Classroom Matters – April/May 2023
Primary Level
Leah & Virginia
Our happy little garden has been planted and is tended to, with care, by small hands…. small hands that are capable of so much! Counting and singing, planting and creating, they are full of energy and excitement! The children are bursting with life, much like the blossoms on our cherry tree, each little one an uncontainable explosion of growth. Both are unstoppable and so confident in their endeavors!
At this time of year, we witness a beautiful expression of the vibrant community we have all nurtured together. Children come bounding into the classroom each morning, joyfully reuniting with friends and teachers. They help set up tables and chairs, then enthusiastically jump into work from the day before. This is their space, and they navigate it with ease, comfort… and delight! The classroom hums with busy hands and the constant chatter of friends playing, helping, navigating conflict, and giggling. It’s hard to imagine a moment that passes in our space that isn’t filled with creativity, presence, and connection. This is a thoughtful, loving, and busy group, indeed!
And goodness, are we busy! Our Science shelves call to everyone as we learn about our solar system, plants, and to the delight of the birders in our crew, BIRDS! We are now getting a full morning report on which feathered friends have been spotted around town. The children have recruited us and are looking for an Indigo Bunting and an Ovenbird; let us know if you see them! In the meantime, we sing to a bird we see daily outside our classroom window…
Little Mr. Robin perched outside my window sill.
Little Mr. Robin cocked his head and sang,
Hello! Hello!
Good day! Good day!
And then he flew away!
This spring has us celebrating forsythia and pussy willow with art and song. Our amazing planet has provided us with the most fascinating natural wonders, awe-inspiring and messy. What could be more enticing than plants and the critters that crawl amongst them?! The children in our group are natural gardeners, each with a particular interest and skill to offer. They have loved learning about the magical transformation a seed can experience when it has all it needs to grow. These inside lessons led to outside planting! Little hands, covered in soil, pulled weeds, found worms, and dug holes. We discovered plants that re-emerged from the growing season that came before. Recess now often starts with a lovely touch of lavender on our fingertips and a nibble of lemon balm or parsley in our mouths! Everything tastes and smells better when you watch it come up from the earth! And, of course, when you nurture it ♥️
Donyan & Linda
Children in our classroom have been engaged in exploring new work from all of the classroom areas. One of the children’s favorite Practical Life works is flower arranging. On a beautiful wooden table, there are various sizes of vases and flowers. How lovely to see the children choosing flowers and arranging them in a vase. Watching them carefully carry the flower arrangement with both hands with such pride while walking so steadily around the classroom and placing their arrangements in an area of the classroom is such a joy. It adds such a colorful beauty to our classroom. The practice of arranging flowers helps children develop their creativity, a sense of purpose, gross and fine motor skills, concentration, self-control, and movement.
In class, we’ve read several books on caring for our environment and climate change. These books provided a great opportunity to discuss how to care for our planet and what can be reused or recycled. Children can practice it by saving scrap paper for future work. On our Care of Environment shelf, there is a sorting work consisting of a landfill bin, recycling bin, donation basket, compost bin, and a basket of objects to sort into each bin. Together we came up with a list of what we could do to help our earth every day: use less water, stop buying things that are packaged in plastic, turn off lights, bring reusable bags or containers when we shop, buy less stuff, etc.
In Science, we have been learning the life cycles of frogs, animal classification, parts of the flower, plants, and seeds. Children helped weeding our patio garden beds and planted grape tomatoes and sweet basil! We have quite a group of little gardeners who show great enthusiasm in taking care of watering the plants every day! We learned about the parts of the seed and compared a variety of seeds from nature as well as store-bought seed packets. We are experimenting with seed germination and are excited to see our seeds transform into plants. Here’s one of our favorite seed songs.
The Bean Song
The first thing I had as a little bean. Nature’s gonna bless my garden.
The next thing I had was a little root, the next thing I had was a little shoot.
The next thing I had was a little vine, the next thing I had was a little flower.
The next thing I had was a little bean, the next thing I had was a whole pot of beans.
Nature has blessed my garden.
We are enjoying the lovely warm weather and are spending extra time outdoors. We have gone on walks to the Field of Dreams and explored the pond, searching for tadpoles and noticing the red-winged blackbirds perched on the tall reeds that grow in the pond.
We have been having lunch and snacks on the patio. Please remember to apply sunscreen to your children before coming to school as well as supply sunscreen for reapplication in the afternoon. Sun hats are also suggested. Proper footwear with closed-toe shoes is required outdoors.
Thank you to the families for taking the time to join us for the open house. We always appreciate and enjoy the chance to connect with you.
Extended Day
Meridith & Becca
Spring has sprung, and our world is blooming. The fine weather has allowed us to eat lunch outside while chatting with friends, tend our garden in the afternoons, and – best of all – to forgo all of the winter gear when it’s time for recess. We have brought some of the beauty indoors by exploring botany in science, learning what plants need to grow, the life cycle of plants, the parts of a leaf, the parts of a seed, the food web, and more. Children have even been dissecting flowers and labeling the parts. In Geography, we have closed out our study of Africa and started delving into South America. Our students are fascinated with the animals of this continent, especially those of the Amazon Rainforest.
Earlier this month, you may have heard about Elizabeth Ann Clune Day. We had the opportunity to host Elizabeth, our school’s eponym, in our classroom for a brief sing-along. It was a special moment to honor this amazing human being. In preparation for Elizabeth’s visit, we had some conversations about learning differences and about how we all have things that are easier for us than for other people, as well as things that are harder for us than for other people. We all had some time to think about these things, and then each child wrote two sentences: one describing something easier for them and one describing something more difficult. The children took this lesson to heart and really went deep into exploring themselves. Your children are all amazing!
Junior Level
Melani & Cindy
Here we are, nearing the end of the school year.
I can’t believe that it was just the beginning of May that I went to my last Montessori teacher education seminar! The love that the children and Melani showered me with when I got back was amazing and filled me with gratitude for every single one of them and all of you.
We have had a fun-filled spring. The journey on the Time-Life of Life has taken us to so many amazing places. We have done a deep dive into invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles. The Third Year Student did some really interesting (and a little icky) research on the different Phylums of invertebrates. We learned about platyhelminthes (aka flatworms, aka leeches), nematodes, starfish, and corals. The students are now well into the Mesozoic and are studying all kinds of dinosaurs that lived in the different periods of that Era. Soon we will be in the Cenozoic when the mammals came to be and making some creatures that lived during that time.
In Geography, we studied Africa. The First Year children made Travel Brochures that challenged them to be imaginative and use facts as they made up their own companies to entice travelers to visit Africa. The second years explored different Biomes and the animals and plants that live in those Biomes by making different word collages with the keywords they pulled out of the research materials. The Third year did an interesting study of the different peoples that live in each of the African biomes and looked at one of the fundamental needs each of the peoples has in common. They learned a lot about how the indigenous people of Africa live in their environments. To cap off our exploration of Africa, we made some delicious foods.
We continue to do our daily practice in Math and Spelling. We are writing some amazing poetry. Finishing up our latest read-aloud, “Brendan Buckley’s Universe.” And are looking forward to going on a Field Trip to the Museum of the Earth, Celebrating Summer Birthdays, and spending the last few weeks of this school year together.
Deb & Rebecca
Spring is in full swing! We have been enjoying the sunshine and warm weather by spending some extra time outside. Nature journaling has been introduced to the classroom, and we are observing the nature of the field of dreams. We shared our observations of the pond study and discussed the ecosystems that take place at our school!
We celebrated Elizabeth Ann Clune Day on Friday, May 5th. Throughout the week, we discussed what it means to be differently abled. We had a lovely experience with Elizabeth. The students could ask her any questions they had, and then we sang “I Am Grateful To Be.” Leading up to EAC Day, we read a book called Song For A Whale by Lynne Kelly. In this book, the main character is a 12-year-old deaf girl with a special connection to a whale who cannot communicate with other whales.
Some of the lessons we’ve had these past couple of months:
We have been working on various math problems in the classroom. Some of the student’s recent favorites have been the congruent or similar math game, equivalent fractions work, and geometry puzzles.
In history, we are going through the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras. The students enjoy learning about the evolution of dinosaurs and the supercontinent Pangea!
In addition to discussing ecosystems in our pond, we have been learning about amphibians, fungi, and reptiles in biology. The students have chosen specific animals and fungi to research, and many are creating slide shows to accompany their research!
Biomes! In geography, we study the life in various biomes of each continent. We are comparing plants, fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates of a biome that could be found across different continents.
We have rehearsed and performed a play called Goldilocks and the Three Aardvarks. The students performed for the Extended day and Primary classes. The children have been rehearsing for about a month and were so excited to finally have an opportunity to perform for other members of the community! It was such a special treat to come together, and they truly enjoyed performing for their peers.
We have been reading exciting books in our literature groups, such as Frog and Toad, Zooey and Sasafrass, Jasmine Toguchi Mochi Queen, and Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It. Students use this time to improve their reading comprehension strategies and share their observations with their peers.
We hope that you’re enjoying the wonderful sunny weather! Please continue to communicate and reach out with any questions or thoughts you may have!
Becky & Dave
Birds are nesting in hideaways around the school, tadpoles and turtles appear in the pond, and the trees are starting to bud and bloom. All the colors and sounds after those long winter days are a welcome change.
The Children have been busy too. They continue working on improving their reading, writing, and math skills with daily practice. Socially they are practicing navigating relationships, being respectful, and solving problems in a way that feels fair to everyone involved. It is amazing to see how much growth there has been in all of these areas.
In Biology, we are learning about plants and animals by examining the changes that occurred over time. We enjoy having the opportunity to see and witness what we are learning in real life and, in real time, out in the field of dreams.
In Geography, we have reviewed land and water forms. We have looked at globes and maps to examine where some are located. The children continue studying plants, animals, and people of biomes on various continents. The Lions are memorizing the States and Capitals of the United States.
In History, we continue our journey through time and examine the changes that occurred throughout the Eons, Eras, and Periods. The Lions are making slide presentations of their work and will start presenting them to the class soon.
Science has been a big hit recently. Some of the favorite experiments are spinning buckets of water, testing surface tension, and discovering that heavy things sink.
Another big hit in recent weeks has been the addition of having tea and toast and making bread.
It’s been a long time due to covid restrictions since we’ve been able to have this work in the classroom again. What a joy it is to watch children sharing tea and toast with a friend.
Our fun day was a success. Thank you, parents, for allowing your children to bring games in. It is fun and interesting to see all the new games. Thank you, Gwen, for taking the time to write down the lengthy detailed directions for “Poppy’s Secret Meltaways” so we could make them and share them with the class.
The days have finally gotten warmer, and we can play and move around without the restrictions of coats, boots, hats, and gloves. There is nothing like winter in Ithaca to make one appreciate spring. We are trying to get out and take advantage of the warmer weather as much as possible.
Please make sure that your child has sunscreen and water bottles.
Upper Level
Terry, Andrea & Holly
April and May always seem like the uphill part of a roller coaster ride, with June the rapid descent to the end of our year together. Though we are counting down the days left at this point, we are also finding so much left to do! Right now, various groups are involved in many big projects.
Our third years have finished a secret STEAM project. They also present their lessons on the body’s organ systems to peers. They will be preparing for a final exam in Human Body Systems during the last week of school. We are sharing study strategies and looking at the types of questions that might be asked. The eldest students are also working on the Imaginary Island Project. They have created a map of their island and crafted a 3-D version out of clay. After developing a food chain for their island, they have begun bringing human settlement to the islands. This involves using a Building Block model, examining decision-making models, government, and economies, and using resources to meet fundamental needs.
First and second years have been engaged in learning about many body systems, including skeletal, muscular, integumentary, digestive, and nervous systems. Our students have also been traveling to the other two Upper Level classes to participate in a Geography Unit on Mapping on Tuesday afternoons. In History, our studies on Ancient China concluded, and we moved to this hemisphere to explore the Inca, Maya, and Aztec cultures. One of the major themes in History for each culture studied this year has been to observe the physical features and geography each culture thrived and how it impacted development. This has often demonstrated the creative thinking of these ancient people as they worked to meet their fundamental needs.
Our last unit in Geometry has been working with Tessellations made by slides, flips, and rotations. Many beautiful designs have emerged from this work. Third year students are completing a study of probability in Math and will present their learning as they make games of chance and share this with their younger peers at a Probability Carnival in a week.
In Language Arts/Writer’s Workshop, the first years are exploring various tools in the writing of poetry. Second, years have toured through world mythology and are also in a unit on Journalism. We have looked at ethics in journalism, political cartoons, editorials, and a basic news story. There has been discussion on the difference between fact, opinion, and informed opinion. Third years are quickly moving through a unit on the Middle Ages and diving into Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
First year students took a field trip to Upper Buttermilk to release the brown and brook trout that Upper Level raised this year. After testing the land and water environments, we determined that the trout would thrive there! Students are now reflecting on their work with the trout this year through creative writing.
First and second years are rehearsing their musical, The Internal Organ Hall of Fame, to be performed for Melani and Cindy’s Junior Level on June 12th. We are all finding the songs are catchy and get stuck in our heads all day long. You can ask your student which three organs are inducted into this year’s Internal Organ Hall of Fame.
And then there is also the wrap-up of our research project! Final papers are completed and handed in, and our efforts now go into the visual display board and practicing for the oral presentations on our Research Fair Nights of June 14th and 15th. We are so delighted to be able to invite families back to our Research Fair in person this year!
On June 16th, all of Upper Level heads to the Genesee Country Village Museum, the largest living history museum in New York State.
Our days are packed! It seems that we have so many more projects and adventures to have than we have time to complete!
Thank you so much for sharing your students with us this year! We have conquered so many challenges together and truly built a cohesive, kind, respectful community of very special humans.
Ms. Badsha & Ms. Cassy
Over the past two months, the Seneca Class community has been focusing on the importance of grace and courtesy in their daily interactions. Students have been building their social-emotional skills by practicing active listening and engagement with their peers. As we close out the school year, the momentum of learning and growing has picked up steam exponentially! Morning meetings continue to focus on breathwork, visualizations, and meditative practices. We have also discussed the balance of work and play. We have specifically discussed the importance of developing the awareness to recharge and recalibrate so that they can feel their best during the day.
In Language Arts, second-year students have been studying mythology from various cultures and traditions. We have been exploring fables and the evolution of moral-telling tales from around the world. Students have also been learning about the principles of impartial reporting as part of their Journalism unit. We continue to explore biases and perspectives in newspaper reporting with an emphasis on critical thinking when engaging with print media. First years are in the middle of a unit on poetry and also reflecting on their experiences with our trout project through creative writing. Third-years are moving through a unit on the Middle Ages and are beginning their work with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
In Science, students have been studying the vital organs of the human body. First and second-years are now consolidating their knowledge by practicing a play that tells the story of all the organs in the body. This play will be presented to Junior Level students. What a wonderful opportunity for peer mentoring! The third-year students have been stepping into the roles of medical specialists to demonstrate their understanding of the vital organs as part of their scientific research. In Geography, all students have been learning about landforms, bodies of water, and key mapping elements. These budding cartographers have been hard at work creating treasure maps and imaginary islands with narratives to accompany their creations.
Math in the form of geometry, computational thinking, statistical graphing or spatial awareness has been infused into all aspects of the curriculum for a truly integrated and robust experience.
We have so much to look forward to in the next coming weeks. Please stay tuned to our weekly emails for more updates on class plays and upcoming field trips.
Marianne & Elizabeth
Reflecting the plants and trees on our campus, our classroom blossomed in the months of April and May! Students worked incredibly hard to complete their research papers. They revised, edited, and illustrated their work to produce beautiful final products.
We are looking forward to students sharing what they learned at our Research Nights coming up on June 14th and 15th.
Our first- and second-year students have been studying the structures and functions of human body systems. In addition to our whole class lessons and activities, each student has researched, taken notes, and represented their learning in creative ways. Some highlights included an outdoor relay to model the movement of deoxygenated and oxygenated blood through the heart, nylon sock and tennis ball peristalsis races, and student-created organ system board games. Third-year students have been taking on the role of medical specialists as they study the human body systems. Each team of students taught their specialty to the rest of the class. Students have been studying all they learned and will demonstrate their knowledge on a final exam in late June. Our class has been working on a musical play about internal organs which we will present to a Junior Level class on June 12th!
In our study of geography, our first- and second-year students have been working on refining their map skills to create a treasure map with directions that lead to hidden treasure! Our third-year students are working on the Imaginary Island culminating project in which they draw on their learning over the three years of Upper Level to imagine an island complete with land and water features, living organisms, and a history of human civilization.
Our study of ancient Chinese civilization began with a trip to the Johnson Art Museum. The trip was a fantastic introduction to learning about the land and culture. Students have identified key geographic features, practiced calligraphy, read mythology, researched philosophies, and created a scaled timeline of the dynasties between 1600 BCE and 1912 CE! It has been amazing to see our whole class work together on these projects.
Middle School
Middle School
Travel is one of the hallmarks of our Middle School program, and we are so happy to be returning to overnight trips once again. April started directly on the heels of our trip to New York City, so let’s start there with a survey of the Middle School’s activities this spring.
Prior to our NYC trip, we prepared by exploring two broad themes, US immigration and the work of the United Nations. The trip itself was full and exciting. After dropping our bags at Hostelling International-NYC for our overnight stay, our Swarthout bus driver took us nearly the length of Manhattan to Battery Park, where we caught the ferry for Ellis Island. Students enjoyed the voyage across New York Harbor and were treated to spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. Our visit to Ellis Island was supported by an audio tour that does an excellent job of narrating, along with exhibits, the experience of folks arriving during the island’s peak immigration period. Students were impressive in their commitment to making the most of this visit. Those with ancestors who passed through Ellis Island enjoyed searching for their names on the Wall of Honor. The ferry back to Manhattan has special significance after visiting Ellis Island, as one can imagine a newly arrived immigrant making their way to the busy island, full of commerce, traffic, hope, and uncertainty.
Our own course was to set out on foot through Battery Park, up Broadway to Wall Street and Trinity Church, where we caught the subway to Grand Central Station. Plunging along with the Station’s commuters hustling to catch trains, we settled into the food court, mesmerized by the smells and delighted by the variety of food choices. Kids seemed to enjoy the bustle of rush hour in the heart of the city. After “oohing” and “aahing” at the grandeur of the station’s Main Concourse, we dove back into Midtown’s rush of foot traffic to make our way through Times Square and its spectacle of lights and advertising en route to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre to see & Juliet. We all loved this new show and its unique take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Its fast-paced action, witty dialogue, and awesome music and dance kept us all on the edge of our seats. Afterward, it was back into the fray in Times Square, followed by a subway ride to 103rd Street which offered more fun and excitement as we closed out our first day at the hostel.
The second day of our Big Apple stay started at the United Nations, where our bus driver left us for the day. A tour of the UN has always been one of the highlights of this trip, and this year’s visit was no exception. Entering the working complex of buildings, one is greeted by a wide variety of languages as staff, visitors on business, and tourists like us weave among each other through the open, expansive architecture of the headquarters. Students were clearly impressed with the richness of art, from sculptures to paintings, mosaics, mobiles, stained glass, and more, all expressing peace, unity, and equality. Our tour guides echoed this in their presentations of the mission, history, and specific projects of the UN. All seemed moved by this experience. Our tour guides were especially impressed with the class’s background knowledge, curiosity, and interest. Everyone was ready for lunch by the time our tours ended, and we headed on foot back across 42nd Street to return to the familiarity of Grand Central’s food court.
Well fed, the class welcomed the next leg of our journey as we walked up Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center, taking in still more of the city’s intensity, culture, and spectacle. A third and final subway ride took us a few stops to the Museum of Natural History, where we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the exhibits, a planetarium show, and the film Serengeti on the museum’s big-screen theater. Filled with collective experiences, we were all ready for the comfy seats of our bus as we made our way westward toward home.
May 8-13, second years were off on their own adventure to Kroka Expeditions in the craggy, granite-strewn hills of south-central New Hampshire for a six-day, five-night sustainability program. A working organic farm, Kroka Farm is a showcase for living lightly on the land, using resources with conscience and care, in a community with the people, animals, and plants that share the land. During our stay, the rhythms of farm life drove our activities, rising at 6:00 AM to tend to cows, chickens, and plants in greenhouses and fields and to do lots of physical work to provide our comfort and sustenance from firewood preparation and water hauling to meal preparation and food preservation, among loads of other hands-on activity. Late afternoon/evening chores were similar. Students rotated through a variety of work, developing a range of experiences and skills from feeding and watering animals to mucking stalls, splitting and stacking firewood harvesting herbs for teas and pesto, and making meals from scratch, to learning games and songs that engaged and deepened relationships and community.
Kroka Farm serves as a base camp for longer expeditions they lead throughout the year into the mountains, onto rivers and oceans, and from the tropics to the Arctic. Our stay in their Kroka “Village” provided a taste of life on the trail as our instructors/guides prepared us for our own overnight expedition paddling the Connecticut River. Upon arrival, students engaged in a gear “shuffle” as they repacked their gear expedition-style to encamp in one of Kroka’s wood/earthen shelters known as “Hobbit Holes.” Made by students on previous programs, these really sweet dwellings are certainly more than tents but still rustic. Running water (for drinking water) is at a distance from the camp area, so that meant using rain barrel water and water from a shallow well for hand and dishwashing and boiling cooking water over the wood stove. No running water means no flush toilets; rather, Kroka has composting toilets around the farm, which conserves water, safeguards their streams and ponds, and builds soil amendments. Our studies of water back at school were given concrete significance as students came to appreciate the effort and thought it takes to carry, store and maintain water for all our daily uses.
Our two-day, one-night river expedition capped off the trip. Well prepared in camp life by the first days of the trip, students were poised to make the most of their time on the river, learning new skills paddling in a river current, cooking over a wood fire, putting up tents, and working hard to live communally in a beautiful natural setting. The trip’s activities were full of teamwork and collaboration, sharing and appreciation, while allowing a rotation of leadership opportunities as well. The thoughtfully-conceived, expertly-facilitated itinerary throughout the six days provided numerous opportunities for this “senior” group of students to deepen their connections to one another and the natural world as they solidified their identity as a group in the waning weeks of their time together at our school.
First year students had their own expedition of sorts during second years’ week away. Their itinerary balanced some of the regular academic schedule with a variety of experiential activities, including preparing and delivering a delicious community lunch, as well as spending a day off campus on a hike of Buttermilk Falls State Park beginning and ending at former PE teacher Gary Weiss’ house.
The weeks since then have been busy and creative as students and teachers alike have immersed themselves in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. More theater workshop than your traditional middle school theater production, everyone has played a role of some sort in this creative and highly collaborative project. Our efforts have been geared to help students achieve a close study of the play and ways of bringing it to life. In recent weeks, student directors were elected, auditions held, a cast chosen, and rehearsals have been held increasingly in the past couple of weeks. A tech crew has been working on a sound recording with accompanying music and lights. Sets and props have been designed, constructed, and painted. Costumes were envisioned, and many of the team’s ideas were realized amongst our trove of previous play material. An outreach team devised a program and other outreach material and is making them ready for distribution. Such complex, multifaceted projects amount to so much more than the sum of their parts, offering myriad ways for students to share and develop their strengths and lean into their growing edges.
A student performance was help in the afternoon and an evening performance for Middle School families on June 8th.
Along with the collective work of producing the play, students are busy finishing work across the curriculum. For second year students this includes pursuing final assessments and projects in Spanish and Latin, preparing for Regents exams in Algebra and Earth Science, and writing graduation speeches. We look forward to sharing graduation with the rest of the school Thursday, June 22. Until then!