From the Director’s Chair November 2008
Posted by lsnl in : From the Director's Chair, November 2008"I want the new President to stop war!"
The past six weeks have percolated with more excitement than we could have possibly predicted! October brought several incredible division-wide events: three unique Peace Partner projects, the creation of a wire dragon….and who could have guessed that our high-spirited parade in Halloween costumes would be followed soon after by a Center City filled with phloats and phanatics? (In Lower School, most children remained on campus and had the option to watch the parade in the library; however, about 100 children spent the day downtown with their parents.)
Soon thereafter, as Election Day neared and anticipation mounted, faculty members engaged children in learning about the democratic process: third through fifth grades participated in a state-wide mock election, using a computer voting station in the library; meanwhile, younger children discussed and recorded their thoughts about the qualities that would make someone a good president. An illustrated compilation from Sonia Duprez' second grade class described many hopes; one nascent second grade economist remarked: "I want the president to lower gas prices and make the stock market go up." Many children expressed concern that our future president be concerned about the environment, as in this example: "Presidents…should care about the earth and stop people from littering." Most striking was the fact that almost all children expressed a desire for a more peaceful world, as this child emphasizes with a final exclamation point, "I want the new President to stop war!"
PEACE PARTNER PROJECTS: Given our emphasis on peace this year, I'd like to circle back to the Peace Partner projects. For many years, children have walked with their "buddy classes" to Meeting for Worship. This year, we expanded this relationship by creating Peace Partner Projects.
Kindergarten and third grade teachers designed an activity that integrated the kindergarten study of trees with the third grade study of the First People of Pennsylvania, the Lenni Lenape. To connect these two strands, children learned about a Native American tradition that upholds the pine tree as a symbol of peace. After gathering together under the tree that the kindergarten had planted on their playground, the peace partners walked back to their classrooms in pairs to read books about peace in small groups and then discuss their thoughts. Afterwards, the partners made posters with symbols, pictures and messages about peace.
First and fourth graders discussed how they could use their hands to create peace. Then the partners traced each other's hands, wrote messages, decorated their hands, and then cut them out. With fingertips of partners touching, all the hands were glued into a giant peace sign, which is hanging in the upstairs link of the Lower School. The emphasis on "productive work with one's hands" is a longstanding emphasis in Quaker belief and practice, and can be found in the 17th century writings of early Friends, such as William Penn and George Fox.
Second and fifth graders are planning to hold a peace vigil for Lower School prior to a future Meeting for Worship. As a first step to prepare for this vigil, partners gathered and created posters filled with messages about peace. On the day of the vigil, which will take place on a day when we have Meeting for Worship in the Meeting Room, the second and fifth grade students will create a passageway, and the rest of the Lower School community will walk through and experience this silent testimony to peace. Silent vigils have long been an important aspect of Quaker practice, as a way to express concern, harmoniously and powerfully, during times of war or in response to other violent actions.
As we continue to shepherd our children's growth during this historic time, we remember and celebrate William Penn's important words, "Let us then try what love can do." I hope you agree that there is much to celebrate in the important learning that happens each day in our Lower School, as our children grow in their understanding of how to use their hands, hearts, and minds productively to share in the creation of a more peaceful world.
Janet Chance
Director of Lower School
Note: Thank you to Naveena Bembry, Sonia Duprez, Vicki Miles, Judi Morrow, Maria-Odilia Romeu, Lyndsy Rosenfeld, and Carol Spadaro for contributing to this newsletter.
In the Classroom November 2008
Posted by lsnl in : In the Classroom, November 2008Our Artist in Residence: Sean Brady, the Dragon Builder
Once upon a time, in the land of magic and mythology, dragons roamed the world. Our students love to explore these fantastical worlds through literature and, this year, through artistic creation. To bring a taste of this fantastical world to our students, art teachers Carol Spadaro and Lyndsy Rosenfeld invited wire sculpture artist, Sean Brady (heretofore known as the gallant Sir Sean) to serve as the architect and master builder of our new Lower School dragon.
The gallant Sir Sean began by constructing a wire armature for the body of the dragon, while the Enrichment class constructed the head and the four legs, including feet with toes! That was what we had assembled for October 29, when Sir Sean returned for the day as artist in residence, conducting a hands-on dragon-building workshop. Each grade level came to the lobby, with students contributing in various ways, such as adding wire or using tools to shape the sculpture. Some students drew pictures of dragons, especially wings, to help us with our final creation. We set out to build a dragon…and build a dragon we did! At lunchtime, our dragon had a tail 10 feet long, and the body was taking shape; then, by the end of the day, the head had been attached to the body, as well as the four legs. Now that it has reached its full size, our beautiful dragon is about 20 feet long and has a wingspread of 10 feet. Although it currently resides in a small lair in the corner of the Lower School lobby, we eventually expect it to reach new heights—and to "fly" from the ceiling of the Trask Library—soaring with our imaginations as we read new tales of adventure and make-believe!
News You Can Use November 2008
Posted by lsnl in : News You Can Use, November 2008Thursday Folders Going Paperless!
We are excited to announce that Lower School grades and specials are going "paperless," replacing the traditional Thursday "red" folders with online pages. Over the next several weeks, the Lower School classroom teachers and specials teachers will begin posting information about their classes online on pages they have created for this new communication. These online pages will be your primary source of information about in-class activities, announcements, and upcoming events. On occasion, there might be information sent home on paper, but those items will become fewer and fewer as we become more accustomed to posting information online.Access to these online pages is limited to our Penn Charter community, and a username and password has been setup for Lower School families to access the pages. As individual grades and specials roll out their online pages, announcements will be emailed to families, with specific information about when the online pages will be available for family viewing and how to access them. Once the online pages are rolled-out, they will be available through the Lower School homepage at www.penncharter.com. You are encouraged to routinely check these online pages for updated information. If you have questions about these new online pages, please feel free to contact either your child's teacher or Lower School Technology Coordinator Vicki Miles (vmiles@penncharter.com)
Fourth and Fifth Grade Students Get Flash Drives
For the past two years, fifth grade students have used USB flash drives to work on projects both at school and at home. This year, the program has been expanded to include fourth graders as well. With a storage capacity of 1 GB, these flash drives should provide more than ample space for student projects. Some of the activities in the fourth and fifth grade technology classes will focus on how to use and care for the flash drives and manage files. These flash drives are one of the tools provided by the school to your child for their academic use. Your child is responsible for the appropriate use, care, and safeguarding of this tool. The flash drives will be collected at the end of the year. In general, the flash drives should stay at school unless the teacher gives the okay to take them home. If a flash drive is lost or broken through carelessness, the replacement cost is $10.00. We strongly recommended that you install an anti-virus program on home computers and that you use it routinely in order to reduce the possibility of transferring a virus to school. If you have questions about the USB flash drives or the need for anti-virus software, please feel free to contact Lower School Technology Coordinator Vicki Miles (vmiles@penncharter.com).