School Closed
(2/13-2/16)
School Resumes
Tue (2/17)
First & Second Grade Parents Meet with Simon
Wed (2/18)
Chinese New Year Celebration
Fri (2/20)
Summer Adventures
Open House &
Sports Clinic
Sat (2/21)
Third & Fourth Grade Parents Meet with Simon
Wed (2/25)
ISE Chess Tournament
at East Woods
Fri (2/27)
Golden Anniversary Gala
Sat (3/7)
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UPPER SCHOOL
'Putnam County Spelling Bee' Musical
(3/13-3/14)
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
(3/2, 3/5, 3/6)
(3/3)
Trip to Lincoln Center (3/4)
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LOWER SCHOOL
MLK Assembly (2/18)
Family Breakfast & Art Exhibit (2/24)
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HOME GAMES
(2/19-2/28)
Boys 5/6 Basketball vs. East Woods
3:30pm, Thur (2/19)
in the Gym
Boys 7/8 Basketball vs. East Woods
4:30pm, Thur (2/19)
in the Gym
Coed MS Ice Hockey
vs. Green Vale
3:45pm, Mon (2/23)
at Beaver Dam
Girls Varsity Ice Hockey vs. Wyoming
5:30pm, Mon (2/23)
at Beaver Dam
Girls 7/8 Basketball vs. Green Vale
3:30pm, Tue (2/24)
in the Gym
Coed MS Ice Hockey
vs. Friends Academy
4:45pm, Tue (2/24)
at Beaver Dam
Boys 7/8 Basketball vs. St. Elizabeth
3:15pm, Thur (2/26)
Gym
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Simon Says: Follow Me on Twitter!
Simon Owen-Williams invites you to read his tweets about what's happening at Portledge and best educational practices and trends.
Follow him here:
Come get social with us! Portledge is on multiple social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. Stay connected with Portledge!
Twitter:
@PortledgeSchool
@PortledgeSports
Facebook:
Portledge School
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STUDENTS SHINE IN ALL-COUNTY FESTIVAL
Portledge School was represented in January's All-County festivals by students who had earned places in the honor ensembles through their impressive NYSSMA solo evaluation results.
Those selected learned challenging music in preparation for three four-hour rehearsals. Along with Nassau County's best student musicians, they worked with well-respected conductors from all over the country and performed to standing-room-only audiences in the Tilles Center at nearby C.W. Post. Portledge music teachers were happy to attend the concerts and witness their students' success!
Congratulations go to Brian Lee (Division 5 Chorus), Kayla Guo (Division 4 Orchestra), Peter Macchiarulo (Division 4 Band), Talya Kalman and Max DeMarco (Division 4 Chorus), Gabriella Rabito (Division 3 Orchestra), Nate Biblowitz (Division 3 Band), Angelina Magin (Division 3 Chorus), Katherine Wu (Division 2 Orchestra), Julie Fine and Christen Luongo (Division 2 Chorus), Elisabeth Nwasokwa (Division 1 Orchestra) and Mahan Mostafavi (Division 1 Band)!
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Join us as we celebrate 50 amazing years of Portledge School! Enjoy delicious food, great music, and fun dancing at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th at the Pine Hollow Country Club in East Norwich, NY.
HEAR LIVE MUSIC!
Enjoy a live performance by the Portledge Jazz Ensemble featuring students Brandon Leibowitz, Koorosh Leibowitz, Peter Jordan, and teacher Mr. William Peek.
Listen to the sounds of our fabulous faculty! Simon Owen-Williams will perform alongside Jason Dula, Michael Schwartz, William Peek, and John Greene.
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PANTHER DEN
Drop into the Panther Den for your seasonal
spirit wear!
Mon. - Fri.
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
PANTHER DEN ONLINE
Shop for clothing and gear 24/7!
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Apply for the Science Honors Program at Columbia
Columbia University is now accepting applications for its 2015-2016 Science Honors Program (SHP). This is a highly selective enrichment program for current 9th to 11th graders who have a "strong interest and exceptional ability in science and mathematics." Online applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Feb. 26, 2015. For more information, see Mrs. Allen or click here to visit online.
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Campus Safety
A reminder that sledding on the Portledge School campus is prohibited due to concerns for public safety.
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Mentorship opportunity
for Juniors
Portledge can nominate three juniors for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Partners for the Future Program. This is a highly competitive, rigorous program in which students have the opportunity to do research with mentors from the lab. Juniors who are interested in this program should contact Mrs. Allen as soon as possible.
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PAC Raffle Winners Announced
Portledge Arts Council (PAC) hosted a raffle called "A December to Remember." We sincerely appreciate the generosity of parents, faculty, and alumni for their donations toward the raffle prizes and the purchase of raffle tickets.
And the winners
are ...
* Visit with Grammy Winning Sound Engineer:
Lobley Family
* 2 tickets to "Kinky Boots" with Backstage Tour: Fine Family
* 2 Tickets to the Metropolitan Opera: Horn Family
* 2 tickets to "Finding Neverland":
Chang Family
* $200 Ticketmaster
Gift Card:
Wittels Family
* $150 iTunes Gift Card: Tate Family
All money raised will be used to support trips to a variety of artistic venues, enable the visiting speaker series to continue, and open the door to many other art-related events for each division at Portledge School.
The first outing will be a Middle School field trip to Lincoln Center, followed by a Lower School trip to see "La Maleta" ("Traveling Suitcase") at the Tilles Center in preparation for their World Day celebration, and finally, a visit by an improv group for the Upper School students.
Thank you again for your support. Congratulations to the winners! We look forward to announcing the presenters for our speakers series which will start soon.
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SIGN UP FOR SUMMER ADVENTURES!
Portledge Summer Adventures turns the Portledge school-year mantra "explore, create, excel" into a summertime opportunity for students to follow a passion as far as it will take them - whether it's exploring cyberknife technology at Winthrop University Hospital's Simulation Center, or playing soccer with Major Indoor Soccer League former pro Michael Todd. The emphasis is on the student experience, no matter the age. "We have grown with our students," says Melissa Worth, Director of Supplemental Programs at Portledge," many of whom are repeat customers and we want to offer them opportunities to follow their passions."
Perennial favorites for younger kids that parents have come to rely on year after year for safe, healthy fun like "Tumbling," "Animal Adventures" and "Rocketry" are available. For grades
7-12 programs
in the Summer Academic Institute
take students off-site to study subjects like nanotechnology and gross anatomy. Summer Adventures staff will partner with local experts at the New York Institute of Technology and Winthrop-Hospital to give pre-college students a more intense, professional learning experience.
Portledge Summer Adventures is excited to announce the introduction
of the Portledge Sports Academy. Under the direction of Portledge
School's new Athletic Director, Jackee Meadow, the Sports Academy
includes lacrosse, basketball, soccer, baseball, golf, and volleyball, as well
as sport-specific strength and conditioning, agility, speed, and weight
training clinics.
Join us at an Open House in the Lower School, where you can meet teachers and coaches while your child is engaged in fun activities.
Open House:
Saturday, Feb. 21
from 10 a.m. to Noon.
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Online School Directories
New online parent and student directories are available. Use the directories to stay in touch with the school community. Please check your e-mail for instructions on how to use this new feature.
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In this issue ...
A focus on curriculum, character development in the Middle School, highlights from Basketball Senior Night, gearing up for summer camp, and more.
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Curriculum Matters
By Simon Owen-Williams
Head of School
Curricular work is vitally important to any independent school, perhaps today more than ever before. Led by Coordinator of Personalized Learning Trish Rigg and the Curriculum Committee, Portledge is currently engaged in an exhaustive review of what, when and how we teach. An excellent and dynamic curriculum forges life-long learning competencies reflecting and reinforcing the wisdom of the school.
In 2013, we began the difficult task of auditing our current curriculum in preparation for an accreditation visit by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) in 2013. As a result of this work, we were able to identify major trends, areas of duplication, as well as gaps.
Curricular work mirrors the comprehensive analysis of the knowledge, attitudes and stakes acquired by all students in all grades in every subject through organic learning experiences. To create an aligned curriculum throughout the grades is a major task that is continuous.
Once the initial audit was completed, we were then able to develop the standards and benchmarks. These provide a framework used to reference and measure work done at a more granular level. Think of these standards and benchmarks as very broad curricular, big picture goals arranging significant questions such as "to what extent are students able to adequately comprehend reading?" into manageable categories.
A curriculum guide was published to educate families about our academic offerings and in an effort to accomplish one of the strategies formed by Portledge's three-year strategic plan. It is a living document that will be updated regularly.
Currently, we are developing a scope and sequence of what is taught and when it is taught, starting with mathematics and language arts will follow. This process involves discussion at the whole school level centered largely upon department chairs who serve on the curriculum committee. Once completed, this work will be the platform for curriculum mapping. The map is simply a very detailed look at each unit of study, content, skills, attitude, etc. that is taught by individual teachers in any of their classes throughout the year.
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Character Education in Middle School
By Susan Edwards-Bourdrez
Middle School Division Head
"My mother will be so proud...I never thought this would happen so soon," the student said as he accepted the "Good Egg" Award in front of the Middle School at a morning assembly, grasping the little Styrofoam oval on the makeshift plastic pedestal. I smiled, he beamed; it was quite a touching moment, a microcosm of what we were hoping for when we initiated the "Good Egg" Award years ago. It is one way of recognizing individuals who are making good choices and helping others, and celebrating our bonds as a community.
Aristotle said, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." As educators, we are concerned with facilitating the acquisition of knowledge and developing 21st century skills: communication (both written and oral), critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. At Portledge, we feel strongly that character needs to be developed as well, so that our students are ethical, compassionate individuals, who are good citizens and use their education to better themselves and society as they grow and mature.
Continue reading the full article by clicking here.
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IB Update: Getting Familiar
with Theory of Knowledge
Currently, Portledge School is in the candidacy phase of applying to become an International Baccalaureate school. As previously communicated, the process involves an assessment by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) as to whether or not Portledge is a good fit for them.
Similarly, we are doing our due diligence to ensure this is the best decision for the school. Part of that due diligence includes educating the school community about the philosophy of the program. To that end, IB Updates will be a regular column in the newsletter.
IB classes emphasize learning how to think about content in deep, critical, and meaningful ways. One of the ways IB demonstrates its commitment to higher-order thought is through the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course. The central question of this class is "How do we know what we claim to know?" To answer that question, students learn the eight ways of knowing: sensory perception, language, memory, reason, faith, imagination, intuition, and emotion. Students use these concepts to evaluate their assumptions about knowledge.
This course prepares students for college by exposing them to higher level questioning of ambiguous concepts, which is central to the purpose of academic research. But Theory of Knowledge isn't just a standalone course. Teachers at Portledge meet monthly to discuss how they link their classes with TOK. In Chris Corby's math classes, students ponder whether math is discovered or invented. In history, Harry Grzelewski teaches his students to consider how the perspectives and assumptions of historians influence the depictions of historical events. Eric Johnson's science classes, he exposes his thinkers to the quantum paradox of Schrödinger's Cat. In English, Shane Cappuccio's students discuss the role a viewer's contextual knowledge plays in his or her evaluation of beauty. All students consider the implications of what they learn by answering the question "what is at stake?"
To be clear, if we decide to offer the IB, the first year that students would take classes in the program or be an IB candidate would be in 2016-2017. Several important steps have been made and more will need to be taken before we reach this juncture.
For more information, contact Shane Cappuccio and Harry Grzelewski.
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Lower School students view
pre-Columbian artifacts
Students in the Lower School had a special opportunity to view pre-Columbian artifacts from the Steinberg Museum of Art's permanent collection. The objects provided inspiration for the students' annual World Day celebrating Latin America this year. Approximately 60 students enjoyed two days of visits and presentations about the artifacts that will connect back to their classroom activities.
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Junior Docents 2015
In its fourth year, the Junior Docent program for fifth graders has been well received by students and parents alike. To participate, students attended four required after school training sessions under the guidance of a museum educator from the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, NY. Training involves learning how to speak about works of art and to engage a viewing audience by answering questions about works on display. This program enables our fifth graders to learn about art museums and the role of the museum educators. In January, the junior docents shared their art expertise with our fourth graders during a guided tour of an art exhibition.
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Portledge Basketball Senior Night
Recently, Portledge celebrated the accomplishments of our seniors in the sport of basketball during a special ceremony. Family and friends cheered on the student-athletes as they were called out onto center court to be honored. It's been a pleasure to know them and we sincerely appreciate their families for their support as members of the school community. Congratulations seniors!
Boys Varsity Basketball:
David (#3), Ethan (#5), Tommy (#14), Patrick (#20),
Jimmy (#21), Nicholas (#22)
Girls Varsity Basketball:
Morgan Follett (#10) and Elizabeth Gahagan (#14)
 
 
Special thanks to Zeyu (Andrew) Chen for the photography. |
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'Maker Space Lab' Opens
Portledge is excited to announce the grand opening of a "maker space lab" open to students in the Lower School. These spaces are designed to encourage kids to drop in during the school day, when their schedule permits, to work on projects based upon their own thinking and interest. Students will have access to recycled items and technology programs.
Math Enrichment Offered
For students seeking to take their math skills to a new level or need help understanding challenging concepts, we are pleased to offer math enrichment with Neil Rigg and Kelly Short. The setting will be informal, either one-to-one or small groups, and we hope to employ a variety of different methods to approach each concept depending on the student's ability.
The program is open to all ages, five days a week from 4:00-5:30 p.m., and will expand based on demand. Please sign up with Mrs. Worth or Mr. Amadio to get started.
Both the "maker space lab" and the math program will be held in the room off the Lower School Library.
LS Dress Code & School Lunch Review
Committees representing various constituencies will be meeting to discuss possible changes to the Lower School's dress code and a standard review of nutritional options available for the 2015-2016 school year. The school lunch committee's first order of business will be to conduct a parent survey, which is forthcoming. The dress code committee will compile a report of their findings and share it with the school community. Any recommendations from either group will be reviewed and decided upon by Portledge's administration.
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