Monday, March 29th through Friday, April 2nd: SCHOOL CLOSED for Spring Break
Tuesday, April 6 and following: Conference Check-ins via Zoom
Cilantro: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0449afa629a02-cilantro1
Dandelion: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0449afa629a02-dandelion1
West Wing Open Houses
Thanks for joining us for our Open Houses last week! We welcomed the opportunity for the West Wing families to explore the space, to view the classroom documentation, to connect with Roleen and the teachers, and to have the chance to get to know other parents better. We hope to be able to offer another Open House soon.
Hello WW Friends. It was so great to be a part of the Open House last week, to see you in the children’s spaces and hearing the teachers sharing day to day stories with you. It feels different when you’re actually “in the space”, doesn’t it? The documentation becomes real and alive and you can feel the magic that comes from the children. It’s tangible. I don’t know about you but that really fills me up. — Roleen
We also wanted to use this space this week to amplify our parent voices. Again, we couldn’t do any of this wonderful work without your children and your support.
It felt absolutely amazing to be in the NSW space. We see the pictures come every day, which is extremely helpful yet… pictures can only show so much. It was such a delight to see the scale and size of where the littles spend their day. I LOVED being inside the paper house and back behind it, looking down on the children’s easel and artwork. I appreciated all of the little explanations of the spaces and telling me what Evyn is up to while she is at school. Thank you so much for taking care of our daughter and providing the safe space for her and the other children to be. You are so loved and appreciated so much! — Rebecca, Evyn (Dandelion)
During my classroom visit, I saw videos of Olivia playing with her friends in the courtyard. The sound of their laughter and the level of excitement on their faces has stayed with me all weekend. Their little friendships are so strong. They are part of a true community. What an incredible gift, especially during the last year. — Kimberly, Olivia (Dandelion)
It was so lovely to enter the building and see where and how our son spends his days. It’s amazing how every inch of space was used to create a magical, imaginative and provocative environment while still maintaining a feeling of, well, space where everyone is free to move.
I wanted to shrink myself down and climb in the dinosaur pit, have a tea party at the kitchen table, and read books in the loft. Thank you for the incredible thoughtfulness and care you put into the environment and the children. —Barbara and Justin, Spencer (Dandelion)
Being able to visit the children’s space last week was such an awe inspiring experience. Despite all you’ve had to navigate this past year, it is clear the foundation of discovery, imagination, and community at NSW is as strong as ever. As parents we are incredibly grateful for the experience this school year has brought. It’s been a lifeline for us – and, we can’t wait for what lies ahead for Jack and all our Cilantro friends. Despite the obstacle of social distance we’ve faced – in the most meaningful ways, our pod has become, and will remain, friends we will cherish forever. As we walked through the children’s space we were proud of the connections made, and the challenges overcome, despite the year we’ve had. We marveled at how every inch of the classroom and outdoor space was so purposeful and inspired. We loved how the Halloween Space was now transformed into the Party Place, and all the creative, thoughtful details inside of it. The beach, an incredible example of interactive art – an installation beautiful enough for any gallery. The city in the building space with the clouds, structures, and projected light gave us – yet again, the feeling we had when we first toured NSW many years ago…a sense of magic, of a place we’d want to get lost in ourselves. Examples of this were everywhere – in the photographs taken by our children on their neighborhood walks, and through the stories shared by Cindy, Silvana, and Julia on that visit. Throughout this pandemic, you all have managed to heroically maintain this feeling inside those walls, as if it has been untouched by the outside world and circumstances…and we can’t thank you enough. –Love and Gratitude, Pete and Michelle Lazarus (Jack)
I love you! Cilantros your space is so fun, unique and colorful! Thanks for sharing. –XO Petroula, Wiley (Cilantro)
It was really special to step into the daily life of our children that we do not typically get to see. I enjoyed seeing the different spaces and materials they are working with – especially their work crafting their names in clay. It is pretty amazing how much they have developed since the Fall, and I loved getting a peak behind the curtain to their day.
–xo Dominique, Colette (Cilantro)
Cilantro Photos
Dandelion Photos
See You Soon!
Have a great spring break, and we will see you on Monday, April 5. Please keep an eye out for Roleen’s email about the updated drop-off and pick-up times for full-day children, as well as some other information about the full day (including packing additional masks and an extra snack or a larger lunch!).