We had a wonderful ending to the school year! Field Day was so fun and graduation was beautiful. Eighth graders have finished their Regents exams in
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| The Class of 2014 |
algebra and earth science - it is always hard to believe that they are leaving us!
Planet Parker summer program has begun and in the office we are immersed in training for a new database system, interviewing final teacher and librarian candidates, and writing up the notes from closing faculty meetings - along with a few other things you can read about below!
How do students show what they know?
I love the products of our students' learning. From essays and animations to a puppet show or a Mexican hat dance, students' learning is illuminated in
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| 6-7's play POX to learn about infectious disease. |
multidimensional ways.
Here is a link to creative Spanish and STEM videos and the student e-news paper that were produced by middle schoolers this spring:
Parker Perspectives. And here is a link to the complex learning that happens while
creating animations.
Reading and writing: the mystery revealed 
Parker teachers want to let parents in on a mysterious process: how do kids learn to read and write? And how do we measure their progress? From Pre K to 8th grade, Parker students hone their craft in many ways.
Next year's series of Coffees with Meg, sponsored by Parent Council, will be themed around how children learn to read and write, and our teachers will be the guest speakers. We will find out about how Parker teachers guide students to become lovers of books and talented wordsmiths.
Parents in Pre K, K-1 and 2-3 will be invited to experience reading and writing with their children on certain Fridays after Assembly.
Summer Reading: The faculty will be reading Building Emotional Intelligence, Practices to Cultivate Inner Resilience in Children, by Linda Lantieri, this summer. Please join us in reading and a book discussion in the fall! We hope to invite Linda Lantieri to work with the faculty and hold an evening presentation for parents in November.
Would You Host a student from China?
It's official! Xingtao Liu from Kungming in Yunnan, China, has enrolled at Parker 
for 8th grade. Xingtao likes cartoon drawing, sports and playing a traditional Chinese instrument, the hulusi. When Laura and I interviewed him on Skype we liked his warm smile right away. We felt very excited to invite him to be a Parker student.
Xingtao is looking forward to living with a Parker host family during the school year. Ivy International will manage the home stay and will soon send our families information about applying to be a host. The host family will gain a wonderful friend in Xingtao, and receive a stipend for the school year. Please let me know if this opportunity is something your family might be interested in.
Enrollment Survey Interpreted
On June 5 parents and teachers gathered for a presentation by Siena professor Paul Thurston about the results of his students' study of enrollment trends at Parker - and what our parents find to be most important in their children's education.
Dr. Thurston and his students identified several strengths at Parker: the program and educational methods, the quality of the teachers and the close student community. Areas for growth that they identified were in building a closer parent community and being more transparent in financial aid and tuition costs.
For the full report and some parent comments, click here...We hope to continue working with Dr. Thurston's class to address the areas of challenge that were identified.
I hope you are enjoying these precious early days of summer. Mark your calendar for Friday's Planet Parker performance of Into the Woods at 3:00. All are welcome to come see the play!
