• Yellow onion skins (only the papery part)
• Pokeberries in their juicy state (please freeze)
• Fresh or frozen flower heads (marigolds and coreopsis)
• Acorns

Please sort items and bag each separately. Flowers and berries can be frozen in airtight plastic bags.

The Art Department is also looking for the following recycled materials, which can be dropped off in the art rooms or at the front desk:

• Washed Styrofoam trays
• Picture frames (11" x 14" or smaller)
• Unwanted shoes
• Gardening magazines or seed and flower catalogs
• Old tennis balls (not chewed by dogs)
• Unique and interesting natural materials for fairy houses

Dear Parents,

During the course of this past year, the Mixed Age Group structure has been under review. A team of MAG teachers, specialists and I have been studying ways to enhance the children's experience in Grades 1 and 2 in response to parent and faculty feedback.

The model we have decided to implement for Grades 1 and 2 preserves those elements of MAG we value most (collaboration, a two-year relationship with teachers, the importance of play, project-based learning and opportunities for leadership) while enhancing our program by more carefully meeting our students' developmental, social and cognitive needs. Most importantly, this approach will stay true to Foote School's mission and philosophy.

The new model will be structured so that students move through the first and second grade years together, with the same cohort of children and the same teacher. There will be distinct classrooms and curriculum objectives for each grade level; teachers will remain with the children for the two years, and they will use the same classroom. However, each building will contain one first grade class and one second grade class, enabling continued mixed age collaboration.

We believe these changes will further enhance the children's experience at Foote by providing differentiated instruction, continuity, curricular clarity, and a richer social experience for children.

The new model will be in place for the 2015-16 school year.

If you are currently a parent of a Kindergarten or first grade child, you will be receiving an invitation to a presentation and discussion with more detail about these changes.

If you have questions or feedback, please be sure to share them with me or Head of School Carol Maoz.

Best,

Beth Mello

Head of Lower School 

RSVP to Registrar Erika Villa at  evilla@footeschool.org or 203-777-3464 ext. 208.