| The Search Continues |
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Thanks to everyone who participated in our first Head of School candidate visit last week. It was very exciting to have the community come out in such a solid way. We are going to be hosting another candidate this Friday. She will be meeting with parents from 7:30-8:30am and 7:30-8:30pm. If you would like to come in the morning, and would like bring your child to school early, a few teachers have volunteered to staff a few classrooms until school starts at 8:00. Kindergarten through 8th grade students should go to the 3rd floor of the brick building and bring something to do (book, drawing materials, homework, etc). At 8:00 the teachers will send these students to their classrooms.
See you Friday!
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| Conference on Progressive Education |
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On Saturday GCS hosted the 4th conference of the New England Coalition of Progressive Educators PreK-8. NECOPE welcomed over 50 educators from 17 schools for a day devoted to The Person as Worker, Thinker, and Learner: Choosing, Doing, Observing, Describing. One premise of progressive education is that the work of children's hands give us powerful insights into the child as worker, thinker and learner. Conference participants had the opportunity to engage in work, reflect on their experience, and observe and describe student work in order to gain a deeper understanding of the child.
We began the day by sharing stories of significant things we made or did as children in order to ground our relationship to our own hands. Then we explored the work of our hands by creating and interacting with a rich array of materials. In smaller groups, we engaged in a process called "descriptive review" of student work developed by the Prospect Center. This structured process revealed ways to gain deeper insight into a child through multiple rounds of careful, shared observation of a piece of work. We looked for patterns, evidence of growth and progress. We investigated ways of knowing children through their "doing" and explored ways we might engage with them to learn more about their passions, questions, insights and challenges.
We spent a satisfying day choosing activities, doing the work of the hands, and expanding our ability to observe and describe student work in a way that builds understanding. And, of course, there was shared singing, food, conversation and collegiality. We thank the steering committee for a year of planning, our presenters and facilitators for a day of sharing, and all of the educators who chose to spend a day together to further progressive education.
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| Upcoming |
Seed Store Open this week! (see details below)
Tomorrow!- School Store! $3 spending limit for Primes and $5 for everyone else. (For details, please see the UM6 report.)
Friday, April 3rd-Gender Bender All School and Head of School candidate visit
Monday, April 6th-Head of School candidate vistit
Monday, April 6th-Head of School candidate visit
Thursday, April 16- Center School Museum 6-8pm: All Welcome! Please plan on coming.
Friday, April 17- Next coffee orders due but no All School!
April Vaction- No vacation camp for the week of April 21-24
Tuesday, April 28-Uppers Ultimate Frisbee vs. Bement, 3:45pm
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| No Vacation Camp in April |
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We are sorry to announce that we will not be able to host a vacation camp this April break. We know this will create some inconvenience for some families. We hope working families will be able to connect with other families for help with scheduling playdates, etc. If you are feeling very stuck about this, please feel free to talk to us and we'll try to help you find other camps that are running for that week.
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Upper Envisions
Rebellion |
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The Uppers are studying United States history through the lens of labor movements. For Jonah's labor project, he envisioned the way the Lowell factory workers might have taken their labor initiative even farther than they did. Please click the link below to see Jonah's project:
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| Seed Store Update |
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Dear Parents,
The Seed Store will be open: Drop-off: Monday-Friday, 8-9
Pick-up: Monday & Friday, 3-4
Wednesday: 12-1
Starting Monday and throughout the week, boxes of seeds will be ready for parents to take to their workplaces, neighborhoods, and community businesses. If you are willing to take a box, please either sign up with April, or e-mail me at:
freeman-johnson@comcast.net I will have a box waiting for you in the office.
We still will keep plenty of seeds at the school, but do come soon, especially if you want more than one of each of your child's packets.
Thanks for your help and support.
Sally Freeman-Hawks |
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2009 Center School Flower Seed
Varieties |
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2009
Center School Flower Seed
Varieties
Kablouna's Castle Garden Calendula
These organic, edible flowers have a distinct refined form with a neat crested center not showing the eye. It is one of the most neglected and loveliest of the calendulas. "Kablouna", Fedco's seed room goddess who looks after the good fortune of seed packets, was named for this stunning cultivar.
Trick or Treat Tall Candytuft Mix
No tricks here, these flowers are a real treat: a mixture of vibrant colors from pink to dark purple with a few whites included for contrast. Excellent for borders and cut flowers.
Year of the Ox Chinese Forget-Me-Not
No other flower can match the starry brightness of these tiny 5-petaled azure blue blossoms. Very floriferous, these forget-me-nots will bear three blooms per cluster, and a half dozen clusters per plant. Enjoy them throughout the summer.
Early Bird Wonder Cosmos Mix
Extra early splendid large flowers for cutting in shades of white, pink, rose, and carmine. Blossoms up to 4" on 40" stems will cause a sensation in your garden throughout the summer. New from Fedco this year!
Wonderland Tea Party Larkspur
There often is a kind of day when the grey chill invites you to curl up with a cup of Earl Grey tea. It is also when the subtle "cool" colors come into their own-their delicate shades can be washed out in full sun but reveal their shimmering clarity on cloudy days. This new pearly grey-lavender larkspur on statuesque 3-4' stalks fits nicely into such an atmosphere...or perhaps enjoying it in a bouquet is more your cup of tea.
Goddess of Dawn Aurora Marigolds
This French beauty lights our fires with bright yellow flowers inset with red flames. Extra early with numerous large blossoms, consistently double from the first bloom to the last. The compact neat rounded 8-10" plants bear flat-petaled 2 1/2" blooms. Not day-length sensitive.
Queen's Crown Jewel Mix Nasturtium
These organic edible flowers lend a peppery-sweet taste to salads, with each color adding contrast and subtle variations. The plants have large upward-facing blossoms borne above the foliage. They are compact and non-trailing.
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory
For years our most popular seed, this easily grown climber with trumpet-shaped flowers provides color and shade, decorates fence or post. The intense azure color that lightens toward the center is, well...heavenly.
Twinkle Phlox
Phlox is among the most colorful annuals for summer and fall beds, borders or window boxes. Here are short 8" little bi-colored stars in all those typical phloxy hues: white with shades of pink, lavender, purple and red. The blossoms have little star points with white edges, hence the twinkle.
Fairy Poppy Mix
Also known as Shirley Double Choice Mix, these elegant semi-double flowers bloom all summer in shades of pink, rose, salmon, scarlet and white. First introduced in 1890, it was said of them, "the flowers are like fairy work...so silky and tissue-like do they appear".
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| Dear Families,
(For anyone familiar with Buffalo Springfield 's "For What it's Worth", go ahead and cue it up in your mind. If not, here's a link to a video. Please ignore the annoying intro: Bufflalo Springfield Song )
Something's happening here. What is it ain't exactly clear.
It might have something to do with spring's approach, but I can't help but feel there is something, (can I say it?) hopeful going on. The last week has been a slow blossoming of positive events in our school, our nation and our planet. As a result, I keep being surprised to discover tears on my cheeks. Do you know, those special kind of tears? The ones that come leaking out of your eyes when you hear good news or have an astounding visual experience? That's what keeps happening here.
We better stop, hey, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
Call it spring fever, but I cried just a tiny bit four times in All School last week. The first time was when UM North showed their incredible photos from the Hallmark/Center School collaboration project they've been working on. In the course of 15 minutes more than 100 photos were projected onto the wall for everyone's enjoyment. Almost to a one they were free of sophomoric gimmickry, stale subjects, and staid repetition. Like glimpsing a scene between buildings from a fast-moving train, each student's mini-photographic portfolio offered, in a wink, a window to their heart and mind and maybe even soul. It was an analyst's field day with children capturing themselves in reflections, capturing off-center ascending stairs, capturing exit and entry doors. But what struck me the most was that time and time again, from a myriad of different angles with subtly variant light, the children photographed the war memorial statue in downtown Greenfield . The sharing reminded me that our students are ever so aware of what is happening here even though what it is ain't exactly clear. Maybe it was the warm air moving us into April, but my tears started before the first slide was gone and I was still wiping my face when the lights came on.
Young people speaking their minds.
Shortly after that the Uppers leading All School asked the audience if anyone wanted to give a theory for why we see color. Edwin started us off with a sober and scientifically-spot-on explanation. Noah P. then offered his heartfelt and lucid comments about how the world would be so boring-essentially unlivable-- without color. Duncan added to this by proposing that color is malleable-that we each see what we choose and that because nobody can genuinely see what someone else does, there is no proof as to what a color truly is. Benny then explained that color is a state of mind more than a fact and how we feel changes the way color is experienced. I was beaming and crying, thunderstruck by the cerebral and erudite thinking being deftly articulated by our under 12 set.
I shed a tear again as the Mups shared their van Gogh paintings, each so inimitable and bold, chunky and vivid. Then the after school program participants, all crouched, trench-like, behind tables, utilized the extraordinary foam hand-puppets they'd made, to slowly consume Oliver. The entire school, (even the 8th graders bent on projecting studied disinterest during All School) was riveted on the unhurried demise of Oliver by foam sandwiches. So engaged was the audience that someone begged the after schoolers to perform the entire drama again. Edwin, who had only ten minutes before given a sober account of the science of color, was now a quivering pool of joy as he anticipated the thrill of, for the second time in five minutes, making his sandwich hand-puppet devour his teacher. I sniffled with happiness for these two sides of Edwin that are allowed to burst forth and shine on the same stage, in the same day.
A thousand people in the street. Singing songs and carrying signs. It's time we stop, people, what's that sound. Everybody look what's going down.
On my way home on Friday night, I learned of the thousands of volunteers who had descended, locust-like, upon Fargo, determined to save the town from the rising waters of the Red River. I heard about college and high school students traveling by bus to Fargo , during their spring breaks, to work long days laboriously filling an endless supply of sandbags and placing them on high, endlessly long dikes. The very notion of these would-be partiers, opting for work along a frigid and dangerous river rather than playing on warm beaches, again opened my, well, floodgates, causing my own, already over saturated eyelid levees to spill over. (Thank you for indulging me on that one.)
Saturday night I followed the story of Earth Hour, a pre-ordained time endorsed by 4,000 cities, for turning off all non-essential electric lights, across the planet. I was moved as I marveled at the notion of the world slowly spinning, watching from space as one time zone after another, darkened from 8:30-9:30pm. The enormity of the project, combined with the utter vastness of the problem made my heart swell and break a little.
We better stop, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down.
Okay, so maybe it's just that March is going out like a lamb, but on the other hand perhaps there really is something happening here. Despite the heavy shroud of economic misery, I think there is a thawing happening. I like to believe that we, as community, a country and a planet are experiencing an epic cracking open and shaking off of dread, hopelessness and apathy. Cities are turning off lights, students are volunteering and children are creating, thinking and, of course, playing. Is there such a thing as a collective heartbeat? Is there a possibility that positive forces can influence, even guide entropy? Could one of us, or all of us be the 100th monkey in the fabled tale?*
Maybe.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Jane
* 100th Monkey Theory Explained
 SANDWICHES ARE BEAUTIFUL
OLIVER GOES DOWN
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| Uppers |
Greetings from the Uppers!
Math: Last week Barb's Math 8 class practiced simplifying rational expressions that include polynomials with leading coefficients in the denominators!
Language Arts: Using carefully selected passages from Don Marquis' archy & methitabel, a nearly forgotten literary and journalistic gem reminiscent of the history, life and times in the early 1900's, the English 8 class will be supplying the punctuation and capitals that archy, (a cockroach) left out while typing his nightly messages for the New York Evening Sun newspaper. If you're unfamiliar with A & M, it's worth googling!
What heartfelt and thoughtful discussions were had as we finished reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck! Central to the core were themes of family, greed, fate, and what humans really need from life. Perhaps most moving were the thoughts that the students shared about what it means to be a man and the struggles faced by men: young, old, nowadays, and in days gone by.
Studio: If you are a novice and unsuspecting chess player, beware! Several of us in the Chess Studio learned how to checkmate our opponent in four swift moves, thanks to Noah! The second week of Poetry Studio was another intimate gathering of great hearts and minds. We created 'exquisite corpse' poems and were pleasantly surprised by the quirky, but poignant results.
Spanish: Students in both grades visited the important (and often tricky) concept of 'being' last week, whether it is the permanent state of being (using the verb ser) or the temporary state (using the verb estar). Spanish 8 students extended their learning by writing autobiographical paragraphs. New Spanish teacher Lillian was very grateful for this opportunity to learn a bit about these students. She is looking forward to getting to know these linguists better over the next two months.
Art: The word 'dream' was the focus of last week's art project, and seventh graders chose various intriguing and creative methods to express their visions. From the 'American Dream' to nighttime prophecies to visualizations about their own futures, this word was represented in 2-D and 3-D forms. We marveled at one student's larger-than-life dream catcher and appreciated the process by which another piece of work was created (eyes closed...in a dream-like state).
Theme: 26 NEW TEACHERS AT CENTER SCHOOL? It's true. Uppers will be teaching labor history to every class except the Primes. They will teach 4 classes in each room over the next 2 weeks. The Mups will learn about "The Newsies Strike", Midums South about "The Lowell Mill Girls", Midums North about "Shays' Rebellion", and the Upper Middles about the "Bread & Roses Strike." Uppers will present each story in 3 different interactive ways and then help students explore their understandings of the stories through skits, art, and cartooning. The April 10th All School will be centered around this work.
Staff: We said goodbye to Erin last week. She is now focussing, full-time, on preparing for parenting. The Uppers will invite Erin back in a few weeks for a goodbye circle and celebration. Lillian Whitsett has stepped in to Erin's roles. Welcome Lillian! |
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MUPS have completed their van Gogh project. They were thrilled to share their paintings at All School because the children worked really hard on them, sketching, layering the paint, creating texture with brushstrokes, and outlining their figures. Now onto making 3-D scenes from the fables we wrote last month.
Swimming continue for our total water babies! The YMCA teachers have been so encouraging that we all look forward eagerly to our next lesson. In theme we have been learning about the different types of clouds as part of our weather unit. Our favorite, of course, are cumulus! Fluffy white cotton balls that appear on sunny, fair days. We will look at some weather poetry this week. If you have a favorite weather poem feel free to drop by our classroom and recite it!
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| Upper Middles 6 |
Theme, Art and Language Arts: Students have been finishing up their abolitionist studies. At All School, some students shared the children's stories and speeches they wrote as part of the abolitionist project. We also continued drawing portraits of our abolitionists with Kirk Stephens. Even students who insist they cannot draw are active and engaged in this art project. We are continuing to ready fiction written about the "underground railroad." Those reading True North wrote some beautiful poetry. Rebecca read one of the poems and thought it was a published piece of work before realizing one of the students had written it! Those reading Freedom Crossing are pondering the words of Frederick Douglas. He said, "I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of humanity." What do you think these words mean?
Math: 6th grade students have each been given the challenge to design a park of their choosing. They are close to completion on their projects and are currently calculating the area and perimeter of buildings and activity areas of the parks. They have also been making commercials and designing brochures for these parks. We wish they were really building them because they look like they would be so much fun to go to!
As part of the 5th grade math curriculum, students run a school store. They learn about mark-up, net profit, and breaking even, as well as solidifying adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with decimals. School store is also a fundraiser for charities of the 5th grades students' choosing.
This year school store will be held on Tuesday, March 31. That is tomorrow! All GCS students are invited to bring up to $5 to spend at the store. They will visit the store with their classes some time during the day. |
| Primes |
The Primes have been celebrating the arrival of Spring. Come see their still life sketches of irises, mums, lilies and sunflowers on display in the hall outside our classroom. Also on display is work from their ongoing study of local birds. You will see beautiful sketches of cardinals as well as sketches of a variety of feathers that were lent to us by Kathleen's family.
Come inside our classroom and check out the 'wave-mechanical' models of atoms that the second year Primes made as they study how elements are attracted to each other and how they separate. This coming week their explorations of the elements will take them to study some of the electronic characteristics of chemical bonds. They will also attempt to calculate how many atoms are in a spoon of salt. If you want to guess how many atoms, they would be interested.
Space Pencils for 25 cents, Slap Bracelets for 75 cents, and many other items will be available for one day only at the Upper Middles School Store on Tuesday. The Primes may bring up to $3.00 each to the store. As in previous years, the Upper Middles have been delighted to serve as personal shoppers for the Primes by helping them to manage their change and make decisions.
Our Local Bird Project has progressed through many stages over the past few weeks. The Primes have studied Red Winged Blackbirds and Cardinals as a whole class and each Primes has selected an individual bird to learn more about. Along the way they have brainstormed questions to ask about their birds. Sometime next week we will begin planning how to build nests and then attempt to make models of their birds in their habitats. If you are interested in helping the Primes work on their sculptures we would welcome your support. We predict that this work will begin Thursday morning between 9 and 10, Friday morning 11-12 then continue for an hour each morning during the week of April 6th. An additional work period may open up in the afternoons between 2 and 3. If you are available, let us know so we can spread parent helpers out across this period. |
| Mid-Ums North |
Mid-Ums have been incredibly busy lately, with lit final projects, creative self portraits, photography, cartography, designing and writing postcards for the state study, and planning the school store. As you can tell in the photos, students are hard at work on a myriad of projects.
This week we will be sharing our lit projects from the books Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. The projects range from toad temples celebrating immortal amphibians to informative displays about Judaism. One student/singer-songwriter composed a guitar soundtrack to Tuck and will be recording it for us to enjoy. Other students are writing sequels to books, sculpting the Fountain of Youth, or orchestrating a puppet show based on one of the books.
Art abounds in our classroom these days, as we have wonderful parents coming to enliven our self portraiture using hi-tech photography, graphite, and picture planes. Stop by our room and the halls outside our room to tour our art museum. We will also be displaying our recent photographic compositions at Bart's in Greenfield and the Co-op in August. Parent volunteers are desperately needed to help the class mount their photographs, hang them on walls, and organize an art opening for the class. If interested, PLEASE see Chris or Sara and we will give you more details.
Our state study continues with colorful state maps (now hanging on our walls) and student-created picture post cards from each state. Soon we will be planning imagined trips to our states, and writing journals of our travels. US Fest is coming soon -- mark your calendars for April 30. Swimming continues this week, as does body ed with Cliff and Meg.
One more note -- North is leading Gender Bender All School this week. Come dressed as your favorite gender, a combination of all genders or no gender at all, and come watch our students lead the school in songs, sharings, and maybe even a gender bender parade. We will be leading on 3 different Fridays in April, so stay tuned for more details.
Chris and Sara | |
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Use this area to provide your subscribers information about your organization.
Sincerely,
MJ Stephenson
Greenfield Center School |
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