More from Fall Festival

Fall Festival

Fall Festival was so much fun! The hard part was leaving to go home.

Parents did an absolutely amazing job transforming the gym. They painted faces, dished up cotton candy, ladled soup, and painted fish. They got the pumpkins to glow and sent home happy cake walk winners. They baked, wow did they bake - yum! The climbing tower and the bounce house were favorites, and prizes were awesome. I know that so many gave so much of their time and it made a wonderful and memorable community event. Thanks, everybody!

Kindergarten aspirations

Each year our kindergarten class joins in a project for the Troy Record, responding to the questions "What do you want to do when you grow up?" And "What will you need to learn to do it?" Here are the dreams of the class of 2020:

Jamie: I want to be a train driver. I need to learn about parts of the train, the tracks, and how to read signals. I need to know about diesel parts and switches. I need to learn where my engine shed will be. I need to learn about stoking the boiler.

Miriam: I want to drive a car. I need to know where I’m going. I need to know how to stop.

Coleman: I want to plan a computer and attach houses on a computer. I click one by one. I need to know about buildings and computers.

Alex: I want to be an archeologist and work in the museum with my dad. I need to know how to dig stuff and try and find stuff.

Laurel: I think I’ll be an artist. I want to be able to paint very good paintings.

Caroline: I want to be a physical therapist. I want to learn how to be one.

Michael Dee: I want to be an artist. I will need to practice drawing.

Flipping through the channels

I walked through the classrooms this afternoon and saw an array of activities. It's almost like flipping the channels on a TV as I go from class to class.

6-7's are studying ancient civilizations in social studies. They were watching a video of Egyptian life as shown through vivid tomb paintings. Some other 6-7's were in the library and computer lab for language arts, putting the finishing touches on essays. ( see above, "Look, it's the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!")

8's were closely examining rock samples in earth science and discussing organic and inorganic things: is coral organic or inorganic?

In the art room, some 2-3's were beginning to sketch out ideas for how to represent Lake Tear of the Clouds - the origin of the Hudson - for their hall mural. Veda was the greeter and filled me in on what was up.

Other 2-3's were back in the classroom reading silently in comfy spots (on pillows under the counter or behind the shelves!) or taking turns reading aloud to Lynn.

4-5's were thinking and writing: What went into your parents' decision about buying or renting your house or apartment? Earlier I saw them head into the woods to collect leaf samples for science.

I probably had the most fun in Pre K, mainly because I caught the children in a moment of transition where they gathered and told me all about their very very exciting field trip to a farm where they fed baby goats and picked pumpkins and gourds and there were, there were ducks and a pig I saw a pig and Meg I got the bucket with the pellets and tipped it over and the goat ate them!

Their smiles were huge and so was mine.

I get to see all the teachers' wonderful e-newsletters. Our goal this year is to find a format and a way to connect them to the school's website so that everyone can see them. One step at a time!

Friday started with a presentation by Pre K 4's about their worm composting project. (They are holding their rendition of a giant worm in the picture.) They will collect certain kinds of food waste after lunch to add to worm bins. The compost will be used for growing plants. Later in the day 6-7's went down to the creek to collect specimens for science class. It's great to be able to walk down to our own creek for science - any time.

Here's what is happening after school. The soccer team is really taking off. Pre K creative movement is adorable. Chess club is mind-boggling. Other clubs are African drumming, circus, Italian, and sports. Yoga, too. Jewelry starts later. Rainbow club members have obviously outdone themselves.

Can you see the monarch butterfly cocoon?

Two circles: Pre K and their 4-5 Buddies join to greet the Pre K bunny, Pebbles; and a few eighth graders meet with James in the gazebo to begin developing ideas for their Salem witch trial.

The teachers meet in a circle every Thursday to plan upcoming events and convene committees and teams. We took time this week to report what we thought was going really well, and what we want to work on in the coming weeks.

The list of things going well was gratifying. The smart and nice new kids, the happy atmosphere in the school, after school sports and other activities, morning meetings, use of the outdoors, Parent Council, parents in general, listening conferences, and Before and After Care, just to give you a few of their ideas. Things to work on include examining the format and time of Meet the Teachers Night and renewing the virus protection on the lab computers.

As I watch in classes and the halls and read teacher newsletters and curriculum write ups, I notice the deepening focus on skills of observation, reflection, cooperation, analysis, innovation and responsibility. This applies to our teachers as practicing educators as well as what they are expecting from the students!

Here are a few of the scenes I saw as I visited around the school on Wednesday. 4-5's were discussing the value of money; 2-3's were reading and writing in journals; and K-1's were making soup out of vegetables from their garden (plus a few from home.) One dad popped by just to peek into the Pre K for a minute - it is fun to be a "fly on the wall!"

Can you find the praying mantis that hitched a ride on the Parent Council mums?