar water for cleaning and wore rubber gloves where needed. Laura Mandelson our Director of Admission and Development was the "Big Cheese" doing observational evaluations (do you see the word "value" within evaluation?)

Each team has a name that means mouse in a foreign language. The kids were diligent workers! One team finished early and pitched in with another team. Boy, do we look sparkly now!

We sang our MICE song. George wrote it, with a tune similar to the Beatles "Across the Universe," you can sing it too!

Mice, Mice, make it nice
Do your share and show you care
Pick up, clean up, take the time
Do your part and make it shine
At Parker School where neatness rules
Cleaning up is always cool...

Day on the River

Snapshot Day on the Hudson: collecting water samples, testing for turbidity, salinity, and chlorophyll, identifying fish, sketching the view...Our 2-3 and 6-7 classes worked together in teams to gather data for this Hudson River estuary project. They will go back several times over the course of the year to compare their data. But today they were part of a larger effort sponsored by the Department of Conservation to celebrate the river and the unique estuary right in our own backyard. Click here for all the details about this project.

It was a beautiful fall day and everyone was mucking around in waders and boots. Parents helped man the stations. One comment I overheard was "This is the awesomest day. Ever!"

We were joined by two fishery biologists and a runner who took all of our data to a central collection point.

Other happenings today at school: Apple picking field trip for Pre K; 4-5's premiering the new cleaning song "Mice, Mice Make it Nice!" 8th graders watched a Spanish film and yesterday K-1's had a chicken visit in class!

The reward

K-1's harvested their garden vegetables and herbs and prepared a harvest soup with 2-3's. There is a satisfaction about working in dirt and later eating the results! Starting a seed in a tiny cup and later finding a giant squash on the end of the vine is a wondrous experience.

This past week the school reaped the fruit of two years of work - our grant from N. Y. State for a Pilot Sustainable Energy Education Project came through! Former state Senator Joseph Bruno was instrumental in sending the funding our way. During the last year we were able to get our Energy Quest camps off the ground, begin clearing trails, and plan for energy studies throughout the curriculum.

Now we will build an outdoor pavilion classroom, revamp our science lab and add to the school's technology. We will also be able to get some of the more sophisticated materials for energy exploration. Recyclables have been great for experimenting, but our students will find even more demonstrable success with some of the science kits available.

Outreach is a big part of our future plans with exploration of energy and the environment. How satisfying to work so hard and finally see the reward!

Great day

Camp Chingachgook is always fun, no matter what. But when the weather is beautiful, ahhh...

I go up on the middle day to check on everyone and to play team building games with the teachers. "Where's my chicken?" wasn't so hard. Getting from chocolate island to peanut butter island by stepping on floating marshmallows was challenging but we did it. But turning our magic carpet upside down while standing on it - that was tough!

Many 4th through 8th graders are a bit nervous as the buses set out. It can be cold. Maybe they're kind of homesick, or worried about the food. The ropes course looked really high last year - scary! The magic of Chingachgook is that everyone has a challenge to conquer - and they do it. The staff, the teachers, and the parent chaperons are enthusiastic and the encouragement the kids give each other is really amazing. There is lots of freedom and many adventures. And the food turns out to be mac n'cheese and jello - yes!

No one is new when the buses return everyone to school. It is a great way to start to the year.

We're off to Camp Chingachgook!

Butterfly magic

Freedom to explore

There are so many images of the first full week of school. It has been beautiful - all the classes have been going outside. What a wonderful group of kids and teachers - I love the excitement they bring to learning!

From the vantage point of my desk, I see lots of big initiatives in the works. The sustainable energy and environmental science at Parker has spread into summer camp and all throughout the curriculum. Hudson River projects are in the works with 2-3's joining in a photo "Snapshot of the Hudson" day. All the classes will be adopting sections of our newly cleared trails to name, mark, map, and maintain.

We are so fortunate to have our 77 acre property and the enthusiasm of our faculty for the unlimited possibilities it brings for children. In a world where parents are reluctant to let children roam, we have the freedom to give them a taste of running and exploring in nature. It gives our students confidence and enthusiasm that is a rare by-product of most elementary schooling.

Learning all the new names

On Sunday we had a community Work Day. Many families and teachers came to mulch the playground, pull weeds, wash windows, organize and rearrange the After Care room, and trailblaze. We pulled some downed trees from the woods to be split for bridges over the creeks. I so appreciate everyone's efforts - taking time from a beautiful day to work at school is giving indeed!

Today the preschoolers arrived for their first full day at school. They look very excited to explore and play with friends. Climber Goldie Cutie, the hamster, is back and subject of much scrutiny. I love this picture of two carpenters - one being Snow White. I heard one little girl ask politely for a friend to move so she could get through. "My Mother told me to use my manners, so I did."

I heard gales of giggles coming from the music room. K-1's were learning a name song accompanied by our new music teacher on guitar. 8th graders in Spanish class tried to trick the new teacher by switching names. Some things in middle school never change!