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Welcome to the HGS Newsletter!
The Howard Gardner School is a small, progressive independent high school for college-bound learners in Alexandria, Virginia. With a focus on environmental science and the arts, the school's mission is to help bright, creative non-traditional learners use their unique strengths to thrive academically, intellectually and emotionally. Hands-on learning and weekly field studies keep students active and involved, and internships let students explore their interests through work.
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Winter Workshops |
After successfully completing our first trimester, we spent the week before Winter Break participating in a wide selection of workshops. There was something for everyone!
In science and technology workshops, students experienced hands-on physics concepts during "Bowling Ball Physics;" checked out the solar installation that the energy class had completed for "Addie's House," our environmental science classroom; toured a factory that made our farmhouse's new energy efficient windows; and last but not least, changed a tire.
In craft workshops, students knitted, beaded (thanks to parent Wendy Curry), and made paper, candles, and bird feeders. Some students sanded and finished a skateboard deck of their own design or built bat houses which will help replace vanishing natural shelter for our local bats.
Literary opportunities included workshops in children's literature, "The Gift of the Maggi," and comedy writing. Workshops in "Teaching Tolerance" and the Meyers-Briggs Personality Inventory helped students better understand themselves and others.
Some students marked the season with a winter hike along the Potomac, while others stayed indoors and listened to the original recording of War of the Worlds. And of course, students also baked cookies, built gingerbread houses, or viewed holiday films.
Although we value these kinds of activities for the creativity and simple enjoyment they provide, there is also significant research that shows that for teenagers, developing interests such as these is protective against depression and substance abuse--a life-long benefit! |
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HGS Featured in Documentary |
| HGS will be featured in a documentary on Learning for the 21st Century, created by ASCD, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, a national nonprofit organization.
Looking for "outside-the-box" examples of classes, the crew filmed our Alternative Energy class as they worked on the solar system for "Addie's House," our drumming class as they worked on new patterns, and our film studies class as they looked for themes in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. They also interviewed several of our teachers about their philosophy of education. The documentary will be available to watch online soon. |
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Senior Intern: Amber Molock |
Senior Amber Molock has spent the last year and this trimester interning at Samual Chase Elementary School, a Prince George's  County public school in Temple Hills, Maryland.
Amber has earned the trust of her mentors and students, and her responsibilities have increased over the time she has been there. Amber gives kids individual attention, helps in group situations, and even prepares lessons.
A student at HGS since 9th grade, Amber has been accepted to her first-choice college, Bennett College, an historically black women's college in North Carolina. |
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Building Update |
We continue to be on track for a March groundbreaking, thanks to the contributions of so many families and friends to our Capital Campaign! 
However, we are not quite to our goal! We encourage those who have not yet contributed to please make a tax-deductible donation so that we can be sure our building is ready to go for Fall 2009! |
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Teacher Profile |
Addie, our environmental science teacher, grew up in Alexandria and developed her love of the outdoors at Burgundy Farm School's Center for Wildlife Studies in West Virginia. After graduating from Dickinson College with a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on Education, Addie moved to New England where she taught in several outdoor education programs. In 2004, Addie moved back to Alexandria to help start HGS. 
Starting from scratch, Addie created an environmental education program that has won state-wide awards for two consecutive years, and half a dozen environmental education grants. Addie helped HGS focus on environmental issues years before it became mainstream, and that focus has helped scores of kids develop their naturalist intelligence, whether it is in the ecology classroom, on a field trip, or camping in the forest or on the beach. Addie also took over our internship program and made it into the dynamic and professional program that it is today.
However, it is the warm, nurturing relationships that she develops with her students that keep our graduates coming back to HGS to check in with her on a regular basis!
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This is the second edition of our monthly news and information for parents, students, alumni, and friends of HGS. Please send us any updates on our kids or alumni so we can include them in future issues.
We hope you have enjoyed it!
Sincerely,
Katherine Keith
The Howard Gardner School |
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