Halloween Skits

On Halloween the whole school gets into the spirit by creating skits based on their costumes. The skits had to include music, props, and be non-violent. In addition they were challenged to have at least one of the characters immigrate! You might ask what do a panda, a bounty hunter, Hiccup from How to Train a Dragon, a green ghost and a zombie have in common? Turns out the zombie is a recent immigrant from Germany, there is a missing necklace and the green ghost turns the zombie into a breakdancing zombie. While Hiccup is entranced by the breakdancing the bounty hunter retrieves the missing necklace. After practicing for two weeks, parents were invited to watch their performances.

Mystery Guest

To support our current study of Aboriginal Art, Jessica Ryan (Maia and Lola's mother) came in to share an original painting she and Craig bought in Australia. The children were truly inspired to see an original painting and to hear more about this amazing art form!

Block Spot

Gross motor and fine motor play is an important part of a child's learning.  Building, creating,discovering, problem solving, imagining and more (!) happen when children work together to play with blocks, tinkertoys, legos, lincoln logs, trains and tracks, marble runs and plastic people.  At the New School, Children in grades Kindergarten and First Grade get a chance to daily stretch their muscles of imagination and cooperation as they work with peers on these types of projects.  Children in 2nd grade get the same opportunities twice a week.  Children in the upper grades also get a chance to play during the afternoon.  Play provides children of all ages the opportunity to develop social skills as they share materials and ideas. 

School Quilt

Every year we have a tradition of creating a paper quilt. Each child is responsible for creating one of the squares in the quilt. This year we designed our 32 square quilt to reflect our school wide study of immigration. The students were asked to identify four places they would like to explore (identified on the sails of the ship), and then a place they could teach their friends about (written on the hull of the ship.) Our quilt, which is hung in the entranceway, will be there all year to welcome families, visitors and friends.

Art from Around the World

       To kick off a yearlong appreciation of visual arts from around the world we first looked at the word “continent.” What is a continent? How is it defined? We soon discovered that people around the world do not all learn that there are seven continents. Some places teach there are 5 continents with North America and South America combined as a single continent called the Americas. We also discussed how if we believe “a continent is a large, discrete land mass separated by large bodies of water” there are only four continents:  Antarctica, Australia, Americas and Afro-Eurasia.  We discussed how many people take geography, politics and history into account when deciding how to split our world up into continents.

       Our first stop is the continent of Australia. Here we looked at the art created by aborigines, most notably their amazing dot paintings rich in color, pattern, and symbols. Children are currently creating their own dot paintings using dowels of different sizes and tempera paints. 

Birthday Art

At the start of school children were asked to draw a portrait of their family using flair pens and watercolors. These pictures will be part of a family poster where families share traditions, favorite activities, books and more. These posters will soon be posted in the school entranceway.

Oral History Project at The Nottingham

Last spring the older students interviewed seniors at The Nottingham. These oral histories supported our study of local history. The students brainstormed 14 questions they wanted to ask and video taped the interviews where these questions were asked. 

Describe how life was difficult when you were little.

v  How did you get around? Describe the forms of transportation you had.

v  Describe some changes that you have seen in Syracuse in your lifetime.

v  When you were little did all kids go to school? What was school like? What was punishment like? What type of school work did you do?

v  What toys and games did you have growing up? Did you share toys?

v  What do you remember about the Erie Canal?

v  Did you wear dresses? Describe your clothing and popular hairstyles.

v  Did you go to camp?

v  What were the most important buildings in Syracuse when you were a child?

v  Describe a typical day at home. Did you do chores? What books did children read?

v  What was communication like back then? Did you have a telephone?

v  How did Syracuse look different when you were a child?

v  Was it hard to shop? Where did you shop? How much did things cost?

v  What jobs did your parents have back then?

v  How have laws changed?

Students learned that what they did is called historical research. They used documents, photographs, artifacts and primary sources to learn how life has changed in Syracuse. They discussed and wrote about how life in Syracuse has changed for the better and worse.

This fall these same students reviewed the tapes and added more details to their transcripts. They brainstormed follow up questions and wrote personal letters to the seniors, thanking them for the experience, sharing photos and drawings and asking for more information and photos. Later in the year we plan to develop an exhibit documenting this project, which will be shared with the seniors at The Nottingham.

Imagine

After defining the word ‘imagine’ the older students listened to John Lennon’s song, Imagine. They then shared what they thought John Lennon was saying in the song. They described what he believed. Then students watched a part of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics where the same song was performed. Students shared why they thought the Olympic committee chose to use this song. Then they read and discussed a letter written to the editor of the Post Standard criticizing the selection of the song in the Olympics. Finally the students were asked to respond in writing to this letter either supporting or opposing the author’s view point.