progressions GREENE HILL SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
SUMMER 2015
CONTENTS DIRECTOR’S LETTER MOVING UP CEREMONY GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY ALL-SCHOOL MUSICAL SUMMER CAMP PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION NETWORK CONFERENCE
GREENE HILL SCHOOL 39 Adelphi Street Brooklyn, NY 11205 718.230.3608 WEB SITE
www.greenehillschool.org E-MAIL
info @ greenehillschool.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Meredith Phillips Almeida Nanci Berman David Horowitz Carrie Mauer Nils Mellquist, Board Treasurer Beth Schneider, Board President Amanda Smith, Board Secretary
DEAR GREENE HILL FAMILIES AND FRIENDS,
I have three large stacks of books on my desk. One of my favorite things about summer is the time to catch up on ideas that inform Greene Hill School’s practice and my own engagement with education. This summer’s list includes: Sarah Lewis’s “The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery;” Ellen Galinsky’s “Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs;” “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis” by Robert D. Putnam; “Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness in and out of the Classroom” by Meena Srinivasan and “Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America’s Schools” by Tom Little and Katherine Ellison. Our faculty is participating in reading groups this summer and will discuss our book choices during all-staff professional development in August. Greene Hill faculty and staff are working through the summer, taking breaks here and there but using the time without children in the building to develop curriculum, attend professional development workshops and collaborate. Hopefully we will all do a bit of getting lost (Rebecca Solnit’s, “A Field Guide to Getting Lost” might help us here) and in the process rediscover personal interests that may have gotten away from us during the busyness of the school year. Teachers, like parents, spend an inordinate amount of their focused energy on people other than themselves. I hope we can all take some time to reaffirm who we are and remember what motivates our strong commitment to education. We just completed an incredible first year of Middle School. My deep gratitude to Laurie Baum who invested tremendous energy and passion as Middle School Director to ensuring that this first year would surpass our expectations. Thank you to her and all of the hard working MS teachers who orchestrated such an amazing curricular program. Jaime Quackenbush completed her first year of Lower School leadership and provided thoughtful support and insight for children, parents and teachers. Congratulations to her and my deepest thanks to all of our creative and dedicated LS teachers and staff for a tremendous year! GHS said good-bye to some valued staff members this summer and we are preparing to welcome some new faces. After five years at Greene Hill, 9s teacher James Choi is leaving to start a Master’s program in Leadership at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. I am happy that his work at Greene Hill has both led to and prepared him for this next step in his professional life and know that his next school will be extremely fortunate to have him on staff. Colin McManus, a thoughtful and creative teacher, will join Greene Hill next year as the Head Teacher for the 9s class. Associate teacher Hilary Davis will be taking on the role of Co-teacher for the 9s and 10s classes next year (wonderful news) as Esther Hamm and her family will be relocating (we wish them well!) My very best also goes to assistant teachers Kiera and Roxanne who are moving on in their professional lives. Three new assistant teachers, Jonathan Agin, Sandy Gonzalez and Dana Wolfson, are joining the school and I know you will enjoy meeting them in the fall. On an important note, the family handbook is out and should have arrived in your inbox. The handbook contains important information about the school year and ALL of the necessary forms for starting school.
I wish you all a wonderful rest of the summer! DIANA SCHLESINGER, SCHOOL DIRECTOR
GREENE HILL SCHOOL
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www.greenehillschool.org • 718.230.3608
SUMMER 2015 MOVING UP CEREMONY CONGRATULATIONS TO GHS’S SECOND CLASS OF 10S The GHS community joined together in June to send congratulations and best wishes to our second second class of 10s! In true GHS fashion, the ceremony was led by our students who presented projects, played instruments and choreographed a dance. Everyone got a little misty-eyed when Diana spoke to the class: FROM DIANA:
Welcome family, friends and 9s to the 10s of 2015 Moving Up Ceremony! It is my absolute joy to be here with you all. The 10s impressed us all earlier this week with their well researched presentations about Ancient China and Greece. As is suitable for this amazing class, the work reflected a wide range of interests, a creative and intellectual approach and, as noted by one parent, a sense of humor. They have been working hard on their presentations for today and I know we can’t wait to hear them so I will be brief. I would like to take a moment to say a few words to some of the 10s who I have had the pleasure to know since they were young. It has been wonderful to watch you grow into the caring, intelligent and engaged people you are today. This school would have been a different and less joyful place without you in it. The same is true for your parents. I would like to take a minute to thank the parents who entered the school when it was new, and who have come together in numerous ways to establish the amazing school culture and community that exists today at Greene Hill! Thank you to all parents of the 10s class for everything you do for GHS. Your children might not know that you have chosen to present a class gift of a bicycle rack to GHS. It is much needed, so thank you! We will think of the 10s of 2015 every time we park! Because my office is directly next to the 10s classroom, I get to hear those terrific moments when the whole class bursts into song or erupts in spirited debate. 10s — I hope you continue to joyfully collaborate as you grow and strive toward your individual dreams and collective goals. I look forward to seeing “what’s next” and congratulate you all!
GREENE HILL SCHOOL
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www.greenehillschool.org • 718.230.3608
Grandparents and Special Friends Day 2015
More than 100 grandparents and special friends filled the Community Room to capacity this year to spend time with each other and their special students. Guests loved the new Greene Hill movie (see it on our website), enjoyed eating with our 10s and 6th graders, and then had fun creating ceramic tiles in the classrooms. Grandparents and Special Friends contributed a record amount this year — more than $20,000 — to support GHS’s partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, the science lab, and our new running program. We thank you heartily. Seana Anderson, GHS Grandparents and Special Friends Fund Chair, summed it up in her remarks on Grandparents and Special Friends Day:
FROM SEANA: Wow! Who would have thought we had so many committed grandparents and special friends who support their children and the wonderful school they attend. Thank you all for attending. I hope we will see those who couldn't make it next year at one of the special events. I have a grandson James who will be going into the 6s and a grandson Elijah who will start 7th grade. I am profoundly grateful that our family found a place that values the individual, encourages their special talents, and exposes them to myriad in-school and community experiences that allow them to sing, dance, play an instrument, engage in team sports, make things, experiment and play. I remember my experience with my daughter in a New York City middle school. I practically had to drag her out of bed and out of the house to get her to school on time. What a difference to hear my grandsons skipping and singing on their way to the bus in the morning. And I can hardly get to them leave when I pick them up from afterplay! “Just five more minutes, Grandma!” I've gone on a number of school trips with the boys' classes, which I have thoroughly enjoyed — the Cloisters, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, pumpkin picking. It's as fun for me as for them and I have learned that I don't need to keep anyone "in line;" I just need to make sure they are safe and secure. The teachers are a godsend. Each one really knows and values my grandsons. I am grateful, proud, happy and enthusiastic about the education my grandsons are receiving and know you are as well. You show it through your time, your special contributions, and your donations to the Grandparents and Special Friends Fund. A deep and heartfelt thank you to you all.
SEANA ANDERSON, Chair, Grandparents and Special Friends Fund
SUMMER 2015
FOLLOW THAT RABIT 3rd Annual All-School Musical CONTRIBUTORS Diana Schlesinger Rachael Burton Seana Anderson PHOTO CREDITS Rachael Burton Diana Schlesinger Laurie Baum
The zany world of the rabbit hole was presented in a two-performance, limited run of the 3rd annual GHS musical Follow that Rabbit. In true GHS tradition, everyone participated from the 6th grade musicians and backstage crew, to the littlest dancers who charmed us all. Check out the pictures.
LAYOUT AND DESIGN Ilana Greenberg Please contact Rachael Burton at rburton@greenehillschool.org for information about contributions to the school
GREENE HILL SCHOOL
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www.greenehillschool.org • 718.230.3608
GHS SUMMER CAMP 2015 GHS Summer Camp 2015 just finished up a successful season. Our campers (and their parents) reported having wonderful times with water play, playground visits, arts and crafts and, of course, new friends.
Camp this year had a special new feature - CITs (counselors-in-training)! The first CITs were two of our very own rising 7th graders, Sammy Nassau and Max Abrahams, both of whom worked at camp for a week under the guidance of camp director Sally Stark-Dreifus. Sammy and Max reported having great fun working with little children (future teachers?) but both were extremely surprised to find out how exhausting it can be. We are all deeply saddened that Coach Magnus Mukoro passed away on Wednesday, July 29th. Coach Magnus has taught Soccer at GHS for 5 years. He was a loving, down to earth, and compassionate man, father, friend, and coach. He will be truly missed.
GREENE HILL SCHOOL STEPS OUT ONTO THE NATIONAL STAGE AT THE 2015 PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION NETWORK (PEN) CONFERENCE Greene Hill is pleased to be taking a leadership role in the Progressive Education Network conference Access, Equity and Activism: Teaching the Possible convening in New York in October 2015, and to add our voice to the conversations about progressive education happening all over the country right now. GHS’s own director Diana Schlesinger is one of the planning chairs for the conference. More than 1000 educators from over 100 national and international schools (both public and independent) will come together with policy makers and activists from around the country, including Diane Ravitch, Deborah Meier, Pedro Noguera and Jacqueline Woodson, for panels and discussions on topics ranging from student activism, high-stakes testing and work with urban schools. GHS itself is going to be a host school for site visits for progressive educators, and our teachers are already planning how to engage visitors in the magic that happens here every day. Check out the next issue of Progressions for more information.
Š Copyright 2015 Greene Hill School
GREENE HILL SCHOOL
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www.greenehillschool.org • 718.230.3608