Tasty results of their labours

8th graders went to Hancock Shaker Village to glean vegetables on Tuesday.  Today, parent Michael Tanenblatt arrived to help them turn the assorted veggies into soup.  The delicious smells wafted through the halls - we'll freeze it  - and on Empty Bowls Night, taste the results!

River Day!

What a day on the River!!  On Hudson River Snapshot day, schools from Manhattan to Troy collect water data to share with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.  Our students collected information on water creatures, weather, tides and current, and shipping traffic, and we sketched the testing site.  We also performed tests for:
• Dissolved oxygen and temperature
• Nitrate, pH, metals and salinity
• Turbidity, plankton and chlorophyll

This year we had the added excitement of having Commisioner Pete Grannis, of the DEC observing our site, and local news channels 9 and 10 interviewing students!

This is just one of the planned data collection days for Parker 2-3 and 6-7's.  Our Stream to River, Clean Water Stewardship project continues on other visits to the Hudson, our school creeks, and Crooked Lake.  Commissioner Grannis suggested that students present their findings to a Legislative Committee - we think we'll take him up on it!
Check out the news link on YNN

Sunny Friday

Imaginative play in Parker Woods on a sunny afternoon - after a morning of apple picking.  Nice work if you can get it - And you can get it if you're a Parker preschooler!

"Stream to River" goes to Crooked Lake

Site:  Crooked Lake
Project: Stream to River, Clean Water Advocacy
Participants:  Parker 2-3 and 6-7 with Averill Park High environmental science class
Mission: To work with the high school students and practice data collection for Hudson River day on Oct 14
Quote of the day:  Averill Park High School student about Parker students, "These kids are too smart for me!"

Jammin' with George

Toddlers and babies get together with our music teacher George on Wednesdays at 11:45 in the library.  Come with - or without - a little one and  join the fun!

Forward motion

Joel '11, is generating electricity with pedal power - courtesy of a Mayer Foundation grant.  And parents, Kurt (Sophia '17) and Doug (Chris '20), along with science teacher Kate Perry, are getting preparations just right for the pavilion site.  Receiving our final check for our NY State grant has allowed us to move full steam ahead on constructing the outdoor classroom and ordering new computers for the tech lab. 

Assessing a well-educated child

On March 23 we will be holding a panel discussion on Educating for 21stC Success.  One of the panelists is Susan Engel, professor of psychology and education at Williams College.  Here is her recent NY Times Op-Ed piece on more effective ways of measuring learning than the standardized ways.

Susan has written about play as a crucial element in learning and the importance of nurturing creativity - right up our alley.

 She describes the qualities of a "well educated child" - do you agree?

"...we should come up with assessments that truly measure the qualities of well-educated children: the ability to understand what they read; an interest in using books to gain knowledge; the capacity to know when a problem calls for mathematics and quantification; the agility to move from concrete examples to abstract principles and back again; the ability to think about a situation in several different ways; and a dynamic working knowledge of the society in which they live"

Building confidence

Adventure, challenges, laughter, friendship: Camp Chingachgook has it all.  This is the 18th year Parker  students have gone off at the start of the school year to gain self-understanding and a good group dynamic.  It is a milestone to get to 4th grade and go on the trip - and each year holds a signature challenge.  The 8th graders climbed Buck mountain and camped out overnight.  It's a long hike - and everyone made it! 

Children gain so much confidence from trying something that is new - and a little bit hard.  Hmmm, I think we all do!

Assessing discovery

Discovering a caterpillar or a milkweed pod in the meadow - eating lunch outside with friends - families working  together on Work Days -  these are school experiences that make Parker a special place in the lives of students and families. 

At our opening faculty days we talked about assessment.  We know that Parker students are learning - but how do we know?  We use a variety of assessments at Parker - just not the standardized kind.  There are far more authentic and nourishing ways to find out what students know how to do. 

"When students are challenged with authentic questions that demand reflection and thought, they are happier, healthier, and better prepared for the rigors of college, work, and citizenship."  writes John Austin in the latest Independent School magazine.

To measure for 21C skills, we want to know that students can think skeptically about numbers; that they can make a persuasive and supported argument; and that they can interpret, compare, and analyze material.  These call for assessments that are creative and dynamic.

Of course, at the basic level, we need to know that students can add, spell, and read, and these can be measured simply.  But assessing for the more complex skills that Parker is geared for, requires much more of teachers.  This year teachers will be sharing with each other all the ways they assess students - and how they comunicate their findings to students and parents, and to the outside world. 

I will be holding a coffee for parents on this topic on October 26 from 8:30 - 9:15.  I hope you will be able to join me in a discussion about what good assessment looks like!

First day - new year!

The excitement of the first day of a new school year - smiles all around!